My Sister

We have posted a lot about what we did in Hawaii, but failed to mention the person who took us everywhere, feed us every night, helped with laundry, made us feel like home, showered us with gifts, and gave us one of the best experiences we have ever had. I need to tell my sister what an amazing, selfless person she is! Amber I want you to know how thankful I am for everything you did for us while we were there! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!! I can't repay you for what you've done. Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone and getting me that dress. Thanks for spending the afternoon with me getting makeovers. Thanks for taking us to every beach not just once, but multiple times! Thanks for showing us parts of the island that we didn't even know existed. Thanks for making me run up and down those HUGE hills everyday! Thank you most of all for just putting up with us for two weeks! I love you!!! It was so hard to say goodbye...isn't if funny how life changes...when we were growing up we never wanted to be together and now I pray that someday we will be able to live by each other and play together! Thanks for making our trip so special! Hopefully soon we will be able to attempt to some what repay the favor! Thanks Sis, I love you!

Happy Easter

We have had a great Easter weekend out here in Hawaii. Brindi has been busy playing with Bryant and Taryn. This weekend we went to Amber and Rick's ward Easter party. They had this great Treasure hunt. Each kid had a game piece and they had to go search the eggs and papers for the matches. Each paper had a concept that was required to return to Christ. In the end if they found all the matches to their game piece they got their treasure, which was a picture of Christ and of course some candy and fake money. Taryn loved it and Brindi and Bryant had fun eating the game pieces and the eggs. Easter morning Bryant and Brindi found the trail that the Easter Bunny left and managed to eat quite a few jelly beans before we stopped them. Brindi of course drooled all over her white onsie. She got a cute little pony with a cowboy hat on it. I think I liked it more than her :). After Taryn found all the eggs the Easter Bunny left we went to get ready for church. Brindi got to wear her first Easter Dress! We had a fun first Easter and were glad to get to spend it some family. We are so thankful for our Savior and his willingness to give us the chance to be resurrected and live with our families forever.

Dear Daddy

Well Daddy, since you had to leave us we have been trying to stay busy so that mommy and I don't miss you so much. It's true we're having fun, but we wish you were here to play along.

Sometimes I think it is you when Uncle Rick comes home, but after staring for a minute or two I realize that it isn't you. We miss you Daddy and hope you miss us too, so mommy and I thought we would post a few pictures just for you! We've been busy taking baths, making a lei out of the flowers, driving around with Bryant in Taryn's car, shopping at the the swap meet (where I lost my passy) and eating sand at as many beaches as we possibly can. I love you Daddy and hope you like the pictures...I'll make sure to keep being cute, so Mommy can take more pictures to post for you! Love, Brindi

Hawaiian Beach Bum Wanna Be's

The Bellows

Our last day in Hawaii we decided we should try and get some family pictures on the beach. We headed over to the bellows which is a military facility mainly used for vacations for military personnel. It has some really pretty beaches and views. It was a little windy though so hair was flying everywhere and Brindi had a hard time looking into the wind. That is probably why she didn't smile much. But I think some of them turned out pretty good.

Hanauma Bay

Hanauma Bay is a Nature Preserve thats main purpose is to preserve the reef in the bay. It is the best place to go snorkeling. This was probably my favorite thing we did in Hawaii. The first time I went under I almost head bunted this two foot long teal looking fish. It was crazy. I think I also saw every fish that was in "Findind Nemo." It was pretty cool. The kids continued to love to play in the sand and I am sure Brindi consumed way more than she should have but what are you going to do.

I love this picture. You would think it was cold in Hawaii or something.

Sand BarOne day we headed over to the other side of the island and entered the marine base to rent a pantoon boat for the the day. About a mile or more off the shore there was a Sand Bar. When we arrived there was a portion of the sand bar about the size of a half a basketball court that was above the water. The rest of the sand bar was only about ankle deep which was pretty cool. We brought our lawn chairs and put them out in the middle of the sand bar where the water was barely covering the sand. It was actually a pretty cool little spot. We also brought the wake board to pull the kids around on. We had both, Bryant and Brindi on the board for a little bit. Brindi however would not get off the board. She loved being pulled around all over the sand bar. Some of the pictures you can see how excited she was. She was waving her arms, smiling and her ankles were turning as fast as I have ever seen them. A sure sign she is enjoying life. She is such a cute girl. After about a hour at the sand bar the portion that was above the water was not covered and it just kept getting deeper as the tide kept coming in. So we took off and headed back to the Marine Base. On the way we circled around coconut island the famous island where Giligan's Island was filmed.

Just chilin at the Sand Bar

On the ride back to the shore

Just hangin out on the boat

Wameai Beach

After our walk through the Wameai Valley we crossed the street to the beach on the North Shore. This is actually a really dangerous beach for kids. The water acts as a suction cup. The splashes up on the beach and the beach does not gradually decline into the ocean it has a pretty steep drop off so when the water reseeds it is actually sucked back into the sea practically pulling anything in the water into the ocean and sort of drags you under if you don't move. That is why you see Taryn giving Celeste the bear hug. And if you notice you can see Celeste's toes and that is because they are actually getting drug into the ocean. That is also why the water looks so dirty. You really have to grind your feet into the beach or drag your butt hard to stop yourself from getting drug in. Taryn had fun holding tight to Celeste and I but it was a little scary.

The first time we drove by this beach Celeste told this story of how when she was in Hawaii with a basketball team she jumped off this big rock into the ocean. Naturally I had to raz her a little bit. Its amazing what peer pressure can do. The above picture is my beautiful wife contemplating wether its worth jumping or living with her husband making fun of her for not jumping. She picked the first choice. She indeed jumped, but I missed it on the camera. I am just not as good as Celeste at taking pictures as you can see from the one she took of me below.

Laie Point

One day we took a quick trip to Laie Point. No beach but its close to the water. This hole in the rock was pretty sweet looking. The water around Hawaii is amazing. Towards the end of the point there were a ton of crabs as big as your hand. I tried getting a good picture of them but was attacked by a crashing crab. Also the rocky island that is shown below has this weird looking rock formation on top of. I can't imagine what idiot swam in the crazy water to get to the island to construct the formation. Oh well, it was cool to see.

Shark's Cove

After the Dole Plantation we made our way to Turtle Beach and Shark's Cove. Sad to say the turtles were not out so we didn't stay there long. We did try and get Brindi used to the water and as you can see she didn't want anything to do with it. But it must have been since she didn't have her swim suit on. Once we arrived at Shark's Cove and changed her into her swimsuit she was ready to go. She also learned how yummy sand tasted and seemed to not get enough of it even though Celeste and I tried really hard to prevent her from eating it to no avail. Once she was in the water she loved it. She really loved trying to walk in the water. But her and Bryant seemed to have a blast. We were able to stay there for quite a long time. Eventually the clouds decided to come in and we were rained out but it was great to be on the beach in such a beautiful place.

Finding more sand to eat!

Brindi helping cousin Bryant into the water.

Playing together in the water.
After a day at the Beach we had to stop by Matsumoto's for some shaved ice. Several people highly recommended this place and after my first sample I tried to convince Celeste and Amber to go to North Shore everyday just so I could get me another Shaved Ice. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread! If your ever in Hawaii make sure you stop by and don't forget the Ice Cream and Condensed Milk.

Hiking in Hawaii

Wameai Valley

This is our Anne Geddes picture of Brindi.

The Wameai Valley was a nature preserve that had a ton of trails going all over the place and botonical gardens throughout. There were also little stands here and there telling little known facts about the area, plant life, and what the natives used the valley for. It was fun going off on all the little trails. The main trail was paved and led up to a big waterfall.

Amber and Celeste strolling down the boardwalk.

The whole crew. Joe, Brindi, Celeste, Amber, Bryant, & Taryn.

This peacock was kind enough to strut his stuff when we were around and cocking and a crowing. It was pretty cool.

This is the waterfall at the end of the paved trail. This is also were a portion of the TV show LOST was filmed when the survivors returned to the island during the current season. It has this huge pool that your allowed to swim in as long as a lifeguard was on duty. We really didn't know what the hike would entail so we didn't bring our swimsuits but that didn't stop me from taking a swim. I was able to get right up into the waterfall. It reminded me a lot of the Spillway in Leamington.

Manoa Falls
Amber, Brindi, Celeste & Joe were the only ones that went on this hike.
Manoa Falls was the probably the prettiest hike we did, muddy but pretty. It was really green and thick with a lot of bamboo all over. The falls were pretty sad looking though, more of a trickle then any kind of waterfall. But at least it was a 100 foot trickle:) Is was was a fun hike.The Fam in front of the Falls.Manoa Falls and BrindiAmber Swinging Away.
Celeste Swinging High.
Joe's impression of Tarzen.

Diamond Head

One of the favorite places for tourists is to hike Diamond Head and hike up to the the abandoned bunkers. The picture below shows the top of the hike. Diamond Head is part of a huge crater and the park is inside the crater. Its a pretty cool hike. There were a ton of people on the trail and Celeste was on a mission to get a good work out so she carried Brindi up the mountain and passed as many people as she could. It was kind of funny and sad to see all the people out of air at the first corner and throughout the hike. The hike had a lot of switchbacks, a passage through a tunnel, up stairs and an almost crawl out of the bunker to get to the top. At the top of the crater you could see some of the prettiest views in all of Hawaii. Some of the pictures below show some of the views.

On top of the Bunker over looking Waikiki Beach. A view of Waikiki BeachThis is the lighthouse right below the bunker.


Kole Kole
We started off our Hawaiian vacation with a little hike to the top of Kole Kole. Because of Rick's (Celeste's brother-in-law) military rank we were able to do a lot of things that are only accessible to military personnel. Kole Kole being one of those places. Half way up the hike we passed by a large rock that had a small flat platelike area. Rick told us that there used to be an old Polyneisan lady that would sit there and tell visitors how this rock was used for Human Sacrafices and that it was mainly used for beheadings. Crazy Crazy! Brindi is sitting on the beheading spot. It was a pretty fun hike and once we got to the top we had a great view of the valley and ocean. It was great weather but one thing I didn't realize was how windy it is in Hawaii. The video below will demonstrate how windy it was and to think there are places with stronger wind. But as you can see Taryn almost had to hold on for dear life or she was going to be blown off the mountain.