Hawaii Trip

As I said in the last blog, after two years (almost exactly), we FINALLY made it back home for a trip. Junior could only go for two weeks but I stayed an additional two weeks with the boys and it was WONDERFUL! I couldn't believe how much I missed home: friends and family, the smell, the beach, seeing someone you know everywhere you go, the food, EVERYTHING. It just made us want to go back that much more. The boys absolutely loved being there. In fact after the 1st day there and still know Brayden always tells us he doesn't want to live in Utah anymore, that we should live at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They loved running around like little local boys in just their shorts, and all too often not even those! They loved being outside everyday, all day whether at the beach, in the pool, playing with the cat or taking walks. And oh the food: Shave Ice and BBQ plate are two of the boys favorite words. In fact, when Tavita sees that white styrofoam plate he starts jumping, claping, and shouting "yea" cause he knows there's a delightful assortment of meats and rice waiting for his devouring. I was working on a slide show but before I could get very far at all my mom put together one for our family blog that was a lot better then I would have done so I just stole hers. Thanks Mom!
Here's a few highlights that I think coincide with the slide show:
Beach: This was by far the boys favorite part of Hawaii. Aside from Sundays and a few rainy days we were there EVERYDAY, sunny or cloudy, windy or calm. Brayden took to the ocean like he never left it. The boy had absolutely no fear and we often caught him go way far out to the point where he was having to bounce to keep his head up. He was incredibly steady in the waves and could take on some pretty decent sized waves. When he did get wiped out, he'd just bounce back up laughing and go back for more. Tavita was a little more wary of the ocean. He was ok if the sun was shining and the waves were just lapping on the shore. But he got cold really easily and didn't appreciate being knocked around. Often times he was more content just to hang out in our arms or play on the sand. He did eventually warm up to the ocean and by the time we left he could often be found attempting some deep sea dives with his brothers. We lucked out and found a seal on the beach by my parents house our very first time out. Tavita kept sneaking away attempting to pet the seal, he couldn't grasp that something that appeared so docile could get pretty rough. The boys also had fun chasing crabs and we even caught one that had obviously lost a fight somwhere along the road. He was a live and running but was missing its claws and two legs. The boys had fun holding him and attempting to eat him.
PCC aka "The fun place":Everytime we passed the PCC Brayden would ask to go to "the fun place". When we went the boys had a ball. I think they could've camped out in the Samoan village for a few days. They loved watching the show, the guys climbing trees, learning to fire knife dance, start fires and climb trees. We knew a lot of the guys there and they had fun playing with the boys. They also enjoyed the rest of the center namely the Tongan drums and the Maori village. Junior took Brayden to the night show and he still constantly pretends to fire knife dance. He was so excited to meet Kap (a friend of ours that performs the fire knife) and still treasure the picture Kap gave him.
Our Hike Another thing Brayden kept begging to do was go hiking in the mountains. We figured we'd start hiking the trail to Laie Falls and after a few minutes Brayden would be ready to turn around. WRONG! That kid lasted forever. When we reached Fence Posts (a good 1 1/2 of hiking) we pretended we had reached the top and convinced him to start heading back down. He went from chuggin along no problem to being completely pooped out the last few minutes of the hike and we couldn't get him to go another stip. Super Dad to the rescue. He hiked out with Tavita on his back and Brayden in his arms.
Shopping Center: Nothing fun and exciting about this place but the boys loved visiting Auntie Janessa at the movie store, Uncle Ryan at the bank and getting treats from Foodland
Shave Ice: The boys were the entertainment of the town the 1st time we got them Shave Ice. Junior carried it out of the store and both their moths dropped in awe of the massiveness of the thing. They sat down to eat it and immediately dropped half of it. Not to deterred they attempted to eat what was left only to get a couple of bites before the rest of it was spilled. They were beside themselves with greif. The lady was kind enough to give them another for free and they were so excited. We had people telling us watching the whole escapade was more entertaining than any movie.
Trips to town: We visited the swap meet, Pearl Harbor, the Zoo and Waikiki beach. Brayden was incredibly facinated with Pearl Harbo and couldve spent all day exploring the museum looking at all the displays but his brother wasn't having it. They loved swimming in the little sectioned of part of Waikiki and thought the Zoo was great fun.

Overall our trip was extremely fun. They enjoyed making carmel corn and pizza for Grandpa's birthday, being able to take baths in the kitchen sink, playing with the boys that rent downstairs and just being able to hang out with family. Thanks again Mom and Dad for putting up with us for almost a whole month! We can't wait to go back but knowing us, it'll probably be another two years. Oh well, at least we have a whole new set of memories to enjoy until then!