First Day of School! 3rd Grade/1st Grade

It was so hard waking the kids up this morning, but luckily we had their clothes all laid out before we left for vacation, and Brooke's hair was curled.

The two littles probably could have slept for several more hours, especially considering Ashlyn awoke at 3am screaming with a fever of 101 (poor thing is sick today!).

Brooke is in a K/1 split. I don't know how I feel about that, but I love her teachers and Kindergarten is half day, so part of the day, she'll have a 10-1 student-teacher ratio, so that's a plus.

Then it was off to the grocery store to replenish our bare fridge and home to nap these littles. I guess I need to unpack and do laundry sometime today, too. Oh the joys of returning from vacation.

Good Bye Aloha - Day Ten

Tuesday - time to say farewell to Paradise and vacation and non-schedule, and fun. Time to pack and get back to the hustle and bustle of daily life.
I took the kids down to the pool for one last dip, then we went back, showered and packed and got ready to leave. Check-out is 10am. Isn't that insane?

The plane ride home went super smoothly! I had been concerned about it. Luckily, we were bumped up to economy-plus and had the first row, so lots of room to roam, and we all sat together. Originally, we were supposed to be separated throughout the plane. It was a completely full flight.
The kids all did wonderfully well!
The view of Honolulu/Waikiki from the plane. Good-bye!!!
I had to put curlers in Brooke's hair in the car on the way home since it was 11pm and the first day of school started in the morning!
Ashlyn and Christian crashed hard - I wish we all could have. We are all tired.

Aloha! Monday - Day Nine

This morning we got up early (John had a 7am conference call), and I took the kids down to Lagoon #1 for a fish feeding. Unfortunately, it takes too long to get 4 littles that far away, so we missed it. We'll try again tomorrow. Instead we stopped at Lagoon #2 for some snorkeling and saw many amazing fish on our own.
This is our little umbrella we parked under. So serene!!


Then, the PCC came to demonstrate some things:

Christian must take after his father and loved to bang on the drum. He maintained the beat for our dancing lesson.

The kids learned how to throw spears.

I even tried some Tahitian dance (that's the fast-moving hips one, not that I had fast moving hips yet).

My instructor - now she can dance! Amazing!! That's one great workout.

The girls learned how to make fish out of leaves. It was a lot of fun - and we didn't have to go all the way back to the North Shore to do it!

After another day of fun in the sun, we headed out to the mall to get a couple of last minute things and stopped for dinner at Farrells!! Did you even know they were still around? They were just like we remembered - the old fashioned straw hats, candy store in the front (only there was only one jar of jaw breakers), the big drum, sirens, etc. whenever anyone had a birthday. They even still have the "pig's trough". I can't say I have ever had dinner there before, in fact, I don't even know if they served dinner there when we were kids. All I remember was the ice cream and the fun. John and I had soup and salad, and we all shared ONE banana split - which I have to say was more than enough for our family of SIX - and it was only a single serving size! Geesh!

Aloha! Sunday - Day Eight

This morning we headed back over to the North Shore to attend a ward next to the Temple. We visited the Laie 7th ward, then went across the street to the Visitor's Center and Temple grounds. Such a beautiful place! It was quite warm and humid - a bit much for standing around taking pictures in the sun, but we managed a few.

I think this is the only picture we have of all of us from this whole week!

On the way home, we checked out some of the famous North Shore beaches. There aren't any waves this time of year, as they hit this side of the island in the winter. It started to rain just as we were coming up to Waimea Beach, and wouldn't let up. We were actually hoping to get a little rain this trip as the kids love to play in the rain, especially being so warm. The rain never let up, but that did not stop a determined bunch - in fact it made it all the more exciting . . . plus easier since we didn't have to worry about sunscreen. In this photo, they are standing in the parking lot, holding their new snorkling gear, super excited to check out the beach.
John was taking cover near a building, but they had no hesitation and darted for the water. . . even the baby.

We can't believe we only have one full day left! It has gone way too fast.

Aloha! Saturday - Day Seven

This morning we did tag-team to the gym. There is a really nice facility here and it felt so good to work out! I first checked out the jogging trail that goes 1.5 miles from lagoons 1-4. Absolutely spectacular!

In the afternoon, we played at the beach and rented a Flintstone-esque Sea Doo!
These things are a work-out, but loads of fun.

Here John is out in the water with the two littlest of the littles. Brooke came in for a momentary break.

At night, we went shopping for snorkel gear, got some pizza, and came back for pizza/movie night.

Aloha! Friday - Day Six

Today we did a little bit of shopping in the morning to restock sunscreen and diapers (the important things!). Then grabbed some lunch and got back at the same time as the husbands. Yeah! They're finally done with work and can now play!

We changed hotel rooms and moved to a bigger one. The kids are so excited to have their own room and bathroom. Then we went down to the pool so the dads can play and check it all out.

Ashlyn is a baby on a mission and can spent a really long time with bucket loads of water.
Brooke couldn't be happier swimming!
Now John gets to trade business lunch meetings for toddler feedings. His food is their food!

Our friends then left in the late afternoon. We are the only ones left and get to stay for four more days! Yipee! I don't know if we can ever tire of this place.

Aloha! Thursday - Day Five

This morning we kicked back a little in the room, then headed out to Pearl Harbor

It was a scorching hot day, but once we got in the cool theatre for the film about Dec. 7, 1941, it was all worth it.
We took the ferry ride out to the memorial. Here is the wall of names of those who are entombed on the USS Arizona. We are standing above the sunken ship.

It was a very emotionally moving experience. Madison was the most touched of the kids (being the oldest), and felt quite melancholy the rest of the trip. Here they are looking down at the ship under water.




The American Flag forever waves free above the memorial. The Japanese though they'd ruin America by bombing her in those early morning hours of December 7th, but instead America became even more united like she does whenever she faces tragedy. I'm glad some things haven't changed.

The younger kids fell asleep in the car on the way back, and stayed asleep even when they were transferred into the hotel room. Then Brooke fell asleep. At one point, three were asleep at the same time, until 6:00 p.m. when John returned. They were wiped out from the week of fun!

Then we all (with our friends) went to Roy's for an exquisite dinner.

Aloha! Wednesday - Day Four

We ended the day with a beautiful sunset dinner on the beach at Kolohe's with our friends.

I could live here!!!

After dinner, the kids played on the grass and danced to the local live musician.

Earlier today we got to kick back and enjoy the hotel. The pools and beach could satisfy for days on end. If you're ever looking for a place to stay on O'ahu, this is the place:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/hnlko-marriotts-ko-olina-beach-club/

It takes a lot of effort to get the littles on down to the pool for the day. Luckily everything is close and the Shave Ice satisfies the afternoon sweet tooth!
One of the property's four lagoons is a beautiful and perfect place to play. The sand is so soft and clean, and the water warm and mild.

Aloha! Tuesday - Day Three

We finally had a chance to check out our hotel pools - and wow! are they spectacular! This pool had a beach entry - with sand. The kids had a total blast.

Then we took off for Waikiki beach and met our friends there and had way too much fun in the sun!
We played and played until the sun set. The husbands didn't get done with their meetings until later than expected, so the surfing didn't get started until nearly 6:00 p.m. The teenage boys had been waiting all day for John to come teach them how to surf.
Here's Ashlyn climbing on a rock with Diamond Head in the background as the set is beginning to set. Such a great time of day to shoot photos
We rented boogie boards for the girls and they had a blast - especially since the water is so nice!
A beautiful Hawaiian sunset.
Time for the boys to come in for surfing . . . it's dark out!

After that, we headed to "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" for some famous local cuisine. Good times! And another late night. The kids are exhausted!

Aloha! Monday - Day Two

On Monday, John had a meeting at BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center, so we headed out early in the morning to the North Shore. We met two other families at Turtle Bay, had breakfast, and the guys set out to their meetings while we with kids hung out at the pools at Turtle Bay. The kids had fun in the sun - then we headed over to:

The Polynesian Cultural Center for good entertainment, great food, and amazing shows.

Evan was so good to help Christian as he got so tired. Christian LOVED having "big brothers" around!!!

Another late night as we didn't get back to the hotel until 11pm again.

Aloha! Sunday: Day One

Exhausted from a weekend of wedding festivities, we packed our bags and hitched a ride to the airport ready to embark on our much anticipated (and much more needed) 10-day Hawaiian vacation. The kids were surprised when the car showed up . . . now that's the way to go! "Maurice" helped with our luggage (bags for six, plus two car seats and a stroller) and dropped us off curbside where the sky cab handled our luggage again! Smooth sailing! Easy breezy way to travel. We could get spoiled!


First timers Christian and Ashlyn did really well on the plane. Christian was so excited and couldn't wait for the plane to "blast off". We all survived, although I think the lady sitting in front of Ashlyn suffered the most considering Ashlyn kept kicking the seat!

We arrived safe and sound - just late at night and tired. It was nearly 11pm when we got into our room (2am our time). Looking forward to exciting adventures Hawaii has in store for us!

Just Married!!

Mr. and Mrs Bergmann! A beautiful ceremony and a gorgeous couple!

The (young) nieces. So cute in all white!

Our family! From top left: Christian, John, Marrianne, CJ, Jaimee, Steve, Renee, Tommie, Chris, Andrea (bride), Adam (groom), Shaun, Domonique, Mom, Matt, Dad, Cyndi. Bottom row: Danika, Ashlyn, Amber, Madison, Brooke, Julie, Kyle, Jacob (or Jacob, Kyle - can't tell which).

The honeymoon get-away car. Off for an adventure of a lifetime, or a lifetime (and beyond) of adventure!

One More Week

Last Saturday we had a fabulous shower for my sis . . . one more week and she becomes Mrs. Bergmann! She is way excited, and so are we to have Adam in our family. They are a terrific couple. See more of the lovebirds: http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/view/co_main.aspx?coupleid=3286341018021875