Hula Recital

Gracie had her first Hula Recital on Sunday Sept 19, 2010. She did such a great job. She loved it. They had a "backstage" where she got to change costumes in a dressing room. We were not allowed backstage so she was on her own for the costume changes. (The teacher had a couple of moms assigned to each group of course). She did such a great job and loved performing on a big stage. It made her feel so good to get to have a dressing room. She kept talking about how much fun it was. We are so proud of you Gracie!!!
Gracie and her wonderful teacher Kanani.

Lanai Vacation...Sept 2010

Well it was time for another radiology retreat and this year it was held in Lanai. Of course we were going to tag a long it was a great excuse to see another island and spend some time as a family. Here we are at the airport of course bright and early Friday morning. The kids were excited.
WHAT!!! You want me to fly in that little airplane across the ocean. I am not going to lie I was a little nervous. But it was actually a nice little ride just a short 30 min plane ride and we arrived in Lanai.
This it the little airport in Lanai. It was about as big as a small grocery store.
We took a shuttle to our hotel. We were staying at the Four Season Resort The Lodge at Koele. We were greeted with hot towels and fresh pineapple juice. They even had a cup with a lid on it ready for Dylan. We were feeling pretty special LOL. There was a statue of Buda and the kids wanted to pick the money up off of it. We had to tell them they couldn't so we let them put a penny on it and "rub" his belly for good luck.
We took a shuttle ride to the other Four Seasons at Manele Bay. We didn't realize we were staying up in the mountains so we took the shuttle to the other hotel and that was were the beach was. The waves were a bit big for the kids to get in but it was still fun to sit under the umbrellas and play in the sand while they served us ice cold water. This is the home to spinner dolphins but we didn't get to see any. Deven did some snorkeling and it was a nice afternoon.
Gracie being funny and trying on dad's snorkel stuff.
We found this park in Lanai City. This is where the shuttle picked us up and dropped us off in town. The trees were so big and the kids had so much fun running around and trying to hide from Deven. Dylan was really getting into it. He thought he was so big.
This is a picture of the gardens at our hotel. They were so beautiful and relaxing. It was fun to be up in the mountains and have a change of scenery. Deven and I decided this would be a great "No KID" vacation. We loved having them with us but would love to go back by ourselves. The island is set up to be just that relaxing, but not a lot for the kids to do.
This is a picture of the stable at the hotel. the kids got to go meet the horses. Gracie was too afraid to go on a pony ride but it was still fun. We don't see many horses on Oahu.
Gracie got to go to the Keike adventures on Saturday. We dropped her off and the hotel taught them how to make leis. She got to feed fish and they made volcanoes down on the beach. She made a lot of friends and thought this was a pretty neat thing.
So Lanai City is so small this is how their street signs are labeled. Deven and I thought it was pretty funny.
We walked back to our hotel one night from the town. It was so relaxing. The people in the town were so friendly. They kept picking flowers from their yards and giving them to us as we walked by.
Arriving back to the hotel

The kids thought it was pretty neat that each of them were given a bath robe. They would wear them to the pool. Ok so may be Gracie thought it was pretty cool. Dylan didn't quite know what to think...
Dylan found the sun stick and put it on. At least he knew how to use it.



Just some pictures as we walked around the gardens.
Shipwreck Beach. We rented a jeep on our last day since most places you can only get to with 4 wheel drive. We took it to shipwreck beach. It is an old WW II ship that got stuck on the reef and it has been there ever since. The Island in the background here is Maui.



The water was so clear we saw this turtle swim right up to us.
The Garden of the Gods. This area was formed by the wind through the years and it is quite sacred to the island. It was pretty cool to see something different.
Photograph complimentary of Gracie
From up on top of here you could see the Island of Molokai.
This beach was another beach you could only get to with the jeep. No one was there it was so beautiful. But we were advised not to get in because of strong currents. It was really windy but so beautiful.


The Island in the background is Molokai.

It was a fun break, but fun to be home as well. Dylan doesn't sleep well on vacation and so by the end we were all sleep deprived and tired. But thanks Deven for letting us tag along on your retreat.