Arches National Park

We took a trip to Moab with the Smiths this last weekend.  The purpose of our trip was to visit Arches National Monument.  The Smiths go every year, but we had never been.  So we invited ourselves on their family trip and the they accepted!  Tara has lived in Utah her entire life and had never visited Arches.  Dave has lived here for 20 years and hadn't visited Arches either.  Huge mistakes!  This is a MUST see national park, not just if you live in Utah, but if you live on the planet!  Take a trip to see some amazing stuff.  We spent and evening and a full day there, but there was a ton we didn't see.  Canyonlands National Park is right next door too.  We'll have to see that another day.  The kids loved it.  We climbed up around cliffs, hiked in the dark with flashlights, and jumped over crevices that made Tara nervous.  It was an awesome trip.  Thank you Smith family for letting us tag along.

 

View near Double Arch.  You can see Balanced Rock in the background.

 

 

Arch near Corona Arch.



Maddie and Megan chilling on some rock face.

 

Plenty of places for Britney to explore.

 

 

Standing next to my spiritual advisor.  Colorado river in the background.

 

The metal cable on the trail to Corona Arch. We called it the "iron rod."

 

Balanced Rock.  We didn't stop, but Tara took a good pic from a moving car. 

 

The path to Sand Dune Arch.  This was the girls favorite place and also the most dangerous.

 

 

The Smith/Davenport family photo minus Tara.

 

 

Stopped to see some petroglyphs and some dinosaur tracks (can you see them?).

Trip to Oahu, Hawaii

     We took a family trip to Hawaii for Fall break this year.  Tara and I have been to Hawaii (Ashley too, but as a three year old), but the kids have never been.  We stayed in Oahu at the Marriott Ko Olina Vacation Club about 16 miles from Honolulu.  Everyone loved the trip.  It was more busy than relaxing with all of the sightseeing we did.  Tara planned something for us every day.  We visited the Hawaii Temple pictured above and also went to the Polynesian Cultural Center the same day.  The girls really enjoyed seeing the different Polynesian cultures through their dances and activities.  We also stayed for a luau and the evening show where there were fire dancers.  It was fun, but a long day.
     We snorkeled at Hanauma Bay on Columbus Day.  Glad we went early because it got pretty packed.  Ashley and Megan were the most adventurous.  Britney did okay and Kaitlyn went out a few times, but mostly wanted to play on the beach.  Tara was a total wussy.  We saw tons of fish including the Hawaiian State fish, the humuhumunukunukuapua'a, giant parrot fish, an eel, an octopus, and tons of other colorful fish.  We left early because it was getting crowded and went boogie boarding along the windward coast. 
     We did a few hikes as well.  We hiked up Diamond Head crater and we also hiked up to Waiamea Falls. We went to the beach after and swam in much larger waves than we were used to.  Dave cliff jumped into the ocean swells there at Waiamea beach too.  There were signs warning not to jump or risk injury or death, but the locals were doing it, so 'when in Rome.'  We were in Hawaii during the government shutdown.  That didn't affect us except for Pearl Harbor.  We had tickets to the Arizona Memorial, but it was closed on the day we had tickets (it actually opened the next day).  We went to the Pearl Harbor Aviation museum instead.  There were still bullet holes from the attack at the hanger in the museum.
     The girls most memorable day was when they took surfing lessons on the leeward coast toward the North Shore.  The beach we went to was a little known beach hidden away behind a military camp.  The waves were small, but there was lots of coral and the girls even saw a sea turtle.  Perfect area to learn how to surf.  All of them got up on the board by themselves.  Brits had the instructor stick around because she didn't want to end up like Soul Surfer.  We got some good video too because the instructor had a GoPro on the front of the board.  Super fun trip.  The girls said they liked it better than Mexico, but you can't get Montezuma's Revenge in Hawaii.  Their version is called Kamehameha's Revenge I believe. 
     Our neighbors, the Hogans, were also at our resort while we were there.  We went to church with them our first day in Hawaii and then hung out with them the day we were leaving.  Fun to see some familiar faces there.

Our Resort

The summit of Diamond Head crater overlooking Waikiki Beach.

Surf lessons with Jason Garcia, Sunny Garcia's brother (surf champion).

Megan catching a wave.

Ashley surfing past the coral.

Britney with Jason Garcia on the back.  She liked to stay low!

Kaitlyn was our only goofy-foot surfer.

Waiamea Falls

Pearl Harbor

Polynesian Cultural Center

Below: Hanauma Bay Marine Reserve