Ashley and her husband flew me out to Hawaii for 2 whole weeks. My friend Whitney came with me, the 3 of us lived together in college so it was a great reunion. We had the most amazing time. We actually went because Ashley's husband had to go to training in California during that time for the Marines, so they didn't want her to be there alone with their daughter. We were so glad we could be there to keep her company. But we of course had to do vacationy stuff too!!! We actually went with Ashley to some places she had never been, so it was a vacation for all of us!
I made Ashley's daughter Gentry this little dress. It was pink and brown to match the colors of her room.
The mountains in Hawaii are gorgeous. They were all green all the way up, and always reached the clouds.
This beach was just down the street from Ashley's house. It was very pretty.
This was a "hidden" beach, I can see why. It was absolutely gorgeous
Right after we took this picture the waves came up on those rocks behind us and got us all wet. :)
I went and watched the sunrise and these little crabs popped up all around me. Then this big crab came up, I called him the King crab. :)
Hawaii sunrise in Kailua. Absolutely beautiful
Hanauma Bay. We went snorkeling there and saw tons of fish. I even saw one of those fish that is flat and "sideways" and camoflauged like sand. Everyone keeps telling me it was a sting ray, but I looked it up and think it's just a sand fish.
We hiked through the rainforest up to Manoa Falls. The falls weren't that spectacular, but the hiking part was so much fun! We got absolutely soaked, while Gentry was in a pack on Ashley's back with a poncho around her. She loved it!
The "bamboo forest" as I call it. I got a piece of bamboo there and used it as a walking stick. Then I brought it home in my luggage.
Ashley had real hiking bags, it made me feel like a real hiker!
We went to dinner in Kaneohe where they had a live jazz band and seafood. It was really neat.
Sea Life Park...my favorite part of Hawaii because I got to swim with dolphins!
A dolphin kiss. If you didn't kiss them long enough they sprayed you with water.
The reason I was so excited about this is that when I was about 8 I got picked out of the crowd at Six Flags to go up and pet and feed the dolphins. Ever since then dolphins have been my favorite animal, I even wanted to be a dolphin trainer when I was younger. So naturally, I'd been waiting for this for a looooong time. It was a dream come true!
I got to be in the tank for about an hour, we got to pet them, feed them and get a tummy ride.
I'm excited to be at Sea Life Park!!!
We went to the Waikiki Aquarium where I saw tons of fish: jelly fish, seahorses, sea lions, and all kinds of other salt water fish. I like this guy because he looks so much like Nemo in his house.
We went to a Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. They had these huge drinks before dinner, they were pretty tasty!
We got a HUGE Kailua pig that they dug out of a pit. It was delicious. Also...they really like purple in Hawaii, they made everything purple. Our dinner rolls, and the sweet potatoes were died purple...I liked it!
After the Luau there was a show where they had 7 different countries come and do their dances and songs. They also had flame throwers and guys that sat on fire. It was hilarious.
BYU Hawaii. We bought some fun souvenirs at the gift shop.
Now why didn't I go to school THERE?!?
We went to a Botanical Gardens and saw lots of gorgeous flowers and plant life. Of course I had to go climb this tree. :)
I don't know what flower this is, but I'd love to have it in my house!
Kailua Beach...so pretty. The water was so pure and the sand was very powdery. I spent so much time out in the water the first day we were there, Ashley and Whitney thought I was crazy!
So, when we got to this beach the first day...first thing we did in Hawaii, there were people taking kayak lessons. Well the waves were really big and this one huge wave brought everybody back in and toppled over one of the kayaks. When the guy stood up he had lost more than his kayak...that's right, we got booty on video camera. A very eventful first time at the beach. :)
This was when we flew out of St. Louis. We had a layover in San Francisco, and in Denver when we came back. It was neat, we got to see the Golden Gate Bridge. And flying over the ocean interesting...I kept thinking about how many sea creatures there were beneath me. It took 13 hours to get there, and the flight over the ocean was longer than over land. It was definitely the best destination I've ever been to. And I had so much fun with Ashley, Whitney and Gentry. I'm so thankful that I got to go on such a wonderful vacation!
I made Ashley's daughter Gentry this little dress. It was pink and brown to match the colors of her room. 
The mountains in Hawaii are gorgeous. They were all green all the way up, and always reached the clouds.
This beach was just down the street from Ashley's house. It was very pretty.
This was a "hidden" beach, I can see why. It was absolutely gorgeous
Right after we took this picture the waves came up on those rocks behind us and got us all wet. :)
I went and watched the sunrise and these little crabs popped up all around me. Then this big crab came up, I called him the King crab. :)
Hawaii sunrise in Kailua. Absolutely beautiful
Hanauma Bay. We went snorkeling there and saw tons of fish. I even saw one of those fish that is flat and "sideways" and camoflauged like sand. Everyone keeps telling me it was a sting ray, but I looked it up and think it's just a sand fish. 
We hiked through the rainforest up to Manoa Falls. The falls weren't that spectacular, but the hiking part was so much fun! We got absolutely soaked, while Gentry was in a pack on Ashley's back with a poncho around her. She loved it!
The "bamboo forest" as I call it. I got a piece of bamboo there and used it as a walking stick. Then I brought it home in my luggage. 
Ashley had real hiking bags, it made me feel like a real hiker!
We went to dinner in Kaneohe where they had a live jazz band and seafood. It was really neat.
Sea Life Park...my favorite part of Hawaii because I got to swim with dolphins!
A dolphin kiss. If you didn't kiss them long enough they sprayed you with water.
The reason I was so excited about this is that when I was about 8 I got picked out of the crowd at Six Flags to go up and pet and feed the dolphins. Ever since then dolphins have been my favorite animal, I even wanted to be a dolphin trainer when I was younger. So naturally, I'd been waiting for this for a looooong time. It was a dream come true!
I got to be in the tank for about an hour, we got to pet them, feed them and get a tummy ride. 
I'm excited to be at Sea Life Park!!!
We went to the Waikiki Aquarium where I saw tons of fish: jelly fish, seahorses, sea lions, and all kinds of other salt water fish. I like this guy because he looks so much like Nemo in his house.
We went to a Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. They had these huge drinks before dinner, they were pretty tasty!
We got a HUGE Kailua pig that they dug out of a pit. It was delicious. Also...they really like purple in Hawaii, they made everything purple. Our dinner rolls, and the sweet potatoes were died purple...I liked it!
After the Luau there was a show where they had 7 different countries come and do their dances and songs. They also had flame throwers and guys that sat on fire. It was hilarious.
BYU Hawaii. We bought some fun souvenirs at the gift shop.
Now why didn't I go to school THERE?!?
We went to a Botanical Gardens and saw lots of gorgeous flowers and plant life. Of course I had to go climb this tree. :)
I don't know what flower this is, but I'd love to have it in my house!
Kailua Beach...so pretty. The water was so pure and the sand was very powdery. I spent so much time out in the water the first day we were there, Ashley and Whitney thought I was crazy!
So, when we got to this beach the first day...first thing we did in Hawaii, there were people taking kayak lessons. Well the waves were really big and this one huge wave brought everybody back in and toppled over one of the kayaks. When the guy stood up he had lost more than his kayak...that's right, we got booty on video camera. A very eventful first time at the beach. :)
This was when we flew out of St. Louis. We had a layover in San Francisco, and in Denver when we came back. It was neat, we got to see the Golden Gate Bridge. And flying over the ocean interesting...I kept thinking about how many sea creatures there were beneath me. It took 13 hours to get there, and the flight over the ocean was longer than over land. It was definitely the best destination I've ever been to. And I had so much fun with Ashley, Whitney and Gentry. I'm so thankful that I got to go on such a wonderful vacation!
