We had the Kaos over to our house to hang out on Sunday.  As soon as they arrived, Mckayla and Marcus ran upstairs and joined the boys in the game room.  They stayed quite content up there with video games for a long time, except periodically Mckayla came down looking for other things to do.  Connor had prepared with some Halloween crafts to make with Mckayla, and he finally came down to join her.  They worked quietly together for awhile and did a good job.  Logan and Marcus played with remote controlled cars while the other two were busy.  Later all four of them played on Tablets together which was very cute to watch.  I made us some udon and short ribs, and the kids seemed to enjoy their lunch.  Michelle, Ted, Stuart and I enjoyed catching up with one another during their stay.

     The second half (4 days) of our vacation we spent at Aulani, a Disney resort. It took 40 mins from Waikiki and we arrived at the beautiful hotel. We were given an upgrade and checked into a nice room with an awesome ocean views up on the ninth floor. We felt so comfortable in the room that we could easily stay in the room all day long if we had to.  For the rest of the trip, the balcony was where we had our breakfast every morning and where Stuart and I spent some time reading.

    As soon as we unpacked, we did not waste much time to change and went downstairs to check out the amenities. The boys quickly jumped into a beautiful pool to warm up, then we headed over to the "lazy river" which was one of our favorite spots in the whole resort. It was so relaxing just sitting on a big tube and let the currents take you through the river. For the next few days, we spent hours at the different pools and we also had our lunch at poolside. There was an infinity pool that was very pretty and the boys later discovered the hot tub there where they enjoyed their time in it. They also liked a water structure where they ran around with other young kids.

     There were a couple of slides that Stuart eventually convinced Logan to try it out. They started with the one you slide down without a tube and it turned out to be dark and fast.  Stuart told me that he came down fast and was worried how Logan would do.  Fortunately Logan did what he was told and came down on his own.  Logan definitely did not care for the slide but we were proud that he did it.  The next day they tried the other one using a double tube; Logan liked this one a bit more but he did not care go again.  Connor was not interested to go with me so I rode a single tube on my own.  It was ok but thrill rides have never been my thing.  On the final day Connor suddenly agreed to give it a try and he went on a double with Stuart.  However, Connor did not care for the ride either.  At least we could say that we all tried it.

     Every afternoon, our routine was going to the beach.  Since it was a man made lagoon, the wave was very mild and the sand was soft.  Other than what the boys’ favorite of playing in the sand, we also tried boogie boarding.  We all had fun with it with the minimal waves there was.  It was also wonderful just hanging out and floating in the comfortable water.  Stuart and I also relaxed and read under the umbrella sometimes while the kids played.

     Connor was very into the Disney characters during this trip.  It might partially be that he brought his stuffed Pluto and he wanted him to meet all the character friends.  Connor would be constantly asking to call the special Hotel phone number that would provide the Character greet times.  At the end Connor was happy to get hugs from many characters but was also disappointed that he didn’t see the big Pluto.

     There was also “Aunty’s Beach House” where we registered the boys and dropped them off to play daily for a short time. The first time they were taken out to the courtyard to play games while some kids had dinner inside. The other two nights, the two boys stuck together playing video games or watching movie.  Each day they requested us to drop them off a bit longer.  While the kids were not with us, Stuart and I took a walk along the lagoon, had a drink and had a nice buffet dinner on our own on the last evening.  Everyone had a good time.

     At the resort there was also some events that we checked out. We tried Aloha fun which was some playtime for young kids but the boys were happy to see Chip and Dale there.  We did a movie night at the lawn where we watched Maleficient and we liked the movie.  We also participated at a Shaka pool party where Mickey, Minnie and Goofy were playing with everyone.  There was also many photographers on site and I tried to have us take some photos with them whenever possible.

     For dinner, we could take a short walk to a local plaza where we went for pizza one night and next at a restaurant for Stuart to have some crafted beer.  We also drove out once for some ramen.  As mentioned earlier, Stuart and I also had a great buffet dinner on our last night sitting next to the koi pond and enjoying the atmosphere.

     We really had a great time at the Disney resort and enjoyed our entire Hawaiian trip.  We, especially me, were sad that the vacation had ended and had to return home.  We definitely had taken a lot of pictures (with many cameras) for us to cherish all the fun moments; here they are.

     The first 3 days of our Hawaiian trip was at Waikiki. We stayed in a hotel that was basically on the one end of the shopping strip, and we had a nice view from the room.  We loved that we could take a walk easily for food and to buy anything; we went for a walk there at least once a day. Things had changed a lot since we were last there 12 years ago. There were now many upscale beautiful shopping plazas with many eateries.  We tried different Japanese food (ramen, udon, tonkatsu) and they were all delicious.  We also let the boys choose their favorite food sometimes too (ie, pizza).  In the evenings, there were often some entertainment like hula dancing or singing which the boys loved to take a seat to watch.

      We used our rental car to go different places on the island.  We had considered taking the kids to see the Polynesian Cultural Center, but we got convinced by the concierge to go to the Chiefs’ luau instead for its closer proximity. Once the dinner party started, we had a chance to throw spears, make some wreaths and play a Hawaiian game.  Many guests learned to do a hula dance, then we watched the ceremony of “imu” (Hawaiian underground oven).  Next it was the dinner which was not much to write about.  Finally the highlight began.  The boys really enjoyed the dancing, the singing and the audience participation. They especially liked the fire dancers which was the finale.  It was getting cold and a bit showery toward the end but we were prepared with jackets and we were given ponchos there too.  It was a fun evening.

     One morning we took the boys up to try hiking up the Diamond Head crater. They complained shortly after we started and we took many short snack breaks. But after some snacks in their system, the boys seemed motivated and we kept hiking higher. A couple of times Stuart and I had decided that we had reached our highest point but the boys wanted to keep going.  It was mainly all stairs toward the end and we made it up the peak.  We took in the beautiful scenery and some pictures there, then we started our descent.  We were so proud of the boys making it all the way up.  When we went back to the hotel, both Stuart and I needed to take a nap, however the boys were still energized and played some tablet games instead.

     With the tips from the concierge, we spent a morning checking out a swap meet at a stadium. There were tons of booths with Hawaiian art and crafts, and other goods. The boys loved looking through all the knick-knacks and taking home some little souvenirs as well.

     The highlight every afternoon was going to the beach. The hotel was only a short walk through a park to a nearby beach and the boys got used to running through the grassy field chasing the birds too.  At the beach, they played with waves, building sand walls, dipping in the water and floating with the floaters.  Two hours there each day was easily passed at the beach.

     We really enjoyed our time at Waikiki, next it was Aulani.

     We had a school picnic to attend on Sunday at a winery in Watsonville.  Since we were driving down, we made a detour to the outlets to do some shopping first.  We all got a little something there; Stuart and I bought some clothes and the boys got some trading cards.  Then we headed over to the winery; it was a beautiful place with a huge grassy field.  The problem was that it was 99 degrees and it felt very hot.  The boys were hoping to play two-square ball, and it turned out that there was a small patch of hard surface in the middle of the grassy field.  The boys hurried over to join the coach and other kids to start playing.  Stuart and I, along with other families all tried to set up sitting areas in the shade if possible.  It was a potluck; once the food were available, we got some food for us.  It took some time before the boys were willing to take a break from the heat to sit down with us to eat.  They quickly returned to the game after they finished eating.  Stuart and I did some wine tasting and enjoyed a glass of wine while we walked around the winery.  After a couple of hours being there, in the shade whenever we could, Stuart and I had enough of the heat and started to pack up.  By then the boys finally came to us, and said that they were hot and wanted to go home.

    We have been wanting to add something to our bare wall in the living room, and I decided to try a different color away from my usual choice.  I think I like how it turns out so far.

      We had missed a couple of the gatherings but we were able to make the one on Saturday at the Gopals.  The boys were looking forward to seeing Rohan and were counting down to 3pm.  They were not only the ones who was looking forward to this; as soon as we arrived at their house, Rohan ran out to the driveway to welcome us.  For the rest of the afternoon, while the adults just hung out on their newly renovated deck with new furniture, the 3 boys played quietly inside the house.  Later, Rohan, Logan and Connor did finally show their faces in the backyard and joined Bar, Raz and Ashley in the jumpy house.  The weather was so nice that it was still quite comfortable in the backyard until the evening.  by 8pm, it was time to go home even though the boys were not ready to part from each other yet.