Hawaii

So Ben's parents were so nice and offered to take us on a tropical trip over Thanksgiving as a late graduation present. Ben had been counting down for months....I started getting excited when it neared the top of my "to-do" list which was about 1 week before we left :) but either way IT WAS SO MUCH FUN and so so so nice to get away for a little bit and

1. be with family we hadn't seen in awhile

2. be somewhere beautiful and warm!

3. be around nice people...everyone who lives in Hawaii is SO friendly

4. not have to cook anything the entire trip

5. not have to stress over $$ the entire trip

6. not have to clean my toilet, tub, shower, sick, vacuum the floor or make any of the beds

7. have no cell service and no internet

The kids came with us which was even more fun I think. We went to Kauai, which is the oldest and greenest island. It was absolutely gorgeous and had perfect weather of about 80 degrees. I seriously thought that this is probably what Heaven is like. Ocean & Mountains, Rock & Green, Rain & Sun, Warm but not HOT. Perfect.

Here is a run down of the trip before I start forgetting!

Day 1- flew to Seattle. dropped Ben off in Newcastle for a course with his Dad. the kids and I spent a few hours with Shelby and Linsday Shuman (Sutarik & Landoe) in Shelby's new house with Lindsey's new baby....it was really really wonderful to see them and how good they are doing. Ate Pizza with the Johnson clan and got ready for the next day travel

Day 2- Flew to Honolulu and then a 1.5 hour layover and on to Lihue, Kauai. The big boys did awesome, Evrett started to melt down but towards teh very end of all the traeling so it was fine. We landed and breathed in the yummy hawaiian air :), rented a car and hit up Costco for some sunblock and snacks. While there we ate in their cafe which was outside and learned that chickens run wild all over the island. They were everywhere!! It was so funny. Even little baby ones and they'd run under the tables to eat any food you dropped...pigeons of Hawaii! We then went to our hotel and learned we were upgraded to suites that faced the pool/ocean. Such an amazing view. That night we went swimming in the hottub

Day 3- SUNDAY. We got up and went to church. It was a cute little white building with blue trim. I was suprisd to see the majority of the members weren't native hawaiians and it made me jealous!! How do so many people get to live there?? and what jobs do their husbands have?!?!

We went and got a puka dog after that and did some shopping for Sam and Megan since sam only eats organic and no wheat and Megan is vegan. We went to a siteseeing place calleed
spotting horn" that had water shooting up and a cute little market. The boys each got an instrument although they asked several times why we were buying stuff on sunday. I was proud that they knew enough to not like that we were doing it. That night we went to a yummy restaurant and were seated just under the roof (open with no walls) and it started POURING on us seated furthest away. The boys thought it was hilarous and we had to move our table all around to fit under the awning. The food was delicious. Ben and I both got Mahi Mahi cooked differetn ways. No swimming this day since it was sunday.

Day 4- We stayed at the hotel beach and pool to swim. We played in the sand a lot and in the waves. The boys searched for crabs. The pool was a perfect 3.5 feet or less so there wasn't any worry about the kids drowning. They even had a kid section for Evrett. I had fun talking to Megan and Rebecca for awhile and just enjoying their company. I'm lucky to have the inlaws I do. Around 4pm

Day 5- we went to the north side...Princeton, Napali coast, Burgers, cocnuts, snorkeling, shells,

Day 6- we stayed at the hotel beach/pool again and learned to make lais

Day 7- Thanksgiving! We decided to bag the fancy hotel dinner and grocery shop for some stuff to grill on the beach and watch teh sunsent. It was one of the best nights of my life. Simple, humble, fun. We all worked together to make the dinner...which didn't turn out perfect but was perfect anyway. We played in the waves for a couple hours...racing them to shore. the little guys dug in the sand. We ate pumpkin pie and were all filled with gratitude for our blessings. When it got dark Megan taught the boys about all the stars/constilations and the lessons continued in the car on the way home. Before all this though, we tried to find a hiking trail to waterfalls and a rope swing ben had read about online but both were closed for liability reasons....people have been getting hurt but Ben was a bit disappointed. We did see a mad weave a basket from palm leaves. He was a bit crazy and said most days he doesn't make any money and will take food in return for a basket so it was a sad situation but Colin felt so bad for him and thought the basket was so cool and he insisted we buy one. It was $7. After this we stopped for the most delicious shaved ice ever. A place called Jo Jo's. It had macadamian nut ice cream on the bottom, shaved ice with yummy flavors and a creamy topping. I wish we'd gone back a few different time. The only downside was the Evret ate his whole huge mango one and then we drove 15 miles up a windy road to see the Wiamea Canyon and he got car sick and threw up...but it cleaned easily. This is on the dryer (so browner) side of the island but was still beautiful.

Day 8-Friday we spent the day at the hotel pool again...all a bit tired from all the driving & siteseeing we did the day before. I got to read a bunch of a good book "cold mountain" and that night we went to a Luau! It was so cool!!!

Day 9- We

the weather was a bit cooler so we did some shopping, went to get pizza for lunch, hung out by the pool for awhile and then headed out for dinner at a cute little mexican place that was really yummy. We had a fun time talking & laughing and continually ordering food :)We ended the night in the hot tub.

Day 10- Our last day. We collected some sand from the beach to remember the trip, packed up all our stuff, ate another big yummy breakfast, and loaded up in the big van for one last time. We flew back to honolulu and then waited for awhile there b/c of a maintenance problem on the plane....we ended up not getting to Seattle until 12:05AM the next morning. We debated changing the flight or staying the night at a hotel close to the airport but decided to stick with the original place to head back to Johnson's. We got 3 hours of sleep before having to wake up for our next flight back to Chicago. It was pretty rough and we'd all had it but considering all that it went by quickly. I think we were all in a depressed daze :) and then it felt really good to be home. BUT WHAT A FABULOUS TRIP!!!!! We have all been dreaming about going back...literally dreaming it. It was such a beautiful place and such a nice break from everything. Our first REAL vacation with nothing to do but relax.