Wedding in Hawaii

We all had to go to Hawaii for Tom and Sheena's wedding.  It was so fun having a destination wedding as it was a dream vacation we won't ever forget.  It was the first time my whole family (and lots of extended family) had been on vacation together in a really long time.  And the first time our girls got to go to Hawaii!  Of course traveling with a two year old wasn't so dreamy, but besides a few minutes on each airplane ride of a complete and total meltdown from Lucy, both girls traveled great, played hard, and slept well the whole time.  The wedding itself was absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to see the photographer's pictures.  Sheena was a stunning bride and all the festivities leading up the wedding were so much fun.  Between the wedding and a vacation, prepare for picture overload!

 Little travelers...

 We (along with my parents and David and Emily) stayed in Kona, on the Big Island, for the first few days at my parent's timeshare. Fun to explore the cute town of Kona and the beaches nearby.

Magic Sands beach - love that gorgeous turquoise water!!

 There was a high surf warning and the waves were HUGE...otherwise Lucy would have been in the waves playing like all the big kids. She loved the waves at her feet though!

 Love the girls' sandy beach bums ;)...

 Cody and David in the waves...

 One huge wave came and wiped out the entire beach, so all our stuff was soaked! Ella was not happy we had to leave :)...

 Gorgeous tropical flowers...

Introducing the girls to my favorite Hawaiian treat - shaved ice!

Hapuna beach...

The day we checked into the Fairmont Orchid (where the wedding was), the guys all golfed in the morning, so us girls hung out at the gorgeous pool all day...



Beginning of the wedding festivities at the welcome cabana party...

Ella loved hanging out with Jessica and Alaina, my cousin Linda's kids...

Wedding rehearsal on the beach in the morning...

Ella and the darling ring-bearer, Cooper...

Ready for the beach...

The hotel had this perfect little lagoon with hardly any waves that the girls could play in...  

Cody and I got to swim out just past the rocks and see some really big sea turtles while snorkeling!

Lu's favorite - ice cream by the pool...

 The five of us original Howell's just happened to be together without our spouses/kids for a brief moment the day before Tom's wedding...

Ready for the rehearsal dinner...

Fun bridesmaid gifts!

Cooper and Ella...

Fun to do Ella's flower-girl hair.  She was so excited the day of the wedding :)...

 I wish I had gotten some better pictures of the bride and groom!  This was their sweet first look...

 The ceremony itself was HOT with the sun shining down, but it was so gorgeous!  Then we all kicked off our shoes and had a fun reception in the sand...

Sweet little flower girls and ring-bearer...

Lucy wanted Cody or I to hold her while we danced - she got into it with her arms in the air for quite a few songs...

Fun to relax at the pool the day after the wedding...

Cody and I got to have an adults dinner out with David and Emily (and my cousin Linda and her husband Jimmy, not pictured)...

 Morning walk to our amazing buffet breakfast at the hotel each morning...

Stopping to see the sea turtles that often sun themselves on the rocks...

Hard to see because they look like little rocks, but one day we saw nine sea turtles!

 Fresh coconut milk!

Ready for the pool - the girls spent hours each day swimming...

Dinner on our last night with my parents...

The girls were obsessed with this little gecko that came by at dinner...

 The last morning at the hotel, the girls got to feed the koi fish (which they had named each of by the end of the week)...

 Had to document that our little firecracker actually fell asleep on the plane for the first 20 minutes!! Wish it had lasted slightly longer as that was the only nap she got all day and we paid for it by the end of the flight ;)...

Such a fun week!  Wish we could do it all over again :).  Cheers to the happy couple Mr. and Mrs. Howell!

A few of the professional pictures from the wedding...