Big Island

2 weeks ago we went with Jared to the Big Island. Jared had the National Wildlife Society Meeting in Kona, and we hitched a ride with him. The hotel was awesome, and there were amazing pools and water slides for the kids. The boys were really excited to go on our first family vacation, staying in a hotel, and sleeping all together. My worst nightmare is having my kids sleep in my room with me, so I was a little worried. However, it wasn't that bad. My impression of the Big Island was that it looked like a desert with lava rock. Granted we were on the dry side of the island. Check out this local guy on his skateboard...oh ya baby!

We stayed at the Hilton Waikaloa, and that was super nice. The boys loved riding the tram that the hotel had to get you from point A to point B.This is the view from our room

With Jared being in his conference all day, the boys and I went to the lagoon and the pool each day. After about 4 days of this, I was thinking, maybe I should have stayed home. I was doing the very same thing I would be doing at home on Oahu, except the boys were up in my grill all day, even when they slept. I just need to to be brutally honest so that I can read back on this and remember to re-think if I want to go on vacation as a single mother. After Jared was done with the conference our family vacation really started. We went to see Kilauea, the active volcano, and it was awesome. We also stopped off at the black sand beach, where there were TONS of sea turtles resting on the beach. It took us 3 hours to get to the volcanoes....the big island is REALLY big. Also, i froze my butt off on top of the volcano...the kids had no idea what it meant to be cold.
We had fun, but it was also good to get back home to Kailua. This trip made me feel even more thankful for where I live in Hawaii. Kailua is incredibly green like you would imagine a tropical island to be. The beaches here are so unique and beautiful. Plus, the added benefit of living your life like you are on vacation in Hawaii, and you have everything you own with you including your house is the cherry on top! I probably won't go back to the Big Island, but Kauai is definitely calling my name....minus the kids.