Epic Family Trip: Leg#3 Hawaiian Jon

Our second half of Hawaii was really awesome! We had a ton of fun with Uncle Jon.

At the same time though, things were very sad for us. Grandma Davidson passed away on our 5th day in Hawaii, Friday, March 6. Melissa and Hazel left for Sacramento that afternoon to help with funeral arrangements. We took things slow that day, as our spirits were down.

We took a nice walk to a cool point in Laie where the waves crash against some bluffs. There were some great views!

I love this picture of me because I look so beautiful!

(I could write an entire blog post on why I should be able to write that sentence without feeling guilt, or fearing judgment from the rest of the world).

We got Dole Pineapple soft serve floats on the way back, which is pineapple ice cream in pineapple juice. They are SO DELICIOUS!! The only other places you can get them are at the Dole Pineapple Plantation and Disneyland. Earlier that week, we made a very strict diet for ourselves: Two pineapple soft serve treats a day. We stuck to that diet really well! YUM!!

That afternoon Tanner went kite flying with Jon.

But Tanner let go of the string, and the kite got stuck in two trees, haha.

Uncle Jon saved the day!

Jon showed the boys how to make special flashlight shapes on the wall. The boys really fell in love with their Uncle Jon.

On Saturday, we drove to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. MORE PINEAPPLE FLOATS!!!

It was Family Fun Day, so there was lots more to do than normal! Tanner liked the carnival activities, especially the football toss. I really enjoyed the elementary and middle school performances and the local food booths. Jeremy was happy that everyone in the family was happy! 

Dallin liked the waffle dogs, which was new for us. I was in love with the Filipino food.

Waiting to get on the little train tour around the plantation.

On the train!

My little Tan Man is such a cutie!

On the way home, we made a quick stop at turtle beach.

We got to eat dinner at Giovanni's famous shrimp truck. I'm pretty sure this is the place that the Food Nanny came to on her show.

We ended the day with some time on the beach in front of the temple.

And Uncle Jon met up with us there!

The fun ended when Tanner got wet, haha.

On Sunday, we went to our church with the locals. The boys wore their cute Hawaiian shorts and shirts that Grandma Nana got them. Tanner was very concerned about wearing shorts to church. I tried explaining that this is how people do it in Hawaii. I petitioned Jon for help in convincing Tanner to wear the clothes. His honesty kind of ruined my efforts, though, because he said "Oh don't worry, Tanner. They'll know your tourists, so no one will care if you wear shorts." I guess I was wrong about shorts being a local thing for church, haha. But in my defense, I did see a few guys in Polynesian skirts!

While Dallin and I napped, Jeremy and Tanner got some shaved ice Sunday afternoon.

And they went to the beach and made a really cool ocean barrier.

Uncle Jon made us a turkey dinner! It was amazing!! But we took some of the credit since Jon figured out how to cook his first turkey in our HB townhome when he and Melissa house-sat for us during Thanksgiving a few years ago.

Sunset that evening. There was lots of clouds and rain during our trip, but there were plenty of hours without rain, and lots of pretty scenes like this one.

 The boys spent a lot of time on the porch and sidewalk playing.

Monday morning was the day we were supposed to return to Minneapolis. But we decided to go straight from Hawaii to Sacramento for the funeral, so we ended up staying in Hawaii two extra days!! We all doubly enjoyed our breakfast that day.

Jeremy had to do Hormel work remotely on his laptop, so I took the boys to a beach a few towns down the road. I basically just drove until I saw a beach that suited my fancy. Dallin was asleep, so I found a place where I could park in the shade just 20 feet from our spot on the sand. Tanner and I chilled on the beach while Dallin slept in the car with the door open.

I really enjoyed the gorgeous SUN. Yep, we finally got a really good day of sun.

Monday afternoon, Jon came with us to hike to a waterfall!! We had some awesome adventures.

I carried Dallin on my back for awhile. Little sidenote-something weird happened to Dallin's right leg while we were in Seattle. He had a bad limp, complained about it hurting and couldn't walk normal on it for over a week.

I admit, I didn't last very long with carrying DJ! So Jeremy carried him on his shoulders for most of the hike. 

We found a swinging vine that actually held our weight! We all took a few turns at that!

Near the top, Tanner got really tired of walking. So he just plopped down and said he was done. Luckily, it wasn't that hard to convince him to keep going.

We made it!!

I had to include this picture to remember how much Tanner is such a goof!

I know this sounds corny, but I don't care... Something really magical happened at the waterfall. All of us gained renewed energy. Tanner and Dallin danced and cheered and sang at the top of their lungs. I found myself smiling lots and lots and feeling so refreshed and invigorated while standing by the falls. I almost forgot how waterfalls do that. We needed that energy, especially with mourning Grandma's passing. Water has so much symbolism in the scriptures. It was really cool to be at a huge fountain of living waters and to reflect once more on that significant parallel to the Savior and His love for us.

Jeremy was so inspired by the waterfall, that he decided to get fully immersed in it!

That evening for dinner, we ate at a Korean BBQ in a town near the waterfall. It was really good food!

On Tuesday, we spent a lot of time at the beach. It was another beautiful day with lots of SUN.

It was really neat to be able to spend two extra days in Hawaii and to have some great times with Uncle Jon. I hope he didn't mind that we basically took over his home and life for 5+ days! He was so kind to us and SO fun with our boys.

Dal Pal, as Jon calls him, especially has partial feelings toward Uncle Jon. I think it's because Jon is simply so joyful! He has a special way of enjoying life as it comes and making the most of every moment, just hangin' loose like a true Hawaiian. It was so good for us and for my boys to be with him, especially during this time. Thank you Jon for being so awesome!!

On Wednesday, March 11, we said Aloha to Hawaii, and to Jon we said "see you in two days. " We looked forward to the family gatherings that awaited us in Sacramento. The epic family trip continues!