Nathan and I were keeping a big secret most the summer. We had planned a trip to the Big Island, HI for mid-July. With a few near-slips and just dying to tell them, we actually made it until the night of Libbie's birthday to spill the beans that the following day we'd be packing our bags for paradise. I so wish I would have recorded their reactions. There was shock, disbelief, screaming, jumping...just all out elation about the news. It made all the waiting and secrets well worth it. We left bright and early on the 15th. (You will notice a common theme with most of the photos of Claire :))
One of the best parts of this vacation was having friends and cousins along. Ben and Aubrey and their girls joined us as did Caleb, Marci and their boys. So fun and exciting.
Jaren had my phone in the beginning and snapped this funny photo of Wyatt.
We had a connecting flight in Seattle that was supposed to be very short (like 45 min). Too bad we sat on the airplane at the gate for 2 hours before our 5.5 hour flight. AHHHHH! Thankfullly, they let us strap Tyce's carseat in and he fell asleep for the entire wait.
Going crazy.
After we landed 2 or so hours late, we didn't have quite as much time to do some things before heading to bed. We grabbed some quick things at Costco and Target in Kona and headed to a very, painfully slow dinner at Ultimate Burger. We were all tired and hungry and ready for sleep I think.
Proof that it was indeed bedtime for Tycie Boy.
As we drove to our hotel in Waikoloa, we encountered this fabulous rainbow. Mallory mentioned a couple times that it didn't really look like she envisioned Hawaii. Lots of lava rock and dessert grass. Still uniquely beautiful.
Waiting in the car for a looong time for Dad to get our room keys. Let us out!
With the time change we were up bright and early the next day. We caught the sunrise out our bedroom window. Gorgeous!
Jaren was in heaven with the creatures around the hotel. The girls discovered one of his favorite animals in a much bigger form than he'd ever seen. Check out the giant shell! We had to make sure he was okay each night and morning. Turns out he wasn't very "okay" by the end of our stay.
Libbie helping Mia get the grumpies out before heading to the beach. Sweet sisters! Marci and I did a quick run and then we get ready for some beach time. We tried out Hapuna first and then ventured over to 69 beach, named for the mile-marker it used to sit by.
The waves were just right for the little ones and there were lots of fish for snorkeling.
Also, it had the fun rope swing you see behind Mallory in this picture. Our kids weren't quite as daring as a lot of the kids we saw use this swing toward the end of the day. Nonetheless, they had so much fun. Mallory also developed an interesting sunburn when she removed her swim shorts AFTER I had sunscreened her. Ooops.
We cleaned up and headed to dinner at the mall's food court. It was just so, so but we were all so so hungry so we took what we could get.
The kids had fun watching the giant goldfish in the pond at the mall.
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