Our Pool!

So... Grant decided he wants to build a pool in our backyard, but the catch is....he is building it himself.  He has worked every weekend in the hole in the last two months except when we had bad weather.  They pour the pool-crete next week and put in the liner.  We should have water by the end of next week.  Just in time for winter. LOL  No...Grant wanted it done before he went to Afganistan. I am so proud of him.  He has done a great job! I will post more pictures next week.  I think we will be swimming on Thanksgiving.

Family Pictures

I thought to myself.....What better place to take family pictures than in Hawaii. So we did.  It was a little hard putting the camera on a tripod and running into the pictures, but I think they turned out nice.

Hawaii

Grant is getting ready to go to Afghanistan for 6 months and decided he really wanted to go on a vacation with the family before he left.  Because he is active duty right now we were able to fly the whole family to Hawaii for free through the military space A.  Space A means if there is space available on the plane you can ride. If not...sorry!  You never know what plane you will get.  We met Grant in Reno and then drove to California.  On the way we stopped at the salt flats to get some photos.

Bre wanted to see if it really tasted like salt.

We needed to fly out of Travis Air Force Base in California that next day.  We weren't leaving until the morning so we took a trip to San Francisco.  It was beautiful.  We saw the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. The kids couldn't get enough of San Francisco.

We stopped by a local bakery that made bread into animals.  It was pretty cool!

I had to take this picture. We were walking along the wharf and Bre could smell all of the fresh sea food.  She couldn't stand the smell. 

Just like any airport you have to get there early and wait.  In our case it was first come first serve. Here we are keeping ourselves busy. The difference is this one is on a military Base.

Here we are ready to Fly!  We were very lucky.  We managed to get on a commercial flight that stops at Travis Air Force Base.  It was so nice.  We were treated better then first class on a regular flight.  We had steak and chicken, we got to pick the movies we watched, and we were even given hot towels to wash up with.

We arrived in Honolulu where we booked some military cottages on the beach.  The view was incredible.  The bugs, ants, and mice not so great!

Here is our rental car!  It was a Kia! Go Kia!

Bre Posing after being buried by her dad and brother.

Austin thought I needed a hand for a foot! Poor Marissa got stung by a Jelly Fish that day.  It was crazy!  But I was so proud of her.  She got right back in the water the next day.

We went to Pearl Harbor. Austin almost got cut out of the picture, but what do you expect when some else takes it.

So, after 2 days in an infested bungalow ,and me going insane, we packed up and went to the Hale' Koa which is a 5 star resort that the military owns right on the beach in Waikiki.  It was so nice and relaxing.  We loved it!

Here we are at our favorite place to eat breakfast....IHOP!

Next we went to the Polynisian Cultural Center to a Luau.  The food was OK, but the entertainment was awesome!  Well worth the time and  money! We took a boat ride and got our picture taken with the Grim Reaper before they started the haunted Lagoon.

Next we went to Hanauma Bay.  It was beautiful It was protected by a reef which made excellent snorkeling.  We saw huge fish and actually got to swim with a large turtle.  The kids were  in heaven.

Our favorite place to hang out was a beach a few miles from the bay.  It was where all the locals would go.  The waves were incredible.  Of course we looked like tourists.  We couldn't handle the big waves.  We got beat up pretty good, but we loved to just sit and watch the professionals boogie board and surf. Here Austin and Grant are ready to try it out.

Austin loved it!  He couldn't get enough of it.

Right next to the beach is the blow hole.  You can see it in the background of this picture.

Bre decides to join in the fun.

Nice wave Bre!

Then Marissa joined. After pictures were taken I got a few rides in myself.  It was a blast!  Although the waves were so big that they would suck you back out if you weren't careful.  It happened to me a couple of times.  It scared me to death.  You don't realize the power of the ocean.

Grant caught a big wave here!

I love this picture.  I got the surfer in  mid air.

Of course all of that playing makes you tired.  We teased Austin about catching flies with his mouth.

While we were there we celebrated Grant's birthday.  We went to Outback and enjoyed some great food. 

We hated leaving, but we had to return to reality. We flew back from Hickam Air Force Base on a C-17.  We were very lucky.  They only took the first 25 people.  We were the last to get on.  About 30 others didn't get on. The C-17 are the planes that carry the cago and open in the back.  It was far cry from our plane going to Hawaii, but it was a ride.  Here are the kids looking at cargo and watching the military run some pretend first aid drills on a dummy.

Here Marissa and Austin stretched out in the back while they ate their boxed lunch.  I still can't believe we flew on it.  It was an adventrue and a great trip that will always be remembered. I loved spending time with my family.  I am so lucky to be around such fun loving people.