Sand, Surf, Sights

OK, we got back from Hawaii last Tuesday and we're still swapping high-fives on account of only one of us got burnt to a crisp. We had a really wonderful time, had some great weather, and saw a lot more of the Island than we did last time. We definitely found our new favorite area of the Big Island and will probably head back to North Kohala next time and just stay there the whole time.

Without further ado, let the pictures begin. First, I will post adorable kids in completely non-Alaskan attire, mostly digging in the sand and kicking it in the surf...

Gwen is either trying really hard not to let her sister fall into the brackish tidepool with the green sea turtles, or she may be pushing her in. Not sure, but they really liked seeing those big, strange creatures. Also, although I've never tried to before, I really wanted to include a video of the turtles but I can't. So enjoy these stills.... there's a lot of them:

We went to a luau with Greg's parents. The girls got to wear their Hawaii dresses (which we bought on the ultra clearance rack at Fred Meyer in Juneau before we left).

Gwen just has such a great smile. I often wonder (in a worrisome, dismayed manner) if we might see this mug gracing the covers of magazines someday... And Amelia had to have her napkin on her lap, just like Mommy had. Good girl!

We were just 'go-go-go' the whole time, so we had many afternoons that ended with Amelia looking like this in the comfy crib that was provided in our rental house:
Yep, sun hat on, still in her swimsuit, with a beach towel for a blanket. We were about a 15-minute drive from the nearest beach (Mauna Kea), so she passed out at soon as we'd start home each day and be drooling when we pulled in to the driveway.

Speaking of driveway, check back soon for some shots of the foliage around the rental house. It was so different than our normal plant life... so this would be akin to someone from Hawaii taking pictures of Devil's Club, a pricky, pervasive, icky, nasty, poisonous weed that is EVERYWHERE in Southeast Alaska. On that note, I'm sure you'll tune in again soon... yeah.