Family Vacation, Dec 2010

We celebrated a short Christmas this year then zipped to Anchorge and boarded the airplane to take our first family vacation as a family of six. We ventured to Kona, Hawaii and let me tell ya, I didn't wanna leave. We stayed at a friends house up on the mountain. It had three bedrooms, two baths and was perfect. We were able to cook our meals, and relax. I am ever greatful to my friend Sherri for letting us stay at her home. Mom and Dad met us there and it was special to share the time with them (and have the extra help!) One day, we chartered a fishing boat to go marlin fishing but got skunk. Bummer. We did, however, see whales, porpoise and other small fish. Aside from the charter, we didn't do a whole lot of the many things the island had to offer, it was just too expensive for 8 of us. so, we mostly just hung out at the beach. Which is what I wanted to do in the first place! Brandon learned how to boogie board like a pro and even tried his hand at body surfing towards the end of the trip. Phillip got to snorkel and we saw soooo much more at Turtle Bay then we ever saw on Oahu in past trips. In a one minute glance I saw more fish than I ever saw on our honeymoon. Yellow, striped, long, short, fat, weird and beautiful... we saw such a wonderful array of saltwater fish. There was an abundance of sea turles as well. The boys sat on lava rock a mere 10 inches from them as they fed and basked in the sun. I didn't get to parasail like I had hoped but this time together was sooo worth it. Donovan learned how to swim underwater but it was Mason that surprised me. He was not intimidated by the huge waves crashing on the beach. He was ready to trudge out there, preferably without us. He even learned how to boogie board, not bad for a one-year-old! We can't wait to go back. Phillip things we should try Maui next. Hopefully it won't be another 7 years between our visits because I miss it. already.