Sunday morning, I woke up at 4:30. I was still on mainland time, so I was ready for the morning to begin. C was still sleeping, so M put on Mickey Mouse on the DVD player for me, so that everyone else could get another hour of sleep or so. Finally at about 5:45 with all of us awake, we went exploring to try and find some breakfast. The hotel we stayed at was located in Waikiki--not on the most famous portion of the beach but within 2 blocks of the park that covered most of the beachfront property.
After finding that only McDonald's was open and a 20-person deep line, M&D decided we could wait until 7 when our hotel's restaurant opened. We walked the beach some until the rain drove us inside. From our breakfast table on the 3rd floor, we watched the sky lighten up behind Diamond Head.
C waiting patiently for food!
I enjoyed a hot chocolate to try and warm up for the rain we were caught in on the way back to the hotel.
After breakfast we went back to our hotel room to wait until the pool opened at 9 and discovered that we actually had a small balcony off our 11th floor room. Here's the view towards the north and the mountains surrounding Honolulu.
The view back to the south and the ocean.
C and I hung out playing with my new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse map.
C got tuckered out. D was watching football in the room, so we let C sleep while M and I headed back down to the 3rd floor to swim.
There's Diamond Head in the background again, along with some potted palm trees. You can't tell, but it is still raining outside.
M tried to convince me that at 72 degrees, windy and rainy it was much too cold to swim in an outdoor pool, but I was not to be deterred. After sitting with my towel under the overhang for about 5 minutes, I finally jumped in the pool. It only lasted 20 minutes or so until M came up with the great idea of a hot "tub" upstairs in our hotel room. So we went back upstairs and since C was up the 2 of us "swam" in our bathtub.
We had just gotten out of the tub and M was starting to pack up when Uncle W called and said they had landed already. Aunt M, Uncle B and Aunt R had all flown into Hawaii on the 22nd and had taken Uncle W with them to the Big Island for a few days. Only W&R flew back, since M&B were going to spend another 2 days enjoying the Big Island. We met Uncle W and Aunt R at a local sports bar, so that D could watch the Broncos play. It was a really cool open-air bar with lots of TV's to watch the different games.
I especially liked playing with the shuffle board that I could reach from our booth.
After eating, I started getting antsy and not willing to sit very still. So M decided that since she had paid for a whole day of parking, we would go back to the hotel garage and walk down to the beach. Besides the sun had come out and it was starting to get hot and humid.
C's first time in the ocean. She was a little hesitant about the water, but overall really loved it.
Aunt R took me out as far as we could go. The nice thing about the Waikiki area is that they have the tidal wall there. When we had been out a 6 am, the surf was coming over the wall. But back at 2 pm, with lower tide, the water was fairly calm and perfect for swimming.
We swam and hung out at the beach for about an hour, until M decided that we should head back towards D. We had just passed the sports bar (in the hopes of getting us girls to sleep in the back) when D called and said the game was over so we could head to base. Uncle W is stationed at MCBH Kanoehe Bay, so we picked the boys up and headed along the Pali Highway to get through the mountains and over to the southeast side of the island. W had gotten us accommodations at the base lodge for the duration of our time in Hawaii.
It even had a wonderful playground in the courtyard. Behind me is our room, the second set of windows on the bottom floor (basically right behind the pole). After playing outside for a while, it was decided to visit one of the base beaches.
The first beach we tried to visit, the tide was so high it was splashing the bottom of the steps you took to get there. So we went up the road 1/2 mile to a beach that had a little more space between the water and the steps. C sat up near D and played (ie. ATE) in the sand. M and I went to play in the surf. We sat fairly high up and let the tide wash over us.
Uncle W hanging out at the beach with us. After hanging out at the beach we headed into the neighboring town of Kailua for supper. The restaurant W had found on his phone was closed, so we ended up splitting up for supper and rejoining at an outdoor picnic table. We then headed back to base and bed, while W&R waited for the phone call the G&G had landed. At 10, G&G came in to say hello and just to peer at us sleeping girls.
While at Waikiki Beach, C decided she didn't like the feel of sand on her knees. Even though she didn't start walking, she figured out a way to get around without using her knees.
D also figured out how to bribe his little girls to come sit by him.....pop and popcorn.
We had both been sitting on M's lap all day and not really letting her do anything else, until out came the food. Both of us were in front of D within seconds. I don't think D ate or drank much of his own food.
C learning to use her fork.
Sometimes it is nice being so small. You can get into places no one else can. Other times it also means you can't get back out!!
I think we have a developing photographer in our midst. She definitely had enough practice in Hawaii. Say "cheese" for the camera.
C was busy climbing over all her presents.
C was excited for her very first flight. We flew to Phoenix, where we had a 45 minute layover. Basically just enough time to walk over two concourses, use the restroom and get ready to board again for the longer flight to Honolulu. M says we did pretty well. There was a little fidgeting 4-5 hours into the second flight, but C finally settled down for a nap and I started playing with stickers so it didn't last much more than 20 minutes.
We landed at 6:40 pm Hawaii time.
C and I waiting patiently while M&D grabbed all our bags, carseats and stroller. Once we got our bags we went to find the shuttle bus to take us to the car rental location. We were the second shuttle bus and since M&D sat near the back and had lots of luggage to unload, M was the very last one in line. So an hour later, we finally left in our car for the week--a nice silver Ford Focus.
Even though we were hungry (although M, C and I all had peanut butter & jelly sandwiches on the plane, so we weren't as hungry as D was), the first order of business was to find the hotel. Both C and I fell asleep on the way to the hotel, so M stayed with us while D then went to walk around trying to find fast food. 
Needless to say we were all asleep by 10 pm (which was 1 am CO time).
After finding that only McDonald's was open and a 20-person deep line, M&D decided we could wait until 7 when our hotel's restaurant opened. We walked the beach some until the rain drove us inside. From our breakfast table on the 3rd floor, we watched the sky lighten up behind Diamond Head.
C waiting patiently for food!
I enjoyed a hot chocolate to try and warm up for the rain we were caught in on the way back to the hotel.
After breakfast we went back to our hotel room to wait until the pool opened at 9 and discovered that we actually had a small balcony off our 11th floor room. Here's the view towards the north and the mountains surrounding Honolulu.
The view back to the south and the ocean. 
C and I hung out playing with my new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse map.
C got tuckered out. D was watching football in the room, so we let C sleep while M and I headed back down to the 3rd floor to swim.
There's Diamond Head in the background again, along with some potted palm trees. You can't tell, but it is still raining outside.
M tried to convince me that at 72 degrees, windy and rainy it was much too cold to swim in an outdoor pool, but I was not to be deterred. After sitting with my towel under the overhang for about 5 minutes, I finally jumped in the pool. It only lasted 20 minutes or so until M came up with the great idea of a hot "tub" upstairs in our hotel room. So we went back upstairs and since C was up the 2 of us "swam" in our bathtub.
We had just gotten out of the tub and M was starting to pack up when Uncle W called and said they had landed already. Aunt M, Uncle B and Aunt R had all flown into Hawaii on the 22nd and had taken Uncle W with them to the Big Island for a few days. Only W&R flew back, since M&B were going to spend another 2 days enjoying the Big Island. We met Uncle W and Aunt R at a local sports bar, so that D could watch the Broncos play. It was a really cool open-air bar with lots of TV's to watch the different games.
I especially liked playing with the shuffle board that I could reach from our booth.
After eating, I started getting antsy and not willing to sit very still. So M decided that since she had paid for a whole day of parking, we would go back to the hotel garage and walk down to the beach. Besides the sun had come out and it was starting to get hot and humid.
C's first time in the ocean. She was a little hesitant about the water, but overall really loved it.
Aunt R took me out as far as we could go. The nice thing about the Waikiki area is that they have the tidal wall there. When we had been out a 6 am, the surf was coming over the wall. But back at 2 pm, with lower tide, the water was fairly calm and perfect for swimming.
We swam and hung out at the beach for about an hour, until M decided that we should head back towards D. We had just passed the sports bar (in the hopes of getting us girls to sleep in the back) when D called and said the game was over so we could head to base. Uncle W is stationed at MCBH Kanoehe Bay, so we picked the boys up and headed along the Pali Highway to get through the mountains and over to the southeast side of the island. W had gotten us accommodations at the base lodge for the duration of our time in Hawaii.
It even had a wonderful playground in the courtyard. Behind me is our room, the second set of windows on the bottom floor (basically right behind the pole). After playing outside for a while, it was decided to visit one of the base beaches.
The first beach we tried to visit, the tide was so high it was splashing the bottom of the steps you took to get there. So we went up the road 1/2 mile to a beach that had a little more space between the water and the steps. C sat up near D and played (ie. ATE) in the sand. M and I went to play in the surf. We sat fairly high up and let the tide wash over us.
Uncle W hanging out at the beach with us. After hanging out at the beach we headed into the neighboring town of Kailua for supper. The restaurant W had found on his phone was closed, so we ended up splitting up for supper and rejoining at an outdoor picnic table. We then headed back to base and bed, while W&R waited for the phone call the G&G had landed. At 10, G&G came in to say hello and just to peer at us sleeping girls.
While at Waikiki Beach, C decided she didn't like the feel of sand on her knees. Even though she didn't start walking, she figured out a way to get around without using her knees.
We found a picnic table to grab a quick bit to eat, and as we sat there it was noticed just how popular the place is. 10-15 cars would all come in and then nothing for about 15 minutes and then 10 more cars. We realized just how lucky it was that both cars made it in (getting out of the grocery store we got separated by about 20 cars), because we realized that the guard at the entrance was keeping close tabs on the parking lot and was only letting in as many cars as was exiting.
The view from the top, before the 1/2 mile walk down the road to the beach.
Notice the sandy parts surrounding by tons of coral.
The view from the bottom, looking back up the hills.
Waiting by the rock to enter the preserve. Because it is a nature preserve we had to view a 10-minute video about the importance of conservation before being allowed down to the beach.
G and C hanging out in shallow water.
Enjoying the water.
Hanging out with G.
Building sand castles. Notice C is using her new crawl again!
Playing so nice together.
Enjoying the warm water, with not much of a surf (since it was breaking offshore).
G hanging out on the grass and keeping watch over all our stuff.
While the rest of us enjoyed the beach, Uncle W and Aunt R checked out the snorkeling.
Off they go.
When they came back it was my turn.
M decided to go with me. I swam on her back for a ways before I was done. So she dropped me back off on the beach and went with Uncle W. It took M a while to get the breathing rhythm down. Luckily the water was pretty shallow and every time a sandy spot came up, you could stand and get your bearings. 
It was after one of these short breaks that M spotted a sea turtle. She grabbed Uncle W's shoulder and they started following it until it stopped to feed on the coral. The next 5-10 minutes were just spent floating and watching the turtle. When they came back to shore, M quickly grabbed Aunt R, G's waterproof camera and headed back out to hopefully spot another turtle. M led R back to where she thought they had been and was just about to give up when R suggested going a little further. All a sudden another turtle appeared. So again we floated and watched the turtle feed. When we went back to shore, it was time to head out. Since G&G hadn't seen hardly anything of the island we decided to continue driving along the shore. However, as soon as we got back on the road we realized that it was almost 5 and we were heading towards Honolulu and rush hour. Uncle W made a quick decision and turned off on Likelike Highway and back to MCBH--basically we just drove the extreme southeast corner of the island. We cleaned up quickly and then went to supper just off base. After supper, M quickly ran to the grocery store to get me Claritin. My allergies were already starting to act up with being in Hawaii less then 48 hours.
