Babymoon to Hawaii!

I really can’t believe how lucky we were to get to go on a babymoon to Hawaii. I feel so spoiled rotten and SO grateful I work for such a great company that pays for our vacation! We really had the best time and it was so great to soak in some time together just the two of us, before our world completely changes in a few months. I can’t believe we are going to be PARENTS!

Anyway, we spent the first four days on the North Shore of Oahu. This was my third time to Oahu (spoiled rotten, I know) and every time I go I always stay on the North Shore. Landon has heard me talk about Hawaii so much, so it was fun to finally take him to all the places I love so much. Our last two days were on the southwest side of the island, which has a completely different feel. The North Shore definitely feels like an island—one lane roads, only a few stoplights, kind of run-down, not so touristy… But the southern part of the island by Honolulu feels like a normal city, kind of like Southern California or something. It was nice to experience both! It was also weird to be outside of Utah and pregnant. In Utah, pregnant women are everywhere, but I hardly saw any in Hawaii. Everywhere we went people asked the exact same questions in the exact same order--

When are you due? ….Ohhh, not much longer!

Is this your first? …Congratulations!

Do you know what you’re having? …A boy! Dad must be thrilled!

Do you have a name picked out?

It was pretty funny! Okay anyway this is going to be a novel, but I want to do a run down of each day because I don’t want to forget this trip :)

Tuesday:
I was so worried about our flight, because being 30 weeks pregnant and having to sit in one position for 6+ hours isn’t the most fun thing. Plus, depending on the day I can get pretty sick. Luckily, it really wasn’t so bad! We were exhausted from getting up at 4:30am, so we slept pretty well. At one point I started to feel really sick and just kind of freaking out a little bit so Landon gave me his phone and I listened to The Beatles which instantly calmed me down, helped me sleep, and I didn’t throw up. Beatles for the win! Baby Boy was also SUPER busy on the flight, which I love! I swear, he likes airplanes like his daddy! ;) We were also really lucky and were able to switch our seats from the middle row to the window and an aisle seat. The only bad part is we had to sit in the very back row, but it ended up being great! One guy even commented how perfect it was for me to be sitting right next to the bathroom haha. Seriously though—I pee every two seconds! Anyway, we got to Hawaii around 12:30, picked up our cute rental car, and headed up to the North Shore. It’s seriously amazing driving from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu through the mountains and into the jungle. It’s amazingly beautiful! We pulled out and stopped to check out China Man’s Hat and also feel the warm ocean for the first time. It felt so unreal to be there! We got to Laie and explored a bit. We watched the seriously ginormous waves crash over the rocks at Laie point, ate at the delicious Seven Brothers Burgers, went grocery shopping, and then checked into our cute little rental. I seriously love using Airbnb! Our place was so cute and was stocked with everything we needed—beach towels, beach umbrella, beach mats, beach chairs, boogie boards, even aloe vera—which was soooo nice because we definitely got a little burnt. It’s also so nice to have a kitchen because we saved a LOT of money eating at home. After settling in we drove to Waimea to watch the insane waves and the surfers. There was a surfing competition while we were there (not that day, we actually didn’t go to the competition because it would’ve been insane trying to get out there and deal with the crowds/lack of parking…plus we had tickets to the PCC that day. Lame, we know) But the waves were INSANE! It’s hard to capture on pictures and it’s actually kind of hard to really tell how big they are even in person, until you see a surfer and how tiny they are in comparison to the wave. Crazy people! We also visited Hukilau, my favorite, and walked along the beach.

China Man's Hat

I mean really? Can you handle how pretty those mountains are?! I can't!

We loved our rental car... which I named Herpes. HAHA! I'm so funny ;)

pictures definitely don't do the waves justice. For some reason big waves give me such anxiety now. I think it's because ever since sailing in the ocean I have a bigger appreciation and respect for the power and scariness of WATER!

Waimea Bay 

Our cute Airbnb in Laie 

Wednesday:
We were planning on doing a sunrise hike, but woke up to rain. So we changed our plans around and went to the Dole Plantation. One thing I hate about tourist-y things like this is how much they charge for everything. You want to walk around the gardens? Well that’s 9 dollars! You want to take a stupid little train ride? That’s another 7. So we just walked around and did the free stuff :) Landon was pretty excited because they had a cacao tree with cacao pods. We wanted to buy a pod but of course they aren’t for sale. One of the workers told me they had some on display at the train platform and that no one would notice if one went missing… but I was way too chicken to take it haha. But we did find out about a place called Waialua Estate that isn’t as well known as Dole Plantation, but we LOVED it. They’re known for their coffee and chocolate, but of course we were just excited about the chocolate. They took us on a little tour and showed us a cacao tree, where they ferment the beans, and we got to see some cacao beans drying out on the racks. It smelled SO good. At the end of the tour we got to try some samples and then we spent a small fortune on chocolate ha! It was so fun! After that we went to Kuilima Cove to snorkel. I hadn’t been to this beach before because it’s kind of tucked away by Turtle Bay Resort. They have a little rock wall that protects it from the crazy North Shore waves, making it one of the only places to snorkel on the North Shore in the winter. I learned that swimming while pregnant is HARD. It was hard for me to float on my back and I just had to work so hard to stay up. I snorkeled for a bit, but made Landon stay right next to me and then hold me when I got too tired haha. I felt so pathetic! I ended up spending more time on the beach watching Landon snorkel. :) He had so much fun and was in heaven because he found a sea turtle, named Charlie, that he followed around for awhile. After the beach we stopped by Haleiwa to get some Matsumoto’s shave ice. Landon has heard me talk about this so much, and I’m so glad he loved it as much as I do. It’s seriously HEAVEN! We also stopped into a store called “The Growing Keiki” (Keiki is Hawaiian for child). They had some really cute baby clothes, that were, of course, WAY overpriced. But I really wanted to get something for Baby Boy. Luckily we found the cutest book ever, so we had to get it for him. After that we stopped by Sunset Beach and then headed over to the Laie temple and walked around—it’s seriously SO pretty and I had no idea it was the fifth oldest temple. It was really cool to hear about the history of the temple/Laie/BYU Hawaii from the cute missionaries. We had the best day!

aren't baby pineapples SO cute?!

A real cacao tree! The pods grow from the middle of the big branches on the tree.

This is where they let the cocoa beans dry after fermenting. It smelled SO good!

Landon was obviously in heaven. 70% dark chocolate made in Hawaii!

Kuilima Cove

Sunbathing proved to be a little more complicated with this huge belly. Laying on my back? Not really an option. Laying on my belly? Obviously not an option. Laying on my side? Definitely an option, not ideal for getting a tan ;)

My cute little snorkler :) You can see how protected this little bay was which is why it's like the only place to snorkel on the North Shore in the winter!

This is what dreams are made of! Seriously. I dream of Matsumotos!

this is actually my favorite palm tree in the world :) Sunset Beach 

Thursday:
We spent the morning at Hukilau beach, but it was way too windy/cold for us to get in the water. The waves were also pretty huge, so we just sat on our little beach chairs and relaxed and watched the ocean. I could seriously sit there all day! Then we spent the rest of the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I’ve been before, but was so excited to show Landon. Our favorite part was learning about Iosepa, the humongous sailboat that the students at BYU Hawaii built and then actually sailed as part of their class. It was modeled after the ancient Hawaiian boats and was just so pretty! We also had so much fun at the Lu’au and the night show—Ha Breath of Life. At the beginning of the night show they have a little cartoon story that talks about a dad being so excited for the birth of his son and listening to his heartbeat by laying on the mom’s tummy and of course I’m bawling haha I just can’t handle it. I’m way too emotional right now!

The Iosepa! 

I always love the Samoan presentation at the PCC! They're so funny and how cool is this guy for claiming a palm tree?!

Friday:
We drove over an hour south to do the Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trail. Oh man, it was HOT! I feel like I’m always hot now that I’m pregnant, but it was especially hot. The trail itself was really nice and paved, but felt pretty steep for 30 weeks pregnant haha. I went really slow and just took it easy. The view was INCREDIBLE and totally worth the pain of getting up haha. We also saw a lot of humpback whales—two of them close enough to the shore to actually see their bodies and see their tales which was SO neat. After being so hot on the hike, we were ready to get in the WATER. The south shore was SO calm compared to the North Shore, so it was fun to actually get to play in the water. We went to Lanikai beach which is close to Kailua. I LOVED it. It was pretty crowded compared to our nearly empty Hukilau beach, but it wasn’t too bad. Landon spent a lot of time snorkeling, but was pretty disappointed because he didn’t see another sea turtle. I snorkeled a bit too because this time I brought a life jacket and was able to stay afloat ha! The beach was sandy, but once you were in the water you had to be careful because there was a lot of rocks/coral. That made for some good snorkeling though! After the beach we headed home to make dinner and of course had Matsumotos again!

It was steeper than it looks okay? Haha!  

totally worth the view!

Lanikai beach! Beautiful and crowded! There were tons of Hobie Cat sailboats on the beach and we were hoping to see one of them actually out there sailing but of course they just stayed there all day. Lame sauce. 

This is the other thing that dreams are made of. Oh man, we drank SO much juice!

Saturday:
We spent our last morning on the North Shore at Hukilau beach. I think it’s probably my favorite beach in the world and I’m so happy I was finally able to take Landon! We then checked out of our Laie house and said goodbye to the North Shore. Of course had to stop by Matsumotos one more time! Our next apartment was on the Southwest side of Oahu. I’ve never spent any time on the South or West side of Oahu, so it was exciting to be somewhere new. We stayed in a town called Ewa Beach (which I embarrassingly learned is pronounced Ev-uh not Ee-wah) and it felt more like Southern California than the island feel you get on the North Shore. It was weird to have so many stop lights, highways, stores, neighborhoods… I wouldn’t say I liked it any less than the North Shore, it’s just different and I’m glad we experienced both! Our apartment was amaaaaaazing! We had a 1 minute walk to our own little beach—which was SO nice! After dropping off our stuff we headed to Ko’Olina to see Aulani. We wanted to stay there at least one night, but you wouldn’t even believe how expensive it is! So we kind of snuck in haha. We found a gate that wasn’t locked and just casually walked through the pool area and the hotel. It was really nice and I would LOVE to come back and stay a night or two with our kids one day, but I was really disappointed about the lack of Mickey and Disney! You seriously would never guess it was a Disney resort. Lame sauce! But it was still cool to see. Ko’Olina also has four manmade lagoons that are so pretty, but we decided just to walk along the path and not get in—they’re pretty much just big pools haha. Next up was Electric Beach at Kahe Point. They call it electric beach because there’s an electricity plant that has pipes that go into the ocean that push out warm water. This attracts a lot of fish, so it is a great snorkeling spot. I didn’t have the life jacket anymore (it was at our Laie house) so I hung out at the beach while Landon went snorkeling. You have to swim out pretty far to get to the pipes, so it definitely would’ve been way too hard for me to get out there. Darn! The beach itself was definitely not pretty, and actually really small, but Landon said it was the best snorkeling by far! I didn’t love it because I couldn’t see him and was just worried of course. After that we headed home, had dinner, and then hung out on our little beach for a bit.

I really think Hukilau is my favorite beach in the world. I just love it!

this picture just makes me laugh so much! I was a lot tanner/smaller/nimbler last time I was at Hukilau ha!!

our cute place in Ewa Beach

Ko'Olina Lagoons 

I felt like such a rebel walking around Aulani ha ;)

Can you even tell this is a Disney resort? I sure can't! We couldn't find any sign or hint of Mickey anywhere.

Electric Beach. Definitely not a "nice beach" but Landon had a blast snorkeling!

Beautiful sunset on our little "private" beach at our place.

Landon calls this a "Pinterest Fail" picture hahaha! Oh well, worth the try.

Sunday:
Our last full day in Hawaii…. so sad! We woke up pretty early and headed to the west side to go Scuba Diving! This was definitely the highlight of Landon’s trip and what he was most looking forward to. He got certified right before we left, but of course they don’t let pregnant ladies scuba. We got really lucky that we picked Sunday to do it, because the rest of the week the waves/weather had been too crazy and they had to cancel. Our scuba guide was Jed and he was awesome. Just super friendly and a funny guy. He let me tag along and snorkel so it was nice to be on the boat and get to see Landon dive! Our first dive site was to a sunken airplane. It was Landon’s first open water dive, so I was nervous but he did great and had so much fun! He saw some eels, puffer fish, and even heard whales underwater. I jumped in the water and swam around/snorkeled for about five minutes but really couldn’t see anything haha. I was just proud of myself for getting in the open water so far offshore! Kind of freaky when you think about it. The second dive site was a sunken ship called the LCU and another airplane. Landon saw two huge sea turtles that were as big as a truck bed! They also brought me up a broken sunrise shell. I spent more time in the water here and could kind of see the shipwreck, but mostly I just saw the divers’ bubbles. After our little scuba adventure we headed home for lunch and then went to Waikiki. This was my third time to Oahu, but my first time to Waikiki. I’ve always just said I hate Waikiki but I had never given it a try. It was definitely busy, but again it wasn’t “bad” just different than the feeling of the North Shore. I actually loved it! There’s a pathway along the whole beach that we walked along and then a really cool outdoor mall that was fun to walk through. We had a blast, but we were definitely SO tired from all the walking by the end of the day. We went to Teddy’s Bigger Burgers for dinner and then went home, packed, and sat on our little beach watching the waves. It’s so fun being out at the beach at night, and we were so sad to say goodbye.

His first real open dive! Brave boy!

He gave me one of his Sunrise Shell pendants for free because he felt bad that the snorkeling was so crappy for me. I didn't see a single fish ha

Waikiki 

Diamond Head 

We wanted to be on one of those sailboats SOOOO bad! Not just a booze cruise though, like actually sailing :)

My 31 week baby bump. Baby Boy was the size of a pineapple that week, which seemed perfect for being in Hawaii :)

Pretty outdoor mall :)

Monday morning we woke up early and headed home…Boo! It was raining when we woke up, so I'm convinced Hawaii was just as sad as we were that we had to go home. I’m actually sitting here on the airplane typing this, which is nice because it’s made the time fly (no pun intended!) and blogging about big trips like this is usually SO overwhelming for me. It really takes hours and hours!

Anyway, we really had the best time. It was so nice to relax and spend time (in paradise!) just the two of us before Baby Boy arrives. Which by the way, suddenly feels like FOREVER away!! We are getting a little anxious over here :)