Hawaii

Zac informed us at the beginning of 2024 that he had enough flight miles saved up to take our family on a good vacation.  The kids had a snow day in January and I assigned each of them to come up with their dream vacation and present it to the family including a budget and activities that they would do.  Afterwards, we all ranked our favorite trips and the trip that won was... Hawaii, presented by Charlotte!

On the way, to SLC to catch the plane, the kids were able to get a session in at the Brigham City Temple to do baptisms for the dead.

Right after our temple trip in Brigham City, we were able to stop at the Layton, UT temple open house.  This one had significance to us, as we lived in Farmington for almost 5 years and this would have been our temple if we had stayed.

We headed to the airport early in the morning to catch the flight to LA and on to Hawaii!

The kids love to fly!

Even the signs at the Honolulu airport were awesome!

Once we were finally able to find our Turo car, we were on the road and were immediately greeted by a Hawaiian rainbow.

Day 1: Exploring the Tide Pools at Turtle Beach, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the Oahu Temple

We couldn't believe all of the beautiful tropical flowers.

Our super sweet Model X Tesla which caused much drama on the trip as we struggled to keep it charged.

Polynesian Cultural Center:

We learned to throw spear sticks and start fire with sticks.  Our instructor was from the same city in the Philippines that Ashlyn was currently serving.  We met many Filipinos at the Cultural Center.

We also all got tribal henna tattoos.  Ian may have liked his a little too much.

Whitlee learned to be a New Zealand warrior.

Day 2: Offshore fishing, Dole Plantation, hike to Waimea Falls, and Luau

We got early in the morning to try our hand at offshore fishing and got 100% skunked!  We didn't even get a single bite!

Dole Plantation

The best part of the Dole Plantation train tour was the little lizard crawling on Charlotte's leg!

We were so surprised at how many wild chickens were roaming all over!  This sign was funny.  Zac found us some Philippine mangos to try.  They were gross and none of us liked them!

We fit a lot into one day and Bronson may have slept through the luau.

They taught us to make banana leaf crowns and fresh flower leis.

Day 3: Snorkel trip to see the sea turtles and chillin' on the beach day

Day 4: Ropes Course, Wet 'N Wild, and Pearl Harbor

The most exciting part of the whole trip for Bronson was renting a Tesla Model X.  The car was incredibly cool and surprisingly fit all 6 of us.  However, it became somewhat of a nightmare when we found out that there was only one reliable Tesla Super Charger on the Island that wasn't privately owned.  Which meant that Zac and I had to plan on a date night every night to drive 30 minutes from our hotel, wait in a 1-2 hour line and then charge the Tesla for 1 hour.  It was my least favorite part of the trip.  Zac and I celebrated our birthday on the trip and as a gift to us, Ian offered to wait in line to charge the Tesla while we went into a restaurant within walking distance and had a whole meal while he waited in line, he never even got to the front of the line while we ate our whole meal.  We brought him a steak dinner to tell him thanks!

Day 5: Souvenir shopping, Hawaiian Palace tour, and exploring WW2 sights

Bronson hates t-shirts and was thrilled to pick this football as his Hawaii souvenir.

Overall, it was an awesome vacation, and the only thing I would change was renting an electric vehicle and also, I wish we spent some time on Waikiki Beach and could have tried surfing.

We might just have to go back with Tanner and Ashlyn someday when they get home!  It was a once in a lifetime vacation that we will never forget!