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.
Well a lot has been going on lately and I got behind on the posts. So this will combine several weeks of activities. But first the temple is finally finished. Just a few months after we moved here the temple was closed for some major renovations. We got to go just a few times before they closed it. 18 months later it will be re-opening. We got to take our kids through the open house. It was such a neat experience and so fun to take the family through, especially Gracie and show her the bride room and the ceiling rooms. She thought it was pretty neat. 
The kids outside the temple, waiting for our time to go through. We caught Gracie picking the flowers. 
Before the open house Gracie had a hula performance at the Dole Pineapple Plantation for Keiki Days. She did a great job as always and enjoyed a few of the festivities.
Gracie really wanted her "BFF" to come and watch her. Thanks Amanda for letting her come, it made Gracie's day. 
Gracie before the performance. 
We got the chance to go to the pumpkin patch with Gracie's girl scout group. That was a lot of fun. It was hot and dusty, but the kids got to go on a hay ride, and pick a pumpkin. They also go to learn about pumpkins. They thought it was really neat.
Gracie had another hula performance at Wahiawa General Hospital. It was community event and once again she loved performing. 
We got to meet Deven down in Waikiki over spring break. He was giving a lecture at a P.A. convention so we went down to support him and he had a little time in between, we decided to take the kids to the Aquarium. 
They got to touch starfish, and sea urchents. We had to keep Dylan from splashing in the water. 
My friends Tricia, Kaylani, and I our training for our first marathon. Tric and I got the chance to run a marathon readiness race over in Kailua. It was a 25K and we finished right at the beach. We took some pictures and then jumped in the ocean to cool off. It was a good experience for us. 
We of course went to the beach over spring break. I feel like we haven't been in a long time. The kids loved it!
We got to have a mini Halloween Party... kind of sorta... I was watching my friends kids and Gracie had wanted to have a Halloween Party, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to let them have some fun. We decorated cookies and made Halloween cards. The kids had fun and so did I. 
This is our new little stinker. He may look innocent here, but his personality is starting to really come out and he "naughty" We love him though. This is after he just spit all of his watermelon on the ground. He would put it in his mouth and then spit it on the floor. He thought he was so funny. I was trying to capture his smile right after he did it. He knew he was being a stinker and he would look at Gracie and I and laugh.... What do we do with Dylan?
