Aloha from Hawaii

Yes, we did travel half way around the world to ring in the New Year in Hawaii but you should expect that from us by now! Here's how we spent our holidays:

Our first stop was in Albany, GA to spend Christmas with my family this year. It's always nice to be home especially during the holidays. We didn't do much just visited with family, shopped for the baby, and ate way too much.

We spent about 4 days in Albany and then we headed on to Hawaii for vacation. Thanks again mom and dad for taking us to the airport bright and early!

We had this vacation planned for about 10 months so it wasn't a spur of the moment thing. It actually happened at a good time because from what we've been hearing once you have kids you can never really "vacation" for the next 10 years. So we thought we'd enjoy our childless days while we could.

Scott and I really enjoyed vacationing in the U.S. Sure we are always traveling in Europe, but it's always a rush of sightseeing adventures that we never really have time to relax. It's nice to sit down at a restaurant and know the food and the service are going to be exactly what you're looking for.

It's funny how living in Europe has changed our outlook on things. For instance, we didn't rent a car (because we don't have U.S. car insurance and to take it out would be more expensive than renting the car) but we didn't get upset about it we just said, "oh, we'll take the bus if we need to go somewhere". Scott and I both laughed because who would have thought we would ever say that in a million years.

It turned out perfect because we joined a shore excursion for a day trip to the North Shore, Pearl Harbor, and the Dole Pineapple Plantation and took a bus to the mall one time until we realized that it was only a mile and a half each way - we walked it the next time. (Again, walking a few miles to something is what we do all the time in Europe if we need something so we didn't think twice about it.) We hung out at the beach a few days....drank Pina Colada's (virgin for me!) and floated on our rafts. The weather was beautiful 85% of the time. It sprinkled a few times but that's Hawaii for you and we really didn't mind because we're used to the rain in Belgium. Below is a small recap of our trip. We had a great time and can't wait to go back...whenever that will be. ;)

Sunset on Waikiki Beach

Celebrating Christmas and the New Year with 80 degree weather!

Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor

Dole Pineapple Plantation where we had yummy pineapple ice cream.

The famed North Shore where we saw 10-12 ft. waves.

A view of Diamond Head from Waikiki Beach.

Going out to dinner on New Year's Eve.

Welcome 2008!