Aloha!

We recently spent a week at the Hualalai Four Seasons in Kona on the Big Island with our friends Mark and Sarah and their little boy Grant (8 mo. younger than Calista), their friends Perry and Hilary, and a mutual friend Kathy. Calista was in 7th Heaven the entire time. The girl loves water so much, so there was never a dull moment between the kiddy pool, big kids pool, and the pool and hot tub (Calista calls it a "hot pool") at Mark and Sarah's house. Calista loved riding in the golf cart, and would normally fall asleep in it after a morning at the pool on our way back to the house. We lucked out and got great weather (it only rained once) and managed to escape any bad sun burns too. The Four Seasons was amazing -- not only did they come around with cold watermelon, pineapple, Evian spritzes, cold towels, water, ice cream and popsicles --but they had free swimmy diapers and sunscreen. We felt so fortunate to be invited, and that Sarah and Mark were able to get us seats on the chartered Kona shuttle too (the all-business-class seats made such a difference for the 5-hour flight!).

Flight over...busy girl reading, naturally!

Driving the Golf Cart, feeding fish in the Koi pond, dancing to Perry's piano playing and climbing on the lizard (all favorite activities for little missy). By the way, she is saying, "Raaaah" on the lizard to be like the lizard.

Bliss at the Kiddy Pool

The kiddy pool was so great because the bottom was all sand, and they had tons of toys for everyone and lots of shade. We were always able to get pool-side seats in a cabana, since the hotel wasn't full. (Phew!) Calista felt so much freedom being able to splash around all by herself. She also got really good at putting on innertubes and wading around with them. The picture of her on the turtle is when she is pretending to be Jeremy Fisher fishing for minnows with his reed pole (from a Beatrix Potter story that she loves). I think the photo where she fell asleep on the lounge pool is too cute.

The Big Kids Pool
Adjacent to the kiddy pool was a much larger (and deeper) pool for kids and adults. Calista could not get enough of the "hot pool" that connected to the pool. She would go in and out, in and out over and over again. There were several shallow ledges along the edge, and she loved kicking herself in a floaty boat to them. She also decided that she loved the Rasberry Banana Smash (yogurt smoothie) and ordered one for herself at the bar (which is what you see us sharing here).






















Mark and Sarah's Pool - Back at the house there was an infinity pool and hot tub that was easy for Calista to wade into. (We had to keep a close eye on that girl!) But what a treat to be able to take a dip pretty much anytime you fancied! By the way - the video is of Calista being "Super Baby" and blowing on Scott to make him tip over. Scott just told me he remembers playing this game with Matt when they were little kids.











Beaches!

Another great thing is that there was a beach a few steps away from the house, which had turtles every day. Calista loved saying, "Aloha Baby Honu" after a book my mom got her.

Kona Village - One day Mark, Sarah, Grant, Scott, Calista and I took the golf carts to Kona Village (a nearby resort) for a change of scenery. Fortunately for us, there were more turtles!








At Hapuna Beach -- Conde Nast rated this the most beautiful beach in the U.S. -- Scott went boogie boarding and I waded in the water.

Being a very big helper!



Time for adults to relax... at night after the munckins were asleep we would eat dinner outside and wind down. The weather was so lovely and it felt great to be outside in the evening. One night Sarah arranged a babysitter for the kiddos and we went out to dinner at a restaurant at the resort, which was extra special. This vacation will definitely be hard to top!