sunsets, black sand, volcanoes and waterfalls

I apologize for the massive amount of pictures, but there is just so much to show! We just got back from a mini vacay to the Big Island of Hawaii. It was a fabulous family trip. I was really thinking it was going to be a lot more stressful with two small children, but it was actually quite relaxing and we saw everything we wanted to see.

The first night we stayed in Kona and our hotel was so amazing. We had a corner room with an amazing view of the ocean and a private lagoon. We had a beautiful sunset and we heard the waves crashing as we slept. The best part you ask?I did not have to cook, do laundry, run errands, etc... so I could enjoy the moments.

Taylor and Cuatro at the Lagoon watching the waves crash

Cuatro and I on Valentines Day. He is so Handsome!

Raincoat, purple sparkly shoes and my Hat. Ready for a Hike!

We did a 4 mile hike to the Volcano. Needless to say Tay did NOT walk the whole way but she did pretty good.

Cuatro and a sea turtle on the black sand beach. I loved the black sand beach because the sand was not sticky at all and it was really fun to have all the turtles all over the beach. The kids really loved the beach and we also got to do some snorkeling!

The second place we stayed was right by the volcano. They have these really neat military houses set up and they are perfect. We also had a fireplace which was nice because it was FREEZING at night and we got to roast marshmallows. Taylor had fun making s'mores.

Tay and Cuatro in front of out house by the Volcano

This was at the Volcanically heated pools in Puna. They were fun, but definitely not cuatro friendly. It was really rocky and he just kept wanting to run around so we only stayed here for 30 min.

This was our last day when we were in Hilo. That is the Akaka falls behind us. We all had such a fun trip right up until the last minute. These are a fraction of the 600 pictures I took. I'm so glad that we were able to visit another island. I don't know why it has taken us over two years since we have lived in Hawaii. I guess the kids were really not old enough. They would have just been eating sand the whole time! They did have a lot of fun and they are great travelers.