Hawaii - Mr. Mason's 4th video

Hawaii - Last Day

Well, dear readers...you may have noted a lack of blogging yesterday.  We literally did NOTHING!  It was heavenly but...not that exciting.  :)

Today, however, Will, Isaiah and Wayne surfed so that was definitely exciting enough for a post.

They all got up on their boards at least a couple of times even with sub-par waves.  Good job surfer boys!

To wrap up our great time here in paradise, we decided to document some memories.

Favorite Food
Jackie - Polynesian Cultural Center luau
Wayne - Kalua pig from Helena's
Will - Short ribs from Helena's
Jenna - Anything from Helena's
Isaiah - sticky rice and soy sauce

Favorite Activity
Jackie - Laying in the sun and swimming
Wayne - Turtle watching
Will - Surfing
Jenna - Pali Lookout
Isaiah - Surfing

Favorite Quote
Jackie - "Shut uuuup"
Wayne - "I want 5 rice, 4 rib and a pound of pork!"
Will - "Can I get egg with my omelet?"
Jenna - "Check the doc!"
Isaiah - "You calm down one time!"

Hawaii - Day Four

Good evening readers!  It's 9 PM here so midnight in Portland.  It feels like midnight here.  After Wayne's breakfast brunch, we left the resort at 11 AM and didn't get back until 7:15 PM.  What a long, fun day!  We took a long drive to Sandy Beach and then moved on to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the rest of the day.  We had a great tour guide named Phoebe.  She showed us so many cool things.  We got to see the traditional dress, language, dance, food and music of Polynesian cultures like Hawaii, Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, and New Zealand.  Isaiah really enjoyed himself so it was worth the heat and tired feet. :)  Some highlights:

Upon arrival back at the resort, we immediately went down to the pool for an evening cool-off.  It was much needed and felt great!  More tomorrow friends!  I'll leave you with the third installment of Mr. Mason's video blog:

Hawaii - Day Three

Well...day three pretty much ruled.  We started the day by heading to Laniakea beach to see if we could see any big turtles...guess what?  We did!

They were adorable...we saw at least a dozen turtles the size of a car tire...amazing.  We went from there to our favorite shave ice place on the North Shore, Matsumoto's and then made our way across the island to the Pali Hwy to check out a popular scenic lookout.  It was very high up, windy and beautiful!

Wayne decided to take his sight seeing to a new level...in a tree.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and in the ocean.  We're all happy, have mild sun-stroke and are ready to enjoy some Italian food for dinner.  Happy Friday!

ALOHA FRIENDS!

Day Two - Video blog from Mr. Mason

Here's Wayne's Day Two video blog for his 1st graders:

Hawaii - Day Two

Happy Day Two, Friends!  We had a full, exciting day!  We started the day at the Hau Tree -- our favorite breakfast spot. The restaurant essentially consists of a large courtyard with a giant tree growing in the middle.  There's a low metal gate around the periphery and on the other side of the gate - - the ocean! We were seated directly under the tree, next to the gate so we could see and hear the ocean as we shared fresh fruit, macadamia french toast and Isaiah's favorite - - fried rice and scrambled eggs.  

Our next destination (Isaiah's favorite of the day and maybe the entire trip), surf lessons!  Will and Isaiah went to meet their instructor and learn the basics while mom, Wayne and I spent some time shopping at the International Marketplace.  Wayne found special prizes for his 1st graders, mom found a very special ornament for her bff and I got a beautiful swimsuit cover-up.  We headed back to check on the boys' progress and found them wet, tired and extremely excited.  In just an hour and a half, they had both gotten up and ridden multiple waves.  They were so proud.  Here are a couple pics of the excitement.  

After the smashing success of surfing, we headed back to the hotel for some relaxation in the sun.  Will golfed and the rest of us just lounged by the pool.  Isaiah and I went down to the ocean to soak in the last couple hours of sun.  I read, he rolled around in the sand...it was great.  We made dinner in our condo and watched the sun set.  Isaiah was sore from all the paddling and his dad MAY HAVE forgotten to put sun block on his calves...oooops.  

I will post the day two video blog as soon as it finishes uploading - video files are giant and upload slowly on  hotel wireless.  :)

ALOHA FRIENDS!

Hawaii - Day One

Welllll...hellloooooo....there! Here we are once again.  We've got to keep meeting like this. :)

As usual, Wayne is insisting upon being brilliant and awesome by vlogging for his 1st grade class.  Since he's doing it anyway, I thought it would be fun for you all to see our first day in Hawaii from his vantage point.



So, that catches us up to about 5 PM.  We are sitting around deciding what to do for dinner and enjoying the  ocean breezes flowing through our cozy condo.  There will be hot tubbing in our future and probably an early bedtime.

Tomorrow, we have reservations at our favorite breakfast place in Waikiki - the Hau Tree restaurant.  After that, Will and Isaiah will be going to surf lessons and Wayne, mom and I will be shopping.  We will attempt to capture (on video) the glory of Will balancing on a skinny piece of wood in the ocean.

ALOHA friends!

Hey...readers...you excited?  Here comes Hawaii!!!!  Updates to begin in approximately 4 days!