We went to Hawaii for mid-winter break in February, and while this isn’t technically an adventure you could do with your kids in the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii is one non-stop flight away from Seattle and makes an amazing destination for a winter getaway. As you may already know, I grew up in Hawaii, and still have family and friends who live there, so it’s on our list of regular places to travel. Ever since my father passed away in 2011, we don’t have family accommodations to stay in, so we stay in hotels or vacation rentals. This is a bit weird for me, having grown up there, but I will say it does make the trip feel more “vacation-ey”. For this trip, we split our time between an AirBNB in Waikiki and the Disney Aulani resort on the west side of Oahu. It was our first time staying in Waikiki as a family, and we enjoyed the close proximity to the beach, yummy food, and the zoo.
My daughter looooooves elephants, and was quite distraught to learn that the elephants got moved from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, so we made a special trip to the Honolulu zoo so that she could see some elephants in person. She was pretty thrilled. We also checked out the Byodo-In Temple on the windward side of the island, as I had never been there. We ate some delicious Hawaiian food nearby at Waiahole Poi Factory. All of my favorites like lau lau, kalua pig, lomi salmon, and of course poi. Yummy!!!
The girls requested these crazy swimmable mermaid tails for Christmas, and their aunt was kind enough to indulge them. They tried out the mermaid tails in our hotel pool in Waikiki, though the little one wasn’t up for swimming much since the pool was kind of chilly! Here is the big girl:
It’s always great to catch up with my girlfriends from high school. We’ve known each other for the majority of our lives, only see each other once a year if we’re lucky, but always pick things up like no time has passed whenever we’re back together again. We’re looking forward to spending time together in Dayle’s beach house in 2018!!!
Now, it was time to move to the Aulani for the remainder of our trip. We knew that once we arrived there, we wouldn’t really be leaving except to go out for food. It was our second time staying there, and we looooooove it so very much. It’s such an amazing place for families with little kids. Our kids really love the pools and just want to swim all day long.
PRO TIP: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT pay the extra $1 to have Mickey ears added to your shave ice. They WILL fall off, and that WILL cause a tantrum. Eric says this photo series would’ve been better with a photo of the Mickey ear on the ground. Sorry. You’ll have to use your imagination.
But mostly, we had loads and loads of fun. The kids are all swimming really well after the literal thousands of dollars I’ve spent on lessons.
We had such an amazing trip. The kids are at an age where things are {mostly} super fun. I already can’t wait to go back, and incidentally, we’ve already booked our stay at the Aulani for mid-winter break 2018! Who wants to come with us?!
More from the “Adventures with kids in the PNW” series:
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We headed out to a Christmas tree farm as they hunted for the perfect tree for their home. We were all intrigued by the different varieties of trees they had available at the farm, beyond your standard Douglas fir or Noble fir available in the city. It can actually take a while to select your perfect tree, as there are so many variables to take into account. They have different varieties sprinkled throughout the farm, and then there are trees of different size. I believe the one they settled on was called a Nordmann fir, which had these beautiful, longer delicate-looking needles, and of course a fresh Christmas tree scent!
After the tree was secure we headed back home to decorate! I love seeing families dig out their ornament collection, and marvel at the significance of each ornament as they’re added to the tree. Kellie’s family was no exception, with homemade ornaments, photo ornaments of the kids as babies (they grow up SO fast!), and even dad’s track and field ornament from high school!
After the decorating was complete, there was lunch, being silly, building a swing (!!!) and of course lots of playing outside, which is always impressive to me, having grown up in Hawaii and being perpetually COLD!
Thank you, Kellie & family, for inviting me to document this very special day in the life of your family! I hope that decking your halls this year will be just as special!
This year I’m making these paper heart Valentines for my kids. Each day I cut out a heart for each kid and write something that I love about them, then tape them to the window in our dining room. I’ll do this everyday until Valentine’s day. The 3 year olds are pretty oblivious, but my 6 year old enjoys me reading her the hearts each day, and she even helps me out with suggestions. This was the first day, and now our window is nicely filled with hearts! Do you do anything fun for your kids for Valentine’s day? Do you celebrate Valentine’s day with your partner? I’d love to hear what you guys do!
