Hawaii--Days 6 & 7

Day 6:


Our trip was quickly winding down:( But we HAD to hit the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial (this was on Lori's bucket list:) We went first thing in the morning as this was the Pearl Harbor anniversary week and the place was super busy! But we made it and got our tickets!!! As I said earlier, there was 35 Pearl Harbor survivors on O'ahu this week and so many of them were at the memorial to tell their stories, take pictures, sign autographs, etc. Here are my kids with some of the cutest old men I have ever met:


The kids were SUPER excited to be in Pearl Harbor as they have learned about it in school. We watched a very informative documentary before boarding the ferry to go out to the memorial. I did not know that the footage on this documentary is exclusive to this memorial and cannot be seen ANYWHERE else. I sure learned a ton. After the video, we hopped on the ferry to go out to the memorial:


The boys (especially Max) were fascinated to know that this memorial is actually a burial ground for many of the men on the U.S.S. Arizona. As the ship has been left exactly where it sank, so have the men who were entombed inside the ship. (Of course Max was looking for body parts floating the water but was disappointed.) It is amazing to be standing over this sunken ship:



And after 70 years, the ship is STILL leaking oil. No swimming is allowed in this harbor as it is considered toxic however, we saw fish swimming everywhere--must be mutant fish to live in water like this:


Another retired battleship--the U.S.S. Missouri--can be seen docked from the U.S.S. Arizona site.


After a fun and inspiring morning, we headed over to Haunamu Bay for some SERIOUS snorkeling.


Max was just SURE that he was NOT going to snorkel and that seeing all those fish would freak him out. I seriously spent 5 minutes teaching him what to do and he took RIGHT to it--seriously....it's like this boy was born to snorkel:) Of course Carlie and Ethan were all over the snorkeling thing too. We saw some AMAZING fish including the Hawaiian state fish: Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. Yes...I can say it!!! Lori had an underwater camera so I can't wait to see what she got!



All over this nature preserve are mongoose--or is it mongooses??? Anyways, the story goes that the Hawaiians wanted to get rid of the snakes so someone brought over a couple of mongoose to rid the island of snakes. Well...the snakes are now gone but mongoose are EVERYWHERE!!! They are like the Hawaiian raccoon and can be found in any trash can on the beach. So this is NOT a picture of a trash can--look at the weasel-like creatures all around it:


Day 7:
Yes, sadly this day had to come:( Honestly, every time we go on a vacation, after a few days I think, "Yep..this has been fun but it's time to get back home." Well every time I'm in Hawaii, I could honestly stay another week. We just had such an amazing time and sure packed in a whole lot this week. The kids will remember this forever and that's what matters most to Chris and I. We've got to make these memories while they're young and still like to hang out with their families:) We spent our last morning on the beach of course before heading over to the airport. Flights were smooth and perfect both ways. Here are some of my favorite landscape pics of the week:
Hawaiian Raibow:


Hawaiian Sunrise:



Hawaiian Sunset: