Hawaii, Part Three

Our last two full days in Hawaii were spent entirely on the beach with the exception of a short hike up Diamond Head. Hiking Diamond Head was a first for all five of us. We were shocked at how busy the trail was--it reminded us of hikes at Banff this summer. It was a hot, sunny morning when we did the hike & we all joked that we have gotten too comfortable with cold hikes. ;) But we were so glad we did this hike--the views were incredible at the top!

{Brady found a coconut on the beach, and it provided a lot of entertainment!}

Our last day in Hawaii ended with a red-eye flight back to Alaska. We checked out of our hotel that morning {so thankful our hotel would store our luggage until our flight} and headed to the Honolulu Zoo.

We did a little window shopping that afternoon, ate at Cheesecake Factory again, and enjoyed fire dancers & fireworks on the beach before heading to the airport.

{limo ride to the airport!}

Our flight was scheduled to take off at 11:45pm but ended up not taking off until 1:30am. Needless to say, it was way past our bedtime. Brady was running around our gate like a wild man. I told him I'd give him a dollar if he came and slept in my lap. He literally came right over and plopped himself in my lap. I told him to close his eyes while I sang him a song, and he was asleep in less than 2 minutes flat. He slept in my lap for about an hour before we had to wake him up to board our plane.

And shortly after take-off, here is what my seat companions looked like...

And we landed six hours later back in a winter wonderland. It was actively snowing when we landed in Anchorage. While looking out the window, Brady said "I think there's sand in my shoe." {We watched fireworks on the beach before going to the airport, so this wasn't a surprising discovery.} A man standing nearby got a good chuckle out of this and replied, "I think you're going to have snow in your shoes pretty soon." ;)

Derek & I have seen our fair share of airports over the years, but this is the very first airport we've ever seen without a parking garage. Why wouldn't you put in covered parking in a snowy climate?! The long-term parking lot at the Anchorage airport is crazy small and incredibly poorly maintained..aka, is anyone even trying to plow this?! 

Thankfully, Shelby & Derek were able to shovel our car out & we headed straight to IHOP before going home....we were all starving!

This was one of my most favorite trips ever! We had the most amazing time. It was such a gift to escape the harsh winter days for a bit and celebrate my birthday in such a fun way. And this trip gave us the unexpected gift of making our Alaskan home feel a bit more like "home" {for now at least!}. Since moving into this house in August, the kids and I haven't slept a single night anywhere else. Taking this trip to Hawaii & then coming home...made it feel more like home. When we landed and saw the snow falling, the kids saw it almost as a welcome home. And it was an added bonus to come home to the days getting longer! The sun is rising a little earlier each morning and setting a little later each afternoon, and while I know this has happened every single year of my life it has never mattered more. The sun is even getting high enough to peek over the mountain behind our house, so every now and again we get a glimpse of direct sunlight which pretty much feels like Christmas morning to us! We are eager to ring in our first spring in Alaska & all that comes with it.