Waterfalls and Fireworks

This weekend was filled with adventure, mud, fun and friends.

Friday evening we picked Eric up from work and headed towards Waikiki to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Every Friday night they do a fireworks show, yes that is right every Friday night. We have been a few times, but never got pictures. The cool thing is just next to the Hawaiian Village is a little lagoon, where they let off the fireworks. (My BYU-H buddies may remember the Tahitian Lanai it had a little bar by the lagoon, though it has been replaced by a big fancy hotel--maybe I will share more about the Tahitian Lanai in another post.)

Anyway we grabbed a picnic dinner and ate on the grass and then walked around the water for a bit. The kids had fun playing in the sand and getting so wet in the water that they were "freezing." I don't think they really remember what freezing is but they did get a little cold.


We sat down on the ground and just watched the light show just above our heads. I think the noise frightened poor T-Rex a bit, and Two put her fingers in her ears. We were so close that you could feel the noise through your body. And since there are a lot of tall buildings around the noise echos off of them, it is really cool. Something totally worth doing. Cool thing is, its FREE! Parking can be tricky but it is free!

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed on a little Saturday morning adventure with our friends, the Williams. The kids really get a long well with each other, and their mom has become one of my closest friends. And one bonus is their kids love my little kids so much that its like free babysitting whenever we go out.

The hiking guide said it is for novice but I'd have to say it was a little more rugged than I had expected, a lot of up and downs, roots exposed on the path. Two barely could walk back, actually Dave was kind enough to give her a ride on his back. She was a little more worried about getting all muddy again than I think she was about walking. I had T-Rex on my back the whole time and when we finished I took him off and realized that 20 lbs is a lot of weight and that I need to personally take that much off. I was surprised at how light I felt after removing him.

It was beautiful, muddy too. Most of the hike was under the trees and towards the top, the sun graced us for a bit. Did I mention it was muddy? I don't know if it is always muddy, as we did go the morning after a really big storm.

The kids had fun swinging from the vines and then jumping from the falls. I didn't get any pictures of that, maybe I can get some from our friends. Even Two went off, I was so proud of her, and frightened at the same time as I waited for her to pop back up out of the water, seemed like forever.

My kids want to take my parents back when they come, but we might take them to the Waimea Falls instead--paved path and not all the steps and mud. Though if you are up for an adventure, or mud, sweat and most likely some tears (Bee and Two cried a lot of the way back, I think from exhaustion) I'd say do it.

We even got a chance to see some crazy guys climb super high and do flips and dives into the water.

Speaking of water, it is rather chilling to the bones at first, and well lets just say the little tiny fish like to nibble on your legs if you hold too still in the water.