Fun Fun Fun. :)

Beach fun with DeeDee

She's the best. 

 There has been so much going on this week, that I haven't had much time to write. I've also been enjoying the company of my family so much that I didn't want to take the time away from them. Selfish, I know. ;)

Luau!

So since my last post, we left Kona and traveled to Oahu. Our final days in Kona were fun. We played hard at the pool, and went back to A-Bay. Paul has so much fun digging in the sand and playing in the puddles. We all take our turns to play with him and his trains. He also loves the waves! He could bounce around in them all day. I've included some video of him on the beach, he's been so awesome there.

Hula Dancing with Daddy

Fishing was the favorite activity.

On Tuesday, we gathered up all our luggage and took two trips to the airport to get all the people and stuff there. Waiting around at the airport took longer than the actual flight, and some struggles with the rental car meant that we were finally on our way to Ko'Olina by 11am, after starting the process at 5am. Despite being tired and super excited about our new digs, we all piled in the car and set off for the Polynesian Cultural Center for a luau and the show. I didn't realize the cultural center was a huge park with so much to do! We explored all of the different cultures that are found here in Hawaii and Polynesia. Paul mostly chased the birds, but he did take the time to try fishing with Donnie. We wandered around for a couple of hours, then got in line for our luau. Dinner was pretty fun, and the food was really yummy! We filled our bellies, then set out to go see the show. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to film or take pics at the show, but I can say it is incredible! It was about 2 hours of dancing, story telling, drums, fire throwing, and general mayhem. We drove home and all fell into bed exhausted.

Lovin' on Mickey

Mickey Waffles!

Andie loves pineapples!

Pineapple heads!

On Wednesday, we woke up early and headed over to the neighboring Disney resort for a breakfast with Mickey! Paul couldn't stop talking about it, what he would say to Mickey, how he would hug Daisy, and kept pointing to his "house" next door. He was a little bit afraid at first, but after he got comfortable he danced with Minnie Mouse, hung out with Goofy and hugged Mickey. I think he had a really good time. He was still talking about it a few days later. :) From there we jumped in the car and took off for the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Andie was set on this as one of the few things she wanted to do while in Hawaii, and I have to say it was a good idea! It was a pretty cool excursion, we took a train around the farm, then tried a maze (Paul didn't last very long in there), and of course ate the delicious Dole Whip. We ate a ton of pineapple and bought some yummy pineapple bubble bath, then headed back to our condo in Ko'Olina.

Ko' Olina

Our condo here is amazing. It is so beautiful here, I can hardly wrap my brain around it. The pool is twisting through the resort with a bridge, and even a fake little beach to play at. They also built 4 man-made lagoons to play in. It is unreal how blue the water is and how picturesque the scenery is. Kona was gorgeous, but this place is what you picture in your mind when you picture Hawaiian beaches.

On the Pineapple Express!

Thursday we hung out here, went to the pool and the beaches and spent every moment possible with Paul. I went swimming with Andie on Thursday morning in the lagoon outside our building, and it was really fun! A hard workout, but pretty enjoyable minus all the salt water in our mouths. :)

Cuties.

Friday came too soon and we spent the day swimming, playing and packing up Paul, Ron and Angie. We headed into the city for an early dinner at a hidden away restaurant, the mood was sad since we were saying good bye. We did see them filming Hawaii Five-O, which was super cool, but other than that I was mostly just fighting back tears.

We took them to the airport around 8pm and I am pretty sure my heart broke when I was saying goodbye to Paul. He's so much a part of me that not being around him makes me hurt. :( But I know he'll have a great time with Ron and Angie, and Donnie and I will have fun in the time we have alone. It's just hard to reset my thinking to not involve Paul in all of my plans everyday. :( It makes me want the days to go faster, but at the same time I want to enjoy these last few weeks of summer. I know everything will be fine in the long term, but I will miss him everyday until we see him again.