Okay so it's been a few posts since I posted about
the first part of our summer travels.
So here is the second part! As I've mentioned many times Taylor was born and raised in Hawaii (on Oahu), so frequent trips to Hawaii was just all part of the package deal marrying the
handsome guy :). Because of his job, Taylor and I were only able to visit Hawaii for five days during Christmas (we were already engaged, but that was the first time I actually met his family!). Because of that, we wanted to make sure we got more than enough time with his family this summer. After Kane (pronounced "Kahnay"....sorry that's my best shot at explaining that without crazy symbols and such) and Rachel's wedding, we flew out to Hawaii for a monthlong adventure. Before I post pictures, I'll just explain what our trip consisted of so that the pictures all makes sense (it won't hurt my feelings if you just skip to the pictures...there are a
LOT of them. I will also bold the main parts of my explanations below that go with the pictures (shoot, is my A.D.D. showing?? :).
- After a day of being on Oahu, we flew first class (for a whole 30 minutes---and just because we flew standby) to the Big Island for a miniature second part of a honeymoon. You see, we got married mid-semester, so we only got a couple days for a honeymoon and then we had to go back to school. This little honeymoon was so much fun and we stayed at the Hilton at Waikaloa Village. It was so nice to have time to relax, swim, snorkel, and enjoy the AMAZING buffet breakfasts there (good thing we didn't stay too long!).
- My siblings flew in a few days before our Hawaii wedding reception (I say reception because it definitely wasn't just an open house!). Basically all they wanted to do was go to the beach. All day. Every day. My mom later flew out the night before the reception as well :) (she's working with the Especially For Youth program for the LDS church this summer, so she's crazy buzy. I was happy she could come for a few days).
- On June 22 we had an amazing and beautiful wedding reception. It was so much fun meeting so many kind and generous people who are close to the Hibbs family. Everyone did such an amazing job putting together an amazing night. I was completely surprised when I saw that they really went all out, even for a second reception. My favorite and probably the most heart warming moments of the night was the cutest hula performed by our nieces, Emmie, Peyton, and Kealia.
- Taylor and I took the nieces to go see the new movie Brave. These girls are seriously the cutest girls ever. Since we're nowhere ready to have our own children, I enjoy spending time with our nieces and nephews as much as possible when we visit because I just love kids! The first time I met the girls in December we had a 'girls night' (aka "Uncle Taylor" isn't allowed--according to the girls) and we made 'princess' hair (the girls loved being dolled up). Naturally, we had to do princess hair to go see the movie as well. Later in the trip Taylor and I stopped by the Children's Place to buy one of our nephews a birthday present. I almost died when I saw how inexpensive and cute some of the clothes there were. So, we ended up leaving the store with a birthday present for Kaiakea...as well as three matching swimsuits for the girls. Really, until I have my own little girls, I plan on spending my time spoiling these girls (I love boys, too, but I'm just a little partial to dressing up girls all cute seeing that I'm a really girly girl).
- Speaking of Kaiakea (OK here's the best I can do: Kyuhkayuh...haha oh gosh), we helped celebrate his first birthday at his first birthday luau! To be honest, when Taylor and I first started dating I did NOT understand the big deal that Hawaiians make about a child's first birthday. What I later learned was that basically, way back when, because people didn't always live very long, many of them didn't even live until their first birthday. Because of this, Hawaiians make first birthdays a very big celebration. I'm not even joking when I say Kaiakea's party was soooo legit. It was complete with awesome decorations, a face-painter, live musicians, a balloon artist, super yummy Hawaiian food, and another adorable hula from our nieces.
- I spent my first time away from home and immediate family for the Fourth of July. I had a lot of fun experiencing what that holiday is like in Hawaii (it's a little different feel since Hawaii didn't used to be U.S. territory). However, it did really make me appreciate the traditions and celebration in Provo for the Fourth. But we had really good food, spent time with family, and watched the Macy's firework show on TV :).
- Among all these significant events, Taylor and I got to spend a lot of quality time with his family. We also did some snorkeling (per my request. I looooove snorkeling!), lots of swimming, lots of laying out and getting a healthy tan (I won't lie, this was probably the first summer that I was responsible and used sufficient sunscreen). Oh, and, of course, we spent a lot of time eating some great food(which I'm now paying for at the gym :).
First Days
We spent some time at the pool by my MIL's house
This is Kealia :)
"Uncle Taylor" with Peyton
This is Emmie
Here we have Kealia's brother Kaiakea
Now before you get all judgy thinking we're drowning the child, this boy LOVES water. Notice his smile. He thinks that going under and out of water all the time is hilarious. I wish you could hear his cute laugh. He loves being splashed, thinks its hilarious when water gets in his mouth and eyes, and anything/everything else that most kids his age probably hate in the water. He is such a water boy.
I love watching Taylor with his nieces. When we were dating he told me the only people I really needed to impress were his nieces, haha :).
Love this photo!
Big Island
So excited to fly First Class for my first time!
When I was little I used to watch old "Brady Bunch" episodes. In the episode where they go to Hawaii I gained the false perception that EVERY plane that flies to Hawaii lets you off by having you walk right off the plane down the stairs. Hence, I was very excited when we actually got to do that when we landed on the Big Island.
The resort had so many pools and waterslides. It was so fun!
I was like a giddy child as we watched people get lessons with dolphins. We contemplated doing this, but thought we'd save our $400 and doing something else for half an hour. (Yes, really. $200 (with a discount) for only 30 minutes!).
This is why I love him :)
Shows how cultured I am. I thought these real flamingos were fake. Don't worry, I didn't ever think the fake ones in the back were real :).
I love that they had random hot tubs here and there among all the pools.
Awkward photo. But whatevs. Just keeping it real.
SIBLING TIME
Lydia (18), Chris (16), and Andrea (13) added a lot of fun and energy to our week. We missed our oldest sibling Nicole, though! She and her husband are living in PA for the summer while he has an internship (he's in law school at UT during the year). *Note: Taylor isn't in the water in these pictures because the poor guy got ear infections in *both* ears and was told he couldn't swim. He was still a trooper and took us to many beaches and chilled while we swam.
We got a little crazy/hyper and took these random/ "ship wreck"-inspired photos (if you know my siblings these won't surprise you):
Andrea just made her school's cheer team, and obviously loves it:
My Mowgli hair at its best.
Chris sometimes has a short attention span. He got bored at one of the beaches really quickly one day so Taylor, being unable to swim, took it upon himself to entertain Chris. Guess it worked!
Once my mom joined us we went on a FOUR A.M. hike to watch the sun rise. Although it was rainy that day (hence, not much of a sunrise), we had lots of fun.
Being a dancer, I have a large collection of random socks. And I love them. Don't judge. :)
WE MISSED YOU NICOLE!!
HAWAII RECEPTION:
A few months before our Hawaii reception, the chapel in Kaneohe (the original location for our reception) was having work done on the roof when a REALLY bad storm hit. Family, friends, and ward members worked SO hard to put this reception together half an hour away from the original location. It was so pretty!
My mother-in-law surprised us with this cake topper. It's a glass Provo Temple :)
Meet Uncle Ronnie. The cutest little man ever. He's actually Taylor's great-uncle, but we just call him Uncle. He and Noelle here are best buddies. Literally. The girl loves him. Noelle is Emmie and Peyton's sister.
This is my sister-in-law Trisha. And this is Noelle's famous smile. When she sees the light of a camera (before the flash goes off) she automatically makes this face!
And here are our other nephews Zack (left) and Anson (right) with the girls. They are such energetic and active little boys. They looked so cute in their Sunday best!
I told you this thing was legit. We cut the cake and had another "first" dance!
Thought I'd change up the shoes to fit the occasion. Excuse my ugly feet.
Grandma!!! I love this lady.
My mother-in-law and me.
I gave up trying to manage my hair in the humidity of Hawaii. Taylor's cousin's mom did a great job on it I thought!
(This butterfly was my Grandma's)
{Beach time before my family left}
Kaiakea and Noelle had their first Cheeto experience. They LOVED them. It was so funny to watch.
How hilarious is this towel/cover-up???
BRAVE {and "Princess Hair"}
The Matching Suits
I just couldn't help myself!
*Girls Night*
This time we decided to build a fort to sleep under. We watched a movie while simultaneously playing barbies, painting nails, and drawing. It's possible, trust me! #longbutfunnight
Kaiakea's First Birthday Luau
The Fourth of July
Sometimes my husband is really good at homemaker-type things. I guess growing up with all sisters has taught him a thing or two!
My first bundt cake I've ever made. This was my second try of the day. We won't talk about what the first one turned out like haha. But I was so proud of the second one! #thankyoupinterest
Well guys, that's it. That's what we were doing in Hawaii for a month.
And now for some
{BLOOPERS}
Not only did we get to go to Kane and Rachel's California reception, but we also got to go to their Hawaii reception, too. They had this AMAZING live entertainment group called "A Touch of Gold". They were top of the line with their singing, dancing, and especially their humiliation. The group went around and would pick women out to sing to. They targeted Grandma and I think they loved how embarrassed she was so they spent some extra time with her, making sure they flirted, teased, and hit on her just for some extra discomfort. You see Grandma doesn't really like to show much affection or anything, so this much attention and such really embarrassed her! We all got a kick out of it. The best part was when I found out that she was mad at me because she thought I had put them up to it (I had teased that she was next after they picked on the first lady). So funny!
Hair. Let's just say that my hair does not like the heat, humidity, and wind. Considering that Hawaii has a lot of all of those, I just lost it one car ride. Took these gems while trying to make the best of my unmanageable mane.
Awkw@rd
???
{Name Change! Kelsey B. Nielsen Hibbs}
{Some Goodies}
I took this photo on the way to our reception because it was probably one of the few times I felt that I looked civilized/put together considering the activities our trip consisted of. Yay for makeup and jewelry!
One Sunday Emmie and Peyton wore their plastic dress-up jewelry to church. Now there's some bling! So cute.
{MY FAVORITE}
I saw this picture every time we went to Grandma's house. I just love this picture of Taylor. I seriously hope our kids look something like this. Love his little mouth and little {big} ears!!!
Well guys, there's some more pictures for ya! And that's all.
