Happy just the way we are: January 2012

AloHa from the big island of Hawaii!

Tre' and I just got back from a more than perfect trip to visit my sister and brother in law. In September we came a cross a great deal (thanks Dad) on round trip tickets from here to Hawaii that I could not pass up. We schedule the visit to fall over Tre''s 4th birthday. With some of my brothers and sisters living out of state we are not always able to be together for birthdays and such so this year I thought it would be fun to take Tre' and his birthday to them.

When we arrived to the Big Island in was a lovely 78 degrees, the sun was shining and we were melting away (we were dressed for the cold weather we left behind in Utah) waiting for our baggage, anxiously wanting to rip our swimsuits out of the bag and head to the beach.patient, patient, patient, was all we needed to be.We took a quick trip to costco, had a quick lunch and beach-ward bound we were. I have never known Tre' to be happier than when he is at the beach. he is our water baby indeed. He is SO happy in the summertime when all he gets to do everyday is swim in the swimming pool and play with water toys but the happiness level at the beach is way more than that. I am not sure if it is the miles of sand, the huge body of water, the mass amounts of friends that rotated every few hours, never getting bored but, he was the happiest kid in the world. This was for sure to carry on daily for the rest of the trip. BEACH=INCREDIBLY HAPPY TRE' which in turn equals an INCREDIBLY HAPPY ME :)

Day 2
Rise and shine Kyla and Jim. (Very early in the trip Tre' started calling Jimmy, Jim, it was so funny!! Unfortunately for Jim it has stuck) Every morning when Tre' woke up it was time for Kyla and Jim to be up whether they were ready or not. :)
To start off the morning Jimmy started playing the guitar while singing along. Tre' loved this and wanted to play. Jimmy pulled out a Ukelele for Tre' and the jam session started and was soon to be followed by an outing to the market and an afternoon at BEACH! Our day was soon filled with sand castles, water holes and spaghetti.

YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY. This picture does not do the size of these avocados justice. They were seriously the size of a medium size spaghetti squash and tasted better than any avocado I have ever had. When we got home we were scooping the avocado with a spoon and eating it. MMM!

Cheers to sweet little bananas.

Shave ice time!

I just want to go to the beach!

Day 5Tre' and Jimmy decided to start the morning by launching oranges off the back deck. This was a huge hit and carried on daily through the rest of our trip. There was once launch where the boys ran in the house because they almost hit a car that drove by. You can't see the rod but it is right on the other side of the big bushy tree you can see behind Jimmy's head.

Day 3--- Happy 4th Birthday Tre' Bug!Good Morning to presents, streamers, balloons and a sign that welcomed Tre' to his princess party. Yep, you read that right. This boy LOVES princesses! Paul and I are very okay with this and just go with it. Some may not agree with this but, we are okay with him enjoying what he enjoys.
Today we went on a submarine ride. This was a very cool experience. We went 106 feet below sea level, saw 2 ship wrecks, lots of different kinds of fish, and an eel.
After the submarine guess what we did...... that's right, we headed to the beach at the pier :) Where Tre' and I both paddled boarded for our first time. SO FUN!
After hours of playing we met Jimmy for dinner at a really good restaurant called Humpy's. They served the best fish and chips that I have ever sunk my teeth into. MMMMM! At the restaurant they did not have any special birthday dessert so we ordered Tre' and oreo sundae. Our waiter was a true rock star. When he brought out Tre''s dessert he managed to find a candle in which they place on all tables and lit in for him in place of a candle, then sang him happy birthday. This waiter totally made Tre''s night. I was so happy!
After dinner we went home and did birthday cake with Kyla and Jim. What a fun and special day Kyla made Tre''s birthday. Thank you for everything Kyla and Jimmy!!!

A present sent from Daddy. He decided it was fun to spend his funds tipping people around the island.

I know these are really hard to see but we got to see two different ship wrecks when we were under water. It was pretty cool.

Here we were 106 feet below sea level. CRAZY!!! I know this is really blurry but the camera was not doing so great that far down.

Thank you so much Auntie.!!!

This was after our waiter really came through with the birthday song and candle for the bug.

the last and final birthday dessert. Kyla let Tre' make and decorate his own birthday cake.

Day 4Pedicures, pedicures...... Tre' sat like a perfect angel. He loved having his feet rubbed and toes painted.

Dinner was eaten at the Brew Pub tonight with a delicious slice and a salad. This way you got a slice of pizza with any 2 toppings and a salad of your choice. INCREDIBLE! (I am listing all the food and places we go to dinner because eating out at new restaurants on vacation is one of my favorite things to do on vacation.) :)

Day 6 Kee-Kee ponds (kid beach)We finally spotted the turtles and saw a whale breech. AMAZING! Tre' had been waiting to see turtles for days now. I think he was totally shocked with how close he could get to them without having a glass wall between the two of them like at the aquarium.
On the walk back from the turtles Tre' invented a game called "fetch the hole" this meant that you were suppose to collect the coral off the volcano rock and throw them into the holes found in the volcano rock. He loved playing this guy with Kyla.

Happy Birthday from Uncle Joey.....

On the Halualoah Kona Coffee Farm. We are going to visit the farmer. (Kyla and Kimmy's friend Jason) when we first got the re Jimmy rounded up some bananas so Tre' could feed geese and possibly some chickens. Well, one chicken was a little inpatient while Tre' was unwrapping a banana and bit Tre''s finger. He flipped out. Jimmy knew that making Tre' laugh would solve the whole crying situation so, what did Jimmy do...... started chasing the chicken say "Never hurt my friend again" At one point as you can see in the picture Jimmy got the chicken and for Tre''s sake let him know who the boss really is. Problem solved. Thank you Jimmy for making Tre' laugh and forget about his sore finger.

Jimmy let Tre' drive all the fun toys.............

Ohhhhh the side car. By far Tre''s favorite part of the trip.

Day 7--- Last Day :(

The beach and Aloha Kona Coffee Farm............

Today we went to Aloha Kona Coffee Farm (Jimmy's work) Here I was able to get a personal tour of how to get your cup of coffee from the very beginning. By the beginning I mean from the moment the coffee bean is picked from it's tree. I was able to watch Jimmy at work. Once we got the coffee beans sorted into their different grades, Jimmy weighed some out and we took the weighed amount over to the roaster and started roasting our very own coffee. This smell of coffee to me is so delicious! The roasting process it's self is very stinky. The final product on the other hand MMMMM good!
Jimmy thank you so much for taking the time to show me the ropes and for letting me have part in the process. ( These pictures are coming, they were on Kyla's camera :) )
I shared the fresh roasted coffee with some friends at work who I knew would appreciate the fresh roast. They were so grateful and said MA HALO!Of course we ended our Hawaiian adventures at the beach where Tre' and I were able to have one last hoorah.
We enjoyed dinner another night at the Brew Pub. Tonight I indulged in a Kahlua pork sandwich that was divine! Also to be followed with a brownie sundae with coconut, whipping cream and bacon. Yes, bacon. Sounds awful............ definitely was NOT. Thank you Joe!