Mahalo

Mahalo means thank you in Hawaiian and the girls and I have a lot of thank yous to give! We had a few bumps but that is to be expected. So we must say mahalo to this beautiful island of Oahu for an amazing 10 days! We must say mahalo to the girls dad, grandma Debbie and entire family for taking good care of the girls, showing them their love and having so much fun! We must say mahalo to Auntie Jenn who helped me with a place to stay for the majority of my trip and mahalo to Auntie Kim for a place to stay in town on my last night.  We must say mahalo to the best boy cousin ever, Tyson and mahalo to the rest of our friends and family we’ve seen this trip! Mahalo nui loa means thank you very much and we really do mean it! 

The last couple of days were still packed full of fun! The girls went to breakfast every morning and a fun dinner every night including a tepanyaki dinner. They went to my favorite spot, Pali Lookout and almost got blown away and they went glow in the dark put put golfing where cousin Maddie crushed them. They went to their dads office and meant a whole lot of co-workers and they drove around the island to see the other side and took scenic stops and waded in the water at Waimea Bay. 

The girls last day was spent having breakfast with just their dad, visiting Uncle Brandon and Grandma Debbie at work and then building a sand castle at Ala Moana Beach Park and swimming in the ocean! The beach is definitely the best spot to close out your Hawaiian vacation and they had an amazing time!

Meanwhile still on the north shore I hungout for a day and a half with the amazing Auntie Jessie and Uncle Grant who are also visiting from Texas. We shared a condo together and they introduced me to the life changing meal at Teds Bakery of garlic shrimp and pie and the amazing açaí bowl at Haleiwa Bowks! I’m talking SO ONO which is delicious in Hawaiian! After checking out of my place on the north shore I was thrilled that Tyson asked me to come stay with him in town! I actually would have come earlier but a bad migraine had me going to bed at 7pm Wednesday night instead. But we spent Thursday and Friday together and I sure love my sweet and entertaining nephew! Tyson and Auntie Kim treated me with two fun days! They showed me how much some things have changed around town, we went shopping at Ala Moana, ate at the fascinating new Shirokiya, and we had Uncle Clays shave ice. I had some time while they were at practice Thursday so I drove around my old stomping grounds, went to Punchbowl national cemetery and Iolani Palace. I even had the most hilarious experience getting a cheap pedicure. The technican was a little rough and she did reflexology on my feet and told me it would help me lose weight! It was fantastic! Uncle Dave joined us for the best dinner at Old Spagetti Warehouse at Aloha Tower and I almost kept Tyson up all night with my snoring! Whoops! 

On my last day I accidentally kind of slept in. It was a good thing Keagan called me for addresses for her postcards because Kim and Ty were waiting for me to wake up! We spent the day eating all of the last things on my list. Breakfast was okazuya and I have been craving the potato corn beef hash balls for years! Then we went to Diamond Head grill for the most amazing scones and butter mochi! I guess the birds there must love those scones and they have no fear because they surrounded Kim trying to eat the scone right out of her hand and even landed on her hand and head! I was so sad I didn’t get video of that one! Then we headed to the new International Marketplace in Waikiki which is SO different now and we did some back to school shopping for Ty and teased and joked the entire time! Then it was to the classic Zippys for lunch to eat my favorite wun tun min, Mac salad and fruit punch! Yum! And if all of that wasn’t enough we drove around for a little bit as Ty slept in the car and then we topped off the food fest with amazing maladadas from Pipeline Bakery! I don’t think I can eat again for weeks! 

Tonight we met for a celebratory dinner at Assagio’s, one of my favorite island Italian restaurants back in the day. We had a nice time with everyone and the three Kikuchi girls were all THRILLED to be back together!  I havent gotten that many kisses from Keagan in a long time! And in the bathroom she told me both her and Riley missed me so much that they have both cried! That about broke my heart but i know they had an amazing time too. We had the same goodbye crew that we had as a welcoming crew at the airport and we obviously gave big mahalos to all of them for the last 10 days! 

Most importantly we owe huge mahalos to our Heavenly Father who helped us get on this trip, stay safe and have such an incredible time! And although the three of us were split up and it’s been kind of hard, it really was an amazing trip for everyone! But we are all very ready and thankful to be back together and going home! It’s sure been a while and we are all tired, we miss Texas and our own beds and most importantly the people we love there! So mahalo Hawaii and all our friends and family who live here! Hopefully we come back sooner rather then later. A hui hou means until we meet again. So...a hui hou, mahalo! 

Now PLEASE Heavenly Father help us to ALL sleep on the overnight plane!!