Hawaii Part 1 - Oahu

As promised, here is a recap of our trip to Hawaii to celebrate Melissa's parents' 40th Anniversary!  The party included the three of us, John / Roz, and Megan / Kevin.  We left early in the morning on Friday February 22nd and returned on March 3rd, visiting Oahu and the Big Island while we were there.  We brought home lots of pictures and many great memories.

It was an early morning the day of departure, but that didn't squelch Emma's high spirits.  It didn't hurt that she got to munch on a muffin the size of her head as soon as we got to the airport.

Emma loved Curious George on the iPad

Auntie Megan and Emma got their stretch on while being cooped up on the 8 hour flight. 

Did I mention it was an early morning?

After a long day of traveling, we eventually made it to warm, sunny Honolulu, HI.  Our hotel, the Outrigger Resort, was right on Waikiki Beach.  The view from the room was amazing!  

That is Waikiki beach on the lower right of the picture and Diamond Head in the distance.

A crib with a view!

For the most part, Emma slept pretty well on our trip, but the 4 hour time difference took some getting used to.  The first morning on the island Emma was up and at 'em and ready to roll at 4:30 in the morning.  I guess she was just excited to be in Hawaii!  So, we got up and headed out to the beach to catch the beautiful sunrise over the city of Honolulu and light up Diamond Head.

After the sun was up it was time to grab some food, and you can't beat a restaurant right on the beach.  And, according to Kevin, a buffet is the best kind of restaurant.  The Shorebird had both!  The other thing it had was pigeons.  Emma was not a fan of the flying rats.  The first time one flew past and landed on the ground near our table, she was terrified and from then on had her head on a swivel making sure they didn't venture too close.  This made eating tricky because (1) we often ate outside, (2) there were lots of birds everywhere, and (3) Emma was clearly not a fan.  After a couple of days we put Emma to task chasing off the birds and her favorite phrase quickly became, "shoo bird!"

After breakfast (and after everyone else woke up at a normal time) it was time to hit the beach!  We didn't have to go far to find it, since the ocean was the resort's backyard.  We staked out some chairs with an umbrella and soaked up the sun for the rest of the day.

 As you'll notice throughout these pictures, Emma didn't get to far away from her Grandma and Grandpa during the week.  Often her first words in the morning or after nap were, "Grampa, grampa.  Where grampa go?" At one point during the trip, Emma, for no particular reason, repeated "grampa, grampa, grampa, grampa." Jason asked Emma what other words she knew, to which Emma replied, "gramma, gramma, gramma."

Saturday afternoon we loaded up on a catamaran sailboat for a cruise out and around Diamond Head for a stunning view of Waikiki Beach and Honolulu.  As you'll see, we had a fearless captain. :)

The crew.



And our Captain!  She was actually driving for a couple of minutes.  

 The following day, Sunday, the rest of the family took off to tour Pearl Harbor and to make things easier, I stayed back with Emma.  I would have liked to have seen Pearl Harbor, but since I got to hang out on the beach all day with Emma, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. ;)

It was definitely a lazy day.

The rest of the crew visited Pearl Harbor Sunday morning. With headsets in tow, the group toured the museum, visitor center grounds, and took the ferry to the Pearl Harbor Memorial.  Melissa reports that it was a very educational and moving experience to relive the events that brought the United States into World War II.

 



The memorial itself was built as a bridge-like structure over the sunken USS Arizona.



Over one thousand crew members of the USS Arizona were among

 the first casualties of the War. The ship remains in the harbor.




When everyone returned from Pearl Harbor, I made my way down the beach to take a surfing lesson. Everyone else kicked their feet up and recovered from a long morning of touring.



Did I mention Emma loved hanging out with her Grandpa?

I'm not sure what's going on in this picture but its probably sugar induced and it makes me laugh.

Monday was a travel day as we took off for the island of Hawaii (a.k.a. the Big Island).  That will be part 2 of the Hawaii blog, so stay tuned!

Aloha from Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa and Emma

Cookie Baking - Valentine's Edition

It's no secret that we love our sweets in this house.  One of Melissa's favorite things to to is bake, and she is wasting no time passing on her affinity for goodies to Emma. :)  Valentine's Day provided a great opportunity for sugary arts and crafts time.  It was a 3 day affair:

Day 1:  The making of the sugar cookie dough.  The cookies were good - so don't get me wrong when I tell you they tasted a little funny and had a bit of an odd texture.  I know you're going to find that hard to believe since, as you can see below, the recipe was followed to a T with precision in measurements. ;)

"Oh no!"  Emma pointing out the mess.  

Day 2:  Rolling, cutting, baking, and eating of the dough.

The first of many "tastes"

Quite possibly the 20th of many "tastes".

Day 3: With the cookies cut and baked with care, the last thing to do is decorate (and, if you're Emma, "sample" frosting).

"Mommy, stop moving the spoon so I can get my fingers in there"

"Thank you!  Yummy"

Melissa gave a demonstration then handed over the knife and sprinkles.

Some of the sprinkles made it on the cookies.

As you can see by the frosting caked lips she was having a great time until the end when there were no more cookies to frost or frosting bowls to eat out of.

The goods!!!

Frosted and sampled - can you tell which cookie is Emma's? :)

The cookies were delicious and I was happy to be the benefactor of sugary arts and craft  / Mommy - Daughter time.  I anticipate many more floury, sugary, giggly, happy messes in our future and I couldn't be happier. :)  

Happy Valentine's Day with love from Minneapolis,

Jason, Melissa, and Emma!