The Taveras Ohana: Babies' First Getaway

We decided to spend the weekend at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of O'ahu. It was so nice to be out of the house.....away from dishes, laundry, dogs, and all the other responsibilities of life (except for the little guys of course!) After David got home from work on Friday, we made the trek up the Kamehameha Highway toward our destination....Turtle Bay! It is about 40 miles away from our house, but with a bit of traffic on the 2-lane road it took us about an hour and a half to make it there. For Gabriel and Grayson, being born on an island, this definitely counts as their first road trip!! Along the drive I discovered if I moved their car seat toys down to their level that they would hit the toys to make them spin and light up. As a teacher I should have thought of this LONG ago, but I'm pretty sure I forgot EVERYTHING I knew about children once I had my own. TO my credit, all of their OTHER car seat toys dangle from the top of their carseats and I can't adjust their height, but these particular ones are adjustable........I have decided this is the reason I never thought of it before. The boys were happily whacking their frog toys in the back seat and we enjoyed the scenic drive up the coastline.

Kamehameha Highway runs along the eastern
shore of the island and Turtle Bay is located
between Kahuku and Sunset Beach

Once we arrived at Turtle Bay, we set up shop to make it easier to survive out of our comfort zone for the first time with Gabriel and Grayson. Having twins takes alot of planning ahead just for logistical reasons. Gabriel was content to be on our balcony overlooking the ocean and listening to the band that was playing at the pool. Usually he is a baby that likes to be in the mix-checking out what's going on and of course receiving lots of attention-but he just LOVED hanging out on the balcony and was out there for about 45 minutes just enjoying the breeze and the music. This is a kid who knows how to live!!

Gabriel enjoying the view from his stroller.

We had a really enjoyable dinner on the golf course and the boys stayed up an hour past their bed time listening to all the sights and sounds in the restaurant. Every where we went people stopped to check out "the twins". I like to think that the boys will be very socially experienced because they are always being talked to by anyone and everyone who notices them.....the bright red stroller probably doesn't help that situation. We had no problem putting the boys to bed, other than a few strange looks........they could definitely tell this was NOT their crib and NOT their house, but once I put their lullaby seahorse that we brought from home in the crib with them, all the changes were forgotten and it was off to sleepyland! The weather didn't really cooperate with us on Saturday, so we had a BIG breakfast and then stayed in the room watching movies while the boys took their long nap of the day. That night it cleared up a bit, so we went to dinner at Ola (Hawaiian for "life") a restaurant that sits right on the beach. The boys were once again FANTASTIC, they ate and then because it was their bedtime they fell right to sleep and we were able to put them in the stroller and enjoy a peaceful adult dinner. With Sunday came the weather I had been waiting for!! It was 80 and sunny and we were at the pool by 8 AM!!! Finally I was going to be able to put the boys in the pool. The main pool was a little cold due to the rain, so we went to the children's pool right next to it. The boys went in without a hitch but weren't quite sure what to make of what they must have thought was a giant bath tub. At one point, right around nap time, David had gone to the car to take some of our luggage and I was at the pool with the little guys by myself, this, of course, meant that they were going to have their first meltdown of the weekend. Two crying babies that just wanted to be held and only one mommy......the joys of twin parenthood. I picked Grayson up out of the stroller and laid him on the pool chair next to me and then I picked up Gabriel. Once the were both on the pool chair I scooped them both up in my arms and patted their backs. At this point, a woman came over to me and said "I have twin grandsons, how can I help you?" I asked her to cover the boys with a light blanket I had in the stroller so that they wouldn't be so exposed to the sun. She happily helped and the boys began to settle down from their meltdown and fall asleep. Luckily, David came along and took Gabriel and all was well in the world again. Gabriel fell right to sleep but Grayson enjoyed some more pool time before we packed it up and called it a weekend. All in all, it was a great getaway and it is nice to know we can manage outside of our comfort zone.