Enjoying Aloha

We are on our second day here in Hawaii.

Yesterday we kept everything pretty low key. We explored the resort and got to see many of the different creatures that live here on the grounds, like penguins, parrots and turtles. We went for a walk along the path on the beachfront and Noah spent some time getting his toes (and the rest of his body) wet. He was ready to fully submerge himself at 8:00am so we knew we better get him back for a nap so that he could go swimming after.



We spent the afternoon in one of the many pools and Daddy even took Noah down his first water slide! Then it was off to the lagoon so that Noah could dig in the sand and splash around.
He was in bed by 6:30 and I was still pretty exhausted from our travel day and couldn't stay awake past 8:30pm.

This morning we got up around 6:00 and Matt headed off with some of our other friends to hike up Diamond Head. I put Noah in the stroller and did a little shopping around the resort with my parents before stopping by the beach so Noah could do some digging with his new toys.

So far I'd say Noah is loving Hawaii.

I'm currently eating Mauna Loa chocolate covered macadamia nuts. It's safe to say that I'm loving it too!

The long plane ride to Hawaii...

Whew! What a long day of travelling. Going on a trip with a 1 year old is not for the faint of heart.

We left yesterday morning for the border, hitting up a few American stores before heading to the airport. First of all let me just say how happy I was to be flying a family friendly airline like Alaska and not Allegiant. Allegiants line ups were insane and nobody seemed to know what they were suppose to be doing and were all stressed out. No thank you, we will pass on travels with them.

"Lets get on it momma!"

We were incredibly fortunate to have a friendly airline employee do some switching around so that Noah could go from being a lap child to getting his very own seat for FREE. What a lifesaver that was! We had brought his car seat just in case and were able to use it for the flight. Noah understands what his car seat is for, so he was perfectly content being strapped into it while we travelled.

Tired but content baby on our flight.

Let me just say how much God answered our prayers! Noah was an absolute angel on the 6 hour flight. We were in the air from 4pm-10pm and get this, he never slept. He was awake and happy the entire time. I didn't even need half of the toys I had packed for him because he spent a good hour or two of the flight playing with two plastic cups that the flight attendant had given him. That being said, Matt and I still had basically no time to do whatever we wanted, but such is life travelling with a toddler.
His favourite part was when we were landing. He watched out the window saying "Óooo!" and "Was dat?" He thought it was great! Then we packed him into the stroller, got our luggage and headed to our hotel.

Checking into our suite at the Hilton

By the time he got to sleep it was 11:00pm and had had a total of 40 minutes of shut eye since 6:30 that morning. It was truly unbelievable that he was still a happy camper. What a trooper!

When we arrived we were all given a lei. Noah has been obsessed with these things ever since - and was wearing ALL of them this morning.

This morning we woke up to an absolutely beautiful view from our balcony over looking the Hilton Hawaiian Village lagoon with the ocean just behind. It's hot, it's sunny and it smells wonderful! It's currently 9:30 Hawaii time and since we've been up since 5:00am (silly time change) Noah is already passed out in his crib. I'm considering taking a nap myself as the rest of the family is off getting groceries. This afternoon we plan to hit up one of the many pools at the resort. Noah is just dying to get his toes in that water...

The view we woke up to this morning! Blessed.

Our tropical paradise

Yep, were going back! Today I booked flights for us to go to Hawaii this fall.

My family has loved Hawaii since our first visit over 10 years ago. But it became even more special 3 years ago when Matt and I got married there amongst a few close family and friends.
We are very excited to share this special place with our son, who will be a year old then and most likely able to toddle around on the beach. Oh the cuteness!

This time we are heading to the island of Oahu and staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. My parents and brothers will be there as well as a few of our friends. I can't wait!

After this trip we plan to take a year off and stick close to home. But of course I will probably be dreaming of and planning our next adventure. I can't help it! It's in my genes!