Mixed Nuts: Vacation day 4

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Friday, January 8, 2016

Vacation day 4

December 26th - today we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Mat and I went to a Luau and show here when we visited Hawaii 17 years ago, so we wanted to take the kids.

The Cultural Center is nice because you buy one ticket and it gets you into the center, the Luau and the show. At the center are replicas of all of the Polynesian islands, and where you can learn about their traditions and see demonstrations. Most of the time you can also participate in the demonstrations, which is what the kids loved. We had a great time spending the day there and learning about the different islands.

At 5:30, the Luau started. It is a big dinner with a variety of foods from the different islands. You sit at tables all in a big room and they put one a small show while you eat. The show is cute and is a great taste for the grand show of the evening. We saw a kid about Arlington's age do a whole show with fire, which was really impressive.

At 7:30, the night show began. We are grateful to the Cultural Center for working with us when we bought our tickets so that Finley could sit close and see. We ordered our tickets over the summer, and they were able to give us front row seats, which was perfect. (and we didn't have to sell a kidney to sit there) The show as amazing, and lasted until 9pm. We had a great time, and when we ask the kids, they said this was one of their favorite things we did on our trip.

Enjoy the pictures. We were not allowed to take pictures during the show, so just trust me that is was fantastic, and if you ever go to Oahu, check it out.

We didn't need to be at the Cultural center until 12pm, so we did a morning swim first:

Getting ready to watch the Parade of boats on the water:

All the islands had their own boat and did a dance on the boat. I was the most impressed with the poor guy that had to do all the rowing.

Finley and Mat trying a Poe Ball routine.

Finley decided to get a temporary tattoo at one of the stations. This one would mean she was the Queen!

A giant boat from Fiji

Cainan wanted to try this demonstration in Marquesas. He was pretty good at it! You throw the pointed stick and aim for the target:

Arlington and Cainan got "Strength" tattoos

We all got Leis before the Luau

The pig from the Luau roast. Finley and Arlington wouldn't look at it

Our table at the Luau

What I chose for dinner. Taro roll, rice, teriyaki beef, salmon and pork sushi, salad and an oyster. For dessert I chose guava cake, coconut chocolate cake, and pineapple bars.