Hawaii- Here we come!

We finally made it! I decided to attempt at blogging to keep our families and friends up to date with what is going on in our lives, so we will see how this goes:

The journey over here was interesting and laughably long, thanks to an 8 hour delay in Seattle, but we made it. Hudson was quite the trooper and we were able to entertain him at the airport with a back up bag of toys, snacks, DVD's, and lots of talk about different airplanes. He loved exploring the airport, meeting new people and especially staring at the AirBus. It looked like a cruise ship had landed!

We arrived in Honolulu around 11pm Hawaii time, which was around 4 am to us. Walking through the Honolulu airport brought back so many memories. The Honolulu airport is like taking a step back in time, and smelling the plumeria is all part of the experience.

The tropical breeze is almost breathtaking and such a welcoming feeling after being SO sleepy! We had to press on for another hour or two to get all the bags, a cab/van and find our hotel. Needless to say, we slept very soundly once we got to the hotel with our 12 bags, 2 strollers, 1 car seat, AND 1 sleepy Happy Feet. My grandmother named Hudson "Happy Feet" when we were living with her last month. She said she could hear his happy feet pitter pattering, no matter where she was in her huge house. We loved living with her and the memories of that month will stay with us forever. I think everyone should live with their grandparents for a while...there are just no words to describe how special that time is together. I tried to get grandmother to come on the trip with us, but she says it's too long of a flight. Maybe we can convince her one day, but until then, we will always have our memories of our special time together.

Being back here is very over whelming, so we are trying to take everything in, one day at a time. For now, we are enjoying the view, the beach, the weather and the pool. We are staying at the Hilton Prince Kuhio in Waikiki, http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/HNLWAHF-Hilton-Waikiki-Prince-Kuhio-Hawaii/index.do and it is actually down the street where Jenny and Ryan used to live. It is a great location and a 5 minute stroll to the beach. We have reunited with an old friend, Tim, who Brian and I used to spend a lot of time with learning about Hawaiian culture, family and music. He was one of the first people we met 5 years ago and he hasn't changed a bit. His parents own the hotel, The Royal Grove, that he now runs. We are supposed to stay there when our Hilton Honors points run out in a few days. http://www.royalgrovehotel.com/. Yes, it is hot pink, and it is rich with Hawaiian culture. The staff and guests even do a pot luck dinner a few nights a week and then get together and play beautiful music. Brian sometimes takes part and plays along with his ukulele!