Last day in Hawaii!

We used our last day in Maui to the max!We spent the morning playing at the beach......and in the pools.And then we went whale watching! Which was AMAZING!!!!! We had seen them every day just from our hotel but wanted a closer look. We went to a lookout where mom and dad had watched them before and saw quite a few.But then we decided to check out the boats that go out and see the humpback whales and boy did we get closer!Right off the bat we had a baby, mom, and "escort" whale come so close to our boat that we had to just stop and wait for them to go by.We saw tons of spouting, whales playing with each other, diving down and showing us their tails, and even breaching! As we were headed back to the marina we saw a baby breach, and then two adults breach simultaneously, and then the baby breach again! It was just outstanding! Of course all of that is not very easy to capture on camera so this is what we got!Sadly our time in Hawaii had come to a end. We had such a wonderful time.And we will return someday!

Thank you mom and dad for letting us tag along! What a blessing to have spent that week with you! (There were even whales playing in the water behind us while we took this picture...incredible!)

Day #7 Hawaii

Our resort in Maui was so much fun! The girls just couldn't get enough of the beaches and the pools.Daddy and Talia having fun in the pool.

She loved the slides that went from one pool to the next. (Eliza did too...she just wouldn't cooperate with pictures at this time.) Talia is actually laughing and screaming as they are going down the slide...contrary to how her face may look!Eliza and Mommy on our way to dinner.By this point we were loving the warm weather and the sun too much...going home was going to be tough!

Day #6 Hawaii

Talia's skin may not have appreciated her time in the sun and sand but that didn't stop her. She loved just sitting in the sand and playing with it all around her.

Life is hard...playing at the beach, eating Cheetos, being waited on all day...sigh.Part of dad's conference was a sand sculpting competition for a fund raiser. Our group made a giant turtle.And we added a baby turtle...it was Eliza and Talia's contribution!A beautiful sunset!

Everyone at dinner.

Days #4-5 Hawaii

We spent some more time on the beach.Making sand castles......before the storms rolled in.Aren't these two too much?! They are such good travelers!Talia and Grandma having fun on the beach.Our little family soaking up the Hawaiian sun!Later that day we flew over to Maui where Dad's conference was being held.Too bad leis don't last forever...they were beautiful!

Day #3 Hawaii

Today we headed over to the Polynesian Cultural Center...with a few stops on the way.We stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Here are us girls in front of a few different kinds of pineapple plants.

Pineapple faces!And you can't leave there without having some pineapple ice cream. I've decided this is my absolute favorite ice cream! (It ranks right up there with gelato!)Of course this little lady liked it!Eliza used those hula skills she had been studying before we left at the PCC. Of course, at home now she will only do her performance if she is wearing her grass skirt!Talia trying to fit in with the natives...throwing sticks? Right down her alley!

We loved the show we watched after dinner. Eliza was mesmerized! There are some pretty incredible performers there.

Day #2 Hawaii

We went to church and then got back to the hotel in time to help feed the fish.The fish were pretty fun to watch and Eliza really enjoyed throwing food out to them.We're pretty sure Talia just wanted to jump in and swim with the fish!The view from our balcony.Our own little fish...our girls would stay on the beach all day if they could!Grandpa has always been an excellent sand castle maker...although I think Eliza's request was mostly wedding or birthday cakes.Talia liked the destroying part of building things in the sand.And the water didn't distract her at all...Lovin' the sand!A little time with daddy building in the sand.

Day #1 Hawaii

Our trip to Hawaii started on Oahu. We got off the plane and headed right to Pearl Harbor.Pearl Harbor really is one of those places that just kind of takes your breath away when you realize the magnitude of what occurred there.It's somewhere that Darran has wanted to go to for a long time...he was pretty excited.

Us and the girls above the ship Arizona.Eliza and Daddy enjoying the boat ride back.The view from the boat.After Pear Harbor we headed to our hotel. We stopped at Costco (which hands down was the craziest Costco we've ever been to) on the way to get some groceries. Dropped off our stuff in the room and headed right for the beach!This is the beach looking back at our hotel. We were ready to begin our week in the Hawaiian sun!