we're home... finally!

Whew! We made it! We got in at around 5:15 this morning. We were supposed to get in yesterday but our flight on Saturday was canceled. So, poor us, we had to spend another day in Hawaii. United Airlines put us up at the Hilton right on Waikiki Beach so all was good. The kids got some more beach time and then played in the pool for another three hours or so.

I took about 500 photos (yikes!) so I'm just going to process and post a few from each day.

These two were taken from the balcony of our stateroom on the cruise ship while we were still docked in Honolulu...

That night we set sail for Hilo on the Big Island. We all did okay but by morning I was incredibly seasick... I really really hate that feeling. Jeff got me some sea calm from the front desk and after a shower, I was up and ready for our day.

We were signed up for a shore excursion to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Here are some photos from the Jaggar Museum along the edge of the Kilauea Caldera...

Here the kids are warming up in the volcanic steam vents...
and posing in the rainforest after we had gone through an old lava tube...
After leaving the park, our bus stopped at an orchid store and Clara picked up one for her hair...
And finally.... after returning to the ship, the kids got to do what they had been waiting for all day.... a dip in the pool (and while there, they tested out their snorkeling gear)...

So many more photos and so much more to write but I just noticed the time and I've got to get Alex to cooking class and Clara to gymnastics!

more to come!