Hawaii - Day III

All the kids minus Zoey who was napping at the time.  

Monday was a little rainy so we decided to do some of the non-beach stuff on our list starting with an easy stroller hike to Wiamea Falls.  It was fun to see the different landscape and gorgeous foliage of Hawaii.  

 

Jane LOVED chasing the wild chickens around.

 

So, I guess the falls are usually at a quarter of the volume coming over, nice and clear and landing in a lovely blue pool that people can swim in.  We didn't get to see that.  There was no swimming allowed on that day, due to the heavy volume and it was pretty muddy.  Too bad.

We ate lunch at the Kahuku Grill where I had an amazing teriyaki burger and then headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  The PCC was really neat, I had no idea what to expect, but everyone gave great reviews... except for the Luau.  Almost everyone we talked to warned us about how terrible the luau was without us even asking.  We heeded their warnings and just went for the day.  It was fun to see the shows, feed the ducks and get some tribal ink.  It was very impressive and everyone that works there is just unbelievably helpful and kind.

 

 

 

 Back at home...

Hawaii - Mother's Day

Our second day in Hawaii was Mother's day.  I wanted some Mothers Day pictures with my two kiddos, but they weren't really cooperating... probably because I tried to have Jane stand in the sand. I just love these two more than I could have known and I love being a mother.  It is such a joy and brings so much fun and fulfillment to my life.

At church we got Mother's Day leis.  I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when I didn't get a lei when I arrived in Hawaii, so this made it all better.

These two were so cute together and I loved that whenever I tried to get a picture of the two of them, Jane would try and put her arm around Quinn.  I'm training her little by little.

That evening we went to Pearl Harbor.  I have to admit. It was a bit of a let down.  We were supposed to watch a video about that day and then they take you on a boat out to the USS Arizona Memorial.  Unfortunately, the theater was out of commission for some reason, but they didn't even bother to tell us.  They just took us straight out to the memorial.  I think it would have had a bigger impact if we could have seen the movie first.  Also, Jane was a bit of a wild child the whole time.  She looks sweet, but she was pretty cranky.

 

 Here you can see Jane is at her wits end.  We finally decided it was time to reveal to her that the toy she had been carrying around the whole time was actually a lollipop.  (Yes, I am not above bribing my kids).  She went from a cranky monster to this sweet little angel.

 

 Just a little girl and her lollipop...