This is Eric and Katie while we were on our way to Eric's chosen birthday activity. We celebrated Eric's 23rd birthday while we were in Hawaii. I can't imagine a better way to spend the day!
He wanted to go hiking in the jungle.
It was actually really beautiful! We went on someone's property that has all these gorgeous waterfalls so they leave it open for the public to enjoy. Here's one of the waterfalls...
By the way, on the way to the falls, Jody HATED the choice of music and all the singing along that was happening. It was hilarious.
Eric was a dare devil and wanted to jump off all the waterfalls. I would only jump from the really low spots.
Then, later that night, we went to Bubba Gump's for Eric's birthday dinner!
Where we enjoyed DELICIOUS food and a lovely sunset.
Then we went to visit "the tree" which Eric had never seen before. I tried explaining it to him over the phone when I was here 2 years ago with my family right after Eric and I got engaged. However, he was quite impressed seeing it in real life.
And of course, all trees are made for climbing...
We actually got up on a pretty good spot. Here is Cassie, demonstrating how high we were
The next day, we went on a snorkeling trip! It was so fun!
The best part of the trip was that Eric and I got to snuba dive! I was TERRIFIED to try it because I don't necessarily even love snorkeling, but I did it, and I'm so glad I did! By the way, don't we just look so attractive in snuba gear? :)
And here's us with Jody and Dad... Jody LOVED the experience!
We got to see the turtles up close and personal. It was way cool!
The next morning, Eric and Scotty got up at 2:00 am to go on a bike ride to see the sunrise on the Road to Hana. When we were signing up for the excursion, I was planning on going, but the guy told me we would be going 20 mph around hairpin turns and that if I couldn't keep up, they would throw me in the van. Since I haven't been on a bike in.... a really long time.... I opted out. But they had a great time!!
Here they are in their sweet gear!
And the beautiful sunrise
My favorite part of the trip was just being able to lay out by the pool, reading my book until I was so hot I couldn't stand it. Then I would either play in the ocean, or cool off in the pool, and then go back to my book. It was the perfect R&R vacation with just the right amount of entertainment mixed in. Eric probably wouldn't agree... he likes to keep busy.
One day, Eric and I rented surfboards for an hour. I had only been surfing one other time and it was with an instructor who pushed me into the waves in order to catch them. So this time, I pretty much layed on the board on my stomach the whole time, trying to catch a wave. Well just at the very end, I caught it, and I KNEW I had caught it. I was trying to stand up, but only made it to my knees before realizing I was CRUISING straight towards where all the people were playing in the waves. I was just screaming and apologizing and going so fast I didn't know what to do with myself. Everyone just kind of squealed and dove out of my way, grabbing children as they went. It was absolutely hilarious and SO fun!
Another day, Eric, Scotty and I rented paddle boards. You know, where you stand up on a large surfboard and use a paddle to move around. We picked the windiest part of the day apparently, and it was WAY harder than it looked! But it was really fun at the same time. I was the only one who didn't fall off, by the way :)
All in all, it was a wonderful vacation and I wish I was back in Hawaii right now. I got such an amazing tan and it is for sure completely gone. Hopefully we'll be back next year!
