April 28, 2008

Today we headed out to the windward side of the island for some touristy fun.  We jumped on a little bus and got a tour of a bit of old Hawaiiana.  

The bus was a bit "old school", and I don't think Gigi liked it to much.  I think she was afraid that she'd fall out the open windows...oh wait, there weren't any windows!

Our first stop was a mini-show.  

This little girl danced.

This man did a fire dance.

Here's our Field Trip Friends group.

After the show, we all jumped on this boat for a ride around the ancient Hawaiian fishpond.  It's huge!

Gigi liked riding on the boat.

She kept looking for fish.

Here we are with our tour guide.

This was our view from the boat.  Stunning!

Gigi had a fun time!

April 27, 2008

Today Gigi and I took a walk around the neighborhood.  The sprinklers were one at one of the houses we passed, and Gigi decided to have some fun.

At first Gigi stayed on the periphery.

Then she got closer.

Gigi started to splash in the water that was on the sidewalk.

Then she climbed up on the stairs to get really wet!

April 25, 2008

This morning we all went to the beach BEFORE breakfast. I brought a couple of paper cups down from our room to use to build sand castles, but Gigi and Papa were more interested in digging holes in the sand.

Papa thought it'd be cool to have Gigi sit in the hole.

She seemed to like it.

It was sort of like sitting in her bean bag chair.

But when Papa tried to bury her, Gigi quickly protested and wiggled her way out.

Here she is escaping.

Papa washed her off in the ocean.

She loved it!

This time they dug a deeper and bigger hole.

It filled up with water when a big wave came by.

Gigi enjoyed playing with the water.

She was all smiles until the water seeped away.

So I took her back into the ocean to play.

For some reason, Gigi wouldn't float! She kept on flipping over to swim toward me.

I had to let her grab a hold of my arm, so she could 'swim' around.

After breakfast, we walked around the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center with Grandma and Grandpa. Papa had visited the Juicy store there yesterday, and he surprised me with a matching dress. Here we are with our matching outfits. Papa's the best!

When we walked by Senor Frog's, Gigi read the sign..."frog". She wanted to go in, but we had just finished breakfast.

Instead we went back to the hotel and changed into our swimsuits to swim in the pool. Papa arranged for a late check out...4 PM! Auntie Mirella stopped by to swim and hang out with us. Thank goodness (and Papa) for the late checkout, because Gigi fell asleep while we were poolside a little after 1 PM. She took another long nap and woke up at 3:15 PM! We had a wonderful mini-vacation! A big THANK YOU to Grandma and Grandpa!

April 24, 2008

When Gianna got up this morning, I opened up the curtains to show her the beach. Gigi got so excited! She was ready to start her day.

We went to breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa, and then we headed back to our room to change into our swimsuits.

Gigi grabbed her sunglasses.

Papa snapped this picture of the two of us with our shades on. :)

Here's Gianna running again! She's a blur!

Look at that smile! :)

We played in the pool.

Then Gigi rested for a bit.

Yikes! She got away from me while I was trying to change her clothes.

Here's Gigi hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa at the pool.

The grounds were very pretty at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. We walked around the hotel property, then headed up to the room for a nap.

Luckily, Gigi took a very long nap...almost three hours! Papa and I had to leave to see a couple of films at the Hawaii International Film Festival at Dole Cannery. I won tickets at the Oscar Party, so Grandma and Grandpa babysat Gigi while Papa and I went to the movies with Mark and Mirella. Uncle John and Auntie Wendy came to the hotel to visit. Grandma told me that Gigi had a great time playing with them. They also got to watch the luau show going on below our room. :)

April 23, 2008

Although it's Wednesday, we headed on over to gymnastics class, because we are going to miss Friday's class since we'll be on vacation! We're heading over to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel with Grandma and Grandpa to play tourists for a few days!

Luckily, Papa came home last night, so he joined us in class today. One thing that I noticed was that the kids were a lot bigger! Even the obstacle course was much more advanced.

Here's Gigi climbing on a rope ladder! This was her first time going on a rope ladder.

Here's Gigi on two beams that were angled outward...a first.

Then there was the raised beam! Gigi really tried to walk across it just holding Papa's hand, but she was a bit scared. I stopped filming to give her another hand to hold. With the both of us on either side of her, Gianna walked across the raised beam with no problems!

Gigi even went over to the rope to swing on it. Papa loaded her up, and then she held on all by herself!

After a long nap, we headed over to Waikiki to spend time at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. We changed into our swimsuits and headed right to the pool.

Here's Gigi playing "horsey" on me in the pool.

Gigi would let go of my neck and slide down to my arm so that she could kick and semi-paddle her arms.

She's practicing her dog-paddle stroke.

Gigi LOVES the water!

She could not stop smiling and laughing.

Well, she did stop smiling when I let her go. Gigi had to resort to floating. :)

Papa kept checking her capillary reflex to see if she was okay to swim. But once he gave us the sign, we took Gigi out to rest. Here she is hanging out on the lounge chair.

Gigi was totally content to rest with her strawberry smoothie.

Grandma came over to help her adjust her cup so that she could continue sipping her treat.

Grandpa and Grandma walked Gianna back up to the hotel room to get changed for dinner.

Here she is running in the hallway.

This video clip show you just how happy Gigi was.

Papa had brought some champagne from his collection to share with Grandpa and Grandma. We went over to their suite to have some champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries before dinner. Grandpa also brought some edamame. :) Gigi went straight for the strawberries.

The chocolate coating was a special treat for Gigi.

The strawberries were really good!

We had dinner at Orchid's at the Halekulani Hotel. They have the best mac & cheese!

Auntie Pamela from Halekulani came over to say hello to Gigi. She sent over a delicious amuse bouche and an intermezzo of pomegranate sorbet that Gigi and Grandpa loved!

We passed on dessert at Orchids. We walked over to Beard Papa's and ordered cream puffs to go.

We went back to Grandpa and Grandma's suite to enjoy them there. :)