Mele Kalikimaka!

That's right... we're back from our Christmas trip to Hawaii. It was glorious. Sunny. Warm. Need I say more? Hold your hats on... this is a long post!


The boys had a great time, starting with the eight hour flight!

He's one cool dude, ready for the sun! It was an overnight flight, and N and I got at most two hours of sleep. Yeah, that was fun.

We started out the trip with three days, just the four of us, in Waikiki to work out the jet lag before meeting the rest of my family. We had a couple of great days in the sand. The weather was beautiful. The very first night there, we saw this beautiful sunset.

The next day the boys and Daddy worked on their sand castle making skills.

They love the sand!

The last night we were in Waikiki, I requested dinner at the Cheesecake Factory... mmm... cheesecake. We got dressed up, put the boys in their matching Hawaiian shirts and then... jet lag set in.After they woke up we hit major melt down city. There was no cheesecake for anyone that night... no dinner either!

The next day we got ready for our flight to Maui. We told N we were going to take a "medium airplane." Then we saw our plane. We had to tell him we were wrong, it was a "small airplane!" Very small.

Yes, those are all the passengers. And the pilot/ flight attendant / baggage handler / gate agent. E would want me to tell you that it was a Cessna Caravan. N would want me to tell you he got his own row! We flew right over Diamond Head! Who needs a sightseeing flight?

Once we got to Maui and our amazing hotel, we got to know the place a bit... N found a camel to climb on.

e found a lounge chair...

and they both found their Grandpa and Grandma!

The pool at the hotel was awesome. It had slides, waterfalls, a cave, a rope bridge, and an amazing kiddie pool with a sandbox in the middle! Needless to say, we spent quite a lot of time there.

There was also this grassy area, with an amazing view that was perfect for playing football with Uncle T.

... or you could line up Crocs instead! (I wonder who he got that from...)

We had some amazing dinners, but my favorite was this great burger joint on the beach. The tables were right in the sand and there was even some live Hawaiian music. But the best part of the night is that the boys came out of their shells!

One day we took a ride on this boat that was part normal boat and part submarine. From the top we saw amazing views of the shoreline.

Downstairs you could look out the windows and see the coral reef and fish swimming by.

On Christmas Eve we went to a nice dinner right at the resort. Since we were all dressed up, we thought we needed a family photo of the amazing sunset.

Then N headed off to dinner with his best buddy, Uncle T.We ate sort of out on a patio of this really nice restaurant. White tablecloths, multiple forks, knives and spoons, beautiful China, and crayons, a highchair, and a booster seat! Sounds perfect! After N finished his meal, to my horror, he removed his booster seat from his chair, placed it in the grass just off the patio, sat down and began playing with his cars. Classy. But at least he was quiet while the rest of us finished our meal!

The next day, Christmas morning we opened our presents. Check out the little tree!

Both boys got one of these basket balls from Uncle T. (who else!) They were definitely the favorite gift!

Here is the view from our window on Christmas morning. God's gifts were so abundant, even giving us a rainbow to enjoy! Later that day the boys found a reindeer in the lobby... don't think it was Rudolf, but at least he was tame!

Our last day in Hawaii was a very special day. We started out with a helicopter ride. That's right, I said helicopter! E could barely contain his excitement. N wasn't so sure and didn't want to put on the mandatory life vest. But once he saw the helicopter, he was ready to go. He sat next to Grandpa and looked out the window intently before falling asleep on Grandpa's side.

The views were amazing, especially of some massive waterfalls. Again, I was blown away by God's creation!Here is a shot of our helicopter as e and I get out. He sat on my lap for the flight, and cried for the first half, but it was so loud no one could hear him!The people there were really nice to N and gave him this match box sized model of the helicopter we flew in... he has barely put it down since!

That night we went to a luau. There were drums and fire, ...but N was mostly interested in his four-car pile up!
The next day we headed for home. We were lamenting being back in Korea when we saw this beautiful Christmas tree reflected in a fountain at the Incheon airport, which helped to lift our spirits.

It was an amazing vacation that we won't soon forget! Thanks Dad and L!