Valley of the Temples

Here we are at the Valley of the Temples. It is a Buddhist temple on the North Shore of Oahu and is one of our favorite places to visit on the island. It is very peaceful and serene and has the most gorgeous views of the mountains. It is always a fantastic place to see.

Brayden ringing the bell.

"Shaka"

Buddha

Brayden felt the need to look extremely close to Koi fish in the pond and fell in head-first by doing so. Even his poor, little camera got soaked. As you can tell, he wasn't very happy.

The "Autograph" Tree

Still not happy because he's still wet!

Turtle Bay

On the north shore of Oahu, there is a beach called Turtle Bay. On this beach are about 10 large turtles that live in the shallow waters. Last year when we were there, the turtles were on the beach sunbathing and we weren't allowed to touch them. When we arrived at the bay this year, all of the turtles were in the water and we were allowed in with them. Brayden was so excited to get in with them that he got in with all of his clothes on. Luckily, they dried quickly afterwards. Brayden was totally enamored by all of the turtles and that he was actually allowed to touch their shells. We all had an amazing experience with these magnificent creatures.

Dole Plantation

One of our favorite things to do on Oahu is visiting Dole Plantation. They have the largest maze in the world shaped like a pineapple. Last year we didn't finish the maze due to children and heat exhaustion, but this year we were able to do it. Mike was determined to finish. We got through the maze in 1 hour and 1 minute. The record is 7 minutes - crazy, huh?!?! I'm glad that we did it because it made my adorable hubby very happy.

Brayden's favorite part of our visit to Dole was the Pineapple Express. We hopped on the train and toured the plantation to see how the pineapples were planted and harvested. Here are some pictures from our fun, little day -

YEA!!! We finished!

Mike and Brayden planning out route through the maze.

Which way to go?

I loved seeing all the different fruit planted throughout the plantation.

Beautiful Oahu.

Hawaii

This past week we were able to go to HAWAII for a much needed family vacation. We spent the week bathing in the sun, swimming with the fishes and touring the island to see everything it had to offer. It was a week filled with fun and excitement, but also paired with much exhaustion. We did so much, so fast, that it's actually hard to believe that we did it all in one week. I thank my dear, sweet hubby for working as hard as he does so that we could go on this fabulous vacation. I am grateful that Brayden gets to have these opportunities while he is young so that he learn about different places and about cultures that are so unlike our own.

There will be many posts with many photos. So, I hope you all bare with me because I am stoked to record and share all of these experiences with you. Hope you enjoy.

Our first day was mostly spent traveling. We left Reno at about 5 am Thursday morning so that we could be to our flight in Sacramento by 9 am. Instead of going to bed early the night before, I decided to stay up. For some odd reason I couldn't sleep, so I stayed up getting all of the loose ends tied up. Let me tell you that I was exhausted!!! Anyway, we arrived in Honolulu around 11 am and went straight to the Ko Olina (the resort that we stayed at). We spent the day grocery shopping and swimming and ended the day with a gorgeous sunset as we relaxed on the beach. That was the end of day one. More pictures to follow!

ALOHA!!!

In less than 72 hours, we will be on our way to the gorgeous island of Oahu. Swimming, snorkeling, shopping and sun bathing...can life get any better than that? Hope everyone has a great time at school and work, he he he. Peace, love and sun screen!