I have so many feelings about writing this post! I can’t believe I’m finally wrapping up our Hawaii adventure. This trip was truly one we’ll never forget. From finally experiencing Hawaii for ourselves to enjoying authentic Hawaiian food, music, and culture, every day brought something new. I was also so proud of the girls for making the long flight and adjusting so well to the time change.

More than anything, this trip gave me the confidence that our family really can take some pretty epic vacations together, and that might just be my favorite of all. I’m so excited to see what our next big adventure will be!

Alright, let’s get to it! Hawaii Day 7!!!

Day 7:

We took this day to completely relax and unwind. We spent the entire day enjoying Aulani! There is so much to see and do around the resort that we definitely didn’t experience everything during this trip…which just gives us the perfect excuse to come back someday!

We started the morning with breakfast at the Makahiki Character Breakfast. It was such a fun experience, although Kate was a little unsure about the characters that day. She’s met so many Disney characters over the years, but for some reason, this just wasn’t her day. So the two of us enjoyed as much of breakfast as we could before heading back to the room a little early while John and Caroline finished up.

After breakfast, we changed into our swimsuits and got ready for a fun day at the pool! On our way there, we ran into Moana, and of course we had to stop for a picture. Thankfully, Moana was a big hit, and it ended up being the perfect way to start our day at Aulani!

The pools at Aulani are amazing! And honestly…you just can’t beat this view. We spent quite a while relaxing by the pool before grabbing lunch at Ulu Café.

After lunch, we headed to the beach lagoon, raced down the waterslides, and even explored Rainbow Reef. It was such a fun and busy afternoon!

Before we knew it, it was time to get cleaned up, take some sunset pictures, and head to dinner.

That evening, we ate at the ʻŌlelo Room. Between the beautiful sunset and a delicious dinner, it was the perfect way to end our Hawaiian vacation.

Day 8:

This was officially our send-off day as we said goodbye to Hawaii and made our way to Los Angeles for the night before flying home to Tampa the next day.

Originally, we were scheduled to take an overnight flight home, but at the last minute we decided to change our plans and spend the night at a hotel near LAX instead. Looking back, it might have been one of the best decisions we made on the entire trip! Getting a good night’s sleep in a hotel was so much more relaxing than trying to sleep on the plane…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Day 8 started with one last delicious Hawaiian breakfast. We couldn’t leave without ordering one more açaí bowl and a plate of Mickey waffles! It was the perfect way to begin our last day in paradise.

After breakfast, we packed up and drove to Honolulu for our flight to Los Angeles.

When we landed in L.A., it was after 9:00 p.m. We were more than ready to get off the plane, check into our hotel, and grab a quick bite to eat before the hotel restaurant closed.

Before we knew it, we were tucked into bed and getting a full night’s sleep before our flight home the next day.

Day 9:

I can’t believe I don’t have any pictures from this day!

Our flight wasn’t until later that afternoon, so we enjoyed a slow morning at the hotel. We took our time eating breakfast, relaxing in the room, packing up, and making our way back to the airport.

Once we got to LAX, we still had plenty of time before boarding, so we enjoyed a leisurely lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and soaked up our last little bit of vacation mode.

When we finally walked through our front door, it was 12:30 in the morning. We were exhausted from a long day of traveling, but our bodies were still on Hawaiian time, which meant…we were hungry! 😂

The only food we had in the house was ramen, so we all took showers, changed into our comfy pajamas, boiled up ramen noodles, and had a late-night family dinner. It felt like our college days…except this time we had two little girls eating ramen with us. 😂

We finally crawled into bed around 2:00 a.m.

This Hawaii trip is one our family will never forget. It reminded me how much I love exploring new places with the people I love most, and I already can’t wait to see where our next adventure takes us.

Thank you for following along on our Hawaiian adventure. I hope you’ve enjoyed looking back on these memories with me as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing them.

Until next time, Hawaii.

Aloha and mahalo, friends! 🌺

-Holley