Hawaiian Paradise: Day 8 and after

On Friday, we packed up, played a couple games, and headed to the airport.  It was bitter sweet.  We were all excited to see our kids again, but leaving Hawaii was very difficult to do.  It truly is paradise.  I'm know my sister sometimes has to pinch herself to make sure she's not dreaming, and she's been there for 8 years. 

We loved our trip.  All of it.  It was incredible and so wonderful to be there with family.  Thank you mom and dad for taking us all! 

Our trip home was not devoid of glitches, but in the end it all worked out and we were reunited with our girls.  It was so good to hold them again and see their excitement.  After we got home and started settling into life again, we discovered that our absence had been very difficult for Avery.  She started wetting and messing her pants a few times a day, which lasted for about a week.  I'm sure it was scary for her not knowing where we were or if we were coming back.  She was extra clingy for a few days, but she seems to have gotten over it well.

My mom was able to stay with us an extra day, for which I am SO grateful!  On Sunday night, she noticed my eyes were really red, which I figured was just tiredness.  When I woke up the next day, my eyes burned.  In fact, they hurt so much during the night that I couldn't sleep.  I had to get up in the night to put drops in because they felt like sandpaper.  They hurt open and they hurt closed, so I just tried to find sleep somehow.  As I drove Keara to school, I couldn't even open my eyes.  It was the most dangerous drive I've ever been on.  My eyes burned so badly.  They felt horrible but I couldn't find relief.  Opened or closed, it was agony. 

Miraculously, I made it home and told my mom what was going on.  I went straight back to bed because any light burned so badly.  I had to be in the dark and I tried to find some sort of relief while she took care of the girls.  Unfortunately, she had an airplane to catch and I was supposed to take her.  Oh no!  There was no way I could drive 1 1/2 hours each way, when I couldn't even open my eyes for a second.  She is amazing and called an airport shuttle AND WALKED 3 miles to the pick up spot.  I felt horrible that she did that (thankfully, Braden got home and picked her up a few blocks from the pick up spot, so at least I felt better knowing she had made it).  She's wonder woman!

I went to the doctor that afternoon and he found I had keratitis...a staph infection caused by contacts.  I cannot tell you how grateful I am that this did not happen while we were in Hawaii.  I can't imagine.  Truly, if you can imagine how it would feel if someone pried your eyes open, forced you to stare at the sun for an hour, all the while rubbing your eyes with sandpaper...that's exactly what it felt like.  All light, but especially sunlight, was excrutiating.  I got on an antibiotic which brought swift relief.  By the next morning, the sandpaper feeling was gone.  But it took about a week before the light sensitivity went away.  It still is a little sensitive, but nothing like it was.  I also had to get a new prescription, and I can't wear contacts yet.  So I've been in glasses for 2 weeks, which is nice for a change, but also dizzying.  I'm not quite used to them still.

And so our Hawaiian Adventure ended.  It was the trip of a life time and the memories are so sweet.  Thanks for joining us on our journey!!

Hawaiian Paradise: Day 7

Girls! We all made it! We're coming home tomorrow!

This morning, daddy decided to jump out of an airplane and sky dive. I was nervous for him to do that, but we prayed about it and felt that it would be okay. So, he got a parachute on and went up in a small airplane with grandpa and aunt Laurie. He got some awesome pictures while he was jumping, so you'll get to see them. He said he loved it and it wasn't even scary! I would have been scared. I'm so very grateful that everything went well and he's okay.

He wore an appropriate shirt for the day...

The strangest part was that he jumped straight thru a cloud.  When he got to the ground, he was wet!  He said it was very cold in the cloud.

 Our view from the group...can you see those tiny specks in these next few pics?  Those are the first of the divers to appear out of the cloud.

 

He looks SO happy here.

Three crazies, living off a high

After skydiving, we went out for another shave ice. I got mango passion fruit again (called lilikoi in hawaiian) and it was SO SO SO good! I loved it! Maybe we can make some for you when we get home. Yum!

After that, we all went to a beach near Goat Island. It was INCREDIBLE! The sand was soft, there was no coral in the water, no fish, and AWESOME waves! Just what daddy was hoping for. It was so much fun. We boogy boarded (which means we were riding on the waves on a foam board) for a long, long time. 

having ridden the wave all the way in

getting slammed

fun wall of water!

I love my curly gurly

 Uncle Nicho rented a surf board and let everyone try surfing. Daddy and I were both able to try it out. I even got up 3 times! (Though nobody saw the first one, and only Daddy and Amanda saw the next two, so no one believes me...) It was so fun.  Though Nicho got stung by a man-o-war, which is like a jelly fish.  It really hurt, apparently.

showing everyone where the man-o-war wrapped around his arm

check out that unassuming yet painful tentacle

Daddy liked playing on the beach with the crabs with Amanda.  Crabs really do walk sideways and look very sneaky!  They dig holes in the sand and come out of them, push out some sand, look around, and then run back into their holes. 

We had a great time, one of our favorite parts of the trip.  Then we came home and got all cleaned up.  Heidi and her family came over for dinner, which was really nice.  We love spending time with them!  Aunt Laurie and Uncle Ben bought sushi and curry, Grandma got a rotisserie chicken, Uncle Nicho cooked up the fish Nate caught the other day when they went spear fishing, Heidi brought Broccoli Soup, and daddy and I put together mangos, bananas, and pineapple.  Yummy dinner!!

and apparently someone took a picture of me.  Here's proof I was there!

Now we are exhausted and ready for bed.  We love you and are so excited to see you tomorrow! 
Mom and Dad

Hawaiian Paradise: Day 5

Then there was today.

Oh my goodness.  That's all I can say to sum up our day today.  It was AMAZING!!! 

This morning, we headed over to Heidi and Nate's house.  Kezia, Ivy, and Elysse are very excited to see you all in June.  It was so fun to be with them today!  We headed over to Waimea Bay where the water was clear, beautiful, blue, and perfect. 

We did a little stand up paddling so Heidi could take some pictures.  She was making a new brochure for their business and needed a new picture.  We did our best, but I'm not sure we got any winners.

As I was standing there, Heidi yelled "Cheri!  Look at the dolphins!"  I turned and there were dolphins jumping out of the water way out there.  We headed in and daddy and I got on our snorkle gear and headed out toward the dolphins.  We had to swim a far far way and we thought we were almost toward them.  But then, suddenly daddy saw them behind us, really close to us!  We ducked under the water and were able to watch them swimming not far from us at all.  We followed them, watching them jump and spin above the water and swimming with them under the water.  We could even hear them clicking and squeaking under the water, which is how they talk to each other. It was so cool!  There were about 20 dolphins swimming together, including several babies.  Oh, I wish you could have seen that!  Daddy and I LOVED it.  It was like our own personal dolphin show, but the best we've ever seen!  This was definitely the highlight of the entire trip.  And who could've planned it?!

(Note: these are NOT pictures of the dolphins we saw.  Unfortunately, it was so spur of the moment that we didn't have a water camera.  So we had to get online and get pictures of spinner dolphins instead.) 

Then, we jumped off a really high rock, which was kind of scary but also really fun!  Even Kezia jumped off from the very top and Elysse jumped off from lower.  Brave girls!

We played a bit in the water with your cousins and then searched for sea shells with Ivy to bring to you. 

We went and got shave ice that was so delicious!  I got mango passionfruit and daddy got pineapple coconut.  It was great! 

For dinner, we got pizza and then talked with Heidi and Nate.  Now, we're sitting at our little house getting ready to go to bed.  We're so tired!  And sunburned...

We are excited to see you.  Can you believe its in just 4 more days?  So soon!!  We miss you and love you so much!  We are proud of you for doing so great with grandma.  Have a fantastic time!!  We love you!

Mom and Dad