A Hawaiian Anniversary Celebration!

Damian and I never really got to spend any time by ourselves after he got home from Afghanistan, and we were needing a break... both of us, from the hectic regular schedule around here.  Plus... it was our anniversary and it gave us a good excuse!
Actually, Damian had it all planned out before he even really told me about it.  He knows me too well, and knew that if it wasn't already all taken care of that I would put the kabosch on it.  I'm always too worried about the expense, the rearranging of schedules, the leaving our kids... etc.  And we haven't left our kids at all since we took ONE night and went to Vegas for our birthdays to see Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian... oh, so long ago!  Braeden was only like a year and a half old, I think... (wow, my memory is really going to mush!) and we left them at Gma and Gpa Linda's.
Some of these are out of order, but for the most part, they tell the story of our visit... ;)
And you'll notice the quality of some of the pictures is CRAP, but there's a story for that, too!

Driving over the Pali Hwy is beautiful.  And I found that even though I felt less than conscious the last time we were in Hawaii (when I was pregnant with Braeden... blah) I remembered quite a bit of what I had seen!
Our flight got in super late on Saturday night, and we got up early to attend church in Kailua... not with his old ward, but at the old building... 
Anyway... TOTALLY on TIME for church at 9 a.m. with TIME TO SPARE!!!  (Wow... it's so surprising how LITTLE time it takes to get ready without the commotion of 3 little ones running circles around your legs!!)  
BUT... the gates were locked.  And they were locked at the building up the street.  STAKE CONFERENCE!!!  Seriously??  So we checked into going to some other wards, but it wasn't going to work... single wards, Tongan wards... etc.  So we gave in and headed to Stake Conference.  WELL worth it!  I was actually moved to tears at the very end where they were singing Aloha Oi to the temple president and his wife, and one of the area 70's, I think, that were leaving.  TEARS!  It was just beautiful.  (Damian gave me the oddest look, and asked if I was okay... duh!)
And amazingly enough, he recognized several people there, including his band instructor, and someone he met in AFGHANISTAN!
Afterward, we stayed around Kailua for the day, went past his schools, his home, and to the beach park... where the wind was blowing a gale!

Damian's elementary school!

I felt so awful when we were there before that I got LITERALLY NO pictures of where he used to live... in Kailua.  Nor did I get pictures of the beach park, etc.  But this time... a little redemption!  This is the driveway leading back to the house off the street.

And this is the house!  (Nice tan, Damian!  ;)  Good thing we were there to work on that a little!)

This is a little market just down the street from his old house... and we have a painting in our living room of this very place!  Looks just the same!

At Kailua Beach Park after church.  So windy... but amazing if you're kite surfing!!  (See the background?)

We literally had to put these 2 LOGS on our stuff to keep it from blowing away... see his shirt whipping in the wind?  Silly!

This is the lifeguard station there... we also have a painting of this... in the living room!

The beautiful view from our balcony of the Marriot in Waikiki!

Monday we ventured out around the North Shore to go snorkeling at Shark's Cove... (but no sharks there, I was assured!)  And after passing the pineapple fields, I made Damian pull over to do something silly...

I just HAD to take pictures of, and collect, a few of the pine cones that grow here!  Our kids LOVE stuff like this... rocks, sticks, leaves, pine cones, etc.  So, I gathered a few for them.  They are so soft... not like they're used to!  And I got a few from the Ironwood trees on the beach in Kailua, too.  And guess what???  The kids LOVED them and were so THANKFUL!  They just crack me up, but at least I know them well enough to know that they enjoy the simple things in life just as much as the commercialized junk!

A look at our ride for the week!

And then Damian got out to get me a couple of plumeria blooms!  I LOVE the smell!  Mmmm.  This place is so full of blooms... and beauty... and just the smell.... ahhhh.  Paradise!

I wish I could have kept these, but sadly they wilted and gave the car a wonderful smell while we were snorkeling! 

I have to admit that I was a little nervous when I read WHALES, but there were NO sharks, and NO whales!!

Beautiful, and so shallow inside of the break.

I guess I should start the camera story here...  Damian refused to let me take our new, big camera, so instead, we took his waterproof, weatherproof, etc. camera that he had with him in Afghanistan.  Well, let's just say that I was soooooo sad when it took a DIVE... (obviously NOT  AS waterproof as it should be)... RIGHT BEFORE WE SAW GIANT... and I mean GIANT sea turtles!  They were amazing!  I never... NEVER expected to see them inside the break, and I don't venture out beyond that, so we were very lucky!  Amazing creatures!  (And stuff like this is very hard for me because I don't really like the feeling I get being close to fish... and other things in the sea... it gives me goose-bumps...)

But it really is amazing to watch all the life under the sea!

So, we drove around seeing wonderful things after this WITHOUT a camera... which is when we realized that we were going to give in and just buy one of those CRAPPY disposable things.  Grrrr.  We also ate at the Grass Skirt Grill... wonderful food!

This is in the International Marketplace.  I really wanted to buy everything on this cart for Lexi and Ella, because I knew they would just LOVE it... (which is why when we go back and take them along, I don't know for sure that we'll take them near this place!  There are carts just like this and even more fabulous EVERYWHERE... TONS of them!), but I resisted buying them any of this stuff because when we asked them what they wanted as souvenirs, here were the responses:   Lexi:  FABRIC!!!  (If you don't already know, she loves and collects fabric!  She doesn't want to do anything with it... like put it together for a quilt, or a dress, or... anything... she just WANTS to HAVE it!  Silly girl!  So that's what she ended up with (and quite a bit of it... all Hawaiian print from the local fabric mart), along with a grass skirt set and a t-shirt.  Braeden:  a tiki football.  We weren't even sure what this was, and one was not to be found anywhere, so he had to settle for a tiki statue, a ukulele, and a Hawaiian word book that we got for all of us.  (He would ask Damian EVERY day if he was speaking Hawaiian yet.  He thought for sure we would come back speaking in a foreign language... why?  No one may ever know!!)  We also got him a surf t-shirt.  And Ella:  well, she didn't really give a response other than that she wanted a treat of some sort, so she got rock candy suckers, some native chewy candy that she didn't end up liking, a t-shirt, and a cute little purse.  She's ALWAYS up for any kind of accessory!  Plus a grass skirt, which she IMMEDIATELY put on!

Us with the Duke!

This is the ONLY good picture that silly camera took!  We went back to the Kailua Beach Park another day, too...   That's Damian standing out in the warm, clear water.  (Here's where we are out of order... because our anniversary, the 25th, was the day after snorkeling, and those pictures are to follow... surfing and dinner cruise!)

Below is Island Snow in Kailua. Yummy shave ice with ice cream at the bottom!

Below you'll see the Pali Lookout. The story is amazing... and so is the view, but it is always chilly and windy up there!

And here we go back in time a little... to our anniversary! We got up early to be at a surf lesson at 8 a.m. and I'm here to tell you that after 3 hours of the lesson... and the paddling... I was BEAT!!! Plus, I'm always so graceful, as most of you know... it was just lovely. And please no comments about me being as white or whiter than the breaking water around my feel! Please! It was just amazing that I got up a few times long enough to ride the 1 foot wave all the way in! ;) Seriously!

This is a picture of us and another couple from Japan... here on their honeymoon!  They were cute... and then AMAZED when we told them that we had been married for 9 years and had 3 kids!  Haha!

Hang loose, baby~!

Damian... despite living in Hawaii for 10 years, had never surfed.  How is that possible??  I don't know, but I do know this... he got up the FIRST TIME and every time after that.  And on his own, too... he only had to have one push from the instructor.  I'm sure... but I guess if you've got arms as big as his, they better be good for paddling, huh??!!??  (And if you're wondering... these surfing pictures in the water were taken by a professional... we paid for the CD afterwards!)

AMAZING!

Notice me and my Japanese friend cheering him on!  We may not have been able to communicate very much, but happiness is easy to share!

And this is what MOST of his pictures looked like.  Stinker!

And sadly... this is what MOST of mine looked like.  Blah!

More blah...

But a few times were like this!  Smile on my face... not so graceful, but still up and riding!  It is a fantastic feeling until you turn around and realize how far you have to paddle yourself back out.  But on this one Damian is chasing me, but missed the wave!  Boo!

Amazingly still alive afterward!

But barely!  See my knees, too??  So sore from getting up over and over... and over!  And I was so EXHAUSTED that I got one of my VERY WELL-DESERVED naps after lunch!  I could barely lift the fork from the plate to my mouth not only because my arms were sore, but also because I was so tired, but my stomach just wouldn't let me pass without some sustenance after a brutal beating like that!  So we crammed in a load of carbs at the Italian restaurant in the hotel.  We literally couldn't even go farther than that to get food... our legs wouldn't get us there!  So sad!!!  AND we had surf board rash on the inside of our arms.

I know there are some pictures trapped on Damian's Droid, but this is the only one I have access to right now.  Here we are getting ready to board the Honolulu Star for our dinner cruise... complete with lobster, steak, yummy sides, and virgin drinks!  We went out and around to Diamond Head and back, even got entertainment... hokie, but still... it was fun!  A very happy anniversary!  And all planned and taken care of by my very fabulous husband.  I don't give him nearly ENOUGH credit for all the wonderful things he does.  So... THANK YOU, Damian... you are AMAZING!

And thank you, again, Grandma Linda, for coming and staying... and caring for our little ones!