A surprise for my birthday girl!

Ella's 5th birthday was this last weekend so we had some special 5 year old type activities planned for her. We kept telling her that Bumpa (my Dad) was going to send her something special for her birthday and we were going to have a lot of fun playing with it the next week. On her birthday I told her we would get it later that day but first I was going to go buy her a lei. The airport has great lei stands so we headed down to pick one up for each of us and on the way I informed them about leis and how people get them on special days and use them to show welcome and love to someone. So I told them we'd head into the airport to see if we could see people giving them to each other. Once in there I told them that we were really there to pick up Bumpa's special gift- Grandmom- who would be there any moment! They were stunned silent- which is saying something and then they were so excited! It's so fun to show my Mom all around our normal lives- our apartment, grocery stores, parks & beaches and the punch buggy games that don't stop even once we get inside! (They sit at the window and call them- they are in endless supply here and even Jett chimes in with the random "Punch Buggy Red" call). The kids have been her constant companions and I've been having to fight them for time with her! We took Grandmom over to the hotel across the street to watch the Hawaiian song and dances and fireworks that they have on Friday nights. Every show, at the end, they give out Leis and my kids have been so disappointed to not get one but this week I told them it was Ella's birthday and she got one. She has never been so proud! While Derek had off for the weekend we toured her around to several tourist spots. We started Saturday a little slower for her- making sure to keep room in there for nap time! We toured the Waikiki aquarium which was a bit of a let down but had a few interesting things like the Chambered Nautilus & the Lauwiliwilinukunuku'oi'oi and Humuhumunukunukuapua'a fishes (what great names, right!) Of course we had to take her to Waikiki beach too. The next day we donned our swimsuits and drove towards the windward coast to go scuba diving at Hanauma Bay (the best snorkeling on O'ahu). It was a volcano cone that had caved in and then eventually the rose to fill it in creating a perfectly sheltered bay with amazing coral and marine life! The snorkeling was great- Derek took turns going out with Mom, Mia & myself. The highlight for me though was seeing the two sea turtles swimming right in knee depth water and being able to snorkel right along side with them! After tiring ourselves out in the ocean we drove up the coast for a long way home and were awed at the amazing scenic mountain and ocean views. It looks like Jurassic Park land for sure! A tiring weekend for sure but we'll give her a bit more down time before the next busy weekend!