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#1
06-06-2009, 07:08 PM
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Hawaii Baby!! (lots of pics)
Hey hey girls... Well, we've been back from Oahu since Wednesday (tragic really) - we absolutely LOVED this trip and can't wait to go back. It was seriously soo SOO hard leaving because it is a truly magical place where the rest of the world disappears in favor of relaxation, fun and ohana!
I took over 1000 pics on this trip, so I cant share them all, but I thought I would share some highlights so you can see a bit of what we did! The flight from AZ to Oahu was just over 6 hours which was painful because we just wanted to get there already. The kids did really well for us, but were thrilled when we were on the ground in our rental car on the way to our resort - yay!  We stayed on the western side of the island at Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club. It's a timeshare resort about 25 minutes away from Waikiki, and it was absolutely everything we were looking for in an island getaway. We had tons of room, the ammenities were superb and it was GORGEOUS...   4 calm, peaceful lagoons like this one are what the Ko Olina resort area is known for.   The spectacular view from our balcony!  The view from the resort's Porte Cochere. The Ko Olina Beach Club shares the Ko Olina Resort area with the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa (and soon a Disney Vacation Club resort will be here too). All guests staying at either property can shuttle between the two resorts to enjoy ammenites, restaurants, etc. Soo... our first morning we got up and headed over to the JW for breakfast - it was a beautiful place to wander around...     The kids loved these lagoons with Stingrays and Hammerhead Sharks. You could get right up to the edge of the water and the animals were just a couple of feet away!  Koi ponds were everywhere in Hawaii - and they were beautiful! After exploring for a bit, we headed back "home" and got ready to spend a day at the beach. The lagoons at Ko Olina were perfection! The water is calm and safe, it wasn't too busy and the kids spent hours playing in the sand and water while Rocky and I snoozed and read on the beach without a worry in the world.     This was really the kid's first experience at a beach because we havent traditionally been "beach people" - I think Hawaii changed us! After spending the day in the sun, we decided to head into Waikiki for dinner...  It was a zoo! There was crazy traffic, wall to wall people, tourists were everywhere and dinner at Duke's at the Outrigger Waikiki was super mediocre. I can now say I've been to Waikiki and have no urge to go back  We pretty much stuck to our resort area and our explorations of the more remote areas of the island instead.The next day, we got up and it was time to head to the other side of the island for our Lost Hummer Tour! The tour was so much fun and we did some serious off roading up in the mountains at Kualoa Ranch to see some spots where various movies were filmed...  Godzilla's footprints - it was super cool to see the opening clip of the movie where Matthew Broderick is standing in a hole and they pan out to show these footprints and the surrounding area! Very neat to be able to say "we've been there!"  You rememer John visiting Sayid in South America, where Sayid is on the roof doing construction on a school? That building is right behind me, but the lush landscape of this area was incredible and other-worldly!  Take away the boat and buildings and you're looking at the first view the Dharma recruits had of the island from the submarine dock! Super cool! We saw locations from Pearl Harbor and Windtalkers. We saw where Ana Lucia kills Goodwin, Hurley's Golf Course, the hills where the blue VW is driven and rolled down and so much more - it was a really great tour! Most of the trip we spent relaxing at the pool or beach, but we did do a little site seeing as we were driving around here and there...  The view of Kualoa from Kaneohe Bay.  Mokolii Island (aka Chinaman's Hat) from the beach at Kaneohe Bay. I guess you can swim or Kayak out to this island and have it all to yourself if you want! We also made a stop in the Valley of the Temples to see Byodo-In Temple. It was built in the 60's to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrant workers arriving in Hawaii. It has also been featured in several episodes of Lost with Jin and Sun. It was a GORGEOUS place...     The day before our last day in Hawaii, we spent the afternoon at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was hotter than heck, but really neat to learn about the various islands throughout polynesia (Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, Tahiti, Samoa, etc). The kids got tattoos in Fiji...      We all looked beautiful decked out in our headgear made from the coconut palm tree in Tonga...    And we also enjoyed a luau and their polynesian show at the end of the night too! I thought the kids might be bored, but they were fascinated to see all of the presentations. It was a great day and really gave us a sense of the culture of the islands. We spent our last day enjoying the pool...  Katie made a friend in Oregon...  Emily loved hanging like a monkey from the bars around the pool...  And Andy hammed it up for the camera as usual! Sadly, the day came to an end and we said goodbye to Hawaii with a gorgeous sunset over Ko Olina...  I was an incredible vacation and I am a TOTAL sap so this sunset made me tear up at the thought of having to leave. I can't say enough good things about this trip - we weren't sure if we would really enjoy it because we arent beach and sun people. We are so used to the go go go style of our previous Southern California and Disneyworld vacations so we were a little worried we might be bored "just sitting around". That absolutely wasn't the case and this was easily the hardest vacation to "let go of" when it was time to come home. We honestly can't wait to return! Thanks sooo much for checking out my pics and reading all of this! Hope you enjoyed it R
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#2
06-06-2009, 07:13 PM
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Robin, those pictures are GORGEOUS!!!! Looks like such a pleasant, relaxing vacation, and the kids are so cute!
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#4
06-06-2009, 07:17 PM
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Oh My Goodness! Robin! These are stunning! I definitely enjoyed the pics & reading about your trip! We want to go so bad one day! Glad y'all had a great time! I'm sure it was hard to leave, but we're glad to have you home!
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#5
06-06-2009, 07:19 PM
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Wow I can't imagine wanting to leave a place as beautiful as that either! Definitely looks like you guys had a wonderful time! We would love to go there on vacation someday
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#6
06-06-2009, 07:21 PM
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Wow! I never thought I would like to visit Hawaii but that looks so inviting! Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing! You kids are adorable!
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   Signature created using Riviera Daydreams by Misty Cato
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#7
06-06-2009, 07:30 PM
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OMG those pictures are amazing. I love the head-dresses you all were wearing at the end. And that temple....gorgeous. I am so jealous.
Since we are on the East Coast, we tend to head to Europe and I really want to go to Hawaii for our next big trip. It just would take us an addition 6-8 hours of travel time to get to Cali before we even made it to Hawaii... Of course, we are horrible and never take the kids on our big trips. But one day, they will have Disney, so I don't feel so bad about it. Anyway, thanks for sharing your pics. You've got to get these into a Shutterfly book or something. I just ordered mine for our trip last summer to Paris. So lazy.... ETA - Your kids are gorgeous! Susan
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Susan
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#8
06-06-2009, 07:32 PM
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aw the pics are beautiful robin :]
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~~La~~
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#9
06-06-2009, 07:35 PM
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WOW!! Incredible!
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#10
06-06-2009, 07:35 PM
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Sigh. I have to hate you a little now. That looks entirely AMAZING and I'm completely jealous. I need to start a "send Libby to hawaii" fund. LOL!
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#11
06-06-2009, 07:38 PM
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Wow Robin!! You are an incredible photographer! Love the pics! Thanks for sharing!
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#12
06-06-2009, 07:40 PM
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beauuuuuutiful pics!!
I hope you take the time to scrap some of these memories
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#13
06-06-2009, 07:49 PM
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WOW! What a gorgeous place Robin! I'm so jealous! I wanna go there so badly now!
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#14
06-06-2009, 07:50 PM
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Sigh ...
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Heidi
CTing for : Studio Basic & Erica Zane
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#17
06-06-2009, 08:20 PM
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oh my word! what gorgeous photos. your kiddies are just gorgeous and everyone really looked like they were having the time of their life! wow! what an amazing family trip!! thanks for sharing these with us.
 adopt me?
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#20
06-06-2009, 09:19 PM
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It looks absolutely surreal Robin! I'm so glad you guys had a great time!
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#21
06-06-2009, 09:45 PM
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Fantastic photos!!! My aunt and her family are in Hawaii right now... boarding their cruise ship in about 5 hours. I can't wait to see their photos after seeing yours!!!!
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Sara Creating for absolutely no one because I don't think I know how to scrap anymore.
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#22
06-06-2009, 09:52 PM
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What an amazing vacation! WOW! Your photographs are gorgeous and it looks like you all had a fabulous time!!! Now I want to go!!!
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 Penny
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#23
06-06-2009, 10:30 PM
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Great pictures!! What an amazing vacation!! Now that I'm really trying to hone in on my photography skills, it was fun to look at the way you compose your shots! You make your pictures so interesting by your composition. Nice job!
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#24
06-06-2009, 10:30 PM
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oh wow - ur pics are so amazing and ur descriptions were so good i felt like i had a mini virtual vacation just then - totally what i need, but less virtual would be better of course LOL
glad u had a blast! now get scrapping those pics!
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Justine - Mum to Alyssa, 6.5yrs & Byron, nearly 3 CT for Britt-ish Designs & Amy Jaz Designs Fan of SSD   
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#25
06-06-2009, 10:57 PM
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OMGoodness, your vacation looked perfect!! I had to call DH over and show him EVERY picture and told him "We're going there!", lol!!
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 Huge fan of:   
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#27
06-06-2009, 11:12 PM
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Wow Robin! I've never really considered Hawaii a priority-vacation spot for us, but after seeing your pictures - the lush green trees and mountains, the beach, the resort...Aaaahhhh we'll have to bump this one up on the list!
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#28
06-06-2009, 11:16 PM
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You guys are all so awesome. If you can believe it, Oahu is the "ugly island" - we picked it because it was family friendly and less honeymooney/adventurey than some of the other islands. We thought it was beautiful (but we didnt stay in waikiki - so I think that helped) and love the idea of going back to explore Maui or the Big Island next!
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#30
06-06-2009, 11:29 PM
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Gah! I'm GREEN with envy! What fun
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Annie
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#31
06-06-2009, 11:48 PM
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Wow, what beautiful pics Robin! I'm glad you and your family had a great time and I so want to go to Hawaii even more now just looking at your pictures.
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 ~~Siggie by Laura (emmasmommy)~~
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#32
06-07-2009, 12:43 AM
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Hawaii is so amazing. I want to go back so bad, we went for 10 days back in 2006. So awesome!
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#33
06-07-2009, 12:45 AM
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Quote:
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#35
06-07-2009, 01:34 AM
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I haven't been to Oahu in...well...nearly 40 years!! I did go to Kauai with a friend a few years ago, and had an amazing time. You made me actually consider going to Oahu though, and staying at that resort!!
Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos of your family and your amazing trip!!
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#36
06-07-2009, 01:51 AM
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oh Robin! What amazing and breathtaking pics!!! Thanks for sharing! I *almost* feel like I was there....but sadly I wasn't, lol! I am so glad you guys had a great trip!!
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#38
06-07-2009, 02:42 AM
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Im really happy that you've embraced the carefree and relaxing aspects of this type of holiday - its by far my fav atmosphere to let go and escape the busy-ness we accept as normal in our lives!
You're pictures are gorgeous and the wonderful smiles on your faces tell us how thoroughly you all enjoyed the vacation. Thanks for sharing the detail too - it sure made me feel like I was along for the ride! I see Waikiki hasnt changed so much in 30 years - just busier - relatively speaking - can you still smell the sunscreen/coconut oil in the air?! This should open the passage for the next spate of island holidays throughout Asia - they too are amazing! Who knows, Australia could even be next! Welcome home (and back to reality) !
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#39
06-07-2009, 04:04 AM
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Looks like you guys had a blast!!
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#40
06-07-2009, 05:01 AM
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Quote:
 "Resort Tapler" always has vacancies!! Seriously though - you are right that Oahu is the Ugly Island!! If you liked the "slower" pace of the North Shore, you will LOVE Maui - it's all "country" (that's what locals call the area you stayed on Oahu) over here! I'm glad you guys didn't stay in Waikiki - you have no idea how many people come to Hawaii and ONLY experience Waikiki / Honolulu and just have no idea that is so NOT what Hawaii is really all about!! Also, I was a little worried when I read you were here when you were - the weather wasn't great that week - SUPER hot (it's not normally THAT hot), with Kona winds (yuckiness) and lots of Vog (that's the volcanic version of fog - volcanic gases from the Big Island sort of just settle around the islands when we have Kona or no winds and make things pretty miserable - hot, sticky, and just really really hazey until the trade winds kick back up and blow it out of here - but I think we get the vog worse on Maui than they do Oahu since we're closer to the Big Island, so maybe it wasn't too bad over there?). Anyway, my point is - MAUI NEXT!!!!! Here's my family blog so you can see what our life is like on Maui (although we don't do much touristy stuff, so a lot of this isn't too different than anyone else's life): http://TaplerOhana.blogspot.com
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#41
06-07-2009, 08:05 AM
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Such amazing photos....I don't think I would ever want to come home!!
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♥ Love and Peace ♥
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#42
06-07-2009, 09:14 AM
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What action did you run on some of those photos?! The soft ones, I mean.
What a great trip. I will NEVER be able to go there but it's nice to see pictures from those who can! I hope your children know how lucky they are to have done this at such a young age!!
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#43
06-07-2009, 09:46 AM
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OMGosh Robin! What beautiful photos! I went to Hawaii when I graduated from HS (many, many years ago LOL!). Those photos totally take me back. You really make me want to take the family there some day! Thanks for sharing
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#46
06-07-2009, 10:59 AM
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Gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing your photos!I have always wanted to go there.
I am so glad you enjoyed a 'real' R&R holiday!
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#49
06-07-2009, 03:36 PM
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I am so glad that you and your family had a great time! Glad too that you really got to see the island! Wonderful pictures, thank you for sharing!
My family is from Hawaii and I am always sad when people go and come back saying that they didn't have a good time or that they didn't think it is a special place.--Because it really is!!!! (lol..imho, of course!)
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~ Robin  Siggie made by Jacinda
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#50
06-07-2009, 05:51 PM
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What fabulous photos Robin! Your kids are too cute! It brought back memories for me because I lived there for 3 years when I was younger and just looking from the beach to Chinamen's Hat brought a smile to my face!
How cool was that Lost tour? I love that photo of you all listening to the radio! So glad you had a great time.
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Happy Scrappin!
Pam 
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