Five and Alive

Yes, I'm years behind here...but want to save these memories somewhere.

I have pictures that I still want to post from summer of 2011, (when Matt had an internship in Hawaii) up to the present time, so here it goes....a Flashback to Summer of 2011 in Laie, Oahu, Hawaii.

Summer 2011 in Laie, Oahu, Hawaii continued....

Matt and Kids are enjoying Ko'Olina Lagoons on the West Shore of Oahu.

Beach Babes.

West Shore near Yokohama Beach

Visiting Bishop Museum

This one reminds me of Neverending Story...

Pretty Cool Museum

Kids were terrified of the dinosaur exhibit because some of the dinosaurs moved and made scary noises.

Lots of hands on things for kids to try.

Even some books and stories to read. Pele- the fire goddess.

Now who does this remind me of? Oh yeah, my kids as babies. (I mean no offense to those who may worship this.)

A volcano slide!

Our silly three

A Visit to the Hawaii Plantation Village

Many people immigrated to Hawaii to work on the plantations. Mostly people from Asia and South America who came to find work and start a new life for their families. This village has been preserved/restored to give us insight into the life of the families who worked and lived on the plantations.

It seemed some were pretty well off financially, and well-educated

A couple things in this room caught my eye. It was a self-guided tour (hey, I had three little kids with me), otherwise I would have asked. Poor baby is not very protected from mosquitoes, and I'm wondering how safe it is to have a baby sleep in a hammock? And check out the petite size of the wedding dress!

Oven for cooking

Place to wash your clothes

One of Rebecca's Best Birthdays in Waikiki

Happy 33rd!

One of my BFFs Camille Robinson (now Erickson). Her and her man Tyler (now her husband), were kind enough to watch our kiddos so Matt could take me out on a birthday date.

Camille and her lucky man, Tyler.

ahhh...Waikiki Beach Sunset

Kids just as excited as I am that it's my birthday

The King's Village

Matt at the International Marketplace- fun place to browse and shop outside

Braves Fan at Waikiki Beach

Matt gettin his surfer grove on

One of my best birthday dates EVER!

Natalie sampling my birthday chocolate covered macadamia nuts

Too cool

"Did you say you've never had a photography class?" Yep, that's right. I'm just a natural. Or it's just a really beautiful place that's easy to get gorgeous photos of.

Flowers from our front yard

Me and The Duke of surfing

Oh my goodness...i'm in love with this boy!

And I'm in love with this boy too...Tarzan having some fun in the banyan tree

Thank you Waikiki

Botanical Gardens, Hikes, and Kailua Beach

Check out that mountain range

I couldn't get enough of these

Natalie loved hiking in Hawaii

Our favorite beach- Kailua Beach!

The color of water in paradise....

Matt in heaven

Take it in girl...take it alllll in.

Sam Learns to Crawl and Stand up in Hawaii

Army crawl

Seeking out uncharted territories. I think he actually found one of my ant killer things back in the corner there, and I freaked out and had to clean his hands real good after taking this photo. Ickkh!

And...(drum roll), he stands himself up...on the couch that is. Yay for Sam! Check out those skinny little legs. It would be hard to hold up such a big-brained head with those things. Strong boy.

Girls Posing in Our Front Yard and A Drive to Northwest Oahu

Why everyone should have a sister...

I love these silly girls.

The little mermaid. (At least that's what she was trying to pose as on this rock.)

The mountains on this side of the island reminded me a little bit of my Utah mountains.

Northwest Shore of Oahu. One of the reasons I love Matt, is he loves to explore new places, and enjoy the beauties of this world. While in Hawaii, this included his desire to drive around the entire island and see as much of it as he could.

Sam tried his first watermelon in Hawaii.

And he loved every bite and slurp.

Yum.

Best 4th of July Ever!!

It began with a visit to Chinatown in Honolulu.

Next we fell in love with the Foster Botanical Garden.

So many beautiful flowers...

I love trees. This one spoke to me.

Tallest palm tree I've ever seen.

We like to try and take pictures of ourselves. This one is a favorite.

Orchids. There were several different varieties of orchids at this garden. Matt was so sweet because he knows his mom loves orchids and so he was taking pictures of all of them to share with his mom.

Not only did the garden have beautiful plants, it had a couple GI-NORMOUS trees. I haven't seen a tree this big since Matt and I went to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite. I have super long arms raised up to show some proportion.

Wider than my massively long arm span.

Love these guys.

Sam is there to show the height of the tree.

4th of July girls.

Temple of the gardens

We ended the day with a hike up Diamond Head.

I love how happy Matt and I look (we were feeling good about ourselves getting the kids up the mountain), and how exhausted the kids look.

View of the lighthouse from the top of Diamond Head. The goal that kept us going. And I just love lighthouses.

The volcano/mountain we conquered. Diamond Head Crater.

I love this face. A little 5 year old who has learned she can do hard things. She walked the entire way, and we didn't carry her once. She loves hiking.

Why this hike is so cool- you get to go through tunnels like this.

And up lots and lots of stairs. Natalie counted every one of them.

A view of Honolulu from the top. Definitely one of our favorite days in Hawaii.

We're the Walsmans. We love to hike. We can do hard things. We work together. We have fun together. And we are Mormons. (It's Sunday and we've been watching a lot of "I am a Mormon" videos today at www.mormon.org. I had to throw that in there.) :)

HONOLULU ACADEMY OF ART
We like museums. Where ever we travel, we seek them out. I ventured into Honolulu one day to see this one with the kids while Matt had to work. Me and the kiddos loved it!

If you like art, and you go to Hawaii, include this in your visit.

Natalie in one of the may garden courtyards of the museum.

I took this before I saw signs that said NO PICTURES of the artwork. Oops. Just a sampling of some of the beautiful art with in it's walls. Hand made dolls...whose significance I can't recall now, and which I'm sure have a more traditional name than "doll" which I also cannot remember after all the time that has passed since we saw them. I was intrigued by them, and I just stopped and stared at the details of them for a long time.

Rebecca's Parents Join Us in Paradise for a Week

We were so excited to pick up Grandma and Grandpa Sandberg at the airport.

Amelia and Grandma pose outside of BYU-H's bookstore on campus.

Grandpa too

A walk from our house to BYU-Hawaii Campus

BYU-H, famous mural depicting a visit from President David O. Mckay to Laie

Tour of Pearl Harbor

USS Arizona Memorial. There was a solemn spirit at this site.

Ferry ride to the USS Arizona

Other Military Ships at Pearl Harbor

All those who gave their life for our country

More of us Pearl Harbor

Love this picture of Matt on ferry to memorial

Sharks Cove and Northshore Turtles

Matt made me snorkel with him at Shark's Cove while my parents watched kids. (I say "made me" because as I get older I get more scared... In this case the thought of swimming with fish made me nervous.) I was totally nervous at first, but then as I saw more of the beauties of the underwater world, I began to relax. It was amazing! Unfortunately, just as I was starting to be more carefree and in wonder by it all, we saw what looked like a snake to me...some sort of eel, I guess. And so...I was done. Perhaps as time goes on, and I snorkel more, I can become one with the waterworld instead of in fear of it. It truly is amazing to me.

Hanging out at Shark's Cove. The kids loved it here because the water was shallow and still.

The sun sets on Amelia and Grandma Sandberg at Shark's Cove

Earlier that day we found the turtles! People come down to the shore to watch them. No one is allowed to touch them, and there are even people guarding the turtles from thoughtless tourists that might try something stupid.

Thank you Turtle guards for protecting these beautiful creatures. Funny story: the first time we came down to see the turtles, Matt and Natalie ventured down to them, while I stayed at the car with sleeping kids. A small crowd was gathered, and matt held Natalie on his hip as he tried to scale rocks and take the perfect picture. Then one wrong step and whoop, down they both went into the water, with clothes on and camera in hand. They came back to the truck drenched, and Natalie crying. Our camera didn't work for several days. Water-filled. We even bought a new camera at Costco because we didn't want to go a day in Hawaii with out one. Then miraculously the camera dried out and recovered fully, and we were able to return the new one, saving ourselves some money. All for the sight of one of these guys. It was worth it.

Polynesian Cultural Center

Posing at the PCC entrance, with the wooden guards behind

Owned and run almost entirely by BYU-H staff and students or locals in Laie. A must see if you visit Oahu. So much to see and do, and experience here. Loved it.

One of the favorite things to do at the PCC is watch their boat parade. All the different Polynesian islands and countries are represented, and dancers show off as they glide by on rafts, and the tourists watch from the canal's edge.

Our spot to watch the parade.

Our favorite...the Tahitian dancers...the hippy hippy shake shake

You can also take your own canal boat ride

At the PCC, we went to every village that has a show, artifacts, games, audience participation, and history about each Polynesian island and groups of people.

In Fiji, we used rhythm sticks to chant and follow along. Loved it.

This was Sam's favorite stop too.

In New Zealand, we tried this game.

Matt loved this one.

All the "villages" had dancers.

A replica of what the islanders used for fishing or travel between islands.

Fresh Poi. Yum.

Sam so small. So bald. Too bad he won't have any memory of this amazing place. We'll have to come back.

I miss this stroller. A perfect spot for little ones to rest their weary touristy heads.

Hula dancing.

Peek a boo.

After a long, fun day we took the kids home to a babysitter. Matt and I and my parents came back for a Luau and show that night. So awesome!

The pig roasting demo.

Dinner. And it really was the best pork I've ever had.

Luau fun

What a happy day.

Matt with his Pina-colada.

So worth the splurge.

Sunglass search.

Nice babe.

Woo woo.

Oh stop. Now you're just showing off.

It wasn't until the end of our fun PCC day that I look and realize my Dad and husband are
twiners. Nice boys! This picture cracks me up.

Waiting for the night show...fire dancers and all. Coolest show ever! Thank you PCC. You were incredible. I want more. We will be back...

Hike at Univ of Hawaii Arboretum

This was by far our wettest hike in Hawaii. The trail, as you can see, was so lush and green. In the middle of the hike it started to rain...and rain...and then we took cover under some trees, but we still all got soaked. It was fun but I felt bad for my poor retired parents who we dragged with us on the adventure. They were good sports. :)

Hiking through jungles in their retirement. Way to go!

Fuzzy pictures. Sorry. Still they capture the lushness that we hiked through.

I called Amelia my backpack. She rode on my back through most of our Hawaiian hikes.

Natalie and Grandma lead the way. Natalie was our little trail blazer.

After enduring rain, scraped knees from falling, soggy shoes, (and stopping for a little prayer at one point to ask that the weather might subside for our children's sake..which it did), we made it to the waterfall!!

Yay! We did it. (Natalie was not very happy though.) This is how we torture our kids. We make them hike with us. Actually, they do like it...usually. :)

Valley of the Temples

Mosquito-infested pond...we later discovered we were being eaten alive. More Amelia got the worst of it as we walked around the Buddhist temple that day. She was miserable for days with the biggest mosquito bites I've ever seen.