Monday - Magic Kingdom

On Monday, we awoke to heavy rain and wind as the northern bands of Tropical Storm Isaac hit us here in Orlando. Still, in the afternoon, we headed out to Magic Kingdom...

What a great decision! The rain had all but stopped by the time we arrived - and it stayed overcast, (relatively) cool, but very humid for the rest of the day... However, the park had very light crowds - apparently the rain overnight and into the mid morning kept people away. We arrived at around 1:00 and we were on Main Street heading out at ten as the fireworks were going off - having done everything we wanted to!

We started by riding the train. Then we got off at Fantasyland and rode the Dumbos twice. Next we headed to Tomorrowland where we road Buzz Lightyear and the People Mover. Then Geoff, Kate, and I rode Buzz two or three more times while Graham, Grant, Mom, and Bobby did Stitch's Great Escape. THen Graham, Grant, and I rode Space Mountain twice (walk on - no fast pass or child swap) whole Grandma, Grandpa, Geoff, and Kate rode the People Mover and the rockets (because Geoffrey spotted the elevator!) THen we all saw Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor.

We headed over to Liberty Square and had lunch at Harbor House, followed by a trip on the Haunted Mansion. I love the hitchhiking ghosts here - they do different tricks - like taking pictures of our faces and then "switching our heads...' Fun! They are digital projections and it is much cooler then home - good update!

Then we did Fantasyland - we rode Small World, which Kately LOVES - such a visual ride -  used our group fast pass (Graham's pass needed to be activated so we got a "sorry for the delay" fast pass for our whole party) on Peter Pan, then saw Mickey's Philharmagic and road the carousel. We used fast passes to ride WInnie the Pooh and then headed over to the train in Fantasy Land. Just before getting on the train, they took Geoff on Goofy's Barnstormer. He didn't like it much - but he tried!

We rode the Train to Frontierland and took turns riding Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. We finished the evening in Adventureland by riding Pirates of the Caribbean, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin - three times without getting off! - and The Jungle Cruise.

Bck on Main Street, Graham did some shopping and we watched the fireworks. Poor Geoffrey was so tired he fell asleep before they ended! We took the monorail back to the Polynesian and visited Captain Cooke's - where they have dole whip on tap! Yes! What a perfect treat to end the day!

Sunday - Fun Day

On Sunday, we headed out to the Outlet center. we were on a quest to find Geoffrey some Doc McStuffins characters - Particularly Stuffy, but Chilly and Lambie would be cool, too. No one seems to have them, so we may just end up getting them online. We did get Geoffrey some cool green sandal crocs, and we got some pillow pals from the character warehouse.

We also spent some time watching the weather channel - Tropical Storm isaac was expected to hit the tip of Florida tonight and into tomorrow so we spent time watching it form, as well as playing games like Scattegories and Mario Party.

Graham flew in late Sunday night!

Saturday - Animal Kingdom

Saturday was a great day at the Animal Kingdom! We arrived in the early afternoon and saw "It's Tough to be a Bug."

We enjoyed an awesome safari - the giraffes were SO CLOSE to the vehicles - in fact, we were stopped on the savannah for some time as the giraffes were blocking the jeep in front of ours! We saw the Legend of the Lion King and then had lunch at flame tree bbq (I actually met them there and got a roast beef pita with cucumber mint sauce from a small "snack" window at the edge of Africa - yum!). We saw Nemo, the musical, and then split up - Grandpa Bobby took Geoffrey to ride Triceratop Spin and play inthe bone yard while Grant, Mom, KAtelyn and I went to Expedition Everest. We had figured we would do child swap, but the line was a walk on - so swapping ride partners while one waited with Katelyn, we each rode four times!

We met up at Kilaminjaro Safari to do one more evening ride. As it was one of the last jeeps to leave our tour was a bit more leisurely. We had great luck with the animals - the white rhino was quite near the vehicle, we got to see the leopards running around, and we saw the female lion grooming and the male lion pacing!

What a perfect day! We came home and swam for a bit before having dinner and going to bed!

Thursday & Friday Animal Kingdom Lodge to Indian Creek

We decided to spend our last full day at Animal Kingdom Lodge enjoying the resort. We did the cookie decorating, and then spent the afternoon swimming - going down the slide, splashing, and having fun! We had skyline chili in our room, played Indiana Jones life and scatagories, and just hung out together.

We checked out on Friday. Grant and Bobby took all of our stuff to our new house while we hung out in the community hall playing and doing some art projects.

Then the boys picked us up and we all headed over to our rental house in the Indian Creek neighborhood. The house is very nice - a tract home. It was recently redone. It is four bedrooms on one floor. The garage has a pool table and a kinect set up in it. Geoffrey's room is decorated with Lightning McQueen and the other kids bedroom, is decorated with princesses. Grant and I have a room with a queen bed, and Katie is sleeping in our bathroom. The master bath, where mom and bobby are, has a nice big soaking tub. There is a pool in the back, and our house backs up to a nature reserve so it has a nicer view then, say, another house.

We had lunch at Cracker Barrel, and then we unpacked, swam, napped, and played at the park. We had dinner at Texas Road House, and then used a groupon to go mini golfing and feed alligators that they kept at the course. It was a late night but fun!

Wednesday- Disney's Hollywood Studios

On Wednesday we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was a nice, overcast day and never got too hot! Wwe saw a lot of the shows - Beauty and the Beast, Lights, Motors Action! Indiana Jones, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We also rode Star Tours, Thr Great Movie Ride, and TOwer of Terror. Geo even got some play time in the Honey I shrunk the audience play area!.

Geoff was so cute when we saw lights motors action - when Lightning McQueen came out he said, "but, but this is only a show for real cars!"

He was also very brave and went on Star Tours again!

Tuesday - EPCOT

The weather has been really unusual while we are here. For the most part not too hot. Lots of drizzly, overcast weather that really brings the temperature down. Last night at EPCOT was a good example. When we first arrived, it POURED for about 30 minutes. We went to innoventions and did our character meet (Mickey and Pluto today! Katelyn played with Pluto while Geoffrey got some Mickey time at the end. He is warming up to the characters - but he wants to play cat and mouse first and we don't always have time for that!) before heading out to Living with the Land. We got a child swap so Mom and Bobby and Grant could ride Soarin. WE all rode Living with the Land and then Geo, Kate, and I rode the land again, and the elevator and the escalators, while they did SOarin.

We met up at the Imagination Pavillion and rode Figment and then Captain EO (Geoffrey now "gets" 3-d glasses and he cringed whenever the empress came on with her creepy fingernails.

We headed over to the world showcase and did the Phineas and Ferb Adventure in Mexico and rode the Mexico boat ride. "This is like Small WOrld!" Geoffrey said. We ate dinner at the Mexico pavilion - yum!

WE headed to Norway and rode Maelstrom, and then to CHina to watch the Circle Vision. As we looked for a spot to watch Illuminations, Geoffrey fell asleep. As we waited for the show, I discovered Katelyn's little tooth had finally popped out! I had noticed earlier that it felt REALLY close - I mean it was pushing against that gum like no one's business. She was fussy - not horribly - but you could tell she wasn't feeling well - and now there her tooth is here! It is the bottom one on her right. I think the other one will be out soon, too.

After Illuminations, we went to see the American Adventure. THen we stopped at the Patisserie for some treats before heading out. Grnat and I decided to do a "quick" ride on Mission Space - but it turned out longer because the ride we were in line for broke down so we had to move to the other ready room and it ended up taking a LONG time. sigh.

I love EPCOT!

Monday - Typhoon Lagoon

On Monday, Mom and Bobby took a break while Grant, Geoff, Katelyn and I headed to Typhoon Lagoon. We had fun playing in the kid area - they had a little raft ride that Geoffrey did a few times. Then we rode in the Lazy River. Typhoon Lagoon is awesome because most of the slides don't have height limits and Geoffrey was able to go down them with his vest on. He went on one of the big tube rides (keelhaul falls?) with no problems!

Geoffrey's favorite - which surprised me - was when we spent time in the wave pool during the big huge waves. Along the side of the wave pool there are too body slides. I distinctly remember on our last visit saying that Geoffrey would probably enjoy these slides on his next visit, and he did! He rode them several times. THen the big waves started and we headed into the lagoon. Geoffrey LOVED getting bowled over by the big waves! Katelyn and I found a shady spot on the side of the wave pool. We would sit and splash and then stand up when the big wave came in. So fun!

Next, we rode the lazy river to the other side of the park and decided to check out the storm slides, which are the three body slides. With no height limit - we decided to give it a try and Geoffrey LOVED it. Grant and I took turns waiting with Katelyn and taking Geoffrey on the slides. SO FUN. Grant and I each got to go twice - and Geoffrey four times - before they closed the park due to a thunder storm - It was five and the park closed at 6. The storm moved in REALLY QUICKLY - and we ended up taking shelter rather far from our stuff. It moved out pretty quickly, too, but not fast enough for the park to reopen.

We headed back to our hotel where Grandpa Bobby had dinner ready. We ate, and then went down to look at the Savannah with night vision goggles. I checked out some board games from the community hall and played Yahtzee Jr. with Geoffrey and then Grant, Bobby, Mom, and I played Taboo.

Sunday - Pool and Magic Kingdom

Sunday Night is Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom, so we decided we were going to stay for that, so we opted to take it easy during the day. We headed to the pool and had a lot of fun swimming, sliding, and splashing. Katelyn loved sitting in the shallow parts with the water squirting nearby, or in the base of the water fall. Geoffrey had fun running around the splash areas and sliding down the slides. The kids started to get tired so we got ready to head back - and then the rain came in - and it POURED! We waited it out in the jacuzzi...

Back in our room, the kids napped and we ate some lunch. Grant and Bobby ran out to the grocery store.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 6:30, just as another storm came in, essentially shutting down all of the outside rides. We were in line for Dumbo so we played for a little bit bit Geoffrey had to go to the bathroom. The rain came pouring down and we jumped in line for Winnie the Pooh to wait out the rain - well, the rain stopped, but the line went on - it ended up being like a 40 minute wait! FOrtunately, there were lots of things in the queue for Geoffrey to play with! That queue is very interactive.

We road the tea cups, and then the People Mover. Geoffrey was getting braver, plus we got him a glow stick, so he enjoyed it this time! (Thank goodness. I LOVE the people mover!) More rain came in, but we did Carousel of Progress next so that worked out well. The fireworks were going as we exited the ride so we watched the rest of them. Next we went to Adventureland and rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Jungle Cruise, followed by DOle Whip.

Next, Grandma and Grandpa took the kids on the carousel while Grant and I rode Splash Mountain. Then Grandma, Grandpa, and Katelyn (who was asleep in the carrier on Grandpa)  rode the Haunted Mansion while Grant, Geoffrey and i rode small world. We closed out the evening jumping in line for Peter Pan!

Saturday - EPCOT

So we didn't back to the hotel until around 3:00 so we were pretty beat. The "morning" greeted us with a thunderstorm (In know, in the morning, weird, right?).  (We started waking up around 10… thanks, Geoffrey!) So we mosied, had a nice breakfast, and got into EPCOT around 3:00. We started out with a visit with Stitch, and then rode Mission Space.

Geoffrey, so far, has been quite the scardy cat. He bravely tries every ride, but we've had lots of tears about whether the ride will have "water falls" or "dark tunnels." Yesterday at Magic Kingdom he was scared of TTA (really - ? dark tunnels), so everytime we got on a new ride today he would ask if there were dark tunnels or waterfalls. However, he got on every ride, so that was good!

After Mission Space, we went over to Innoventions and did the Disney Visa character meet and greet  Minnie and Goofy were there! We went to Club Cool and had some soda, and then went over to The Seas pavilion and rode Finding Nemo. Geoffrey was so excited to see the dolphins and Katelyn was entranced by all of the fish!

We had lunch/dinner at the Land pavilion – Sunshine food court – yum! We rode Living With the Land boat ride next, followed by a trip with Figment in the Imagination Pavillion. Then we hurried over to Ellen's Energy Adventure and rode the last ride before Future World closed at 7:00. Next, Geoffrey went to play in the mission space playground while Grant, Bobby and I rode the green team, and then Grant and I rode the orange team.

With the park ready to close in about 15 minutes, Grant and Geoffrey decided to head out – they rode the monorail over to the Polynesian, had some dole whip, watched the fireworks and the monorails from the beach, and then headed back.

 

Friday

Today we headed for EPCOT - oops - I read the calendar wrong and thought EPCOT had extra magic hours tonight - it didn't - it had morning hours... so... we hopped on the monorail and headed to Magic Kingdom instead, which has evening extra magic hours until 2AM. A huge storm came in and it was quite rainy as we arrived. I got some Sorcerer cards on Main Street and then we headed for Tomorrowland.

We rode the TTA and then the Tomorrowland Speedway - which had no line because it was raining! Then we used fast passes to ride Buzz Lightyear.

Next, we checked out the new Flying DUmbos. So AWESOME - you walk into the queue which leads to the bigtop - a large indoor play area with plenty of seating - cool, air conditioned - fun. They give you a beeper, and when it is your turn to ride, you head up and only have a minimal wait. So cool the way that it works!

When we left Dumbos the sun had come out again and it was HOT! So.... we headed back to the hotel. We ate lunch and Geoffrey napped.

We arrived back at the Magic Kingdom around 9:00 PM.  It was pretty crowded when we first get back – Main Street was packed with people getting ready to watch the Electrical Parade. We headed back towards Frontierland. The Cast Member who had sold Grant and Bobby their tickets earlier today at the hotel had given them a fastpass to use for our whole party, so we decided to use it on Splash Mountain. Grant, Geoffrey, Mom, and Bobby went on first. Geoffrey didn't like it at all – and the waterfall at the end terrified him. Poor guy! But Daddy bought him a lollipop for being such a brave boy! Then mom and Grant and I rode It again, while Bobby waited. While we were on, the fireworks started, and Bobby found a neat spot to watch them with the kids – so Geoffrey was able to enjoy his lollipop while enjoying the show!

Next, we took turns riding Big Thunder Mountain – Geoffrey didn't want to ride it but he was happy with his lollipop so all was well.  

At 11, Extra Magic Hours began. We went over to Fantasy Land so Geoffrey could ride some rides. We did it's a small world, Mickey's Philharmagic, and the Carousel. Then we ate dinner at Cosmic Rays Starlight Café. After dinner, we took another spin on the carousel and I played a round of Sorcerer's ??? – the interactive card game. This was pretty cool – you walk up to these "portals" which are like digital screens placed in various locations – they are very subtle and you almost don't even see them until you activate them. It was fun to do at night because there wasn't a line at each portal so you had to search them out a bit. In my story, Hades had asked Mallificent to help him collect a crystal shard that would help him do something… evil… don't quite remember what – so I had to go to four different fantasy land locations and cast various spells using my spell cards. (you get five spell cards each day you go to the Magic Kingdom).  It is super neat – you hold up your card and the camera sees it and that is how you cast the spell! That was fun for me!

Finaly, we headed to Haunted Mansion which Bobby had wanted to ride all evening. They had a cool new graveyard as part of the queue now which was neat. We got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean at 1:55 AM and finished our night!  

Thursday

Here we are again - doing what we always say we want to do - just enjoying WDW property without even going to the parks! We enjoyed a delicious breakfast in our unit - pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage, and enjoyed watching the animals come back out on to the Savannah after their morning health check.

THen, we headed over to Boma for the free cookie decorating! We decorated giraffe shaped cookies with colored frosting, mini m&ms, sprinkles, and gummie candies. Next, we let Geoffrey play out on the playground for awhile while Katelyn took a nap, and then cooled off in THe Mara with some cold water.

Geoffrey opted not to get his face painted, so we headed to the buses and took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. It was another Geoffrey dream come true as we rode the monorails! Katelyn happily played in our new citi-mini stroller as we rode the Magic Kingdom resort monorail one and half times, and then getting off at the TTA and transferring to the EPCOT monorail. As we waited for the EPCOT monorail, the rain moved in really fast - even under the monorail overhang, the strong win blew the heavy rain right into us and we got nice and cool and damp!

We took the monorail to EPCOT and then the bus back to Animal Kingdom. Geoffrey fell asleep just as we got back to the resort so he took a nap while Katelyn played with her toys.

For dinner, Bobby G made Cincinnati chili which we had with hot dogs and spaghetti! Yum!

After dinner, we went to swim at the Samawati Springs pool. SO MUCH FUN! There was a kid splash zone that Geoff ran around for a few minutes, but mostly we loved going down the slides! We had a great time cooling off and splashing around!

Blizzard Beach, and Stuff...

So when we last met I was telling you about our Animal Kingdom check in. Our room was located at the far end of Kidani Village, almost right next to Jambo House. It was quite a walk to the lobby, pool, etc. We had requested a closer room, and they said they would have one available on Wednesday (the next day) and we could move if we wanted to...

Meanwhile, everyone woke up from their naps and we headed out to... RIDE THE MONORAIL!!!! We drove over to the TTC and rode the EPCOT monorail, then the Magic Kingdom Express monorail, then the EPCOT monorail again! Geoffrey was one happy camper! (Incidentally, he is also thrilled that EVERY bathroom on Disney property (public bathroom) has a "Geoffrey sized" sink!

We drove over to Crossroads and had dinner at Fuddruckers, and then headed back to our hotel to sleep!

On Wednesday, we woke up and packed - again - so that we could move rooms. The bellman  stored our stuff and we headed out to Blizzard Beach for the day! Geoffrey had fun in the kiddie area going down the slides - and then we loved floating around the lazy river. Katelyn thought this was great fun, and Geoffrey loved the cave and the sneezing alligator. We tried a bigger slide but it was a little intense and and Geoffrey didn't like it. We spent a little time in the wave pool and then headed back to our hotel.

Our new room is on the 2nd floor, which is the lobby floor, in the 2nd building past the lobby. It is right next to the door to WDW transportation, and it is only a few doors down from the community hall. GREAT location. Also, being lower means we can see the animals more clearly because the tops of the trees don't get in the way...

Once settled in, Geoffrey and Katelyn napped and then played with grandma and grandpa while Grant and I went back to Blizzard Beach for another hour and half. We went to the purple hill and road the mat slides, and then went down the innertube slide on the red slope. WE spent a long time in the wave pool then I did the tobaggan slide two more times. We closed out the park on the downhill double dipper...

Dinner arrived just as we did - Giordano's pizza and pasta - so yummy!

It is so neat to just glance out our window and see animals all of the time. It is also really cool to sit and notice all of the unique, subtle details there are throughout the room. There is an awesome sunset mural along the master bathroom - red tiles with silhouettes of animals walking along... The kitchen table has claw marks so it looks like a scratching post. the drawers on the dresser have engravings of animals like an elephant, a zebra, a toucan, and a buffalo. It is just full of the cutest little details!

Orlando!

We arrived in Orlando last night (or shall I say early this morning - we arrived at 12:30!) Our flights were good - we had a quick flight to Vegas, where we spent our hour and a half layover eating lunch, and stretching (Katelyn played with toys on her blanket while Geoff loved watching the conveyer belt take luggage on and off planes!) The second flight was full - but we had a row of three to ourselves so it was fine. Geoffrey napped for the first 2 1/2 hours and Katelyn slept for the last hour and a half (how would I live with out the ergo baby carrier for her to sleep in? Wonderful!)

Mom and Bobby picked us up and we headed to Spring Hill Suites for a quick night of sleep.

After we checked out, we headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to check in. Our room was not ready, and we aren't thrilled with the location - it is pretty far away from the pool and lobby - so we may move rooms tomorrow. We loved looking at the animals our on the savannah - Geoffrey spotted some zebras right away!

    While we waited for our room to be ready, we stopped at the community hall and played games and do crafts. They have some free crafts (making necklaces, coloring) and then they have some really cool - and reasonably priced crafts that make good souvenirs. We got Geoffrey a treasure chest for $3 - they gave us a box of sharpies and a box with sparkles and foam pieces that he could use to decorate the chest. We were so excited when he opened the box and found treasure! A gold necklace and a bunch of gold coins! What an awesome surprise! 

We headed over to Jambo House (the main part of the hotel - we are staying at Kidani Village where most of the DVC units are.) We had lunch at The Mara, the fast food restaurant, and then played on the playground for a little bit.

Our room ready, we headed back to Kidani Village and up to our room. It is really nice - Plenty of room - we have a two bedroom unit - with three full baths. We have a kitchen and a living area as well (so obviously Geoffrey feels more at home - ha ha!)

We got here at a good time as a thunderstorm has just rolled in - Its been raining softly for about an hour with the occasional roll of thunder and lightening. Everyone is taking a nap right now - except for me - ha! I want to go go go! Surprising since I didn't get tp bed until 2:30 last night!

Hotel in orlando

Tonight we are staying in a spring hill suite.


Omg! Geoffrey is so spoiled! He walked in to the hotel room and said, "but where is the living room? This is just the bedroom!" 😳

Sent from my iPhone

Monday - Last day in Hawaii

Our last day of our wonderful vacation began with a road trip! We decided to explore the last little end of the island - up the south west edge of the island. We stopped part way and explored a cave - Geoffrey thought this was pretty neat! Next, we heded all the way up to the end of the paved road, looking at the ocean and the drier side of the island. We found an interesting high rise condo unit out in the middle of no where that we thought was pretty interesting.

We dropped Donna off and took a quick trip to Walmart so that I could get some last minute souvenirs. Then, after Geoffrey's nap, we spent the afternoon down at our Ko-Olina beach, enjoying the water, building a sand canyon, and Geoffrey "surfed" the "waves" by riding in on a raft -  and then our lovely pool area where we cleaned off from the sand.

For dinner, we went to Roy's and ate outside right on the golf course. Although windy, we loved our table - all the way at the end. We had a beautiful view of the course, a lake, the Australian black swans, and later, the full moon in the beautiful sky. We really enjoyed Roy's. They brought out a complimentary plate for Geoffrey - a quesadilla with some oranges, celery, and carrots - and this was all he needed! Then, at dessert, they brought him a complimentary ice cream cookie! I was very impressed!

On Tuesday we packed and headed to the airport. We got a wheelchair for Donna and it was like a VIP experience.  Our wheel chair guy sky cabbed our bags, put them through the agricultural check for us, got us through the special x-ray line, got us a special shuttle, and onboard we went! Our flight took off an hour late (waiting for some bags from another flight) but it wasn't packed and our row of four had an empty seat, so we could spread out a little! Still, Katelyn stayed awake for almost the whole flight - she was SO BUSY - and Geoff only slept an hour. Luckily, the flight was only about 4 hours 45 minutes so all was well.

All in all, an amazing trip. Thank you so much, Gary and Donna, for this wonderful vacation!

Sunday - Hawaiian Railway

Only a few days left! Out in front of the resorts of Ko Olina, along the golf course, runs a set of train tracks, belonging to the Hawaiian Railray Society. Everyday, Geoffrey asked us if he could take the train - and today was the big day! They run trains every Sunday at 1 and 3 from Ewa, going two miles west and then back again on a 90 minute ride.

Before we went, though, we went down to the beach for a quick dip in the ocean. We were back at our hotel by 11 and on our way at 12. We got lunch to bring on the train and were all set to take the 1:00 train. We had a lot of fun, especially when we rode through the Ko Olina resorts where there were lots of people out waving as the train went by! At the half way point, they had everybody get up and switch sides so that we had a different view on the way back. Geoff fell asleep on the way back, but woke up shortly after we arrived at the station and happily looked at all of the trains in need of restoration in the train yard. We stayed until 3:00 to watch the train leave, then we jumped in our car and raced back to Ko Olina so that we could watch the train go by. We waved as the train passed us at the Ko Olina station, and then went up to our rooms to watch it on its return trip.

For dinner, we headed to Aulani and ate at the buffet. Most of the reviews said that it was overpriced and the food was not good. Well, it was overpriced, IMO, but the food was good. I enjoyed the sushi, the crab, the sweet potatoes, and - the desserts were delicious - in particular the macadamia nut caramel tart was heavenly! We had a great table - outside, near the bar where a live band was playing part of the time. We were also near the koi pond, so Geoff could visit the fish. It was just a lovely evening! Afterwards, we hit the gift shop and then said goodbye to Aulani.

Saturday - Waikiki

On Saturday, Grant, Geoff, Kate and I headed into Waikiki. We found some free parking - woohoo! And walked about 3/4 of a mile to the International Market Place. We bought some shirts and a dress for me, and then shared a smoothie and listened to some music. WE had lunch at Round Table and watched some Olympics while we ate. Next, we headed down to Waikiki beach where Grant and Geoffrey swam while Kate and I sat on the beach and talked with a couple from Texas and a man who lived on the beach - well except between the hours of 2 and 5 AM, when it is illegal to be on the beach.

Next, we started to head back towards our car. We found a shaved ice window and got a treat, and visited the koi fish at the Sheraton.Back at the car, we took a drive up the lush mountains behind Waikiki. The rain started up again, but despite it, we were treated to some beautiful views, as well as a full rainbow!

We met Gary and Donna at "The Alley," a restaurant attached to a bowling alley, and had some tasty fresh fish sandwiches and delicious garlic french fries. While we were there, Grant found a Monorail at a mall a mile away from where our dinner was! Bribery at its best! After dinner, at which Geoffrey was suspiciously well behaved, we went to the mall and rode the monorail - making Geoff extemely happy!

Friday - North Shore

On Friday, we all (except for Donna, who rested and swam at the pool) took a road trip to the North SHore. We visited a cool waterfal tucked behind a cemetary that was used as a filming location for Lost. Next, we stopped at a lookout along the old Pale road - we walked aways down the road and enjoyed the beautiful vistas. After lunch in a coffee shop, we drove along the North SHore, taking in the sights along the way, including Laie Point, town of Laie, Turtle Bay (We passed one area of the beach with a turtle right up on the sand!), Along Faarington Highway (with a stop at a playground once Geoffrey woke up to give us a chance to stretch our legs), past YMCA Camp Erdman (Dharmaville!) to the very end! We saw lots of beautiful and varying scenery!

After such a long day in the car, and with the Olympic Opening Ceremonies coming in TV, we decided to have dinner at the condo. Grant and Geoff shared pizza and Gary, Donna, and I got the Hawaiian place at the Ko Olina station center, and we enjoyed the Opening Ceremonies! GO USA!

Thursday - Beach Day

On Thursday, Donna and Gary headed for the ER - Donna's back was not getting any better from our boat trip along the Na Pali coast, and with our 6 hour flight looming in the near future, she decided to bite the bullet and see a doctor. Turns out she has a compression fracture on her vertebrae. Ouch! So she's supposed to not sit too much (ha ha) and take it easy, and it will hopefully heal in 4 - 6 weeks.

While they were gone, Grant, Geoff, Kate and I went to the beach here in Ko Olina. We had fun playing in the ocean and then at the pool, but towards the end, Geoffrey gave me quite the scare by jumping in the pool without his vest on (little stinker - he was mad because he had just gotten off time out and was NOT in a listening mood. He kept backing towards the pool even when I told him to stop, and then gave me his defiant look and jumped in.... sigh... he has been TESTING us this trip!)

Up in the room he went straight to nap (he was very over tired!) and fell asleep within five minutes. Donna and Gery came back while he was sleeping, so Gary, Grant, Katelyn and I went for a walk while Donna rested and Geoffrey napped. We walked over to the JW Marriott, where we found a cool pond with sting rays and hammerhead sharks in it. Next, we walked through Aulani and went to the open house to see their DVC villa on Open House. Cute, but small, in traditional DVC fashion. The Open House room had a lovely view of the pool area, though, so we got a clearer picture of the snorkel area, kids splash area, and the water slides.

We arrived back home just as Geoffrey woke up from his nap, and we headed out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. After a quick stop at Target, we headed back to the condo, dropping Grant and Geoffrey off at the JW Marriott to show Geoff the sting rays and sharks. On the way back, they stopped at the Mickey Mouse hotel and bought Geoffrey a Disney lollipop! It was some nice daddy/son time!

For dinner, we went to Outback steakhouse and then just relaxed at home.

Wednesday - Dole Plantation / Luau

On Wednesday, Gary, Grant, the kids and I headed to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Yup. Tourist Trap. But still, fun. The gift shop was annoying because of all the clerks calling out to you - "Come get a key to open the box and win a prize!" "Want your name in Hawaiian?" etc. The train was pretty fun, it was certainly interesting to hear the history of the pineapple on Hawaii. They had a huge pineapple hedge maze that was insanely awesome - It was hot so we only spent about 45 minutes in it, and we found 3 out of the 8 check points. We had lunch at their grill, which was okay, and finished off, of course, with Dole Whip Floats! Yum!

We went home to get Donna and change clothes and then headed to CHief's Luau at Sea Life Park. THr drive over was pretty, alongside the green mountains, through tunnels,  and by the gorgeous coastline. When we first arrived, we got to do a mini tour of sea life park - visiting the shark tank, the turtles, and the dolphins. Going into the Luau, we got leid, and then participated in some of the pre-luau activities. We made frond crowns, I got an airbrushed tattoo of a sun on my back, Geoffrey gathered sticks, and we watched the pig coming out of the ground ceremony... (ha ha, I can't remember the name!)

Most of the dinner was quite good - I would say with the exception of the instant mashed potatoes, everything was great! The show was awesome, too - excellent music, songs, dancers, and our host, The Chief, was very funny, but also cared that we knew about his culture! We had a great evening!

Wednesday - Dole Plantation / Luau

On Wednesday, Gary, Grant, the kids and I headed to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Yup. Tourist Trap. But still, fun. The gift shop was annoying because of all the clerks calling out to you - "Come get a key to open the box and win a prize!" "Want your name in Hawaiian?" etc. The train was pretty fun, it was certainly interesting to hear the history of the pineapple on Hawaii. They had a huge pineapple hedge maze that was insanely awesome - It was hot so we only spent about 45 minutes in it, and we found 3 out of the 8 check points. We had lunch at their grill, which was okay, and finished off, of course, with Dole Whip Floats! Yum!

We went home to get Donna and change clothes and then headed to CHief's Luau at Sea Life Park. THr drive over was pretty, alongside the green mountains, through tunnels,  and by the gorgeous coastline. When we first arrived, we got to do a mini tour of sea life park - visiting the shark tank, the turtles, and the dolphins. Going into the Luau, we got leid, and then participated in some of the pre-luau activities. We made frond crowns, I got an airbrushed tattoo of a sun on my back, Geoffrey gathered sticks, and we watched the pig coming out of the ground ceremony... (ha ha, I can't remember the name!)

Most of the dinner was quite good - I would say with the exception of the instant mashed potatoes, everything was great! The show was awesome, too - excellent music, songs, dancers, and our host, The Chief, was very funny, but also cared that we knew about his culture! We had a great evening!

Anniversary Dinner at Roy's

Plantation Ice Tea

Sushi Roll

Prix Fixe Menu:

Appetizer Sampler (rib, spring role, sashimi)

Entree (We both chose macadamia crusted fresh fish - mine ca,e with an essence of lobster accompaniment)

Dessert - Chocolate souffle

Plus an "Happy Anniversary" white chocolate mousse dessert.

 

Tuesday

Today was a nice easy day. We went down to the lagoon in front of our unit. The lagoons they built here at Ko Olina are very nice. Calm, clear, and beautiful. Grant and Gary did some snorkeling and said it was pretty good! We played in the water and in the sand, and then dried off under the palm trees.

Next, we went in the hotel pool for a bit to clean off the salt water. The pool was nice, a comfortable temperature, and had these built in rafts that you could lounge on.

We had lunch from McDonalds that Gary picked up for us, and then Geoffrey and Kate took naps, while Donna and Grant went to get groceries. We had dinner at Chili's and now we're just relaxing. Busy day tomorrow - Dole Plantation and a Luau!

P.S. Plantation Tea - Like an Arnold Palmer, but with pineapple juice instead of lemonade. Discovered this at Marriott in Kauai when the waiter accidentally got me one of these instead of an Arnold Palmer. Yeah for happy mistakes!

Sunday and Monday - Kauai - Oahu

Sunday was our last full day on Kauai. First we brought Geoff over to see Spouting Horn. Of course, he spent more time chasing chickens!

Next we grabbed lunch at a burger place, and then headed for the Hyatt to swim in their pool. While I was getting ready to get in I stepped on a bee and got stung! Ouch! Apparently, I am not allergic though as there was no swelling or anything. Just uncomfortable for a day. (Also, I didn't mention that I am broken out in hives. It started about a eek ago on my left arm and has spread to both arms, legs, lower back, and chest. ITCHY!

Anyways - the Hyatt. We started out swimming in the salt water lagoon and then went through the lazy river - it isn't a loop, it goes one way, but it was pretty with rock walls and waterfalls with caves behind them. Cool!

Back home Geoffrey napped and then we went to the Italian restaurant across the parking lot for dinner. It was ok. THen we walked down to the beach to watch the sunset and check for sea turtles.

On Sunday we flew over to Oahu. THe airport was hot and hectic. THe flight, quick ( Gary, Donna, Katelyn and I flew first class - $50 upgrade and that included two bags so that way we didn't have to pay for the bags) and we headed over to KoOlina. We are staying at the Beach Villas right next to Aulani. Ko Olina is awesome - beautiful bays and a few hotels along the strand. THis area will be built up like a Hawaiian Vegas - empty lots just waiting for new hotels to be built.

Our new unit is on the 9th floor. It has three bedrooms. We have a great view of Aulani out the window and from the balcony a view of our bay.  On one side of the main family room / kitchen is the master bedroom and bath where Donna and Gary are. To the left is another suite where Grant and Katelyn and I have one room and Geoffrey has the other.

Donna and Gary watched the kids while Grant and I went out to Roy's for our 7th Anniversary dinner! Dinner was DELICIOUS! We had a great time - just the two of us, talking together. Much needed.

Since the kids were both sleeping, we walked through Aulani before walking home. It is a beautiful resort. Very themed. The pool area is awesome and it felt magical just being at a Disney property. I don't know why but Disney just gives me tingles. It feels special...

What a fantastic anniversary!

 

Saturday - Poipu Beach

On Saturday we had another easy beach day at Poipu Beach. I did some snorkeling with Gary and Blake and Grant and the kids played in the water and on the playground. We had some shaved ice and enjoyed the late morning sunshine. Have I described Poipu Beach? Walking from our condo, the beach right in front of us ALWAYS has sea turtles. They

We had lunch at the condos, and then Geoffrey took his nap.

For dinner, we went to Tapas. The meal was delicious - lots of neat plates to choose from. For desert we went to Laperts and got ice cream.

All in all, a nice, relaxing day.

 

Saturday - North Shore

Wow! The days are just SAILING by! I can't believe it!

Today we went to the Hyatt just east of us here in Poipu to check it out. It is beautiful! The pool is amazing with lots of little coves and water falls. Past the pool they have a salt water lagoon. Katelyn was sleeping so she and I sat on a lounge chair while Grant and Geoffrey went on a floating tour around the salt water lagoon which was quite large. It even had kayaks on it! Gary met us there, having walked, and he tried out the hammocks while we waited for the boys.

Back at our condos, we had lunch over at Donna and Gary's - hot dogs, pineapple sausage, chips, Blake's homemade guac, beans, fruit, potato salad. Delicious!

Next, we all piled into the van and headed for the north shore. We timed this drive for Geoff's naps and this worked perfectly! We drove up to the Kiluaea lighthouse, Geoff and Katelyn waking up just as we arrived, and had some shaved ice while we were there. After our snack, we went to do Miniature GOlf at the Golf and Botanical Gardens. A beautiful course and lots of fun! Geoffrey had fun actually hitting the ball this time - although he walked his ball right up to the hole and then hit it in! The course was awesome with lots of waterfalls and lush plants all over!

When we finished golfing, we went to dinner at the Postcard Cafe in Hanalei, and had delicious fresh fish. The drive home was pretty easy because there was little traffic, but we were all pretty tired when we got home!

Thursday - Poipu Beach Day

I can't believe how fast time is flying! Today we just stuck close to home and played right here at Poipu Beach. Geoffrey likes the name Poipu because it sounds like Boy-Poo.. Really, this beach is awesome. THe baby beach lagoon is shallow the whole way - no more than 2 feet deep in the whole area. Just past the baby lagoon there is a small beach with bigger waved that Geoffrey liked to play in. Past that beach is the tombolo - or sandbar - and on the other side of that is a big beach with amazing snorkeling! We played in the water and took turns snorkeling and watching the kids. Katelyn loves sitting on the edge of the water and having the waves lap up to her feet. Here she could easily sit in a few inches of water and she loved it. Gary and Blake gor lunch from the Koloa food truck that we wanted to try - I had garlic shrimp that was delicious. We walked over to Brennikie's and gor some shaved ice with macadamia ice cream. Then Grant and Geoff went to play some more while Kate took a nap on me.

We walked back home and took showers and tried, unsuccessfully, to get Geoffrey to nap. Despite this, he was very good at dinner. We went to the Kalaheo Cafe. After dinner, we took a walk on the paths that wind through the community behind our units - there were lots of neat buildings in there, and a large grassy area with a beautiful path winding through it. Geoffrey was tired and Grant carried him part of the way home. We pointed up at the sky and told Geoffrey to look at the stars. He said. "Golly, look at all those stars!" So. Cute. 

wednesday - North Shore

On Wednesday, we drove to the North Shore to visit Tunnels Beach. It was about as far away as we could get! Katelyn slept all the way there, and Geoffrey watched iphone videos and games. They both di well for such a long ride! It took about 2 hours.

The beach was nice - it was overcast so it didn't get too hot. The beach was beautiful. Gentle, lapping waves, surrounded by lush green mountains - breathtaking. There was good snorkeling, with huge crevices in the reefs that were really cool. Geoffrey and Katelyn loved playing in the water. We stayed for almost two hours, until it started to rain.

We stopped in Hanalei on the way home and had lunch. The drive home went smoothly, too, with both kids sleeping all the way home. We stopped at a fruist stand on the way and got some fresh fruit and juice.

After showers and naps, we went to dinner at Keiki's Paradise, this time sitting out in the bar area. It was still rainy but we had a spot all huddles under an umbrella and except for a brief shower, the weather held off during our meal. I had delicious sliders - cheeseburger, crab cake, and khulua pork sandwich. Delicious! Katelyn slept through dinner. We've started asking Geoffrey how hungry he is {( little, medium, or a lot) and he has been pretty accurate so this helps us decide if we should order him a kids meal or not! THe rain really started to come down as we left so we went home to enjoy a rainy Hawaiian evening.

Tuesday

Today we headed out on a rainy drive to the Kauii Plantation railway at the Kilohana Plantation, and took a 40 minute train ride around the grounds. It sort of reminded me of "Living with the Land," because we got to see a bunch of different types of crops growing! Halfway through the ride, we got to stop to feed the pigs and goats. Geoffrey liked this part - he was pretty cranky today but this part he really enjoyed.

After the train ride, we ran a few errands and grabbed lunch before heading home... Geoffrey needed a nap today, for sure!

For dinner, we went to Merriman's which is in the same shopping area as Lappert's ice cream. While waiting for our food, Geoffrey played with some other kids. They gathered sticks to make an obstacle course / playground for the chickens. He didnt eat much and was still pretty obstinate tonight, but we survived!

Na Pali Coast

Today we took a boat tour along the Na Pali coast line. We used the tour group I had found that takes kids, Liko Kauaii. I was nervous about a 5 hour tour with Geoffrey, but he did great. TIme really flew, and we had fun!

The trip out took about 2 hours. We stopped in a pod of spinner dolphins who swam all around us - some of them even jumped and spinned out of the water! Amazing! Geoffrey LOVED seeing them! The coast line was breathtaking - dramatic cliffs, gorgeous colors. On the way out we were against the current and towards the end, the ride got really bumpy. Katelyn and I were sitting towards the back under shade, but Grant and Geoffrey were in the front, where it was the bumpiest. At first, Geoffrey loved this,  but as it got really bumpy, he started to get scared. They moved back to sit with us, but he was pretty nervous for awhile and ended up falling asleep on me. Katelyn did NOT like it when it was super bumpy, either. She was in my carrier and she squeezed with her arma and legs after each bump, and started to cry every once in awhile. I kept talking to her "b ump, bump, bump, weeeeeee - bump, bump, bump - weeeeeeee" and that calmed her down. Also, Donna, who was sitting up front as well, came down from one of those big bumps once and hurt her back - so we're all sort of concerned about what she is going to be feeling tomorrow! The fast, bumpy part lasted about 15 minutes, then we paused (during which time Geoff moved back to sit with me, and some others moved, too) and then another ten.

We turned around at this point making it almost all the way up the coast. Heading back we took in more detail. We went inside TWO sea caves - so cool - and under a water fall! Geoffrey slept through this, but he had done so well in the morning, and had gotten tl see all of those dolphins, so we thought it would be best to let him sleep a bit. Then we stopped to snorkel - I did wake up Geoff for this. At first he didn;t want to get in, but when he did, he loved it. Grant snorkeled and towed Geoff around on a boogie board (Geoff didn't see anything but he just liked swimming.) I took Katelyn in. I used the infant life vest, but I didn't fit it very well and she HATED it. SHe liked the water but couldn't get comfortable and she did ok at first but couldn't get comfortable when Grant took her and so she started crying. She did grat when she got out and Darrel, one of the crew members, held her while I got out.

The crew - Darrel and Rob, by the way, were awesome and super helpful.

After snorkeling we had lunch on the boat and then took about 45 minutes to get back to our boat dock. This was windy and bumpy again, and Geoffrey was nervous again, but he held Nonna's hand and leaned on my arm and he was a real trooper! Katelyn slept for this part so she was ok, too!

After our trip we headed home and rested for a while. Geoff tok that nap on the boat so he didn't nap again, but he rested and played. Then Gary joined us for a little walk to see a sea arch near our unit. Then we all drove to dinner at a brand new restaurant - the Kauai Island Brewery, and then went back to Lapperts for ice cream for dessert.  Sooooooo tired....

Sunday Snorkeling

Today we went to a small beach north of Poipu just next to Beach House Restaurant. After a stop at Snorkel Bob's, we grabbed our gear and headed over. This beach had almost no sand - very short beach area - but grassy areas over at the side. THe waves were pretty big. but we took Geoffrey out on the raft we bought and it worked SO WELL. At first, he wanted to play on the raft - but after falling in a few times he settled in for a ride with his eyes on the glass and he got to see lots of cool fish, coral, and rocks! They went in but Kate was happy on the grass with Nonna and Grandpa and Uncle Blake so I stayed out awhile longer and just enjoyed the peacefulness of snorkeling.

We got lunch at Sueko's - a little window next to a grocery store in Koloa... I got a Hawaiian plate with shrimp and mahi mahi. We ate over at Gary and Donna's unit and then came over to our place to nap. Geoffrey didn't fall asleep until 4:45! Grant and Gary made dinner - we had bought opah and crusted it with macadamia nuts, with rice and veggies. Blake grilled some onions up sweet with sugar - they were really good with the fish.

After dinner, we watched Lilo and Stitch - which of course was appropriate since the movie takes place on kauaii!

Saturday - Waimea Canyon

On Saturday we took a road trip up to Waimea Canyon. So beautiful! The colors were just incredible - reds,oranges, greens, purples, blues - just breath taking. We stopped on our way up and took in the view from many different vistas. We stopped for lunch at the little cafe toward the top. It was really cool to see the colors change from the morning to the afternoon!

On our way down, we stopped at JoJos Shaved Ice - a perfect afternoon treat!

After naps, we went to TomKat's grille for dinner - Grant and I split a Mahi-Mahi sandwich and a Macademina crusted Mahi-Mahi dinner  with this delicious passion fruit cream sauce. SO GOOD. Afterwards we drove out near the old Koloa sugar plantation and find a geocache! SO FUN!!!