Last day in Hawaii!

On our last day in Hawaii, we headed to Lanikai Beach one more time... And Alexa made a friend! Actually I think she just wanted the other girl's toys. They were cute playing together. Unfortunately, the beach was REALLY windy. We headed home for naptime, followed by some pool play.

Alexa decided immediately that she loved her new Roxy hoodie! "Purple!" she said. Yes, it is. Check out how cute she is! She was serving up "shots" of water in a bottle cap and giggling up a storm.

More Kauai vs. More Winward Mall

After a nice breakfast and walk around the grounds, Daddy and I enjoyed our last day on Kauai at the pool, relaxing and doing nothing. It was fabulous!

Meanwhile, back on Oahu, Alexa spent another morning playing on the Winward Mall waterfalls and toy cars. Looks like she had a blast!

We got home in the afternoon and took Alexa on a walk to Kailua Beach to see ... DOGS! It was windy, but she enjoyed playing in the sand and yelling "Hi!" at all the dogs she saw. So cute!

We sat outside for dinner and Alexa had another ice cream bar. Uh-oh, what have we started here?!

Na Pali Coast vs. Winward mall

On Kauai, Daddy and I took a boat trip to the Na Pali coast, where we saw herds of dolphins, turtles and even two whales that came up right next to the boat! It was amazing. Unfortunately, Daddy got a little sick on the way back. He joked that it was thanks to him that the whales came so close to our boat!

Meanwhile, back on Oahu, Alexa had a ball playing at this indoor play space at the Winward Mall. Who needs real waterfalls when rubber ones are so much fun!

Back on Kauai, Daddy and I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at the pool, followed by a beautiful dinner at sunset. What a great mini-vacation!

Off to Kauai!

We had a nice morning at church seeing old friends. Look how cute Alexa was in her little purple dress!

After church, Daddy and I flew to Kauai for a couple days on our own. Alexa stayed with Grandma and Grandpa! We stayed at the Grand Hyatt, which my friend Blythe recommended. It was AMAZING!

Meanwhile, while we were enjoying the amazing pools at the Grand Hyatt... Alexa was playing pool games in Grandma and Grandpa's back yard. She also tried an ice cream sandwich -- and liked it! (duh!)

Moanalua Gardens and dinner at Buzz's

Another great day in paradise! Today, we met up with my friend Renee and her son Ashton at Moanalua Gardens Park. I had actually never been to this park before, but when I looked up the directions it was described as an off-the-beaten-path spot in Hawaii with beautiful large canopy trees. It was stunning!

Alexa and Ashton had fun playing. And check this out... Alexa got her first kiss! They were so cute. Alexa took Ashton's hand. Then Ashton kissed her on the cheek. And then they hugged. So cute!

After the park, Alexa took a long nap. And then we headed to check out grandma and grandpa's condo. Alexa had fun watching the ducks in the pond right outside the balcony!

Finally, we ended the day with dinner at our favorite local spot: Buzz's Steakhouse. Yum!

Lanikai beach with Kamakoa! More pool!

We had a great day at Lanikai Beach today with my friend Cheryl and her son Kamakoa! Alexa was pretty fussy at fist, but she eventually warmed up to the sand. She even started chasing birds around and using her bucket to scoop sand! We also got her into the water by playing games. When we said goodbye, she gave Kamakoa a hug. It was so cute!

After Alexa's loooong nap, she enjoyed some afternoon pool play with Daddy and Grandpa Tom!

A foodie trip to the North Shore!

Even with a toddler in tow, we did it all! Daddy, Grandpa Tom, Alexa and I stopped at Chinaman's Hat, then drove to the Dole Pineapple Plantation to see the koi fish and enjoy dole whip cones, followed by lunch at Pizza Bob's and shave ice at Matsumoto's. We finished the day with shrimp at Giovanni's White Shrimp Truck, where Alexa got a new book and met the author! What a great day. We were stuffed -- and super tired when we got home!

Alexa feeds ducks! Plus more beach & shave ice!

Another great day in paradise! Alexa got up early again, so we took her for a walk on Duck Lane to see, you guessed it, ducks! We saw a few, but when we started feeding them, more ducks started high tailing it over from all over to get scraps of bread! We also saw some baby ducks. Alexa was mildly amused.

After all the fun with the ducks, we headed for Kailua Beach Park. Daddy set up the umbrella and mat and we had a great time hanging out. Alexa tried chips for the first time and, big surprise, decided she liked them. She also tried on Daddy's sunglasses. Around noon, she got tired and we headed home for a nap.

After Alexa's nap, we headed out for some more shave ice at Island Snow! Yum! Alexa has started calling it "Purple Ice" because that's the color of shave ice Daddy had the first time she tried it. Ha!

Alexa visits the Honolulu Zoo!

This is the zoo I grew up going to! I have so many memories at this zoo. So naturally, I wanted to share my zoo with Alexa. Unfortunately, as usually happens, the zoo today is very different from the zoo of my memories. But we still had a great time! After looking at all the "ah-molls" we had a picnic lunch under a banyan tree in the middle of the zoo. Now that I'm getting the hang of slide shows, here's another!

Alexa's visits Kailua Beach & Island Snow!

Alexa got up early, so we headed to the beach! She was admittedly a little upset when we first got to the beach. Maybe it was the wind? She didn't want me to sit down, or put her down. Finally, we coaxed her into sitting on the towel. Then we got her to play with her toys. She ended up having a great time!

The same scenario repeated at the pool. Alexa loved her swim classes last summer, but cried when we took her in the pool! She finally calmed down and had fun playing next to the pool. Silly girl!

We ended the day with some shave ice at Island Snow! This is one of my favorite places in Hawaii. It's only about five minutes from where I grew up. And, as you can see from my collage below, it's also frequented by President Obama, who has spent two Christmases in my hometown. Cool!

Alexa's 1st Easter Egg Hunt!

Daddy helped Grandpa hide a TON of plastic eggs all around the yard for Alexa to hunt. Once we showed her what to do, she was off! She loved picking up the eggs and putting them in her basket. She also loved opening the eggs to discover the chocolate and goldfish inside! Yum! We enjoyed that part too! Anyway, I took way too many photos, but she was so cute! Note the adorable dress that she's wearing, handmade by Grandma. Here is a slideshow of my favorite photos:

Alexa arrives in Hawaii and gets a lei!

We got lucky again on our 5-hour flight from LAX to HNL and got another extra seat for Alexa! Here she is having fun in her own seat as we wait until our plane gets to the gate. We're in Hawaii! Yeah!

Alexa's grandma and grandpa met us at the airport with leis! Awesome! My favorite thing. Yeah!