The Peterson Life: Hawaii

Alex and I got to sneak away to Hawaii for an early 10 year anniversary gift to each other. My mother had spring break at this time and was willing to come up and watch the kids while we went. I cannot thank her enough for being willing and having fun with the kids while we were gone. My mom loves to play and have fun so the kids had a blast with her all week.

Early Monday morning we headed to the airport for Oahu. I was disappointed with Delta because they over booked the flight and had to ask people to wait for the next flight. Luckily people were willing and we got on the flight. Sadly we didn't get to sit together :( It seems everyone was sitting apart and there where a lot of family with kids that came before us so we sat apart. Just a small set back to a great week.

Once we got there we got some food and headed out to the ocean to play! We choose Waikiki, the tourist route. And I was very happy with it because it made me feel safer swimming with a lot of people and lifeguards.

It felt so good to get in the water! Its so blue and such a nice temperature.

Then I felt the need to try surfing. Which is a crazy feeling for me to have since I am really afraid of sharks, like crazy scared. And scared of the ocean taking me away. But I jumped on and just did it. Luckily there was a guy just hanging out helping people catch waves. I caught two!!! I totally see why people want to do it. So much fun. And a ton of work. I was bruised and sore the next day. But I was so happy that I did it and faced a fear. Then we spent the rest of the night walking Waikiki which is very busy and lots to see and do.

Tuesday we woke up and watched the sun rise over from our room.

When the sun is shinning it is SO much easier to get up and get moving, oh and being in paradise helps too ;)

We headed out early to Hanauma Bay and just our luck it is closed on Tuesdays :/ but it led to a day of fun adventuring. We saw that there was a light house near by and decided to go hike to it.

And when we reached the top we found out the light house is closed :/

But the view was worth it!

Then as we were driving we saw a few view points and got out to explore.

It was beautiful watching the waves crash against the rocks.

My inner Ariel coming out ;)

And we decided to head to the North shore to see things out there.

Such a great decision! There was a natural lagoon that we got out and swam in. Sadly that was the first and last time using our brand new "waterproof" Go Pro. It broke while using it. I will be fighting to get a new one to replace it. Cause that's ridiculous!

And on our way home we saw a sea turtle resting on the beach!

They have people who rope the area off and guard the turtle.

Then we decided to get dinner in North Shore and watch the sunset.

We found the perfect jetty to walk out on and watch the sunset.

While there we had a few sea turtles come right up to us.

It was amazing! Maybe the best part of the whole trip! Alex had to hold me back from jumping in and swimming with them.

Wednesday was our busiest day. We woke up early and headed to Kualoa Ranch. The ranch has over 4,000 acres. Many movies, tv shows, and music videos have been filmed there.

Including Jurassic Park!

So many cool things to do at the ranch, but we came to zip line!

Two hours spent on this beautiful ranch zipping through the trees and cows ;)

So much fun!

Then we got lunch and headed out to the LDS temple.

Beautiful temple and great story about how the temple came about there. We also ran into a missionary couple who was from Silverdale. Small world!

Then to Polynesian Cultural Center. Which was AWESOME!

Sipping on coconut water while watching the different shows.

Fire dancing training.

Random fact... Alex actually fired danced in high school.

Playing around with spears.

Alex always has to show me up... he made it in the hula hoop.

Canoe ride.

Learning how to weave, we made little fishes.

Practicing our music sticks. Ya I need some practice.

All the shows and luau's were so good!

Thursday we decided to try Hanauma Bay again. We almost skipped it when the parking lot was closed because it was full and we had to walk like a mile to get there. and we both are kind of fearful of snorkeling. But we decided to do it. And boy that was a great decision.

It was magical! Alex said this was his favorite thing we did. It is right up there with the sea turtles for me. So wish I had my Go Pro for this :(

We went to our room showered and headed to Pearl Harbor.

Sadly the Arizona tour was full for the rest of the day so we didn't get to do that, but enjoyed walking around the museums.

Friday was our last day! I really wanted to find a waterfall, so out we went.

Walked through a bamboo forest. Which made so much noise and the chickens running around in it would startle me. But Alex has my back;)

Came to this beautiful clearing!

And cool graffiti wall.

And then we found the creek. Now to follow it all the way to the falls. It was more intense of a hike than we were expecting and we got very dirty. But it was so fun and worth it. Alex just said its not a last day, hop on the airplane in a couple hours kind of activity.

It was beautiful and so refreshing!

Alex wasn't interested in standing in the waterfall but that didn't stop me :)

Other random pictures from the trip.

Another beautiful sunset.

Uninterrupted dinners!

View from our room.

And of course one of the feet in the sand pictures.

We got home late Friday night. And were so excited to see the kids! Except Alex woke up with heat rash :( He had a bad sunburn on his back from snorkeling and it ended in blisters. I guess its good it waited till we got home!

Saturday and Sunday were General Conference. We enjoyed cuddling our kiddos again and being around them.

Sunday we went to Alex's parents to watch conference with them and some cousins.