March 2nd-10th: ALOHA!!!
This past month, we went on the MOST AMAZING vacation ever!! We went with Richard's parents to visit Uncle Brian and Aunt Sarah in Oahu, Hawaii. Uncle Brian is in the military, an he is currently stationed there.... so, we thought there would not be a better time to visit!! It was BEYOND amazing and there really are no words to describe how gorgeous and perfect Hawaii is!!
I was extremely nervous leading up to the trip.... 18 hours of travel, 5 hour time difference and one 14 month old.... it just sounded like a recipe for disaster. To my shock and pleasure, Blakely did beautifully!! She watched movies, snuggled with Mommy and Daddy, looked out the window and greated everyone on the plane with a perky little "hi!" She did great!
Highlights from the Month:
- Walking/running on her own everywhere!!
- Swam in the Pacific Ocean for the first time
- Stoop and recover... able to stand up in the middle of the room without anything to pull up on.
- First words are "Hi" and "Yeah!"... yes, this is my child. HA!
- Loves grilled cheese!! Would eat it for Breakfast if I let her.
- Does not like the texture of meat anymore... really struggling to get protein in her.
- Flew to Hawaii, Vacation rock star!!
- Met Mickey and Minnie!!
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After arriving in Hawaii at 7:45pm HI time ( 1am SC time)... we woke up REALLY early that first day. Like 4am early!
So.... we got up, got dressed and went for an adventure!! This is Blakely and her Daddy around 6am, waiting for the sunrise. |
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| My ABSOLUTE favorite part of the vacation was our morning walks. In the AM, the temperature is 70 degrees and gorgeous. Everyone is out swimming laps, jogging, doing yoga... you just HAVE to exercise. We would load up the stroller with baby and coffee and hit the trail. It is absolutely the most BEAUTIFUL walk you will ever take. Thinking about it right now, and I CANNOT wait to go back!!! |
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| Me and GrandAnnie on our morning walk and talk! Miss you guys!! |
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| GrandAnnie and GrandPop getting their first couple of minutes with their girl! I think they might have missed her.... and I KNOW Blakely had been missing them. |
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| I KNEW Blakely was going to love the water. She loves bath time, and she loves kids. This little girl is a water-bug just like her Mama! We had so much fun playing in the pool and ocean, floating on lazy river and going down all the water slides. It was like staying at a water park! |
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| We stayed at the Aulani Disney Resort, and it was amazing!! If you have kids, this is THE place to stay. Blakely had a great time... there were kids everywhere and everyone at the hotel was super kid friendly! |
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| GrandAnnie and GrandPop with Mickey and Minnie! |
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| The gorgeous view from our hotel in the AM!! The cliffs, the cove, the coast.... ***sigh*** |
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| This was the getaway our little family needed. Restful, relaxing and adventurous!! |
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| The North Shore: this is the where all the big surf competitions and movies take place... and it is INTENSE!! The waves are huge and formidable!! Being here, you have to stand in awe of the power of the ocean. |
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| This vacation with the Monk's was just spectacular!! Thank you guys so much for bringing us with you!! |
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| Shark cove: The barrier reef behind me protects this little cove from the harsh North Shore waves making it the best natural snorkeling on the island. |
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| We had lunch at the most amazing food truck... it had fresh Ahi Tuna, rice and black beans. Yum! But the best part was the wild chickens and peeps running around. They literally jumped on table, ran around our legs.... and Blakely went crazy!! She chased them around the parking lot!! So weird, but very memorable. |
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| Waimea Valley Botanical Gardens |
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| There is a gorgeous walk through the botanical gardens up to fall... I didn't know this, but Rich really loves plants! |
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| Waimea Falls |
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| The water was absolutely frigid.... BUT GORGEOUS!! Such a cool experience to swim in this waterfall, surrounded by paradise and these amazing natural cliffs!! ***ahhhh*** |
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| It gets deep really, really fast... in fact, they used to put on a diving show where divers dove 30 ft off the cliffs into the pool |
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| Miss AnnMarie and I snorkeled in this man made coral reef at the resort. It was like swimming in a beautiful salt water fish tank!! So cool!! |
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| Blakely got to watch Mommy and GrandAnnie snorkeling. |
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| Thursday night we went to the Paradise Cove Luau. It was an amazing and memorable night. The views were amazing!! |
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| Hawiaain natives taught us how to make flowered wreaths and bracelets. |
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| Richard got a native tattoo... which looked cool... but if you are having to lug a baby around, makes a HUGE mess! |
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| They had spear throwing... and NO ONE was hitting the target. Then Richard hit the target... TWICE!! |
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| Crazy Hawaiian Baby dancing at the Luau!! |
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| We went on canoe ride at sunset... and I saw a SEA TURTLE!! So beautiful. |
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| Shower of Flowers |
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| Blakely telling Daddy and Uncle Brian all about the roasted pig and the Hula dancers... she was super animated this evening, and telling us about everything. |
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| Blakely with her Uncle Brian |
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| Miss AnnMarie and volunteered for Hula lesson on stage! Miss AnnMarie was a natural... I on the other hand almost fell off the stage. HA! |
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| This picture quality is terrible... but Blakely loved being up on the stage in front of everyone... we might have ourselves a little Diva! She loves the spot light. |
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| Dancing Diva 1/3: During the Luau show Blakely went CRAZY!! She danced NON-STOP for 1 hour. People around us at one point in time stopped watching the show, and they were all watching Blakely. |
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| Dancing Diva 2/3: Blakely was dancing so hard... you literally had to lean back or you would get hit by her twisting. She was so cute!! |
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| Dancing Diva 3/3: This girl loves a Luau!! |
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| Fire dancer.... I'm a bit of a Pyro, so this was my favorite part! |
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| Hula show... which was amazing!! Paradise Cove is definitely the BEST Luau on the Island!! |
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| The gorgeous Hawaiian sunset!! This does not do it justice... it is breath taking!! One evening while watching the sunset, we watched a pair of humpback whales migrating south. So cool. |
This was our first vacation with the Monk family, and this was the MOST AMAZING vacation!! So glad we got to spend our week in paradise with GrandAnnie and GrandPop!! Love you guys!! Miss you already!! Can't wait for our next Adventure together!!
