to be continued...

Warning: Grammar mishaps. I will have to change later because I have an appointment.

I am kind of overwhelmed with pictures right now so I just randomly uploaded a couple so I can write about our trip before I forget details.

It was AWESOME taking a vacation. I know, I know, I live in Hawaii...everyday should be a vacation. But I finally got some validation for all my "heat" complaints. (My parents unanimously voted that it is indeed rather warm in our house).

The first day my parents were here we grilled, ate dinner, and laughed at Noelle. I LOVE that she recognizes family and that she is warming up to people faster. She was eager to show off and be funny.

The next day we flew to the big island. I was the official trip planner and succeeded in starting out the trip on a stressful key by leading us to the totally wrong side of the airport. (Picture Home Alone except for the Hawaii version). I am grateful that Hawaiians are laid back because they held the plane for us and didn't make a big deal about it.

The big island is AWESOME. So chill. (In so many ways!!!) It wasn't busy, it was cooler, and it was beautiful. We ate lunch in between rain storms at a picnic table while enjoying the view of a beautiful waterfall. Then we toured the Bishops museum which totally helped us to anticipate our nights stay at the Volcano National Park.

I wish that I had taken a picture of the cabin we stayed in. Dang! Why didn't I? Can I just tell you how much I loved it? It was such a great deal. We had two big rooms, a kitchen, and a FIREPLACE. (Like, you could actually lite a fire because you needed one....) It was SO fun to snuggle under covers and to get a little chilly. :)

The next morning we hurried to the other side of the island so that Jason could get his birthday wish to go to the temple. (PS it was his birthday and I forgot his gifts on Oahu....) While we were at the temple my parents shopped in Kona and bought some fun fruit for us to try during dinner. --More on that later.

For lunch we ate at an awesome Thai restaurant and then we explored Kona and a beautiful place called "The place of refuge." Oh, and I had a close encounter with mile marker 26 where I fed the ants my breakfast. Joy.

For dinner we oohed and awed over the fruit my parents bought. It was so fun to try. These hairy little things are Rambutan and the insides are grapish with a little seed. (PS the pits are "mildly" poisonous. Just thought you should know so that you don't let your two year old eat them...) The beautiful dragon fruit Jason is holding is Magenta inside with little Kiwi like seeds. It is kind of like, oh what would you say, all glamor and no substance. (I know a few people like that so now I will mutter "dragon fruit" under my breath when I see them...:) We also ate some passion fruit and guava and of course, mangoes. Can I just say, if I were Eve, the only thing that would get me out of the garden would be a mango. Just saying. :)


The next morning we went for the COOLEST HIKE EVER! And just so you know, I have hiked some pretty awesome places. This was the view that we first saw.
You stare into this giant crater created by the volcano. When it first erupted people shielded themselves from raining ash with newspapers. (Smart?) You could feel the heat just emanating off of it and there were some awesome steam vents. First we hiked down through this jungle path and then it opened up to the crater. (Side-note: The crater erupted fifty years ago and it has only been the last fifteen years that you could walk across it because it took that long to cool. COOL!) The terrain was, as we joked, like walking on badly poured asphalt, except with a more Jurassic feel.

We were practically the only ones on the path and it was easy to just picture the beginning of time. I loved that all the plants had already started to break through the rock and grow. Their was a haunting wind and a yummy sulpher mist in the air.


After we finished the hike we toured a lava tube. It was a tad difficult to take pictures in so you'll just have to imagine walking through a cave created by lava. Again, it was way interesting.

The next day we went on yet another hike where we again walked across lava fields to a little peak where we could kinda see (if you used your imagination) Mauna Kea and some other prominent landmarks. The neatest part about this hike was seeing the tree molds. Every now and then you would see one side of a tree mold (the tree is long gone--crispified).


After our hike we drove to a black sand beach. I could have stayed there half the day if I had been smart enough to lather the crew with sunscreen. The sand was awesome, but my kid was hilarious. There were turtles, "Dirtles" all over the beach. We went to explore the water and one minute she had clothes on, and the next minute you see these cute little plum buns running toward the waves with a trail of socks and shoes behind her. I am not sure what was photographed more...the "dirtles" or the plum buns. What a kid. :)







We were really sad to leave the Volcano Park. I would TOTALLY recommend staying there. (Military families take note!) Our last excursion was a visit to Hawaii's Botanical Garden. Oh my oh my. My camera really disappointed me on this one. It was so beautiful, but hard to take pictures of because there was growth EVERYWHERE. We saw amazing trees and flowers while listening to the waves crash. Oie. It was super cool. (I am running out of excited words to use).


P.S. I just want all ya'll to know I am embracing my big belly totally by letting people see these photos of me. Sigh. To be svelt. Actually, to just not have a belly button that looks like an erupting volcano.