ojichan & obachan in hawaii

So, on Christmas Eve, my parents flew in from Seattle to spend the Holidays with us.
While they were here...we got together every day to make the most of their short stay.
Here's just a few things we did together.


*oh, and FYI: Ojichan is Grandfather, while Obachan is Grandmother in Japanese. :)


#1: Kua Aina Burgers in Haleiwa

My parents love Kua Aina's.
More specifically, the Avocado Burger.
I mean, who doesn't, right?

Well...to be honest, these kids probably would have been just as satisfied with McD's...the food comes out faster there...

Much faster, it seems...

Kaden got to taste his very first french fry there...

The verdict: hmmm...not bad. Not great, but good in a pinch to appease a bored baby.

#2: Matsumoto's Shave Ice

Technically, this should probably have been combined with the above #1, seeing as it was the same day.
But my Mom cannot come to Hawaii without eating some shave ice.
Her favorite is Matsumoto's.
I think there are much yummier ones closer to home, but since we were already up on the North Shore, we came here.
The kids are happy so long as they get their "rainbow" shave ice.

Kaden loves shave ice.
Seriously, what baby doesn't?

Baby Knox LOOOOVED it.
And kept trying to grab Obachan's bowl when she wasn't paying attention.

These would be grandkids #21 & #19, respectively.


#3: Honolulu Zoo

I haven't been to the zoo in a really long time.
The girls ask every now and again to go...but it's just so far away.
Plus, I've let our annual pass expire.
Even with the Kama'aina rates, it's not inexpensive.
Fighting traffic to get there, fighting for a parking spot, paying the parking fees when you actually manage to find a spot and then walking around the zoo in the HEAT just doesn't sound very appealing to me these days.
SO, my girls were thrilled when my sister suggested a visit to the zoo with their cousins and my parents.

Yes, this is the group we went with.
There's one non-Sakuma in there...she was Seina's friend.

So we found this copse of trees with low branches...

And decided to take a picture with everyone, plus my parents.
Immediately after which, my nephew Marques fell down and hurt his knee.
Suppose we should have heeded the sign (not pictured) that warned us NOT to climb on the trees.

We convened at the playground for a short bit.
Kaden kept getting booted off the slide by kids, so had to settle for climbing on this crocodile.
He wasn't all that impressed.

He WAS, however, impressed with the animals in the Keiki Zoo area.
I could tell he wanted to go inside the goat petting area...but I just couldn't.
It's too gross in there.

The little ones hung around inside the Keiki Zoo while some of the older ones continued walking around the rest of the zoo.
I was thankful for Kaden. Who allowed me to stay relatively in one location...as opposed to walking around the whole of the zoo in the heat.

Anna got to milk a fake cow.
Even though it was just water that squirted out...it was still kinda gross...


#4: Picnic on the beach

Lastly, before my parents flew back home, we headed out to Waikiki Beach to enjoy one last hurrah together.
No swimming...just a relaxing picnic dinner at the beach.
Or, the grassy area in front of the beach. :)

Kaden was SO happy to have such a vast area to roam around.
Oh, and plenty of birds to chase around.
Notice he's pointing to them.
These days, he points to EVERYTHING!

And by the water's edge, the tide was low enough for some of the bigger kids (plus Ojichan) to hunt for crabs and shrimp.

My girls really wanted to go down...but I forced them to stay up top.
Poor girls...mama's too paranoid!

Ooh, and the pretty red & white shrimp Marques caught!

Jojo and Luke.
Have I mentioned how cute I think these two are?
They were running back and forth along the water's edge...throwing sand, peeking over the edge, and playing so well together.

Riho caught the second shrimp of the night.
This time, a grey and white one.

After running around and shrimp-hunting, it was dinner time.
Bucket of fried chicken, onigiri, hotdogs and chips.
Oh, and carrot sticks and edamame, too.

Who needs fancy food when you have cousins to play with, right?

Obachan and baby Knox.

Ended the evening with some friendly racing...

And Kaden pushing his stroller ALL OVER the park.

I miss my parents already...it was SO great having them here!
And sure, they had a rough trip going home because the flights were pretty full (flying standby during the Holidays is NOT recommended!)...but they finally made it home safe and sound.

Yay for grandparents!