Hawaiian Vacation: Day 2

Day 2 we were up bright and early and ready to hit the beach.  And on our way to the car I nearly tripped over this puppy:

Yowser that thing was huge!

Before we left my sister in-law had given us 3 pages (typed!) of recommendations for beaches, hikes, restaurants and general directions. Taking it as an opportunity to not have to plan myself, we just took a few things from her list each day and tried them out (thanks Heidi!).  After eating at McDonald's (lame I know, but we had no food and were in the ghetto that is Wahiawa) for breakfast we headed to Waimea Beach.  When we arrived there was only a bunch of fisherman and an older couple we met from San Fran.  By the time we left that beach was jam packed and there wasn't a place to park! So we made a mental note to be at the beaches early each day to get a good parking spot and a good beach spot.

Waimea was gorgeous and even though we didn't have any snorkel gear we saw some turtles swimming right up near the shore.  We relaxed in the sand, swam a few times, and ate at the little food truck there.  Nachos with blue cheese crumbles?  Fancy!
A picture of the hot car for fun.

Next we headed across the street to the Waimea Valley botanical garden.  We were not prepared for the price ($30 for the two of us?  Ouch!) but it was beautiful and there were some really cool flowers and plants.  Now be prepared for eight million pictures of said flowers and plants.

We hiked to the falls (only about 1 mile and on an easy peasy trail), swam in the water, and looked at the ancient Hawaiian artifacts.

 That's my hubby up there!  And below is the coolest tree I've ever seen.

 And this tree, which I call Lord Voldemort's finger.  Not sure what it actually is. 

  It was such a beautiful drive all around the island.

On the way home we stopped at the Dole Plantation.  Had some yummy pineapple ice cream, looked at the beautiful gardens, fed some fish, posed in lame cutouts--you know, the touristy stuff. 

Every day around this same time we would be so exhausted we were ready for bed (late afternoon it was like 10 PM to us).  But we pressed on. We stopped on the way home to pick up food for breakfast for the remainder of our trip (since we had a full kitchen at the condo) and then went to dinner in Mililani.  Went home and relaxed before an early bedtime (again!).  

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On a side note I wanted to give a shout out to our friends Tim and Laura.  They are our old next door neighbors (and friends) and while we were gone it was the 2 year Angelversary of the passing of their daughter Mikayla.  Just wanted them to know we were thinking about them that day in Hawaii, we will never forget her, and love you!

Hawaiian Vacation: Day 1

Dropping my kids off was pretty rough.  I cried, I'll admit it.  But I knew that they'd be ok with their grandmas and aunts taking care of them.  And once we were in the airport, I was pretty giddy with excitement.  We stopped off at Cafe Rio and had some lunch and I was instantly feeling the relief of not having to take care of 2 kidlets at every turn.  Woo-hoo this is going to be a blast!

The flight was a long 6 hours but I read magazines, watched an in-flight movie--This Means War--and enjoyed some down time.  We arrived in Honolulu at around 2:15 PM and after getting our one checked bag, took the shuttle to Thrifty Car Rental.  I was surprising my hubby with a Mustang convertible and when the woman confirmed it with him he got the biggest grin on his face and was like "really? sweet".  And seriously folks, knowing my hubby, that is him getting pretty dang excited.  We got a 2013 cherry red Mustang and it was GORGEOUS.  And I know he loved driving it.  

We headed over to Waikiki and enjoyed figuring out where in the heck we were going.  (Side Note: If you go on vacation and do not have a smart phone I do not know how you get around!  The entire week we were there I would put in our destination and follow the step by step prompts, or just use the map and the little blue dot showing our current location.  I always had the iPhone in my hand in the car and am so grateful that we had it)   Aaanyway, we were both starving at this point, so we decided that we'd just have an early dinner then head to my brother's condo.  We ate at the Shore Bird Restaurant located at the Outrigger Reef Hotel on Waikiki Beach.  It is a BBQ style restaurant and we were sitting literally on the beach, it was gorgeous.  I had never been to a BBQ style restaurant before but basically what it means: you cook your own food.  They had a big salad bar which was good but my burger was kind of dry (sorry hon, I know you did your best!), the hub's steak was pretty good though.  And of course the grilled pineapple was to die for.  Then the cook told my hubby it came from California.  Ok then.

Grilling some pineapple.

After dinner we walked around the shops on Lewers street and I was having fun window shopping.  We ended up walking into this art gallery and saw some pieces by Peter Lik.  They are massive, beautiful photography portraits and they totally draw you in.

But all of a sudden we had gotten sucked into this presentation about the art and they were showing us pieces from our home state and...ugh.  I have no idea how that happened.  The art was amazing, but like I have that much cash to drop.  Anyway, the rule the rest of the trip was no more art galleries!  Ever!

We were getting pretty tired by then so we decided to head up to Mililani where my brother and his wife's condo is.  It was an easy drive and we literally crashed into bed the minute we got there.  I think it was like 8 when we went to bed.  HA!  Losers.  (Hey we were jet-lagged ok?)  Plus waking up at 6 AM the next morning ready for the day wasn't too shabby.

Day 2 to follow....

Hawaiian Vacation: Preparation

Hard to believe that we are already home from a week in Hawaii.  And funny how you instantly have to get back into the swing of things and then it's as if you never even went.  Oh but it was fun while it lasted.  I'm going to break down our trip into 2 day increments and tell you what we did...if only for my own sake of journaling.  First I wanted to talk about what we did prior to the trip to get ready....and after thinking about it, it wasn't much!  Since this was a trip for me and my hubby--and no kids--we knew we could just kind of wing it.  My cousin asked me a few weeks before we left what we planned on doing and my response was, "Whatever the heck we want.  Because we can!" And that was the truth.  

We knew where we were staying: My brother and his wife's condo in Mililani.  

We knew what we were driving: I got a sweet deal from Discount Hawaii Car Rental on a Mustang Convertible (or similar--oh how I hoped it was not something similar).  It was a surprise for my hubby who thought we were getting a compact. This website was awesome and hooked us up-as in $300-$500 cheaper than what I was finding on all the travel/car rental websites! I highly recommend it and I am not getting paid or compensated in any way to say that.   :)

We generally knew we were going to do certain touristy things:  I have been to Oahu a couple of times but my hub had never been.  So we got tickets to the PCC, we were going to hike Diamond Head Crater, snorkel at Hanauma Bay, etc.  But we were also willing to add anything to the agenda at any time.  For some reason that was one of my favorite things about this trip.  It was EASY.

We knew what to pack.  Sunscreen, sunscreen and more sunscreen (and yet I still got sunburned...I will never learn).

We had a big stash of cash for spending.  Which probably is not the smartest thing to do but we did it anyway.  

The night before our trip and I was totally not excited like I thought I would be.  And I realized that was because I had never left my babies before.  Ever.  Not even for a night.  I cried myself to sleep that night worrying constantly that they would wonder where we went, or not have fun, or not sleep well, etc., etc. Then the time to leave finally came! 

Ready for the Beach

4 days until we head to paradise.  EEEK!!!! Here are some of my favorites, ready to go with me.

Ready for the Beach by ambernicole-22 featuring norma kamali swimwear

Old Navy short sleeve shirt
oldnavy.gap.com

Norma kamali swimwear
net-a-porter.com

Sparkly shoes
payless.com

Revlon nivea lip care
amazon.com

Sun care
drugstore.com

Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games): Suzanne Collins:...
amazon.com

My Mini-Me and an Ice Cream Cone Cake

Last week my daughter turned 4 years old.  I was so excited all morning for her and kept calling her the birthday girl--even put sprinkles on her waffle.

Gotta love the expression.  So all of a sudden she says to me, "Please stop saying it's my birthday."  I was like ok whatever, I can play it cool.  Then I suddenly had to laugh because that is exactly what I would say!  Literally.  I was kind of worried (not really worried, but you know concerned) that she wasn't going to enjoy her day. A few hours later she was talking about her party and excited so I was relieved to see that she was in fact still 4.  Not on the verge of being in her mid 30's.  :)  

The day of her actual birthday we went to her restaurant of choice for dinner (McD's.  Where else?) and then gave her her big gift.

 Here it comes....

 A new bike!  She was so surprised.  We kept asking her what she wanted for her birthday but she'd always say she didn't know.  So we got to do whatever we wanted.

 She loved it!

Then that weekend I did the most low-key (and easiest!) birthday party ever.  We met all of our family at a park, let the kids play, and did cake and ice cream sundaes.  It was a lot of fun and it felt great not to be worried about details, games, decor, etc.  I need that once in awhile.

 

Dad brought her flowers on her birthday and I so wish this photo was focused right!  Arg! Yes the hubby wears neon at work.  He's so on trend. lol

Happy Birthday baby girl!

Summer 2012

Hey all, how's your summer?  We are having a blast.  Instead of describing every detail I'll just share some pictures.  Ok and a few details.  We bought a small boat--it is so fun!  Perfect for our little family.  We took the kids on their first camping trip. It was a huge success!  Even though it is a lot of work, I can't wait to go again.  

Hope you're all soaking up the sun and enjoying the warm weather...I cry just thinking about winter.  These are all from my Instagram account (ambermomof2 is my screen name, come and join me!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Last Mother's Day my mom gave us tickets to Wicked for this month...and it finally came! It was so amazing, and fun to be with my mom and sister in-laws, who I love!

Winning Streak

I do not know how people blog in the summer. It is so hard! I just can't force myself to do it. Despite battling some sicknesses, we're having a great time. Things are just generally going well and I'm happy about that. Could have something to do with what my hubby picked up a couple of weeks ago:

Sorry for the weird angle, but this double jogging stroller has joined our family and I have never been so happy about a kid toy in my life. Running again is pure bliss (and I lost 3 pounds last week so yippee!).
It could also have something to do with the fact that I keep winning things. I enter giveaways all. the. time. And lately I'm having a great winning streak. First it was a $50 gift card to Target from the blog eighteen25, then it was tickets to the Princess Festival from Mama's on a Dime, then I won a spot at the Frugality Boot Camp given by Jordan at FunCheaporFree.com, and today I won a Bon Ami cleaning kit from Paisley Boulevard.  Time to enter the lottery right? Actually winning the lottery kinda scares me.
Anyway, I'm just really grateful for my little family and humbled by all that we are blessed with. Independence Day always brings these feelings out in me. We live in the greatest nation in the world. Hope you all have a great 4th.

My brother and dad meeting up for a bit in Afghanistan. Love my soldiers and can't wait for them to come home!