Bark like a Dog...

was the theme of our Hawaii trip.  You may wonder where this theme came from...well I'll tell ya. 
While driving around the island one of our first days there, we were informed by our 'Oahu Revealed' tour guide book, that if we happened to run into a wild hog (which are fairly common there) we were to immediately bark like a dog- and it would scare them off!  Did we run into one while hiking? No.  Did Dad see one while we were driving? Yes.   And we all started barking- scaring dear mother half to death. She was a little perplexed.

We kicked off the trip with the Polynesian Cultural Center, where we 'visited' all the different Polynesian islands and learned about their cultures.  I enjoyed it, but it was a long day.  We did get theee mooosssttttt delicious fruit smoothies in a pineapple at the luau!  They were also a million dollars, but they were soo good:)

We sure got to do lots of fun things while we were there!  Katie and I got to get up close and personal with a Whalphin (a mix of a dolphin and a whale--one of three in existence).  We got to pet it, and kiss it and pose for some pics with it. We were in the water, but we didn't actually swim with it. It  was actually really fun! When else am I gonna do that in my life?

We did some kayaking, snorkeling, paddle boarding, and body boarding.  I learned that I have absolutely NO talent when it comes to body boarding! Ah well, it was a good experience. While paddle boarding and snorkeling we got to see some Sea Turtles up close and personal!  One came up to Katie's foot and was real close! 

On our one day excursion to Maui- we took the Road to Hana- a scenic loop up through the mountains.  In addition to it's scenes that take your breath, the winding roads also take your stomach....we all got carsick--oh it was not fun. No one actually got sick- but mother had a towel wrapped around neck and was trying to not let herself sway even an inch on those roads. I had my sweatshirt wrapped around my whole head so I could stop looking at the winding road.  We all got a good giggle from it that evening, once it was over! Tara got a video that I'm sure is quite comical:)

First Sunday there- At the Chapel. So beautiful!

There was this sweet tree with branches hanging down. Can't remember what the tree is called- but we called it the Tarzan tree:)

 You pop that leg Tara! 

 Dad got pooped on by a bird...

 Look in the background and you can see the Black sand beach!

 Looking the other direction from the Black Sand Beach

 Katie looks like a midget in this picture...but she's really just on a slope!

 The Paddle Board!

 Sea Turtle up close and personal

 Favorite Picture.  Love that Sunset.

Katie's Coconut Water- they just chopped it right off and handed it to her.