<!– @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08I just finished cleaning my house. I was fixing it to the way it was before we had guests.  During the last week my husband’s parents were visiting us from Texas. My husband and I were their tour guides for the entire time they were here.  On Wednesday when they arrived we took them to their hotel room and had dinner in Waikiki. My husband and I ended up renting a hotel room close to his parent’s because we had no desire to drive all the way back home.

The next morning, Thursday, we took them to see the Duke statue in front of Waikiki beach so my father-in-law could call his friends back in Texas and have them watch him live on the Internet. Later that day we took them to the Honolulu Botanical Gardens because we knew they loved plants.  Sure enough they took pictures of every plant and flower they saw. I enjoyed seeing their faces light up with delight as they saw each flower. After the botanical gardens we went to see the beautiful Japanese temple called Byodin Temple. We were a little confused at first because we didn’t realize it was located within a cemetery called the Valley of the Temples.  That didn’t take away from the beauty of it, and you don’t notice the cemetery  once you enter the temple grounds. It was peaceful there. After the temple visit we drove the remainder of the windward coast and up toward the North Shore where we ended our evening with a nice dinner in a funky surfer-styled restaurant.

Friday we gave the parent’s the whole day to themselves so they could do as they wanted. They spent it walking around Waikiki. We all met up again on Saturday for an entire day of entertainment at the Polynesian Cultural Center. There is so much to do there; we didn’t get to it all, but we did enjoy a parade, an Imax feature film, a luau, and an evening show. At the luau we each had our own pineapple-filled smoothies. Yum! Sunday (Easter Sunday) we took Andrew’s mom souvenir shopping at the local flea market then went on a cruise ship. It was my mother-in-law’s birthday. We had more food and more dancing entertainment. Andrew and I thought the dinner was okay, but my in-laws loved it.  As long as they were happy we were happy.

On Monday we had some fun in the sun at the Ko Olina lagoons. We spent all day there. When my in-laws arrived the weather was cloudy, but by Monday it had cleared. My husband and I were relieved because we wanted them to enjoy some sun while they were here. Oh boy did the sun ever make a comeback. We were all a little sun-burned afterwards especially my husband and his father. Too cool ourselves off we headed to the Dole Pineapple Plantation for some pineapple ice cream. It was delicious. We were suppose to go to another luau on Monday night, but due to some confusion with the booking agency we ended up going on Tuesday instead. Tuesday we took them to see the Arizona Memorial right before going to the last luau of the trip.

On the last day of their trip, Wednesday, my husband and I drove his parents to see the west side of the island. They took advantage of the occasion to take more pictures. I wanted to show them a Hawaiian heaiu, a type of religious worship site, but it was closed to due dangers of falling trees. We ended the trip with dinner at a local Vietnamese eatery and headed to the airport to say our goodbyes. My husband was sad to see his family depart.  I was really sad to see them go too, but I’m glad they came. I got to know them a little better, and they got to know me.  I don’t think I could have asked for more perfect in-laws, and I am happy to now call them my family too.