Tandem parasailing!

A few weeks before we left I found a Groupon coupon for $70 for a tandem parasail ride by Waikiki. I'm so glad we did it! We didn't have time to hike Diamond Head, so this was a great way to see it...and a lot less sweaty!

 Before the take off

 All hooked up

 Lovin it!

 That's our boat way down there!

 This is right before they dipped us. Look at my face hahahaha!

 When I dip you dip we dip. Dan's face!

Fun fun fun!!!!

Oahu!

We took a trip to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary! We left the little Bubs home with grandma and spent a week in paradise. It was so fun and such great memories were made. We stayed on Oahu for 2 nights and then we flew over to the Big Island for 4 nights.

 The Oahu mountains, this picture does not do it one bit of justice!

We stopped at the Laie temple grounds for a quick visit. So much prettier in person!

 Eating coconut pie at Ted's Bakery. Mmmmmm

Our first day in Hawaii we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center. And it rained, and rained, and rained, and rained some more.

 We were a poncho wearin couple that day!

 This guy was hilarious

 The luau and our pretty Leis...and my stolen plumeria 

Goin on a lava hunt

Okay, so this was a really awesome thing that we did, so memorable and something I will probably never see again in my lifetime. With that said, I was NOT mentally prepared for this 5 mile hike! It was so much harder than I imagined. I didn't realize how hard it was to walk on lava rock! There was not ONE step in 5 miles that was on a flat surface. I'm pretty sure I needed braces on my ankles afterwards. If you talk to Dan about this hike he'll tell you a completely different story. Dan=barely had a drop of sweat eek from his pores. Julie=dead. Just dead.  Ok, so I'm exaggerating a bit, but it was definitely harder than expected. And to top it off, you have to hike back in pitch darkness...with only a head lamp to save you. I'll stop complaining, because honestly, if you ever hit up the Big Island you MUST do this. No question about it. Oh, and for you Mo-Mo's out there, I'm pretty sure the movie in the temple has footage of this exact spot. I almost squeeled with excitement when I saw it! I wanted to stand up and yell "I hiked to that amazing place you're seeing right now brothers and sisters!"  Can you imagine if I would have? Best session ever! =)  Back to the lava...There were really two parts to this hike. The first was getting to poke actual flowing hot lava with our sticks. How cool is that?! The second part was getting to see the lava meet the ocean (as seen in the temple). It was PHE.NOM.E.NAL!  It was even more amazing when night fell. We couldn't get enough of it!

 Here's a good look at what we are walking on

 Here's where the lava meets the ocean...during the day

 Playing in the lava...supa hot!

 This is the lava rock Dan made. There's video of it below

 The hot lava flowing. It starts drying super fast!

 He's lovin' it!

 The night time view! 

Falling asleep to the sound of a waterfall

In Hilo we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast. Talk about fabulous! It was lush, beautiful and located in the mountains. We could hear the waterfall from our window...which we kept open all night. We also got to fall asleep to the sound of frogs! The drive up there was breathtaking every time we drove it! Hello paradise...

 This is where we got to hang out in the morning while they made our breakfast. It was overlooking the waterfall

 Hello cinnamon vanilla macadamia nut waffles!

 Their property was huge and they had lots of different kinds of bamboo everywhere. Really cool!

 Our new pet

 Me swimming in the waterfall. FREEEEEEZIIIIIIIING

 Elephant nose. bahahaha. I won't even post the picture of Dan...boys

 More bamboo

 This property was huge! This was part of the little hike down to the falls

 He's lovin it. Why was there a wheelbarrow?  I didn't even notice it while we were there!

 Dan swimmin'

 So this is the ugest picture ever of me, but I'm pointing to our room way up there

I was impressed by all the flowers and foliage in Hawaii. This red flower was on our walk to the waterfall

ok, so we had been in the car for hours this day, but I was SO excited to find this flower that I had to snap a pic. My wedding bouquet was a beauty. One of the flowers in it was periwinkle hydrangea. In my 10 years of being married I have never found this color of hydrangea anywhere. I've seen them in silk, but never real...so when I spotted these I was so stoked! How cool that I found the flower from my bouquet on our 10 year anniversary trip! Lets all say awwww together!