Three P's in a Pod: Trip of a lifetime- Day 3

This was our morning view every day on the big island. So beautiful and peaceful. Chris and I made it a point to stop and sit at some point every morning and just "be".

Here are the kiddies ready for the beach...we told them that they had to hold hands and smile to get to go swimming! :)

Whatever it takes for a good picture, right?!

Here is our little family of four at the beach!

I've always considered myself more of a mountain type of girl- if I had my choice of vacation, it would always be the mountains...and definitely not the beach, but after this trip, I think that is changing. Hawaii is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. I feel like to just say "the beach" is so limiting...there were beautiful hikes and trees, volcanoes and sea turtles and so much more than just a beach.

And the kiddos don't care where we are, as long as there is water involved. Whether we are in Red River throwing rocks into the river or throwing sand into the ocean, we are golden.

Chris representin' in Hawaii in his awesome Swanky Spanky shirt- our next door neighbors own the company!

Megan and Ileigh checking out the sea turtle...

This was way before we knew about the state law that says you have to stay at least 15ft away...oooops.

Eli learned to snorkel.

He loved every minute and became very comfortable in the water (almost too comfortable for a little boy who doesn't know how to swim just yet...).

Megan, Eli, Chris and Ileigh...

Chris, Jason, Scotty and Ashley went snorkeling.

Chris took three photos with my new underwater camera before the batteries went dead. Dang.

A few years ago I dropped a lot of money on a underwater Lumix camera. I lost it two summers ago. This year Lumix came out with a much cheaper version! I am so glad that we got it before the trip. It did great in the sand and water and the quality is pretty good. I had a few focusing issues, but that could be me getting use to using it.

We are really bad about taking random photos of our kids and I hope that with this little thing, we will do a better job of grabbing a few shots here and there without having to lug the big camera around.

I wasn't very excited to try snorkeling because I knew that meant I would have to wash my hair *again* before the wedding, but when Chris came back going on and on about how amazing it was, I knew that I had to do it- even if that meant washing my hair for the second time that day...:)

So I left the kiddos and made Megan come with me...because I am all about expanding others' life experiences.

Talk about a game changer. I'm serious.

Snorkeling in the little cove was one of the coolest, most beautiful, most unforgettable things I've ever done. I can't believe I almost passed up the opportunity. Lesson learned.

Megan loved it too...:)

We vowed to charge my camera battery and go back to that beach for photos.

Ileigh doesn't really care for the water...neither does her gramps...:)

Having fun on the beach is hard work!

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The Wedding

Ah, the reason we were all there...the wedding!

I'm not going to share all the photos, because they aren't mine to share just yet, but I am going to include a few of my favorites! :)

The bouquet...oh.my.heavens.

I think you could smell this thing a mile away. Those orchids were heavenly.

A little spontaneous, off-the-cuff shot from Chris of Megan and Ileigh.

Beautiful girls...

Even the minister was barefoot! How cool is that?!

If there is anyone out there looking for a Hawaiian wedding photographer, let me volunteer Chris and I! It might actually be cheaper to pay our way then hire one there...and we are already experts on the island- ha!

Here is the whole group of us...minus Chris and I of course because we are off doing our thing...

You know why I love this photo?!? Can you guess?!?

That's why! Unsolicited sibling love.

I'm tellin' ya, love was in the air, people!

Ileigh was lovin' the eukele...

Our little hula girl...

Us and the happy couple! Thanks guys for trusting us to capture this special, special time...

and for picking such an amazing venue.

Of course, we had to get a kissing photo too...

I mean, wouldn't you all be disappointed if we weren't all disgustingly lovey-dovey and junk?

And just because I can, here are some of my favorites!

Ummm....yeah, guys. I have no idea...

Me and my dad! I am so happy he actually came to Hawaii with us...even if he wore Wranglers and pearl snaps to the beach!

That is my dad and I walking back to the car...I knew Chris would snap that photo for me!

The grounds for the wedding were amazing- The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Kukio Beach

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After the wedding we went to eat at Huggo's on the Rocks, well, they went to eat, we had to go home and change the kiddos clothes- Eli had pretty much gotten every inch of his body wet from playing close to the water and then decided to roll around in the sand...wonderful.

Our party was out on their beautiful deck! Fabulous!

My favorite guys!