The Big Island Hawaii - Part 4

After so many adventures, we took the next day to just relax at the Hilton.  We were staying at Kingsland, the vacation club part of the Hilton.  That morning, the guys went golfing while we decided to take a walk.

It was really windy!!

After that, the kids went to the kids club and made some shell bracelets. Great fine motor skill practicing!

Then, it was on to the pools! The Kingsland area where we were staying had some great pools (not crowded at all). 

They had waterfalls...

And waterslides...

Evan was able to do them by himself! Caitlin wasn't quite big enough for those, but they had a baby pool with one that they both had fun on together.

Even Ryan enjoyed the pool!

That night everyone went to the Luau at the Hilton.  It was actually a lot of fun. The food was good and the show was great. The kids LOVED it. It was an expensive indulgence for our trip but when in Hawaii...

Waiting for the show to start

One of the hula dancers... Caitlin was fascinated and obsessed by them.

The "cowboy" portion of the show... the guys were great hula dancers too.

And Evan loved the fire twirlers.

Caitlin got a picture with a hula girl after the show

And Evan wanted to meet the guys who twirled fire!

Family picture!

It was another great day in Hawaii and nice change of pace to just relax at the hotel!

The Big Island Hawaii - Part 3

After the green sand beach, we went to a nearby bakery for a treat.

It was so delicious! Then, we decided to go to the Black Sand beach nearby. It was supposed to be one of the best on the island and often has sea turtles. We were not disappointed.

Ryan was asleep when we got there but he woke up - didn't want to miss the turtles!

The Hammels!

Family pic

Kids loved watching the sea turtles

That was one of the highlights of the trip - just so neat to see a black sand beach and a bunch of sea turtles right there. We left just as the rain started for our LONG drive home.

The Big Island Hawaii - Part 2

The next part of our trip, we ventured all the way to the Southern Most Point of the US.  This is the same area where the green sand beach is located. I think I read somewhere that there are only 2 green sand beaches in the world: the one on the Big Island and one in the Galapagos. It's quite an adventure to get there. First, we drove about about 2.5 hours just to get to the parking area. From there, you either have to hike about 2 miles or you can pay some locals to take you in their pickup trucks. With the babies and kids, we opted for the trucks.  That was quite a roller coaster ride!!  After getting stuck once, we finally made it to the drop off. From there, it's a hike down to the actual beach.

There was a big storm about 2 days before we went so the water was really rough and muddy... not for swimming although a few brave souls did (not in our party). Instead, we had packed a picnic so we ate lunch and just enjoyed relaxing for a little while.

Ryan chilling on the green sand beach

Our picnic spot

Daddy and the kids

Me and the kids... you can see how the beach is kind of down in this bowl

Kids on the beach - I had a hard time capturing the green color of the sand, but trust me it's an olive green.

Here I finally got the color right in the picture. This was from the top of the bowl looking down.

After that, the truck returned to pick us up and take us back to our car. From there, we proceeded onto even more adventures that day!

Happy Birthday Oma!

Technically tomorrow is Oma's birthday but since the email goes out in the morning, I thought I better do the post today.

Happy Birthday Oma from Texas!

And then just to make it a slightly longer post, I'll include a few pics from my birthday which was just over a week ago!

The Big Island, Hawaii - Part One

Leading up to Hawaii was a little stressful - we just had a lot going on right before the trip and I'd left too many things to the last minute to pick up.  But, we got everything packed and a few hours of sleep before our 6:30am flight.  Everyone was excited and hopeful for some smooth flying. My mom and brother had flown here to Austin actually so that they could travel with us which was a HUGE help.  Trying to get all of us (think lots of luggage, 2 kids, 2 babies, 4 carseats) checked in, through security, and onto a plane was quite a sight to behold. But, once we made it on the plane, I think we all calmed down. 

After a layover in LA and a long flight across the Pacific, we finally arrived. Aloha!

The Kona airport is so unusual. It's all outdoors, no gates (just the steps up to the planes).  Very tropical! After getting our minivans, we went to Costco and stocked up on groceries, then back to the airport to pick up Mema and Papa! And finally on our way to our vacation club.  It had been a very long day so we all ate some dinner and went to bed pretty early.

The next day, we were all up REALLY early (considering 5am Hawaii time was 10am Austin time). We kind of checked out the hotel and unpacked. We found a beach nearby so we packed lunches and headed to Hapuna Beach. 

This was my favorite beach of the trip - great for kids and we all had a blast jumping the waves and body surfing. It had the added bonus of a couple showers for cleaning up after and bathrooms for potty and changing clothes. 

After the beach, we drove to Waipio Valley.  It has some gorgeous overlooks of the valley.  It takes 4 wheel drive to go down there so we just admired the view.

After that, we drove back through Waimea and stopped at a little brewhouse for dinner. It was EXCELLENT! Both the food and beer were great (for those drinking). It was a nice way to end our day before we headed back to the Hilton. Next up - Green and Black Sand beaches!

Caitlin starts Preschool

The week before we left for Hawaii, Caitlin started her school.  She is going on T/Th and has a great class. Her teacher is Ms. Nikki who is wonderful.  Here are a few snapshots of her on the first day. After this post, onto Hawaii!

Ryan Turns 6 Months!

I'm sure you are anxious to hear about and see pictures of Hawaii, but I have to do at least one post before then.  Ryan turned 6 months just before the trip so I want to get that in before I start on Hawaii (which I'm sure will be multiple posts).

I didn't take Ryan to the Dr. until this week because I knew he'd be getting shots and I didn't want to have him get those just before the trip.  At his 6 month appointment (which was almost 2 weeks late), he was 16 lbs, 15 ounces and 26.5 inches.  He seems like a much bigger boy than that!

This month he started sitting up all by himself (as you can see).  Officially, we are saying August 19th was the day he sat by himself.  He is really steady though now and rarely falls over unless reaching for a toy. He will often push himself up with his arms.

We also started introducing the cereals to him (8/11). At first, he wasn't a huge fan as he just wasn't sure what to do with that spoon!

We have done rice cereal, oatmeal, and multi-grain and he seems to eat them all the same.

But he can get pretty messy!

Ryan still loves to be on his tummy and usually rolls to it immediately. Although lately, he has been rolling around a lot (front to back and back to front) when you put him down, trying to get at various toys. He also does a lot of scooting backwards. Everything goes in his mouth!  I can already tell it will be a challenge with all the older kids toys and worrying about choking hazards once he is more mobile. It was nice not to have to worry about that with Evan and Caitlin being so close in age and not really having any toys with small parts!

We are still doing two naps a day although the morning one is usually really short since we are out and about 90% of the time. Fortunately, the afternoon one is usually about 2 hours.  He is still sleeping pretty well at night. I usually start his bath around 7:30pm and he will generally sleep until about 7am. 

Like the other kids, we did a little 6 month celebration for Ryan.  Life was very hectic since it was just 2 days before we left for Hawaii but I'd have felt horrible if I didn't do it for him (as I did for the older 2)

The kids helped me decorate with sprinkles... a little overboard on them maybe!

And just one more cute picture of Chelsea and Ryan - best buds! He doesn't even mind when she "walks all over him".  

And last but not least, the comparisons:

Happy 6 months Ryan!