Birthday Getaway

I celebrated the big 3---0 on August 28th.  I can seriously not believe that my twenties are now behind me.  I'm not depressed about entering my thirties at all.  I'm excited for my thirties because I don't plan on being pregnant and/or breastfeeding like I was for the last half of my twenties!!  It's funny, I said I wanted to have all my kids by the time I was 30 and poof, I've got three beautiful and healthy girls.  I guess my wish was granted!  

On my birthday we went out to lunch and enjoyed a delicious meal at Gordon Biersch.  All of the girls were in a good mood so it was a successful outing with all five of us!  Later that afternoon we went to a bbq at our neighbors house.  So it was a pretty perfect birthday because I didn't have to cook at all!  Score!  

This past weekend we traveled up to the North Shore to spend a couple of nights at Turtle Bay.  This was my big birthday present from Trey and the girls.  I was thinking how spectacular it would be to escape away from everyday life and just enjoy a couple of days relaxing on the beach.  I've always heard such nice things about Turtle Bay and was really looking forward to our little mini getaway!  We left right after Riley's gymnastics class.  We thought we'd get there early, chill out on the beach for a bit, and then check into our room.  Forgetting that it was Labor Day we didn't account for the massive amount of traffic we got stuck in on the way there.  Needless to say by the time we got to Turtle Bay it was too late to hit up the beach because it was practically dinner time.  And anyone with little kids knows you can't feed them late unless you want to experience major meltdowns.  We checked in and then walked around to check out the area.  We ate dinner at an Italian Restaurant and enjoyed every bite!  We made it back to our room to witness a gorgeous sunset.  I wouldn't mind a view like that everyday.

The next morning we got up and grabbed some breakfast, then off to the beach we went.  I was expecting much more when we got to the beach.  First of all, we couldn't even get beach chairs because they weren't open yet.  I was annoyed.  Second, there were sand fleas all over the place.  It was driving me bonkers.  I kept swatting them off of me, Emrey, and Hadley.  Thirdly, it wasn't even a private beach.  The beach was open to the public which I thought was awful.  We paid a pretty penny to stay at this resort and anyone is welcome to use the beach.  Ridiculous!  I thought it would be so great to not have to pack up the car and drive to the beach, and we could spend the entire day on the beach.  It definitely didn't work that way.  After an hour, Hadley was ready for a nap.  Trey took her up to the room and I stayed at the beach with Emrey and Riley.  About twenty minutes later Riley was ready to go back to the room.  She didn't want to be at the beach anymore.  I thought I was in a nightmare.  This was not how I was anticipating our little getaway.  

Once Hadley woke up from her nap we headed to the pool.  Trey bought the girls some floats and they were in heaven.  Trey was teaching Riley how to swim and our little fish wasn't getting out of the water for anything.  We were all relaxed and enjoying ourselves.  We ordered food while we were there because the girls didn't want to leave.  I was amazed that Riley & Hadley were having more fun at the pool than the beach.  But then again, there weren't any sand fleas at the pool!  

Turtle Bay definitely wasn't what I had anticipated it to be.  Trying to get away with three kids all ages three and under wasn't the best idea.  Jamming all of us into one hotel room wasn't the best idea I've ever had!  However, once everyone started having fun at the pool I was able to start enjoying myself.  Turtle Bay was a disappointment though.  I think next time we'll go to the new Disney resort at Ko'Olina or just rent a cabin at the Bellows.  Those are our favorite spots on the island anyway.  Here's to my next thirty years!!