Aloha `oe

(This means Farewell to you)

I just took Erin to the airport :( It's been a great two weeks of old friendships, girl talk, beach, sun and tans. It's going to be hard to go back to the everyday life of cooking and cleaning and errands. Though I'm sure going back to winter in Victoria is going to be a lot harder for Erin. Ella, Ron and I are very sad to see her go but hopefully we'll get to visit the west coast in the spring.

Dear Auntie,

Thank you for coming to Hawai'i and hanging out with us. We loved the beach, the sun, the sightseeing and especially our tans...next time you'll have to stay longer so you can catch up to me and we can be the same color. I know Mommy and Daddy are very sad to see you go back, Daddy said he'd support you and Mommy for at least a month next time! :) Maybe by then I will have learned to kiss with my mouth closed and not drool all over your cheek. I will miss you. Until then, kipa hou mai`anake (come visit again, Auntie). Kisses to Auntie Sue, Uncle Stu, your sisters and the babies!

Love Ella

Sightseeing and Beaches

Erin, Ella and I spent the day in Waikiki on Friday walking through the International Marketplace and watching tourists spend ridiculous amounts of money on high-end shopping. Waikiki Beach was everything you see in a postcard, masses of bodies on every inch of sand so thick, you can barely see through them to the water...wow, sounds so relaxing?! We also walked through Chinatown, lots of authentic grocery stores.
We spent the whole weekend at Ko Olina, getting up early to picnic and spend the entire day working on our tans. Erin's determined to be the same color as Ella when she leaves! Though Ella is getting darker and darker every day despite the shade and the sunblock...she is loving the water so it's where she's getting her color from. Little kids love her and as Ron and I were letting her play in her floaty at the tide line, a little girl about 3, grabbed the handle and pulled her away... "I'm going to show my sister," she says as she's walking away. Ron had to chase her and follow her so Ella wouldn't get knocked over and drown...where is this kids' parents!!! Ella, of course, can't get enough of all the kids she sees playing. You know she's thinking, "How can I get out of this floating contraption and join them!"

Yesterday, we spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I love everything about new places. I love the culture of people who live there, the native way of life is beautiful. What I hate...tourists! The Center was a great educational place for all the Polynesian islands: Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, Marquesas, and Hawai'i. We toured the villages, saw a canoe pageant, ate at a Luau, and watched the fire show. It was beautiful, and the proceeds from the park support the Polynesian university - most of the performers and staff are students or instructors. But, being the most popular tourist event on Oahu, it was packed, and a total tourist trap. Ella loved the people and watched the shows fascinated with all the traditional dress and dances. She clapped along with the crowd too. I really shouldn't complain about mass tourism...we were them yesterday...

Beaches

Today we went to Hanauma Bay to snorkel and get some more sun. It was really windy and the large fish freaked Erin out so we didn't snorkel long. Ron stayed out of the water and watched Ella as Erin and I ventured out to the coral-bottomed water. I love seeing all the fish but didn't like being so close to the coral, touching things in the ocean freaks me out. With all the beautiful quiet beaches closer to home, it's hard to adjust to the masses of Asian tourists and mainland visitors that flock to Hanauma Bay, famous for snorkeling. After battling wind and scary freaky sea life we took a drive along the southern coast and found some amazing coastline....

Best Outfit Ever!

Today the girls went shopping and found some fabulous deals. Erin bought some sexy boots for under $20 and that was just the beginning of our hot bargains for the day. Karen gave Ella this cute sun dress this past summer when we were in Philadelphia and the matching bandanna has made it her cutest outfit so far....

Waianea

What a gorgeous coast line, up the west side of Oahu to Waianea....

North Shore

Spent the day driving around the North Shore and top half of the island.....

Beach Bums

We spent the day at the beach at Ko Olina and brought a picnic lunch. It was so relaxing and Erin and I got too much sun. The water is deep past the break water so the waves bring in the colder water. It's a little too cold to have Ella in for very long but luckily she had a cute beach wrap from Grandma to warm her up and protect her from the sun's rays...

Mountain Hike

Erin takes beautiful photographs. Today we hiked a bit up the summit of the mountain range on the base. It's breath-taking! Here is our Christmas present from my Grandfather...Ella's hiking backpack. We love it and it was so worth the splurge. Ella loved being up high and walking with the adults, and Ron loved running around with her. Here are some pictures of the day. Gorgeous!

Fun in the Sun

Erin arrived last night after midnight. Poor thing got stuck on the airplane for 2 hours while Vancouver airport cleared a single runway (yes only one runway for arriving and departing planes) because of some more snow. We relaxed all morning and then hit the beach at Ko Olina this afternoon. It's winter and the surf is up so it was fun to rock in the waves. The resort is sheltered by a breakwater so we don't see whitecaps but we get the tidal movement. It's like body surfing at those water parks. Fun Fun. The water is too cold for Ella as she has a bit of a runny nose, but Ron was more than happy to watch her while we body surfed.

Erin Arrives!!

Hi, Just a quick note, Erin is arriving tonight and we are so excited to visit with her and hang out for the next couple of weeks. Lots of things to do around the island and I'm looking forward to actually getting out to do some sightseeing. We will definitely be hitting a lot of beaches!
It's been a quiet couple of days, not much new with Ella and I. We are continuing to walk every night and it's been raining this week. I really don't mind walking in the rain and knowing that Ella is dry, it's perfectly fine for me. I ordered a jogging stroller as our walks are getting longer, it'll be much easier to steer and push, less pressure on my arms (especially the joints). Because we are in the mountains, we've had a lot of rain this past week but it looks like it'll be sunny again starting tomorrow... keep your fingers crossed!