Aloha!!

When we realized that Chris had a week off from school, we immediately knew we wanted to go to Hawaii.  We wanted to go for four main reasons:
1.  Abram LOVES all things water. So we knew he would love the beach and pool!
2.  We haven't been back since we moved away in October of 2010 and Hawaii is one of our most favorite places!
3.  We have some special friends that we wanted to introduce Abram to.
4.  We wanted to go while Abe can still fly on our lap for free! (Starting Oct. 18, when he turns 2, we have to buy him a seat).

Abram did great on the six hour flight to Hawaii.  Of course he didn't sleep at all, but we tried to keep him busy with games, books, and food.  He has no interest in movies on the ipad, so that wasn't an option.  It was a long six hours, but we made it! We landed on a Thursday afternoon and by the next morning when Abe was wide awake at 5am we realized that traveling with a toddler is way different from how we are accustomed to traveling! He definitely calls the shots!

Thankfully, he loves to be in the water. He gets all giddy when he sees the pool or ocean.  He would even sit still when we would lather him in sunscreen because he knew it meant that swim time is coming.  Here are a few of our favorite pictures!

He loves to roll in the sand, but he hates getting it in his mouth! It was a never ending cycle!

Most of our time was spent with our friends, eating at our favorite restaurants, and swimming, but we did spend one day out at the North Shore.  We had so much fun with Abe!

Seeing the huge sea turtles at Turtle Beach

Watching the sea turtle

In the pineapple fields at Dole

Trying Dole Whip for the first time at the Pineapple Plantation

And of course we had to ride the train!!

Like I said earlier, we were looking forward to introducing Abram to our friends in Hawaii.  These special friends have been with us from the very beginning of our journey.  They prayed with and for us while we were struggling with infertility and throughout our whole adoption journey.  When we started to go to Harbor Church in 2007, we became good friends the the pastor and his family.  They have three adopted children and one biological child.  Chris and I learned so much from the Dirks and they were constant encouragers and supporters to us throughout our adoption.  We couldn't wait to for them to meet Abe. It was such a special moment for Chris and I.

We love this family so much!! They are so special to us!

When we moved from Hawaii, many of our friends had just had babies. It was wonderful to not only see how much they have grown, but to watch Abram play with them! Definitely a highlight from our trip!

Just love this!

Our sweet friend Tatum was also in Hawaii visiting while we were there.  She lived in Hawaii when we did, but since then has moved to Georgia.  Abram just loved Tatum! We were so glad we had the opportunity to spend so much time with her.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been if our friend, Erin, was there with us, too!

I don't think I can adequately explain to you how much it meant for us to introduce Abram to these amazing friends.  Not to be cheesy, but I can't express it in any other way than to say, "we came full circle." We feel like the journey to Abram started in Hawaii and we couldn't wait to take him there!  

Hands down one of our most cherished memories in Hawaii was being apart of Harbor Church.  We planned our trip so we would definitely be there on a Sunday so we could worship with them again.  Chris and I were both in tears during the service, but at different times.  I started crying at the beginning during worship while I was holding Abe in my arms.  I can remember sitting in church at Harbor so many times and wondering why God wasn't allowing us to get pregnant.  It was such an amazing moment to be back, but this time, holding my son! Harbor does communion every Sunday at the end of the sermon. You take it voluntarily at the back of the church either on your own or with your family.  Chris just loved taking communion while Abram was with us!  Needless to say, our Sunday was very emotional.  (Sorry I don't have more pictures with our friends... we would be so busy talking and watching our kids play that I would completely forget to take out my camera!)

Another highlight from our trip (and I know this is going to sound crazy) was taking Abe to the zoo.  We took him to the zoo in China a few days after we got him and he could have cared less. He just sat and stared.  But this trip to the zoo, just two months later, was so different!  He was smiling, jumping around and making animal sounds.  He just loved it! Its amazing how much he has changed in two months!

Here's a few more random pictures from our fun week...

A balloon artist made a panda hat for him one night during dinner! I think I liked it more than he did!

Observing the HUGE Hawaii slugs! He wasn't a fan when we put it on his leg! 

He was in heaven with all these ducks!

His first Hawaiian rainbow! 

We had a wonderful time on our first family vacation.  We were exhausted when we got home, but it was well worth it to see our friends and watch Abe have so much fun in the water!! Aloha!!