Pineapples and sunset Friday

Today we went to the Dole Plantation and enjoyed pineapple smoothies, lots of pineapple merchandise, and the World's Largest Maze! We only managed to find 6 of the 8 stencil stations setup throughout the maze, and finally gave up after an hour. The record holder did the entire maze in 8 minutes. :) We weren't quite 'record-breaking' material...LOL.

After the Dole Plantation, we headed to the North Shore. Mike and I were disappointed to find one of our favorite hamburger joints on the NS had closed, but we ate at the Kona Brewing Company and had a great lunch followed by great shave ice from Aoki's. While at the North Shore, we stopped at a beautiful beach to watch the waves and let the kids play in the surf to let off some steam. It was still too early to wait for sunset over the water, so we drove back to Honolulu and up to the west side of the island till the road ended, and then sat on the beach to wait for sunset. The Yokohama beach was wonderful - soft, endless sand, beautiful views, and rolling waves. Unfortunately, the clouds came out before sunset, and while the sunset was colorful, we never got to see the sun set over the endless ocean. Maybe next time. :)

Yesterday, we had a wonderful day at Pearl Harbor. What a moving place. The documentary shown before the boat ride to the Arizona Memorial was heart wrenching. I can't even imagine what it was like during those two hours. Such destruction...

We also toured the USS Bowfin submarine, the USS Missouri, and the Pacific Aviation Museum. It was definitely a full day, but a wonderful experience. We did have to laugh though because our 'body clocks' didn't wake us up as early as we thought and mom and aunt Judy were ready and waiting for us. They'll never let us forget. :)

Today was 'catch up - free day' so the kids begged us to take them in the ocean, and after that we went for a drive east of Waikiki, past Diamond Head, and up towards Kane'ohe. We ate dinner at the 'Top of Waikiki' restaurant, which has a revolving top so we could see the entire Waikiki area. Everyone enjoyed that.

Not sure what we have planned tomorrow. Maybe visit the North Shore. :)

I posted a few pictures from yesterday and today here. Enjoy!

We made it! We landed in Honolulu at about 2:20pm Hawaii time (which is EST - 6hrs). Mom's leg is pretty sore and continues to swell and cause pain, but I hope resting tonight and getting a good nights sleep will help her...and us, since Mike and I only had 2 hrs of sleep before we left.

Because of the time difference, we know we'll be up at an ungodly hour, so we plan on going to Pearl Harbor first thing to beat the crowds. Tonight Mike and I and the kids walked a bit then went to the Cheese Burger Restaurant for dinner. It was excellent, and what was funny was this is where we went when Michael Jr was 6 months old and he tried to eat a big chunk of pickle with his 4 baby teeth, and we were sure he was going to choke to death. :)

So an 'early' night for us tonight. Mike just got back from walking Jr down to the beach and Erica crashed about 10 minutes ago. We are going to bed soon too because while the clock says 8:36pm, our bodies say SLEEP NOW.

Will update tomorrow!

We're off! Mom is as good as can be expected. A trip to the ER revealed nothing but tissue damage...lots of damage and she'll be EXTREMELY sore, but nothing else, thank God. Her car didn't fair as well, but a car can be replaced -- people can't.

So after much ado yesterday, we are on our way!

TTFN!!

Leigh Ann

Leigh Ann here...

Mike took the dogs and kids to grandma's. I was using the quiet time to pack, when Mike calls to say my mom was in a car accident on her way to take her dog to the kennel. I spoke with mom, and she's OK (but she hasn't been checked yet), but I only spoke with her a few minutes before Mike got there to help her out and get her checked. I pray she is well...

Leigh here...

Our Fourth of July party was great yesterday! We always have a wonderful time visiting with friends and family! Our great friends are coming back today for lunch so we can finish up the food we have left from the party...LOL...then we have to be in full "getting ready for vacation'' mode. We send our hiking and snorkel gear ahead so we don't have to carry them onto a plane, so that is my mission today -- find a box big enough for the gear and get it ready to ship tomorrow. Also have to do laundry, get contact info together for family and neighbors, call the police to watch the house, find the car-seat travel bag, make sure all the bills are sent, and gather all of Tank and Peanut Brittle's things together for their stay at Grandma Margaret's. I'll wait to actually pack our bags till tomorrow when Mike and the kids take the dogs to Grandma's. The 5 hours of quiet will be a great time for me to hustle around the house and get things done!! :)

TTFN!

Work, work, work!

Trying to wrap things up at work! Much to do, but I had a few minutes tonight to confirm all the reservations, hotels, flights, cars, and make the helicopter reservation.

All is set from a paperwork point-of-view!

Yeah!