We traded the clouds and rain of Seattle for a week in paradise on Oahu. It was the first annual Prekker-Johnson vacation and we had a blast with Fran's sister's family. Thanks to Fran and Jan for heading up the organizing committee (Nick and I, as "good time dadas," were really just along for the ride!). We rented a house just off the beach in Kailua. We've been back in the northwest for a week now and I can feel my vitamin D dropping. Time to relive the glory...
The story before we even got on the plane was the beautiful weather we actually left behind. The second week in February here was sunny and in the 50s, it felt like spring had arrived. The Johnsons drove up from Portland on Friday. Before catching our Saturday afternoon flight, we took the kids to Golden Gardens Park. Erin loved the swings (above), and Brennan and Nick figured out the fast shutter speed on their new camera (below).
In a questionable move, we got the girls some fro-yo cones just before getting on a 6 hour flight. More sugar, more sugar! Erin eventually fell asleep an hour or two before landing. Nora was restless the entire way to Hawaii.
We stayed at a "hotel" in Honolulu (in quotes... Nick we're looking at you) the first night in Hawaii, then struck out for Kailua the next morning. Nothing like waking up and walking out to 75 degrees and sunshine. While waiting to get into the vacation home we rented, we hung out at Kailua Beach Park. Erin and Lucy like the sand and Nora liked the hat (I think!).
The house was amazing. 5 bedrooms with a patio, grill, and backyard swimming pool... and a two minute walk to private beach access at the end of the block. Erin and Lucy quickly figured out that slapping water noodles on the pool made a loud (read: entertaining) noise. Having two families with kids in the house made for just the right mix of usual routine (naptime, meals, stories, etc) and vacation play.
Didn't take us long to get in the water! The ocean was warm and the half-moon bay lined with white sand beach near our house was great for surfing (Nick and Brennan), bodyboarding (other adults), jumping in the surf (Erin and Lucy), and eating sand by the handful (Nora).
One of our last afternoons on Oahu was spent back in Honolulu at the zoo. Nick got sort of artsy with the photos, so I borrowed a couple to post here.
The Prekkers aren't terribly photogenic, we discovered. Below is as close to a family portrait as we could muster. This pic and one farther down also capture my attempt at facial hair. Why shave it all when you're on vacation? Opinions were mixed on the chin beard (Erin = scratchy, Fran = just stupid looking). I reminded both of them that feedback like that wasn't very "aloha"!
Above was our walk along a short retaining wall to the ocean. Nora would wake up between 6 and 7 a.m. and I would bundle her up in the baby harness and go for a walk on the beach. Good memories.
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As you can see (above), the judges weren't always impartial, but the competition was fierce.
My challengers tried to get in my head with a pretty intimidating Maori haka (posture dance and war cry; above), but they were the ones crying when it came time to put their skills where their haka is (below). Funniest observation about this photo is how the intensity of the moment apparently made Erin want to pull her underpants down!
I've spent a lot of time and energy at work since we moved to Seattle. Our time in Kailua was even more special because of all the time I could spend with Fran and the kids. We even got a date night, where I took Fran on a drive up the north shore of Oahu. We ended up at a beachfront restaurant at Turtle Bay resort for a great dinner as the sun went down.
Here was the view over the Pacific at the end of a great vacation. Can't wait for next year!
