Haley pays us a visit

My dear cousin Haley flew out to visit me a few weeks ago.  She will be leaving to go serve an LDS mission in Panama in less than a month and I am so glad I got to see her before she left!  Here are all of the fun details of her stay with us.

Saturday: Haley arrives in Hawaii in the afternoon.  She is tired so we let her get settled in, play games, and watch a movie.  This is the lovely lei I got for her when she arrived.  As a side note, the best place to buy leis is at the airport.  Strange but true.

Sunday: We all go to church together in the morning.  After that we visit Lanikai Beach, which is said by some to be the most beautiful beach in the whole world.

Monday: The girls head off to the North Shore for the day.  First, we stop at Matsumoto's for some shave ice.  We stopped at a beach and watched a sea turtle climb out of the water, which was incredible to see.  Then we stopped at Shark's Cove to watch the waves.  It rained most of the day, so when we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the afternoon we also got ourselves some super sexy rain ponchos.  We finished the evening off with dinner at my favorite Mexican place on the island and were seated at a lovely table with a lovely view of a lovely painting. (You will see what I am talking about in just a second...)

Tuesday: All four of us went snorkeling at Ko Olina and then enjoyed filled malasadas.  We had dinner at a favorite of ours, the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Wednesday: We started the morning with a lovely hike to the Makapu'u Lighthouse.  From the top of the mountain we were able to see whales spouting in the ocean.  It was incredible.  After that we all went to the Laie temple for a session, and then to Matsumoto's again. 

Can you see the whale spout above?

Thursday: We spent the morning snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, where Haley got to follow a little sea turtle and I froze to death.  After that we went to Sea Life Park for a fun afternoon of dolphin watching and baby sea turtle petting.  We had dinner together at a fun restaurant where you get to sit outside right next to the water, and then we brought Haley to the airport to fly home.

I cannot describe to you how much fun it was to have Haley here!  I was actually kind of depressed the day after she left because I enjoyed having her here so much, and from knowing that I won't see her again for at least a year and a half.  She has always been a big part of my life since the day she was born and I am so glad she is my cousin!