boogie boarding!

Instead of going to Lanai today like we planned, we made the executive decision to take it easy for the day. We want to see things and do things while we're here, but we also don't want to stress ourselves out in the process, and the past three days have been a LOT to handle. So today ended up being a pretty relaxing day, all in all, and hopefully we're all recharged for whatever adventures tomorrow will bring.

We started the morning by sleeping in (yay!), then Mike and I made a breakfast scramble and cut up fresh pineapple and papaya. After we were all up and fed, we decided to go for a swim. The boys were in for a treat, because when we got here, we discovered that the closet in our room contains a lot of beach gear for renters to use, including boogie boards. Before we left the condo, we watched a video to show them how to use the boards, and then we set off.

Mike did the research, and found us a tiny shaded (double yay!) parking lot next to a resort. I guess the deal is that the resorts are all right on the ocean, but they don't own the beach, so they have to offer at least a little bit of access to the public. This definitely worked to our advantage this morning, because we were able to follow a beautiful path around the resort to Makena Bay.

Here is maybe where I should note that one of my main goals for this trip is NOT to go home with a sunburn. I burn in just a few minutes outside at home, so I can only imagine what the Hawaiian sun will do to my delicate skin. With this in mind, I was all kitted out in a long-sleeved rash guard shirt and long swim pants with sun protection, all topped with a floppy sun hat. I should also note that this is the first time I've been swimming in the Pacific (I know, that seems weird to me too, but it's true). I maybe did not have the best introduction to it. I wanted to go snorkeling, and to do that, you have to go out past the surf, so I set out ... only to get bowled over by some really strong waves. I did some involuntary (and I'm sure totally graceful) flips underwater, got dragged along the ocean floor for a bit, and even got dashed against some rocks for good measure. And that was *before* my snorkel malfunctioned. I ended up staggering back up to the shore to Mike and telling him, "This ocean is bullshit. Take me back to the Atlantic now please." Listen, friends, I had sand in all my parts. I could have made a whole sandcastle from what got trapped in my swim pants. I'm still finding it in my hair and in my ears, even after a shower and most of the day.

Meanwhile, the waves made for perfect boogie boarding conditions, so the boys had a blast. We spent a couple hours at the beach as they caught wave after wave after wave. Mike joined them for a while, but then decided he wanted to try snorkeling. And unlike me, he had some good luck. He took the underwater camera with him and saw some cool fish, though the waves kind of churned up the water and made it a little cloudy.

Once we were all worn out from a morning at the beach, we came back to the condo, got cleaned up and showered, had lunch, and spent the afternoon just lounging around. Henry and I spent time reading, Mike watched football, and Liam and Max closed themselves in their room with their phones. We all ended up taking naps late in the afternoon, and now Mike's watching a movie while I type away at the kitchen table. The boys are all crashed out for the night, hopefully dreaming happy ocean dreams.