Posts from — March 2016

March has arrived and in just 9 days we are headed to Hawaii for a family vacation.

March 3rd the Kamloops City Strummers performed for the Royal Inland Hospital N.L. 610 Radio “Foundation Radiothon”. Definitely a new experience for our group; performing while there was a Radiothon Fund Raiser going on.

However the major event in March was our Hawaii Family Vacation!

On Thursday March 8th we drove down to Kelowna to stay at the Kelowna Airport Sheraton prior to all of us flying to Hawaii. Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad arrived about 15 minutes before us and they were all over excited. After a few minutes getting settled in they headed to the swimming pool and had a bunch of fun:)

Friday morning was an early one, we all got up at about 4:50 a.m.. Jeff, Lindsay, Zachary and Oliver arrived at the airport just before 6:00 a.m. and then we all boarded the plane to Vancouver with a connection to Honolulu. This is a great picture of Kevin leading the way to the baggage claim area of HNL.

The flight to Honolulu was 6 hours and the time went by fairly quickly; plus due to favourable winds and we arrived in Hawaii a few minutes early. Once we got to the Aqua Pacific Monarch Hotel the kids and their parents quickly changed and they headed to the beach; since it was just before 3:00 p.m. local time.

Friday March 11th was a big day as it was Conrad’s 8th birthday. Happy Birthday Conrad!

There were so many things he wanted to do and see for the day and he got a lot accomplished being “Boss for the day”. In the evening we all got together for a birthday grab bag party and celebration. What a lot of fun and laughs.

On the first Sunday we went for a family photo shoot out at Magic Island which is part of Ala Moana Park. We are still sorting through all the photos the photographer shot and we may post a couple here once we decide on the ones we are getting.

Getting to Ala Moana Park involved catching the City Bus and here are a couple cousins pretty happy to be sitting together.

After this we settled into a regular Hawaii vacation which included time at the beach every day.

Generally nothing really planned and a pretty free flowing schedule for everyone. We are so fortunate to have all our family here and able to see everyone and spend some quality time together.

Saturday March 11th was a Honolulu Celebration with a parade. The parade was supposed to be about an hour or so, but it was so poorly planned out that there were 2 block long spaces between the entries, we finally gave up and went back to our rooms. However, that evening they had a fireworks presentation that is definitely the best fireworks show we have ever seen……. WOW !

Monday, all the ladies went and made flower leis at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. Aren’t they all beautiful!

Thursday March 17th was St. Patrick’s Day and another parade. This parade was a little shorter and a little better organized…. No evening fireworks though.

In the afternoon we visited Dukes Lane with Sage, Conrad, Tamara and Kevin. It was fun watching the kids amongst all the trinkets, stalls and many coloured displays. Conrad was trying to “photo bomb” every picture we took….. what a guy!

Friday, March 18 was the day selected for a tour around the island. Kevin and Jeff picked up the vehicles early and we were all on the road by 8:30 a.m.. First stop the Dole Pineapple Plantation. The day started out a little drizzly so it worked out great to spend time in the car. No, that’s not how we transported them around the island:)

Once at the Dole Plantation we rode the train and toured the site. The Dole Plantation staff was moving on Island Time but we finally got back on the road again and headed to Haleiwa for lunch.

After lunch we stopped near Bonzai Beach to watch the huge surf come in. It is very impressive. No surfers today as the wind and waves made it too choppy and uneven for the good guys and gals to get out there. We also stopped at some road side markets for fresh coconut, fruit and other Hawaiian treats.

From here we headed to Waimea Valley and a hike to the waterfalls and swimming hole. It was a pretty long hike and all the kids did real well with only a few “piggy-back” rides required to get there and back. Here are some great pictures of those brave enough to get into the colder water to swim in the pools and to the falls. You’ll notice everyone was required to wear a life jacket, they were handed out by life guards.

After this adventure the rest of the days kind of melded together and everyone got into their own routine whether it was off on another adventure or just sitting at the beach.

The final night the kids treated everyone to a family dinner/last night gathering at our room. Lots of Silliness, lots of laughs, lots of smiles and whole bunch of fun.

We had an absolutely amazing vacation and wonderful time with all our family.

We are so blessed!

Stay tuned for April adventures.