Hawaii........Day 6!

Monday we decided to do a hike and then go to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. Megan and Chris really wanted to go hike up to a Pill Box. There's lots on the island and I can't remember the name of the one we went to. But we drove there and finally found a place to park. Then we started our hike. We realized that it was going to be a steep long hike. Mom and dad stayed together and just took it slowly. I was trying to keep up with Richard! We finally made it to the top. It was quite the sight. Chris and Megan came up behind us. We were really high up. It kind of reminded me of the Bears Hump Hike! It was a cool hike!

Our view when we got to the top of the pill box.

Richard at the top.

And there I am!

Chris and Megan climbing up the trail.

All 4 of us at the top!

We then headed down. We met mom and dad at the first pill box sight. Then headed down together. It was a fun hike. Glad we were able to find it. It was a little tricky to get to the right spot! Siri was having us go everywhere! Ha ha! But it was worth the trouble.

A cool bird on our way down.

Here we are coming down.

We headed towards Hanauma Bay and Richard and I saw some hitch hikers so we stopped and picked them up. It was a nice couple that we gave a ride to the next town. They gave us some suggestions on where to eat. Then we headed back to Hanauma Bay and found a parking spot. We got something to eat and waited for Mom and Dad and Chris and Megan and then got our tickets to go inside. After watching a mandatory video, we then headed down to the Bay. It was super hot out and we made sure we were sufficiently covered in sun screen.

Richard and I found a spot on the beach and he got all set up to relax on his towel! Megan and Chris came beside us and we got ready to go snorkeling. Mom came with us. It was super cool. We got out there and saw some pretty amazing fish. The only bad thing was the current was pretty strong. So I felt like I was getting tossed around quite a bit under the water. It tires you out quickly. So we headed back to the beach to relax for a bit.

Dad is the guy in the blue shirt with a straw hat. He's going out snorkeling.

Richard and I!!

Here is Hanauma Bay!

Cool picture of Hanauma Bay!

After a while Megan, Chris and I headed out again. I was following Chris and didn't realize that we were going way out. Well, we ended up kind of on top of some corral. So I was trying hard not to touch it. I was swimming above it, but then the current started pulling me out. I turned and was trying to swim back towards the shore. But instead of going forward I was being pulled backwards. Talk about scary. I was about ready to panic. I was kicking as hard as I could and swimming with my arms. I was finally going forward and got away from the corral. It kind of freaked me out! A lot! I was finished. I swam back to shore and relaxed on the beach with Richard. By this time it was super hot out. So we left shortly after.

Some cool pictures of the fish that we saw as we snorkelled.

Another cool picture of a fish.

Richard and I took off on our own. We wanted to go check out a few spots on the way home. We drove back down the road and stopped at the toilet bowl blow hole. That's what we called it. It was kind of cool to watch. We watched that for a bit and took some pictures. We were just enjoying being tourist and taking our time looking at things.

Water coming up from the blow hole.

And another wave hit.

My man looking so good!

We then decided to go to the beach that we could see from our high point. So we drove down and found a parking spot. We got there and the beach was pretty busy and loud. We noticed that they were having some sort of boogie board competition. It was kind of cool to watch for a bit. Then we decided to walk along the beach and see if we could find any cool shells. So that's what we did for a few hours. Of course I had to take a bunch of pictures too. We had a fun time talking and just being together by the ocean. I loved it!

That's the beach that we saw.

Richard walking along the beach.

Richard walking along the beach.

He just got hit by a wave.....and we were both laughing!

Waves hitting big rocks!

So happy!

Perfect looking dead crab in the water.

We were getting hungry so we started heading back and stopped at a hole in a wall place to get some food. The hitch hikers told us it was super good food. So we tried it. And it was good! We ate in our car and then went to get some yummy ice cream from a place that makes its own ice cream. So delicious! I loved it! Yummy!!

Then we did some shopping in some cool looking shops. We found a cool one and enjoyed getting a few things for our kids and us. It was a fun day. We headed back to the house after that.

Hawaii......Day 5!

We woke up early on Sunday, which happened to be Mother's Day. We decided since we were up and ready to go that we would go to the 8am church! Crazy eh?! But we actually had lots of time to get ready. My kids even Face Timed me to wish me Happy Mother's Day! They showed me some of the things that they made. I enjoyed talking to them!

Ready to go to church!

Then we went to church. I loved that every time someone came to the pulpit they would say, "Aloha" and everyone in the congregation would reply, "Aloha"! We stayed for the full 3 hours. Every sister in the ward came in with beautiful Leis on. One lady came up and gave me a hug and wished me Happy Mother's Day and slipped a Lei over my head. It was so sweet of her. She probably had about 8 Leis on. She gave one to mom and Carol too. So sweet.

After church we went back to the house and had a big dinner. Mom and Dad were in charge of it this time and they had it cooking while we were at church. We had chicken and baked potatoes and a salad. It was delicious.

Then we took off back to Waimea Falls Park. We paid to get in and then started on our hike. It's a very slow leisurely hike and so so pretty. It's absolutely beautiful there. I loved seeing all the different flowers. I went a little crazy with my camera!! So enjoy all the pictures of Waimea Park.

Just starting our little hike.

Richard and I! Love that his eyes are closed!! Ha ha!

One of the many beautiful flowers!

Mom and Dad walking together.

Once we made it to the falls, Megan and I decided that we were going to go swim in the Falls. We had to put life jackets on and then we went and jumped in! We tried to get as close to the falls as we could. It was fun. A little cold, but so refreshing! It was fun!

Waimea Falls!

Megan and I swimming by the falls!

Trying to get closer!!

Richard had fun with the camera and decided to take pictures of all the chickens. They are everywhere there. We found out that they are protected and they just wander everywhere. Kind of funny!

There's some of the crazy chickens!

Such a pretty park!

Then we headed back. It was a fun little hike and fun afternoon. We decided to try and find the beach with the turtles that we failed to find on Friday. So we went a little further and we FINALLY found it! We were walking on the beach and I was watching the waves and saw turtles in the waves. It was so cool. We watched that for a while.

Cool picture of Richard watching the waves. Just after I took this picture a huge wave soaked him!!

Love the ocean and the big sky oh and that man too!

Look closely and you can see the turtle just poking his head above water.

There's the turtle in the wave.

Then we went further up the beach and saw a BIG turtle laying on the warm sand. We were able to take pictures and watch it for a while. It was so cool!

And here's the turtle on the beach.

After seeing the turtles we headed back home. Richard and I stopped to get something to eat together. The kids called us and DJ was sobbing. He kept saying, "I want you to come home right now." Oh, it broke my heart. I felt so bad. We got him to calm down a bit and said good bye. We found out later that he was so tired and went right to sleep that night. Sheesh. Well, it made me cry. I do love my kids. We both missed them so much. But it was also nice to spend so much time with Richard. I really did enjoy it! Well after we ate we headed for home and relaxed and went to bed! It was a super nice day. Loved that I got to spend Mother's Day with my mom in Hawaii too. That was kind of cool!