Alooooooha!!!!

One of the perks to Tim being given a command position is that we were both invited (his invite was more a requirement...) to attend the commanders course.... in Hawaii.  Yeah, it was a really hard decision, especially when my parents told us they'd watch the kids for us while we went.  I mean, we hemmed and hawed for a while and then resigned ourselves to go.... ;)

We flew in a couple days early so we could enjoy a couple of days before the rigors of the course started.

As we were walking around Waikiki, we ran into a guy with these gorgeous birds, and we got to hold them!  They were beautiful!

The view from our hotel room balcony.

The day after we arrived we went out to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We had been told it is THE place to go, when visiting Hawaii, and so we did, and it did not disappoint. 

The whole place is a gorgeous theme park (minus rides) about the Polynesian islands.  We found the river that runs through the park, and stopped for the show.  Each of the major islands have a boat representing them, in their traditional garb, and they would put on a dance performance for us.  It was very entertaining.

This guy was so fun.  He is Samoan, and was treating us to some fun facts, and activities done in Samoa.  He also showed us how to start a fire in a coconut.... then he put it out, with his foot.

Climbing coconut trees, Samoan style.

After wandering around, and learning more about the different cultures, we went to our buffet dinner. It was a nice building, very tropical, and the food wasn't bad at all.  I had the prime rib, and Tim enjoyed the seafood.

After dinner we went to a show that ends each evening called "The Breath of Life".  Photography wasn't allowed, and I'm kind of glad, because I think I would have missed out on the awesome show. It was amazing.  Dancing, chanting, singing, fire, fire dancers, just plain amazing.  After the show we went out to the vendors, and found ourselves getting a pearl from an oyster.  We had it put into a ring for me.  So beautiful.  It was a wonderful day, I wish we could have spent more time there.