It's always hard to leave but this trip was especially tough.  I don't know if it was the fact that we were able to stay for so long or that we had our own place.  I think the combination of those two things made it seem more like we were living there than just vacationing.  What really struck me is how hard it is to pack my kids up and tell them they can see their cousins in a couple of years.  I'd love to watch them all grow up together.  We've just missed so much.  When I said goodbye to Kyle this time, I realized he'll be a teenager next time I see him.  What?  Wasn't I just holding him when he was a newborn!

Anyway, we spent the last full day there with family.  Breakfast at the Ihilani with Uncle and Aunty and then dinner at Aunty's house that night. 

Can you tell how Cameron was feeling in that last picture?  We don't need to re-live it, but let's just say he was up almost all night that night and was miserable on the plane the next day.  The overnight flight seemed like a good idea but when you throw Hand, Foot and Mouth into the mix, you get a cranky, pitiful two year-old and some tired parents. 

Regardless, we had a wonderful time and miss our family dearly.  I will never take for granted the fact that we get to go out as often as we do, but I'll always wish it could be more often.  There's something sweet about being part of a big family.  About traditions and customs.  About people who love you no matter what.  About history and sitting around just talking story.  Our next trip can't come quickly enough.

If our TV is on a cable station, it's most likely Food Network, ESPN, or PBS.  I love the Food Network!  One night my mom called about Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  It was being shot in  Hawaii and included Nico's at Pier 38.  After watching the show, we decided we HAD to eat there.  Fresh fish at reasonable prices?  Sign us up!

It was really crowded (we didn't quite make it there before the lunch rush) but we found some tables in the corner and enjoyed every last bite.

Mom had hamburger steak, Kevin had furikake ahi, Caleb had calamari, Cameron and Caitlyn shared an ahi sandwich and I had the deep fried moi. 

My moi before and after.  Yum.

It's amazing to think that the kids only got swimming lessons the week before we left for vacation...

A nice benefit of the tradewinds is that we were able to fly the kids' kites.  It made for a nice, leisurely outdoor activity while Cameron took his nap in the afternoons.

We don't have a whole lot of "movie nights" at home, but we do watch a little show called Wipeout.  I don't know how many people have caught on to it yet, but we've been watching it since last summer.  My kids think it is the most hilarious thing ever.  And Kevin and I enjoy it too, so we watch it as a family.  While we were in Hawaii we recorded it once or twice and had a family TV night.  The kids' one request?  Hurricane popcorn to eat while we watch!

Yes, more of Caitlyn...

As I was browsing through the pictures, I thought this was funny.  These were taken about 30 seconds apart.  First, she's "shooting her laser" at me.  Then, she's striking a pose.  She's got quite the personality!

Mom bought Cailtyn this adorable dress (well, tube top and skirt) and she loves it.  We just had to take a picture of her in it!  A friend from high school saw it on Facebook and said she looked like Lilo.  And I think she does!

Thinking about her as a Disney character reminded me that she used to look like Boo from Monsters, Inc.  I went back through some pictures and found this...

We spent almost one whole day visiting the Mighty Mo (USS Missouri) and the Pacific Aviation Museum.  It was especially fun because our group consisted of Uncle Miles, Keiko, Uncle Richard, Aunty Marilyn, Mom, Kevin, me and the kids.  We don't typically do a lot of "sight seeing" and we don't typically take a bigger group.  It was great.  The Pearl Harbor visitor's  center is undergoing a lot of changes and upgrades and we think it's really going to be a sight to see when it's all done.  They've made some great improvements.

We hopped on the bus and headed to the Mighty Mo first.  The kids did some exploring, some sitting, took some potty breaks...and some snack breaks, and then explored some more.  The highlight for the kids?  The big guns.  The thought that was great!  Caleb walked around with his tour recording and heard about the guns, ammunition and crew.  He loves those things.  Cameron just wanted to climb up and down the ladders on his own. 

Uncle Miles and Uncle Richard seemed to enjoy walking around with Kevin and checking everything out and talking story about the history of it all.  The Mighty Mo was active during WWII, the Korean War, was decommissioned and then reactivated for support during Operation Desert Storm.  It was also the site for the surrender of the Japanese during WWII.

After visiting the Mighty Mo, we hopped back on the bus and headed to the Pacific Aviation Museum.  The museum is relatively new and we had never been there to see it.  Somehow I didn't get pictures of the planes and only managed to get pictures of Cameron.  I like to think that once the kids are a little older and our outings don't involve so much running around after them, that maybe then I'll get some more reasonable picture taking. 

Poor Cameron was so tired.  We usually got him home for a nap but not today.  Thankfully he's pretty good about sleeping- all he needs is his blanket.  And it doesn't even matter which one.  He just needs A blanket.  So I ran into the gift shop and bought a shirt for Kevin.  I came back out, handed it to Cameron and said, "Here's your blanket, Cam.  Go night-night."  And he was out in a matter of minutes.  Crazy kid.

Sadly, we didn't get many pictures of us just playing on the beach.  I really wish we were better about pictures.  Anyway, here are just a couple.  We loved playing at the lagoons.  The kids preferred the pool because the water made them sticky.  (My feelings exactly.)  But they did enjoy making sandcastles and burying Kevin in the sand. (We carved a mermaid body around him.)  This day we also rented a pontoon to take out into the lagoon.  We even got my mom out into it for a bit.  We didn't see a whole lot of fish, but it was still a very nice day!