Rain, wind, clouds and yes finally some sunshine!!

The first 5 days of our holiday have gone by pretty quick.  It certainly got off to a shaky start.  First of all when we arrived at the airport last Wednesday, I had quite the scare.  Josh was parking the van and me and the kids and all the luggage were trying to get checked in.  I have always done the checking in while Josh parks so this is nothing new and I am always very organized, all the papers, passports, confirmations etc in the right places.  So I got out the confirmation numbers, filled in the customs papers and headed into the check-in line up.  I reached into the front pocket to grab our passports and pulled them out to count them (hey when you are dealing with 6 people, you count ALOT!!  So I counted 1,2,3,4,5......... 1,2,3,4,5.......a little panicky, reach back into the pocket - nothing.  Check the floor around us, nothing.  Check the pocket again - nothing.  So I check them to see who's is missing, it's Josh's we are missing.  Call him, he doesn't have it.  Get out of the check in line up and start to really panic, flight leaves in 2 hours and we still need to check in, clear security, clear customs and make at least 3 or 4 bathroom breaks.  SO I retrace my packing in my mind and then I have a flashback of me telling Josh to sign his passport (we just renewed them a few weeks ago).  So where is it?  Did I leave it at home?  I start to go through the backpack again and Low and behold, there it is, in a different pocket!!!!  Thank goodness.

So we check in, go through security where they kindly throw out my brand new shampoo and conditioner (my fault for putting it in the carryon by accident - when will I learn!!)  Then on to customs and off to the gate.  Yeah we survived the first leg.  Fly to Seattle then go get lunch as we have a 3 hour lay-over.  So about 45 minutes before we are supposed to take off we head to our gate.  If you have ever been to Seattle airport -it's big.  You have to tram to some gates.  So we find the gate we belong at.  Double check the boarding passes and sit down and wait for them boarding calls.  NOTHING.....now it is 20 minutes to take off and nothing.... so I go over to the gate and it says Maui - not Oahu??  I talk to the lady at the desk and she informs me that they moved gates...great we didn't know because our boarding passes were printed in vancouver..... and the gate is back at the other end of the airport.  So we and all our carry ons stroller kids etc go flying back to the tram, and find our new gate, we hopped on with about 12 minutes to spare.  A bit of a stressful start to the 6 hour plane ride!!  But from there the 6 hours were not too bad.  the kids were so good, many people even commented to us after, how well behaved they all were.  Leah was exhausted but she hung in there and she didn't barf all over me like she did last year!!

We got to the hotel a little late, put the kids in bed and settled in.  Then we woke up the next morning to a massive wind storm, like wind like you've never seen.  It was still warm but WOW!!  It was so windy you could not go out on the beach without being pelted with sand.  The next day it poured, and poured and poured.  We went the zoo in the rain - it was actually nice because the zoo was very quiet and because it was raining and not super hot all the animals were out and about.  We actually had a great time.  Got a little wet but still had fun.  The next day the sun arrived and it has kindly stuck around.

The resort is beautiful, the beach we are on is amazing.  the kids can snorkel right inside the bay and they have seen lots of fish and even a big sea turtle!!  I love running on the boardwalk.  It I lived in hawaii I am sure I would be in far better shape.  There is nothing more exhilarating than running in the early morning along the ocean boardwalk with the amazing smells, the warm breeze and the sound of the waves.  It is my favourite way to run!  It is very hard to go home and run on the treadmill after running outside in Hawaii!

Here are a couple of shots, they aren't the best but they give you an idea of what we have seen.
I am not a fan of any pictures of me - this picture is no exception to that, but I am rarely in any pictures so here is proof that I am here in Hawaii with my family on a cloudy day at the beach!

Two of my favourite people in all the world!

This is North beach at the tip of the island, it is where all the surf competitions happen - if you look close you can see a person in that wave, it was a pretty big wave!

The beginning of the sunset - taken from our deck.

Beautiful hawaiin sunset from our deck.

This is Oahu on a VERY windy day!

Zoe creating things in the sand! And a little Birdie in the rain, he didn't seem to mind it!!

I wanted to finish off by saying that I have kept up part of my news years resolution.  The first part of it was to do an act of service for at least one member of my family every day.  I have not gone particularly out of my way to do this because really all day every day, I am serving them, especially my kids.  Its my job and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I still look for ways to serve them, but I have continued to find things to be grateful for every day.  I try and think of things every day because when I do I am happier and have greater appreciation for all I am blessed with.  My thought of gratitude today is for my sense of smell.  I love fresh smells of nature and there are no shortage here in Hawaii.  First thing int he morning it smells amazing outside.  It is a combination of fresh sea air, flowers and wet plants.  It is amazing and I am grateful to be able to enjoy it!