Aloha and Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone.  Since I'm hanging around the house for my Christmas, Karli suggested I make my self useful and update the blog. For Thanksgiving we were blessed enough to be able to spend a week in Hawaii compliments of Mom and Dad Orton.

We had so much fun. Karli and I couldn't believe we hadn't gone before. What a treasure to have a state like Hawaii. We quickly grew accustomed to warm ocean, the gentle breeze and beauty everywhere you looked. I also enjoyed spending a week with my family doing nothing but playing around. So - here are some of our photos. If you want more, you've got to come visit and read the book we're making.

This is us mere moments after we landed in Honolulu. We all loved our awesome lei's - except for Dustin. Boy's don't wear flowers.  The flight was long and all we wanted to do is jump in the ocean. Which we did!

 

Here is Kate with Mom Orton. We had just arrived at the beach after checking in and all of us decided to get real wet. But the best part of the vacation was spending time with the entire Orton family in Paradise.

These are my twin sons fresh out of their showers. Since we played so much in the water, we had to take a lot of showers to keep the salt and sand away.

Here's the family before heading off to the Sea Life Aquarium. Yes, that's the ocean in the background. And this will probably be the only time you see Dustin smiling in a photo.

I'm holding my little niece - Kelsey Acor. I miss having little girls around.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was when we went snorkeling off the shore of Hanuema Bay. Dallin was able to find a sea turtle eating vegetation off of the coral about 25 feet down. It was an amazing experience to see a real life sea turtle in its natural habitat. Sadly, this picture is of sea turtles in a not so natural habitat.

This kids. Mostly happy. Dallin is 16, Katelyn is 15, Kristen is 12, Dustin is 10.

I really like this picture. Yes, I staged it. I wish Dallin wore pants that fit.

Not a perfect picture of the family, but the scenery behind us is pretty cool.

My beautiful girls, posing on the grass.

Me. I had a fabulous day at this Sea Life Park.

Here's Kristen. Love her pretty smile.

Dallin and Katelyn with a beautiful background.

We took many pretty pictures of Katelyn. This is one of the many.

What I love most about Mom and Dad Orton is that they chose to send the entire family to Hawaii because being around their family is what brings them the most happiness. They could have easily gone themselves, but instead they planned, paid for and facilitated all of our fun. What amazing examples they are. Thanks Mom and Dad.

More Dallin.

We spent one day on the North Shore at a very cool beach known for it's crazy, powerful waves that crash you around the surf. Unfortunately, the photos don't tell the story of the power of the waves. In this picture, Kate and Kristen start off the fun with boogie boards. We quickly abandoned them.

Dustin spent his hard earned money on snorkeling gear. It was a smart use of his money, he found beautiful, colorful fish everywhere. When we were in the water, he was exploring what was under the waves.

I call this 'Baywatch Babe.' You can kind of see the crazy crashing waves behind us.

Here we are with my nephew Dakota Acor on the North Shore beach.

We spent a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Here's Kristen posing and showing off her pretty hair.

Dustin yawning his way through the Hula.

In the Tongan Village, I was chosen to get up on stage and have a 'drum-off'' with this gentleman. Watch the whole event on youtube  here... http://youtu.be/XSh1Fi30dVc

The Poyfairs. I am wearing a woven leaf head band - my prize for drumming so well.

Here's the entire group in front of the breathtaking Laie Hawaii Temple. Amazing that we all decided to wear a lime green shirt that day.

In this picture, we're all wearing the cool clothes we purchased at all of the shops at Waikiki Beach. We also learned that the styles don't always translate when you get back on the mainland.

That's a good looking bunch of kids.

These are what the sunset look like at Waikiki beach. I snapped this one with a touch of sadness, we were scheduled to leave just a few hours later. But we had so much fun. Can't wait to go back.

Dustin came back and celebrated his 10 birthday with some cool new duds from Grandma and Grandpa Orton. He's so stylin.

This is Dallin with his friend Melanie Davidson. They went to a Chrismas/Ugly Sweater themed dance a few weeks back.

Katelyn also celebrated a birthday upon her return. Here she is holding up the blouse she received from Grandma Orton.

And here she is after church, wearing said sweater.

Meet Zoe. This was Dustin's big birthday present - an 8-year old English Bulldog. She has been a ton of fun for our family to have around. She is the biggest sweetheart, loves to play and eat food. Sorry about her green demon eyes.