The Good: 15 years and counting!!!

April 30th marked our 15 year wedding anniversary! We had planned on going somewhere new but Jack's buddy Tedd decided to celebrate his 40th birthday in Hawaii the week before our anniversary. We love Hawaii so decided to kill two birds with one stone. Jack got in his guy time, then I arrived and got to spend some time with Tedd and Kristina, and then we got to have our own time. It worked out perfect!

We love all the islands in Hawaii but Oahu is by far our favorite. It has a taste of every island on it and it seems like every time we go we still find ourselves seeing things we've never seen before which is surprising since Jack lived there for four years.

Here are some of the highlights:

Waking up to this view every morning: I'll admit I'm a room snob. If I'm on vacation I want a room that reminds me I'm on vacation. Whenever we go to Oahu, we usually divide our time between the north shore and the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. So after joining Jack at Turtle Bay, we headed down to our favorite hotel that we love to stay at in Waikiki. I think this room view explains why...



Having breakfast prepared for ME every morning: I'm not a breakfast person but if someone else is doing the cooking, I become one!!!



Snorkeling: The first time I ever snorkeled was actually in Hawaii while we were on our honeymoon. I don't remember having particularly fond memories of that experience but within a couple years, I grew to LOVE it. Good snorkeling has become a prerequisite for selecting vacation spots for us. We also love to get input from the locals about places off the beaten path. Jack got me an underwater camcorder that was able to capture some great footage on this trip. Here are a couple of the still shots. You'll notice the photo of the shark, yes a shark that happened to be resting under a rock that we were walking and snorkeling by in 4 ft. of water. I guess there is a reason they call this place Sharks Cove. Thankfully, a kind man offered to use my camera and take a couple shots for us. I wasn't about to get up close and personal with this creature...




Snow cones: What's not to love about snow cones covered in sweetened condensed milk sitting on a ball of ice cream? So good that we'll drive from one side of the island to the other just to get these delicious $3 snow cones!!!



Watching Jack test out his new boogie board: Ok, actually what is nice about this is that I get to relax on the beach while he does his thing. This way he is having fun and so am I...





The beach: Of all the places we've been Hawaii's sand is actually not my favorite but we found this great beach located in amongst some houses in this quaint neighborhood. It has the finest sand we've ever seen in all of Hawaii along with some great snorkeling.



The unpoppable pink raft: Ok, so as we're leaving the beach Jack finds this fully inflated pink raft sticking out of a trash can. Jack grabs it and we throw it in the back of the jeep. This raft was poked, bent, prodded, stepped on, rested on, etc. Even the plug thing wouldn't stay plugged. I was certain we'd be lucky to get a day out of it. But no, it was the raft that kept floating. I even deflated it and stuffed it in my suitcase at the end of the trip. Be on the look out for future photos that include this pink beauty!



Turtle Beach: Every time we are on Oahu, we go to this beach and every time we go, there are plenty of turtles basking in the sun and swimming just off shore. This time was no different. Jack also got some great video footage while swimming alongside them.



The Screamer boat ride: Ok, so it wasn't exactly the "roller coaster on water" that we expected. Nor were there many screams but it was still a fun boat ride that offered fabulous shots of Diamond Head and Waikiki from the water.



Spending time with Tedd and Kristina and some other friends of Jack's from college: We haven't seen Tedd and Kristina for many, many years but how fun it was for Jack to reunite with Tedd at his 40th birthday bash in Hawaii. If only we could all be so lucky to have 75 of our closest friends come staggered over the course of 6 weeks to spend our birthday with us. Tedd, you sure know how to throw a party. Not to mention that Kristina is due in 6 weeks. Thanks for the great time!



Happy Anniversary Jack. I love you!!!



(Thank you Mom for kindly flying up to watch the kids for the week. I don't know what we'd do without you and your desire to come help out anytime.)