Farewell, Hawaii

You're probably heaving a sigh of relief. This is the last of the Hawaii posts.

We'll start off with one random picture (taken by Shelby at some point in the trip) of each of my loves.

Sunday, June 5

We went to church one last time in the morning. Then we went to the beach to have Shelby take some family pictures for us.

Here are some pictures I took of the kids. If you're wondering why there are so many more of the little girl, keep in mind that she is by far the most cooperative subject (and even then, I'm using the term cooperative quite loosely). Exhibit A: This is the first picture taken, right when we arrived at the beach.

Really? Tired of this already? Come on, give me a little smile.


Here's the willing subject. Yes, that's a much more accurate description than cooperative. Willing. Always very willing.

"Girls in white dresses. . ." (Had Fraulein Maria lived near an ocean I'm sure "Frolicking on beaches" would have made it into the song somewhere).




I really love that both her top and bottom teeth show when she smiles big.


Too bright for little brother too (maybe it's a boy thing?).
Now the family pictures. I have learned from previous experience that beach pictures tend to have wind problems and a sun in the eyes problems. (In fact, outdoor pictures in general have proven to have wind problems and sun in the eyes problems for us).
So we made some sacrifices. Sacrifice #1) Michelle opted for a side pony instead of lots of frustration with hair in the face. Sacrifice #2) Harrison's smile. As soon as we moved out of the shade, it was trying to smile through tears for this little guy.

To borrow an analogy from Cher in Clueless -- These pictures are a bit of a Monet. From far away they're OK, but up close they're a big old mess.

Actually from far away, I love them. And the mess part, well, that's just reality. So I love them anyway.

That afternoon Rachael & Shelby made us a full on luau for dinner. Kahlua Pig, Chicken Long Rice, Somen Salad, Pineapple, and Butter Mochi for dessert. It was a delicious way to end our trip.

We were very sad to say goodbye to the Colmans. Did I already say that staying with them made the trip so much more meaningful (and less expensive)? We are so, so grateful.

We took a red eye back home. The kids did great again. They slept on the plane, but were awake during the lay over in the middle of the night. We were all exhausted the day we got back. Harrison was very unhappy to be back in Colorado. He never adjusts well to coming home from vacation. I pointed out how pretty the mountains are and that they don't have mountains in Hawaii. He said, "Ya, but they have beaches, and geckos, and trampolines. And they do have mountains, Mom." Tu chet. But not mountains with snow. And lots of people here have trampolines. And we have air conditioning. And dry air. And an affordable house. And great public schools. I guess when you're little, none of those things matter. I'm just saying -- I LOVED visiting Hawaii, but I'm happy to live in Colorado!