All Our Goodbyes

On our final night in Hawaii we decided instead of swimming we would take a nature walk and say goodbye to all our favorites. Garrett was our narrator and Gannon was our sign language guide, waving goodbye to everything.

Final cocktails - goodbye yummy drinks!
Garrett explaining what we are looking at - arm gestures and all!

A quick swing in the hamock

I was walking ahead of the boys and they were pretty slow so I sat down on the little hill and next thing I know Gannon is running over to sit just like me, funny little guy. He just plopped down and started smiling.

Goodbye swinging bridge.

Goodbye whale.

Goodbye dolphins...Dave's favorite picture!

Gannon had to monkey on the fence to tell the dolphins goodbye also.

And goodbye sunset....we'll miss you!!!

Just Flowers!

The Big Island has lots of different climates depending on which side of the island you are on. Here are a few pictures of my favorites from the Hilo side as well as the Kona side.

Acupuncture Tree

Just pretty

I had no idea a cashew looked like this. The top part of the nut is very poisonous, learned something new on my zip line tour.

Hawaii's State Flower

Mommies Zipline Adventure

As you may know, I am a thrill seeker. The one adventure I wanted to experience while in Hawaii was a zip line tour. Shannon, Helen, and Karley also were excited to do this. We were a little slow in booking the tour and had one day before Helen flew back home so we booked for Sunday. Saturday after the guys got home from fishing Dave got an email about our dolphin visit, which was also going to be one Sunday...bummer! I of course wanted to join my family with the dolphins so I had to postpone my zip line tour until Tuesday, which meant I had to go alone. Oh well, I'm good with that too! I did have two other guys and their parents on my same tour so that was fun. I only have one picture because I obviously am not talented enough to take my own picture while flying over rivers and through the forest! We did 7 lines, 2 of which we did twice. The longest line was 1,100 feet. It was fun, but nothing will compare to skydiving!!!

Garrett's Favorite Time of Day in Hawaii

The first night we were at the pool when the sun set and Garrett was amazing. "Look the sun is orange!", "where is it going?" I never really thought about it, but until this trip our boys had never seen the sunset. The sun goes down in California a lot later than in Hawaii, at least in the summer. The sunset there was around 7:15 so we were almost always at the pool to watch or on a walk. Garrett LOVED watching it!

Almost gone - tiki's are lit!
He spotted the sunset and was ready to watch

Sitting on the rock wall enjoying the view (and drink)

Beautiful!!!

Dolphin Time

We were so lucky to spend a little time at Dolphin Quest where Dave used to work. He was very excited to share this experience with the boys and they loved it. Gannon of course had no fear and Garrett had a little reservations, but hey they are big creatures! Dave shared some of his old jokes and the trainer just thought he was a nerd!

We were a little shocked by this trick! I of course didn't see it coming and Gannon got a little scared.

Bite Me

Dave, Joe, and Calam took a man trip to go fishing on the "Bite Me" boat. Dave and Calam had never been fishing like this so they were all pretty excited. Dave figured since he was on a boat and still needed to work on his tan he would go ahead and take his shirt off for maximum exposure. I guess he didn't want to ask man to rub some sunscreen on him so see below! You can see exactly where he could reach around and was covered. Poor guy!

Anyway, after almost 3 hours of nothing Calam got a bite! He got strapped into the chair to reel in his catch. It was a nice Ono, which is a highly prized sports fisherman catch! Joe BBQ'd the fish for dinner that night for everyone and it was so delicious. Even Gannon was lovin it!

Volcanoes National Park

The park is located on the opposite side of the island than where we were staying so this was a long day trip. Garrett was very excited to see the volcano because the Wonder Pets have a volcano episode that he really likes. I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't understand why Hawaii's volcano was flat and not a mountain like the Wonder Pets, were were standing on the mountain! It was very cool to see the active volcano and sad that a house that we saw standing has since been taken by the lava flow. It would have been neat to see the red lava, but the only way to do that is by helicopter and the boys are quite ready for that ride.

We stopped at the visitor center and for fun I put the little ranger jacket on Gannon and he was instantly in love. I had no idea he was going to scream every time I tried to unzip and take it off. He would scream and pull the zipper back together! Funny guy is now going to be a "Junior Ranger" for Halloween this year!

Inside the lava tubes was very cool. To think the lava traveled this path through the earth making a huge tunnel is very cool. I know a nerd again! There was a lit section of the tube and another that you needed flashlights to continue in, trust me you NEED flashlights. We tried to keep going, but it was pitch black inside.

Total tourist jump out of there car for a picture at the entrance - nerds!

Outside Thurston's lava tube

Inside Thurston's Lava Tube

And a little tree lesson from our "Junior Ranger"

Akaka Falls

It's always amazing to see a beautiful water fall and this was one! As you can see this is the rain forest side of the island. (I don't know if that's what it really is, but that's what I'm calling it) Everything is so green and pretty.

Boys being silly sitting on a log

Um, Garrett didn't want to potty in the bathroom prior to our walk to the falls so of course as soon as we get back to it he has to go. This may have been his first time peeing outdoors.

Waipi'o Valley

This was the first stop on our day trip to Volcanoes National Park and it was a much needed one. Knowing the day was going to be a long one, we woke the boys up about an hour early to get an early start on the day. Still not too early, 8 o'clock out the door, but for Gannon's morning poop this didn't work! Now that he is older he won't poop in his car seat therefore our normally good quiet traveler fussed the entire 1 1/2 drive to this lookout. He had to poo! So sure enough once out of his seat he could take care of business and was much happier. I know crappy story for such a beautiful place!

Better than that is our potty trained Garrett. He had to potty before we got back in the car so I took him over to the restrooms, which had only one toilet and it was being used. I saw a port-a-potty and said oh, we'll just go use that one. "No Mommy, that's the icky kinda potty"! Oops, I forgot I explained those kind of potties to him on a previous trip so of course he had to wait for the real potty. I swear they are funny boys!

Gannon checking out the view

Karley, Shannon, Me, Helen, and little man!

Luau Time

We had booked the must see luau prior to our trip with Shannon's family and had made arrangements for a sitter for Gannon. We figured he wouldn't enjoy sitting for 3 hours and so Garrett got a special date with us. Karley, Shannon, Joe, and Calam

Making a fish out of a leaf
This part was hilarious, they were about to do the "pig" ceremony and Garrett was watching closely for the "pig". I wish I had taken a picture of his expression as he looked for the "pig". This was surely not the kind he was looking for. I was pretty funny, poor guy was traumatized.

Watching the show

Fire is always the best part, expect they had to pull a funny net in front of the guy so that kinda made it a little less exciting.

A-Bay for an Ocean Swim

We decided we should venture into the beautiful ocean for a swim and the boys of course loved that. Gannon swore the entire time he was big enough and didn't need to be held or in a floaty! Good thing we know better, silly guy! Fun thing about this morning was when Garrett had to go to the bathroom. I asked him if he need to pee or poo and he said pee so I told him I would take him in the water - the bathroom was a long walk away. We went far enough in and away from people and I said, "pee here Garrett, it's okay." I should have know better, "he started screaming, I need a toilet, I need a toilet!" Oh my how embarrassing, good thing no-one heard him. I guess that wasn't going to work, here Daddy he needs to go to the bathroom!