Hawaii...day 3

Just a warning now, there are a LOT of pictures so I'll try to keep it brief.

We start early in the morning (around 4:30, thank you for letting us sleep in) with Ryker wearing a swimming diaper on his head. This is the kid that won't wear hats for more than 5 seconds. He ran around the hotel room for a few minutes and loved having it on his head.

See, he loves it

After Jacob left we went to the Waikiki Aquarium where Ryker loved watching the fish

They had this little bubble thing the kids could stand in and get an up close and personal look at the sharks and big fish. It was a fight getting him out of there when the other kids started lining up to take their turn

So cool

He liked watching the Frog Fish. It sure doesn't look like a frog to me

The view from the "backyard" area of the aquarium

Our next stop was the Honolulu Zoo. This tree was outside the entrance and I couldn't pass by without taking a picture. It's so cool and creepy looking all at the same time

Ryker didn't care about any of the animals, he just wanted to play with the birds

Another funky tree...and a cool leaf

Ryker chasing the birds around the picnic area

Still chasing..

Getting closer...

While Ryker is chasing the other birds, a peacock decides it wants a drink of Ryker's water hanging on the back of the stroller

This bird wasn't shy at all. It shared Ryker's corn dog with him. When Ryker saw it on our table he just turned away and tried petting the birds on the ground

When we finished at the zoo we were off to our next adventure.

Brandi's work invited their kids in to go trick-or-treating through the office. We took Ryker and had a lot of fun

(My friend Autum's mom, Laurie, made the awesome vest and chaps. He's the cutest biker I've ever seen.....his dad takes a really close second ;) )

We walked around outside looking at the motorcycles parked nearby (which I didn't get a picture of) and Ryker actually left the rag and sunglasses on his head. I was hopeful he would keep it on the whole time.

Ryker and Uncle Andrew all dressed up and ready to get some candy. The rag and sunglasses came off once he couldn't see any motorcycles.

Ryker leading the way

This little Power Ranger started picking on Ryker before things even got started

By the end Ryker was chasing the Power Ranger who was running from him asking if he wants to wrestle. Ryker kept chasing him and as Power Ranger ran around big brother, Spiderman, he told Ryker to wrestle him (pointing to his brother). Hahahahahaha

Ryker getting candy from Aunt Brandi

The whole group

When we get home Ryker helps Andrew clean out the dishwasher. What a big helper

Ryker giving Brandi kisses. Watch out Andrew, Ryker's making his move

It was a long but really fun day. We wish Dad could have stayed a while longer, but we loved the time we had with him.

Hawaii...day 2

Jacob flew in today and Ryker was soooo excited to see him

Ryker and I met up with Jacob at his hotel room in Waikiki which is about a 15 minute drive from Andrew and Brandi's house. We got settled in and went to meet up with Andrew and show Jacob their house. While waiting for Brandi to get off work so we could all go to dinner together we decided to take a trip to the beach. This was supposed to be just a little walk on the beach and dip our feet in the water.

Ryker was so excited he ran to towards the water as fast as he could

Jacob and Ryker wading in the water

Ryker really was having fun

Cute little Ryker footprints in the sand

Ryker and Andrew playing in the water

He got a little more than just his feet wet

Fists full of sand he would not let go of

All of us getting a little wetter than we planned on. What a beautiful day and view

Notice how excited Ryker is.?! I love this picture!!!

Our plan of just getting our feet wet didn't turn out so well. Ryker ended up drenched and we were less than prepared. We stripped him down, showered him off and were going to let him air dry a little before putting on some dry clothes, but a nice man saw what was going on and offered us a towel.

After the beach we went back to Andrew and Brandi's to pick up Brandi and go to dinner. We ate at a yummy restaurant (I don't remember the name). Poor Ryker was so exhausted he started falling asleep in his high chair and ended up laying his head on the table and passing out.

The five of us

Apparently there is a beautiful waterfall, pond and landscape behind us, but we got there after dark and weren't able to enjoy it.

Hawaii...day 1

Since Ryker slept on the plane and then was out soon after getting to Andrew and Brandi's he woke up at his normal Utah time which made it 2:30 AM in Hawaii. I wasn't lucky enough to sleep on the plane so I was a bit tired. I didn't want to wake up Andrew and Brandi since they had to get up in a few hours to go to work so I kept Ryker in the room and he did a great job of unpacking the suitcase, but he didn't do a good job of keeping things organized.

I wasn't feeling like doing much today since I was tired and a little nervous to go out on my own. They did leave directions to the Marine Corp base where I could go grocery shopping. I decided to take a risk and try to find my way there. I found my way, but couldn't find the store and while I was driving around Ryker fell asleep so we went home and tried again later. The second time I asked for directions and drove right to it.

Ryker took a few short naps during the day, but was out cold by 5 PM so we all just hung out at the house and tried watching a movie. I made it about 2 minutes and was out.

This is the beautiful view we enjoyed from their back deck. It was gorgeous!!

These pictures really don't do it justice.

Hawaii..night 1

Jacob had one of the best ideas ever. Since he had a day lay over in Hawaii on his way to his next deployment and because Andrew and Brandi live there, he asked if Ryker and I wanted to go visit for a few days. He didn't have to ask me twice.


We left Salt Lake around 3 PM and Ryker was wide awake. I was hoping he would at least take a little nap on the plane, but no such luck. We were on the very last row in a smaller plane so I was able to put him on the floor and he had a few feet to run. The plane was so small that one of the flight attendants jump seats folded down practically right next to us. Ryker was moving around and his hand came in contact with the flight attendant's knee and he froze. She was wearing nylons and he hadn't felt that before. The entire time we were taking off and landing Ryker was rubbing her knee. I was a little embarrassed and pulled Ryker's hand away, but she said she didn't mind and would even make sure her legs were crossed so he could reach her knee. I think she did that so he wasn't rubbing her thigh because he couldn't quite reach her knee. :)


We had a short lay over in Seattle and I let Ryker down to run. He quickly found a friend whose mom had the same idea. Ryker immediately ran up to the boy, whose name is Jacob, and gave him a great big hug. They were buddies after that. Unfortunately Jacob and his mom were about 8 rows ahead of us on the plane so they didn't get to play after we boarded.

We don't let Ryker stand on furniture, but they were having such a good time watching the planes and trucks moving around that I decided just this once wasn't going to hurt. And it gave me a break from chasing after him.

Ryker did great and slept through most of the flight to Hawaii. When we exited the plane I had no idea where to go. I saw the baggage claim sign and headed that way. Needless to say I took the LONG way around, but we were finally able to find Andrew and Brandi and our luggage. It was so great to see them!!! They brought a beautiful real flower lei for me and a masculine "seaweed" one for Ryker. It was awesome looking, but unfortunately it really did smell like seaweed so we didn't put it on him.

It was 10 PM (2 AM Utah time) when we landed so we went to Andrew and Brandi's and went to bed.