Going Private

I guess it's time to go private with our blog. Not that we've been stalked by anyone creepy or anything. We're really not that interesting. But still it seems like the right thing to do. So if you would still like to check in on us from time to time, leave your email address as a comment and I'll add you to the list. You can also send me an email if you'd rather at olivemom4@hotmail.com. I'm going to work on setting up an updater blog so that those of you that use your side bar listings to look for new posts can know when I've posted something. Which I hope is more than I have been lately. Funny how I found time to change my background to something Christmasy but never actually posted a single thing in December. Yeah, just keeping it real. I'll post directions on the updater blog once it get it figured out.

Hawaii....Days 5-9

Tuesday was our second day on Maui. My sister arranged a fantastic snorkeling trip to Molokini Crater. Does anyone know why the water in Hawaii is so blue? Because I couldn't get over it the entire trip. God's creations are truly a wonder!

We sailed out to the crater on a large 2-story boat, equipped with snorkeling equipment, a slide and barbeques to make lunch for the 100 or so people on board. They anchored th boat and we began snorkeling. My brother-in-law was able to scuba dive at the same place. Trevor and 2 other family members tried Snuba diving. It's a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving. A raft with your air tank floats above you and you are connected to your air with a hose while you swim below. He loved it, and is now ready to become scuba certified. I stuck to snorkeling and was not disappointed. The variety of coral and fish were amazing. Again, this world is truly a wonder!

We sailed through the night and arrived in Kona on the big island on Wednesday morning. Trevor, my dad and my brother went golfing at the Kona Country Club. Their beach course was incredibly beautiful, as you can imagine, and I was told that the golfing was pretty good, too!

I did some snorkeling with the girls until Trevor was finished golfing. There was an awesome beach spot right next to the pier. That was another amazing thing about Hawaii. There were great beaches everywhere that were so accessible. You could be driving along the road and see a beach and pull of the road and you're there. Nothing at all like the San Diego beaches that we were used to! The next activity of the day in Kona was parasailing. This was a first for us also and I was a little worried about it but it was so fun. The view from the top was incredible and it was so quiet and peaceful up there. They had tandem parasailing available so Trevor and I went together. So so fun! Kona was one of the places that we would love to visit again. It was a charming beach town that, by the way, had a little shave ice shack that serves a coconut shave ice that is to die for!

Thursday and Friday were spent on Kauai. Kauai is known as the garden island and lived up to any image of paradise that you've ever imagined. There is a mountain on Kauai that gets more rainfall that anywhere else in the entire world. One word that describes Kauai is green. So different from anything that this desert-dwelling-girl has ever seen! Thursday morning half of our group went on a tree top zip lining expedition. Trevor was part of this group, I was not. I totally chickened out on this one! They had an absolute blast, though, tethered to safety lines the whole time that they zoomed down zip lines and crossed rope bridges in the tops of the trees.

The rest of us opted for the Tubing the Ditch expedition. Way relaxing, way beautiful and way fun. We sat on big inner tubes and floated down old irrigation ditches through the rainforest. The ditches went through tunnels part of the way and we wore headlamps so we could see in the dark. (To be honest, I was a little worried about this because I'm a little claustrophobic but it was totally fine.) The tubes floated and spun and went along at a good speed and we visited and laughed while taking in the sights. And our guides shared some interesting facts along the way.

Next the two groups met up and we taxied to Kapaa. We rented beach cruiser bikes from a local bike shop. There is a paved bike trail in Kapaa that goes right along the coconut coast. So scenic, we're talking picture post card beaches along here! This was so much fun!!! We rode the length of the trail and stopped for some beach time in between.

We went on a Mud Bugging expedition on our second day on Kauai. We dressed in mud gear and drove along private roads through the interior of the island in go-cart style cars. We got plenty dirty along the way. Our guides told us a lot about the history of the island and pointed out several areas that were used in movies. They took us to a gorgeous waterfall where we ate lunch and went swimming. Then it was back to more off-roading fun.

We got back on the ship Friday afternoon and headed back to Honolulu. Before leaving Kauai the ship sailed along the Napali Coast. I've said a lot about how beautiful these islands were but this coastline was by far the grandest, most spectacular sight I have ever beheld. The Napali coastline is only accessible by boat or plane due to the sea cliffs that tower over the shore. Some areas of this coastline have never been reached by anyone. I couldn't help but think that this place is the ultimate testimony of God's creation and love for His children. Perhaps He was the last to touch some of these areas. We know that this Earth on which we live is Telestial and that the Celestial Kingdom will be far more beautiful than anything we've seen here. I wondered though, as I looked at this coastline, if He left us just a little taste of the Celestial. Just enough to make us stand in awe as we look at it. Just enough to make us think about how much He loves us to give us such beauty while we're here. Just enough to make us want to do our best so can live forever surrounded by even more beauty. For me, it was enough to pause and marvel.

Hawaii... Days 1-4

Just a fair warning...I'm posting a ton of pictures from this trip. How could I not? It was hands down the most beautiful place I have ever seen!

My parents took all of the adult children and spouses on a Hawaiian cruise to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. This was the first extended family vacation without all of the grandchidlren. And let me say that it definitely won't be the last! It was so fun to relax and do fun things jut as adults. And in Hawaii nonetheless! This was Trevor's and my first trip to Hawaii and our first cruise as well. I would so recommmend this to anyone, especially if you've never been to Hawaii. It was kind of like ordering a sampler plate at a restaurant. You got a little taste of everything so that next time you come you know what you like and would like to order more of. We spent a little time on each of the major islands. They are all so different and have so many unique adventures to offer. If we are lucky enough to come back, we have a pretty good idea of where we would like to spend more time.


We did a ton of research for this vacation. There were a lot of things to coordinate on each island. We did a couple of shore excursions through the cruise ship but planned most of the activities on our own, saving a significant amount of money. My sister-in-law even put together a spread sheet of the week for easy reference. (Sounds a little over the top but it was so so helpful!) We packed in all kinds of fun things to do on each island. I was a little worried that we were overscheduling ourselves but it didn't feel like that at all. I think the difference was traveling with adults only. It was so much easier to go from one activity to the next without worrying about dragging kids along.


We flew over a day early, before the cruise began, so that we could see some of the sights on Oahu. We spent time at the Polynesisan Cultural Center, Hawaii Temple and Pearl Harbor.

We crusied on the Norweigian Cruise Line's Pride of America. We embarked on Saturday afternoon. Holy cow, the ship was enormous! And I loved cruising. Loved, loved, loved it!

Sunday morning we were in Hilo on the Big Island. We rented a car and found a church so we could attend Sacrament Meeting. The people were so welcoming and so kind. We arrived after the meeting had already started and were fine to just sit in the foyer but the doors were open and ward members saw us and motioned for us to join them. Families scooted over and put children on their laps to make room for us on the benches. They were in the middle of singing a hymn and they even passed us their open hymnbooks. Throughout the whole week I was so impressed with the kindness of the Hawaiian people.

Then we drove to Akaka Falls. Short hike along a lush trail with the most beautiful plant life you've ever seen ending with an amazing view of a 400 foot waterfall.

We had lunch at a sandwich shop that is in the middle of paradise. The food was a bit of paradise, too! They grow the fruit to make smoothies right there on the property.

Then we drove to Volcanoes National Park. Looked out over the mouth of an active volcano and lava fields. Hiked through old lava tubes. Stood over active steam vents. A place unlike anywhere else on the planet.

Moday was the first of two days on Maui. We went through a private company that offered guided hikes to a couple of beautiful waterfalls where we went swimming. Some even did a little cliff jumping. Our guide pointed out fruit trees along the way where we picked and ate guava and passion fruit.



We spent the rest of the day seeing the sights on the west side of the island. We drove along the incredibly scenic coast, did a little snorkeling and relaxed on the beach. My favorite beach of the day was Kahekili Beach. It was a perfect place to watch the sunset.>