Hawaii part 2

Waipio Valley

[These posts won't go in order of when we did everything in Hawaii.]

Like I said previously, after the tsunami passed, the rest of the vacation was amazing. I had mentioned before that I hadn't told people we were coming. It was so fun to surprise them. My parents and my sisters arrived 2 days after us. We decided to meet them in the lobby. When they finally pulled up, my little family hung back while my brother's family went and said hi. Then Matt and my kids and I held hands and quietly walked toward the front of the lobby where they were. The lobby is open front and back to the outside. So the sun was behind us which was nice, because we were able to get nice and close before they could see our faces. My sister Rachel noticed us first and came and tackled me with a great big hug. Then Kendra noticed Maya and she realized what was happening and came and tackled me as well. I got the reactions I hoped for. It was so fun!

Now on to our hiking adventures. We figured that on Sunday after church we would drive to the green side of the island and see some sites. The first place we drove to was Akaka Falls. Total hike time to get there and back to the cars (including stopping for pictures) was only about 30 minutes. They had a paved path and fence up (which made me feel better about my little ones hiking with us) so it wasn't a difficult hike, though there were a lot of steps.

Kendra walking with me and Seth. I was a little cranky at the beginning of the hike and she helped cheer me up.

It was a really pretty hike.

Once we got to the falls, instead of checking out the amazing views, the kids needed to check out the amazing climbing opportunities - a big old tree stump.

Akaka Falls

Left to right, back row then front: Me, Kendra, Rachel, Jason (with Blaine on his back), Maya, Bethany, Andrew, and Tyler

I don't know if Luke was just making a sily face for the camera or it was his reaction to some of the smooching pictures Matt and I had just taken.

After Akaka Falls we decided to stop on the way back and see Waipio Valley. (I hope I spelled it right.) I believe these are the valleys they shot for Jurassic Park scenery.

View from the parking area

Hanging out with my honey while the kids run up the crazy, steep hill

Me and my sister-in-law Tiffany

While I was chasing after Luke down the insane hill, my sister Rachel was the lucky one who got to hold a very cranky Seth for me.

All in all it was a beautiful day. I was content to have gotten some hiking and site seeing done and was happy to spend the rest of the vacation playing on the beaches. Those posts will be next. We have hundreds of pictures from this vacation so I'll post some more like I did this one and then I may do a slideshow for the sake of time and ease.