Aloha!!!!! Our Last Vacation As A Family of 3.

WARNING. This post will be a SUPER LONG post of basically nothing but pictures from our much needed, tropical, totally awesome, but super short trip to Hawaii! We squeezed in our trip to the beautiful island of Oahu during Madi's spring break from preschool (April 7 - 12). It was kind of bittersweet to know that this would be our very last vacation as a family of 3. And it was perfect. We had soooo much fun and the weather was gorgeous! How can you complain about a vacation where you did nothing but eat, sleep, and swim all day, every day?

This was Madi's 2nd time on an airplane. The first time was right after her 2nd birthday, and she did amazing on the plane- no crying or complaining. In fact, she loved it! She was kinda little at the time, so she had a wee booster seat that she had to sit on while sitting in the plane. This time around, she got to sit in her very own seat, all by herself! And she was awesome again! She still LOVED being on the airplane and still thought flying in the air was super exciting! And, once again, she was totally perfect the whole trip to and from Hawaii! Yay!

Madi is a big girl now!

Cheese! We're ready to take off! Oahu here we come!

And what was the first thing we did when we arrived to the lovely Disney Aulani Resort? Swim of course!

This girl has NO FEAR of the water. She was born to swim! She's the happiest (and silliest) whenever she's in the water!



Yet, another day of swimming!


Of course, we did hit the beach too! The Disney Aulani Resort has its own private beach/lagoon area that is conveniently a short distance away from the pool.




Sorry- picture of Madison with a beached whale below:

And the best part of the Aulani Resort? Why, running into Minnie Mouse of course!

No way! Mickey Mouse too?!?!

Video proof of a happy child in the water. Anytime we asked Madi what she wanted to do, her response was, "I want to go swimming!!!!!"



Daddy! Throw me up high!

This lucky girl got to eat breakfast with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, AND Goofy!!!! Best start to a little girl's day!



Off to Waikiki to soak up MORE sun!

Madi posing like a princess next to a 27 week pregnant lady. :)


Back at the Aulani Resort's pool! And yes, I did have a lot of fun with my brand spankin' new waterproof camera!

Aulani beach time again!

Princess loved frolicking in the sand more than getting her hair salty and sticky in the ocean.


Can you believe Madison took this wonderful picture of us on the beach? She insisted, and I'm glad she did! Not bad for a budding 2 1/2 year old photographer!

Letting the warm water tickle her toes.

Guess where we're at again? Flying high!!!

The perfect cheerleader!

Madison taught herself how to do a backflip in the pool! This girl is nuts! And I LOVE it!


More backflips!


Cannonball!


The next series of 4 photos is a collection of what I call "The Aulani Valet Photos." Every time we waited near the front lobby for our rental car to come, Madi demanded that I take her picture in front of these rocks. So I did. And she can definitely be a ham sometimes.

Laniakea Beach! (aka Turtle Beach!) Madi named this beautiful turtle, "Seaweed."

And what's a trip to Hawaii without eating shave ice? Here we are at Matsumoto's Shave Ice! Yum! Madi's favorite flavor is the "rainbow" flavor. :)


Last day in Hawaii... And SOMEBODY got an awesome tan on their vacation!

Madi and Daddy bubble bath bonanza!

Who knew bubbles and a jet spa in the bath tub would provide hours of entertainment?


Booo... On the flight home... We had such a fun and relaxing vacation, I hated to see it end so quickly... Goodbye Hawaii!!! Until next time... When we arrive as a family of 4!!!!