Each morning we enjoyed breakfast at our condo with a great view of the ocean. We would then head out for a fun morning on the beach and then back home for lunch and naps.
Ben found the hugest pile of dinosaur bones ever! He loved running and jumping in the waves and lying on his back in the water, which he started calling "seaweed".
Jason loved the water too. He would scream as waves came in and was always eager to be held out in the deeper part of the ocean. He found stick "guns" and would be totally content to just sit and play in the sand.
Kara rode waves on the boogie board and learned to paddle out, so she thinks surfing is in the near future. We reminisced about Kara's first trip to Hawaii when she was about a year and a half old... and now she seems so grown up!
Uncle Ross was the crowd favorite, always happy to play with the kids, go out in the water with them and make sand creatures.
After the beach, we'd catch up with Bachan and Jichan to enjoy some time all together...
We even made it to the Obon in Makawao, which is Jichan's hometown. Though all of the dances were different, the kids were good sports to go out and dance a few songs.
When we asked the kids about their favorite part of the trip, the beach was the hands-down winner. I don't know how long this phase will last where they are totally happy to play with the sand and in the water... and do it all over again the next day, but it was heart warming to watch them "cook" together and serve us meals and to just enjoy being together.
As I was packing to get ready for the trip, I realized that we've reached a milestone in that this was our first trip where we packed no diapers. Very exciting.
I think one of my favorite moments from our vacation was while we were sitting having breakfast and I asked Jason, "isn't this a great breakfast?" thinking about the food and the scenery and he answered, "it's a great family."
