...or B) Go to where the snow is. In our case, we chose Idaho. There wasn't as much snow as there usually is this time of year, but it worked.
...or two.
Yummy! What a fun Thanksgiving weekend we had.
After church outside the Marriott Ko Olina - great place to stay.
Hanalei Bay - you know, Puff the Magic Dragon and the land called Hanalei... And yes, we do feed Cole - he's just a bit lanky. 
Sunset dinner cruise along the NaPali Coast. Holo Holo Travel Rule of travel number one - no expectant mothers. Oops - didn't see that rule until it was too late. My stomach held out fine anyway. If anyone noticed, they were kind enough not to call me on it.
A waterfall - I forgot the name. I think it had a lot of "a's" and "k's" and "m's" in it.
The End.
You couldn't wait to hit the beach - that is the first thing we did and the last thing we did. You loved everything about it - looking for fish, rolling in the sand, finding beach treasures, and of course getting wet. I don't know how this afraid-of-water-mother has raised two little fishies, but you and your sister certainly have no fear of water.
Hiking with you is quite an experience. I've always been a don't-look-around, get-to-the-top sort of hiker. Not you. You take it all in. We stop for every critter, every new type of vegetation, and every cool rock. We also stop for frequent drink breaks. Aunt Kar, Grandpa, and Annie may have beat us to the top, but Daddy and I certainly learned more on our hike up to the lighthouse.
Do you remember the Polynesian Cultural Center? Remember how proud you were when Daddy made smoke on the fire stick? Remember the Coral Reef show and how mad you were that people are destroying them? Remember how excited you were when they talked about one of your heroes, Jacques Cousteau? Remember how the people ahead of us pushed you out the door before we could get there and how you almost got lost but remembered to say a prayer and soon Daddy found you? Remember how excited you were for the fire eaters? So excited that the minute they were finished, your energy was spent and you fell into an exhausted heap on Dad. We had a lot of fun there.
You had two favorite things on this trip - one was getting souvenirs and the other was snorkeling. I loved watching you snorkel. You saw all kinds of beautiful fish. You could stay under the water for such a long time - longer than Mommy! It was fun to watch a fish catch your eye and see you swim off after it. You never caught them, but that didn't stop you from trying. Poipu Beach is one of your new favorite places.
You were a good brother on this trip (mostly) and let your sister tag along for all your adventures. What good times you two had together!
You loved the boogie board Grandpa bought for you. Loved it so much that Mommy had to re-pack her bags to get rid of one so that it could be her carry-on for the flight home. Mom's heavy bag weighed in at a whopping 50.0 pounds and barely missed the overweight charge at the airport. We were planning to leave the board in Hawaii for some other child to enjoy, but that was clearly not your plan. I can't wait to use it somewhere next summer.
Coley, your enthusiasm for life is one of your greatest qualities. You make even the ordinary seem grand and it makes my life happier. Thanks for a great trip!
Whoever said traveling with a 2-year-old was difficult clearly never traveled with you. You were an absolute delight on this trip. Not an hour went by that you didn't make us laugh and give us snuggles. All by yourself, you came up with a clever way to travel through the airport, so not even that was a problem.
You loved the beach. Burying yourself in sand and playing with the sand toys were some of your favorite activities. Each time we took off your swimsuit, a cup of sand would fall out.
You were up for every adventure. You tried snorkeling, swung from trees, climbed trees, and crashed into waves every chance you got. You loved the dancers at the Polynesian Cultural Center and even though you were exhausted, you stayed awake watching them for over an hour. You were sad to miss out on the fire eaters.
You were a little sad that mommy forgot to pack you baby dolls for the trip. It didn't take you long to find other things to love, however. You mothered your giant blow-up whale, Baby Beluga, and also your new pet "duck" - giving her food, wrapping her in a blanket, singing her lullabies, and rocking her to sleep. What a good mother you are!
Sometimes you'd surprise us - like the first time you answered a question with "never, never, never" (a new favorite phrase) or when you'd strike a yoga pose at the beach and proclaim, "I'm just doing my downward dog."
You don't seem to suffer from the same humidity-induced hair disasters as your mother. While I looked like a frizzy mess, you were perfectly lovely at all times. What a lucky girl!
I love you, Island Princess. Thanks for being such fun and for letting us in on your joy in just hanging out. It broke my heart when you cried yesterday because you wanted to go to the beach. I'm sorry to say that it might be awhile. The snow outside our window is not a good sign for beach weather anytime soon.
...Gladiator (Knight) Cole, wicked with a sword...
...Gypsy Kate, Slug, and Dog the Bounty Hunter (on a diet)...
p.s. - that is Cole's "scary" face and please note that while the real Annie Oakley may not have had pink John Deere cowboy boots, I'm sure that she would have if she had also had a Grandma Rose.
These are my best friends, Brooke and Kim. We've been friends for a looooong time. Cute girls, huh? Anyway, I just thought I'd post that picture first to show that for the most part, we really were quite normal. The remaining pictures may make you doubt it...but we always had fun together so oh well.
We happen to be in our 4th year of college in this picture. The only year we got to all be roommates together. People say you shouldn't be roommates with your friends - so not true for us. It was a blast. I do not know why I had a bunch of old formals at our apartment, but for some reason I did and for some reason one October night we decided to put them on. It was probably my idea - I really liked the dress I had on. My little sister wore it when she was on Homecoming royalty (my siblings were all much cooler than I) and I always wanted a reason to wear it. If I remember correctly, we actually went to the grocery store dressed like this. That night, our other roommate got engaged. So really it turned out good that we were all dressed up in our fancies to celebrate with her.
We had such fun that night that we decided to dress up again the next night - cowboy style. My Wrangler's are authentic - purchased for the Reba McEntire concert when I was in high school. Brooke and Kim just used a little brown paper for theirs. It was pretty easy to find cowboy hats - our apartment complex that year seemed to be the designated living quarters for the entire College of Agriculture. It's amazing we all didn't marry cowboys. My favorite part of this picture are the messages added to the white board congratulating our other rooommate on getting engaged - it's fun to read those messages. Remember our "kill count" girls? We had quite the tally!
And then there's this picture. Even less explainable than the other two. One lonely night whilst all our missionaries were away (a couple of us may have had more than one), we made a little movie - "The Boy Scout Video" is its official title. It stars Kim as Tony, a somewhat rebellious and intimidating scout, Brooke as Sam, a VERY nervous scout with a whiny voice, and me as their fearless leader, Brother Green. And my brother Jake as the awesome videographer. For three girls with zero thespian experience, it is a laugh a minute. I've thought about posting it to YouTube and REALLY embarrassing Brooke and Kim, but they are my best friends so maybe not...we'll see.