Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Well, you may be surprised to hear this but seven million people seem to have the right idea when they go to Hawaii each year. It's not just hype, people, it really is incredible. We had a really, really wonderful vacation with good weather, lots of sand (and red, streaking dirt), beautiful water, and great company. We adventured a bit, we beached a lot, Molly came back ten pounds heavier from the water weight she absorbed, Jack made a lot of train tracks in the sand, John finally learned to order pina coladas with no shame, my parents got transported (happily they say) back to the time when you don't get to go to the bathroom on your own and there are more crayons at the table than menus, and I just enjoyed (nearly) every minute. I will spare you all further gushing, because no one really wants to hear that, and you can just pretend that we hated it. All of it. Even the colorful fishies that we got to snorkel with. And that one eel (though even she was pretty).

We started our adventure on Oahu. It was very nice and I'm glad we got to Pearl Harbor and the north shore (and because we all watch too much tv, we checked out various LOST locations since we were swinging through). The weather wasn't great on our north shore day but coming from previously gloomy Seattle, it seemed like the brightest and warmest weather ever. 

Oh, but then we got to Kauai... and well, there are really no words. It's a beautiful slice of heaven and I loved it. We all loved it. The water, the sun, the hiking (that we mostly watched other people get to do), the waves, the waterfalls. And those wonderful fishies. It was stunning.

Jack's train track maker

This girl did more snorkeling than John (mostly because he didn't do any). She has officially become a better underwater swimmer than dog paddler. It's rad to watch her tackle waves. Wait'll she gets another gander at New England water later this summer, though. We may see more land lubbing then. 

This little man is the most intent sand sculptor... and has only a passing interest in the water. Mostly, his interest seems to be when I'm not there. When Grammy and Grampy take him to the beach, apparently he won't come out of the waves. When dad takes him in the water, it's all cool. With me? It's the sand or bust. 

This is the smattering I had time for tonight... my parents have most of the pictures and I'm sure there are a few on our phones. But, we're back, we're here, and our summer is off to a glorious start...