OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

OK, so as requested here's the review, tips, blah, blah, blah…

First off I must say, this was a very special trip to celebrate my IL's 50th wedding anniversary. As we all know, for various reasons, not many couples make it to 50 YEARS!!! We are all forever grateful for that day 55 years ago in a NYC high school cafeteria when my FIL, with his big mouth, marched right up to my MIL and told her it was inappropriate to brush her hair at the cafeteria table…lol. Fifty-five years later, school, a stint in the Navy, a teaching career, a few kitchen businesses, an apt, two houses, three kids (my DH is the third and an "oops" baby…lol.), good times, hard times, sickness, health, and 7 grandchildren they are still together and healthy.

About 5 years ago they decided to celebrate by taking all of their children and grandchildren to Hawaii, before DH and I were married and long before even the thought of twins. This was a BIG trip (15 people) that took a year of planning. DH and I didn't decide one day to take DC's to Hawaii ourselves… keep that in mind… we had an entourage to help us just like J-Lo and Brad and Angelina…lol.

*****I'll be completely honest this is NOT a trip to do with toddler twins and just DH and DW. In one day we installed and reinstalled the car seats 4 times (limo to airport, plane to Honolulu, connecting flight to Kona, rental minivan). You really need another set of hands and if you truly want to enjoy Hawaii (a lot of water activities, volcano park, etc.) then you need someone to watch the DC's for at least short periods of time. And yeah, there is a 6 hour time difference, each kid handles that differently****

Life is hectic so to be honest I didn't start planning seriously until about two weeks before. I started a three category packing checklist for the kids (carry-ons, suitcases, buy there) and began stacking items on the bed in the spare room when I thought of them. The list is specific to our trip (closest K-Mart was 25 miles away) and their ages. When I thought of things, I added them. Remember, this was a long trip in duration (11 hour flight Newark to Honolulu) and several changes… limo, plane, plane, van. I had to bring enough snacks, toys/books, powdered toddler formula (TSA rules and availability issues), change of clothes in case of leaky diaper and diapers and wipes for almost a 24 hour period, YET, still comply with TSA and new airline rules regarding safety and luggage requirements.

Next, I e-mailed a list of questions/things I needed to the travel agent (considering the cost of this trip and the commission, she made she didn't help as much as she could have and I blame her for some screw-ups that occurred)… fridge in rooms at both resorts for milk? Policy on swim diapers at pools? Kids meals on flight? Availability of milk on flight considering TSA rules? Milk at the resort? (Not all restaurants had it).

Several trips to CVS, Target, Trader Joe's, etc.

OK, this is how it went…

Thursday 8/24, day before we leave, I drop DC's at daycare and rush home to pack for them (I didn't get to my suitcase until after they went to bed that night) and do last minute laundry. I was also hoping to get my toes and brows done… welllllll… 12:30, phone rings, it's daycare… DS has been pulling on his ear, no other symptoms, they know we are flying the next day and wanted to give me the heads up… UGH!!!… call ped's office tell them the deal, get an appt, get dressed (I was cleaning the bathroom… oh, the glamour…lol.), run pick up the DC's and wake them from their nap. Explain the situation, trip to Hawaii, fact we will be at an island resort possibly miles away from the closest ped if an ear infection develops… AHHHHHH!!! Dr. looks at me as if to say, "Only you Theresa, only you"…lol. Both DC's ears are clear. It's probably just teething but they last time both got teeth an ear infection followed… so he decides we'll fill a script for an anti-biotic for DS and I'll use it only if he develops a fever. I got a paper one for DD if the same thing happens. We had to brainstorm because they were just on one and the second one he normally prescribes is over 3 oz. and wouldn't conform to TSA liquid restrictions… whew!! Drop DC's back home with MIL, run to CVS for the 1254946 time that week to get script, back home, rush to make dinner, bath, book, bed… pack, pack, pack, get stroller ready, get car seats out of DH's car. Got to bed that night about 11… Never got my brows or toes done… tweezed what I could and toes were ok. Mommy is always last.

So this is what I packed…

Keep in mind long flight and the closest K-Mart type store was 25 miles away on the other side of the island.

Skip Hop double diaper bag…
12 diapers (I needed enough for an entire day)
wipes
can of next step formula/formula dispenser
a change of pj's for each DC (They wore pj's on the plane for comfort)
one sippy each of milk
one sippy each of 3 oz water (TSA, 3 oz. limit)
Tylenol
Anti-bacterial wipes… tray tables and diaper changing stations skeeve me
2 Bumpkin bibs
plastic shopping bags for poopy diapers
diaper cream
tissues
pair of socks each
shoes

Carry-on
Sun hats
2 blankets (the ones on the plane skeeve me)
DD's lovies
Good Night Moon (last book we read before bed every night)
Small board books
Sticker book/stickers
2 doodle-pros
2 fabric books that also doubled as puppets
Placemats (with suction cups)
High chair covers
Vitamins
Toothbrushes
Snacks… Trader Joe cereal bars (Strawberry, Fig, blueberry, many organic ingredients), Trader Joe's Organic cheese and crackers, Graham crackers)
Tide to Go pen

Side by side Maclaren stoller with extended sun shade… a must… thank you to Cathy B!!

2 Britax Marathon car seats. 11 hour flight… they needed and had their own seats.

DC's checked suitcase
Several bottles of sun screen (I didn't bring any on board due to liquid limitations and we were arriving at night. If you are arriving at a sunny spot during the day and traveling by air, Baby Blanket sells sun screen wipes. You can bring those aboard.)
Baby Signing Time DVD's (never used them, no TV/DVD the entire trip!!!)
Crib sheets
Pajamas
Diapers (2 jumbo packs)
2 swim suits each (they only wore one)
rash guards
Swim diapers
Swim floats
Sun tent (we never used it)
Baby wipes
Bath wash
Neosporin to go
Motrin
Thermometer
Nail clipper
4 pair of socks
5 outfits each
more anti-bacterial wipes to wipe down the hotel room and restaurant tables
*** Every resort has laundry facilities so I was planning to do laundry one night after bed. Less to carry and with airline baggage limits/fees it's really a necessity to pack as little as possible.

I have to be forgetting something…lol. Personally, I packed very lightly and made sure every pair of capris/skirts matched almost every top I was bringing. I also made sure to bring an extra shirt in my carry-on in case they spilled anything on me.

Here's a pic of the luggage…
2 car seats
side by side stroller
skip hop diaper bag (counted as my personal item)
carry-on for DH
carry-on for DC's
carry on for me (camera/lens/video-camera, books for DH and I, change of clothes/toiletries for DH and I in case luggage was lost)
suitcase for DC's
suitcase for DH
suitcase for me

I need to take a break. I'll post tips later.

Notice how HAPPY my son is to be in a limo

Last pic is waiting at the Continental Gate. Flight was delayed... surprise, surprise DS spent time blowing kisses to every man, woman and child and my DD, well, she was demonstrating her... ummmm, flexibility

Message edited 8/18/2008 1:34:53 PM.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

Wow!!! Sounds exhausting...lol but well worth it..Was it relaxing once you arrived?

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

Wow, sounds like some process but well worth it!!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

wow, even with all the obstacles, sounds like you made out great!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

I was tired after redaing that....glad all went well

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

You are my idol! I thought packing and going to VT was a big deal! The key is to be super organized! And that you were!!!!!

Glad you had a good time! Hope you and DH had some time alone to really enjoy Hawaii!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

omgggggggggggIamnevergoing that far afterreading that!!!!!!!!!


then again u are experienced now..I will kidnap u and u can pack for me too!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

Tips:

1. Food/Drink... no matter where you are going and for how long, it's safer to assume that food and drink that your child likes/is familiar with will not always be available at the exact moment they want it.

Obviously milk was a major issue for us as the airline told us they did not carry whole milk (many restaurants don't either). I couldn't bring it through security. We did buy some in the food court, once passed security but it was 2%. I also knew since we were staying in a resort, that was miles away from any food store, I needed a backup plan so I bought a can of Target generic Next Step Formula and had to use it a few times. The day after we arrived, DH and I left the DC's with his parents (they traveled with us) and drove 26 miles to the nearest K-Mart for diapers, wipes and milk... due to road construction (single lane highway) the trip took 2 1/2 hours for an errand... who wants to spent that much time on vacation running an errand but it was what it was and I took pics of scenery on the way there .

Same goes for snacks... bring what they are familiar with. Especially if you are traveling and a time difference is involved, they will get hungry at weird times (DC's tummies were on NY time for a couple of days). I think the first 30 hours my DC's practically lived on Trader Joe's cereal bars.

When we arrived in Honolulu the airport is small, the small bar area and snack kiosk (that's it) was closed after 7 pm so no food or drink was available. Same with the airport in Kona (only one small snack bar restaurant... NO MILK) and Kauwai.

2. Google the area... two weeks before I did a search of both areas to try to find the closest K-Mart/Walmart type store. No Target but Walmart is EVERWHERE. I also wanted a 24 hour pharmacy just in case. Hey, they even had a Costco...lol. I printed out a map and directions from the airport and from the resort.

3. The Hilton was such a large resort they have a doc office on the resort. Never had to use it but good to know it was there.

4. Double and triple check your room accomodations 24 hours before you arrive.

I must have e-mailed the travel agent 4 times asking if there were PNP's or cribs at the resorts. I wanted to bring my own sheets and wanted to make sure it was either one or the other on BOTH resorts. I was told they would ALL be cribs... ok... well, first resort both PNP's, next resort, one PNP, one tiny travel crib... no biggie but it's not what I was told.

My SIL's rooms were completely screwed up the first nights at both resorts. One is a family of two adults and three kids and one has two kids. Both resorts booked them for a room with one king sized bed And said there was nothing they could do for the first night. My FIL was LIVID. We had a pull out couch so a couple of more kids stayed with us. Make sure you check to see if the room is exactly what you need. They did get comped and upgraded the next night but still...

5. Kid Friendliness of the resort...

Both were kid friendly but not necessarily toddler friendly. Both had beautiful water features and a canal/lagoon that flowed through the resort but the water is level with the walkway and is everywhere My DC's are just starting to walk, not independently... thank God. I had visions of them running off, diving in and being eaten by the 600 huge koi fish They were too young for the dolphin encounter and other activities.

Pathways, steps, steps, @#%^%$@ more @#$%$^% steps, meandering pedestrian bridges with, did I mention, STEPS All of these resorts are ocean front but you pull up and are on floor 3 or 4... lobby level... floor 1 and 2 usually refers to the steps down to the restaurants/shops at ocean/beach level. Gorgeous if you are a honeymoon couple and you want to spend days meandering through the landscaped grounds staring and drooling all over each other but completely a PITA if you have to push a double stroller. Yes, there were elevators but we often had to go way out of our way to get from point A to B... the first resort was HUGE... a mile walk from our hotel to the restaurant we had reservations for the first night. When we asked the employees for directions, they often didn't know. At one point I attached a resort map to the sunshade of the stroller. Not a place for a stroller or a wheelchair bound person.

The Tram... Oh, good idea Hilton Corp as your resort is so huge but the doors weren't wide enough for my narrow side by side so I never even tried. They also had boats (see pic) that stopped off at each hotel. DH and I went on one once by ourselves, wasn't attempting that with the kids.

Activities... they had a "day camp" where you can drop kids, age 4-8 off for fun activities like glow in the dark pitch and putt

Kid's Menus... Not a lot of fiber or veggies and well, after eating carb crazy snacks to survive the almost 24 hours getting there fiber was really needed So I never ordered off the kid's menu for them. They always had some of ours or one of us got the buffet so they would have more fruit and veggies.

Oh, and I always called ahead to make sure they had enough available high chairs. I brought high chair covers and placemats (with suction cups)

Pool.... Both resorts had great pools. The Hilton had a separated area of the main pool that was a "kiddie beach"... a sand pool that went from a few inches to about 2 feet deep. They also had a sprinkler. Buy floaties here and bring them with you. They wanted $$$$$ for them at the resort.

6. Be flexible with the schedule and goings on but also stick to what you know you have to for sanity sake...
We did not do all of the excursions and activities my SIL and pre teen nieces and nephews did. One day they left at 7 am for Volcano park and had a jammed packed day of physical activity My 8 year old nephew had a complete meltdown when they returned at 5:30 and my SIL was over it. She kept trying to jam way too much into every day. I was exhausted just hearing about it. DC's napped everyday. We went in the pool after breakfast and at 10 they napped until lunch. My DC's are also used to eating early and going to bed early. I got a lot of when I said, "OK, you guys have fun but we have to eat at 5:30 and it's bed at 7" One night they were up until 7:30 but they just can't last past that and I didn't want to push them to a meltdown.

7. Laundry... pack less clothes/more supplies. Every resort has a laundry room. One night at each resort, we put the kids to bed, I grabbed my book and laundry and off I went. On Kona, I threw in the load and walked to Buddha's Point and witnessed a magnificent sunset while enjoying a frozen drink!!! It was the best experience EVER doing laundry...lol. You can always wash clothes, but it takes TIME to run errands for diapers, wipes, etc. and you may not be able to find what you need very easily. Bring a Tide to Go pen for stains.

8. Try to travel with at least another set of hands. We traveled with IL's and my SIL's and their families came the next day. My IL's kinda "dropped us" the day SIL's arrived. That was a hard day. DC's were still adjusting. We ate at 5 pm when the first restaurant opened for dinner and DC's were already overtired due to the 6 hour time difference. They wouldn't eat and DH and I had to eat in shifts while the other wheeled them around the garden in the stroller (DS fell asleep and DD was hyper and making friends with an Asian gargoyle type dog statue ) At one point, I was at the table, by myself, shoveling food into my mouth as fast as I could thinking... WAIT... I'm eating alone... this is what it was like all of those years I was single?
The next day was much better. DC's saw their cousins and they were all over each other. My nieces and nephew would walk with them, sing to them, play games, read books and DC's were having a blast. The day after that IL's took DC's for the morning and DH and I hung by the pool, explored the resort (saw the dolphins), walked down by the shore, took pics and had lunch... alone with If we didn't have others around we would never have been able to fully appreciate the entire resort, the pool or really anything and really have no time to really kick back and relax considering DC's ages.

***W/o help, I'll be very honest, this trip would have been A LOT more work than just staying home. There were a few snafus (we missed our connecting flight getting there), the lack of ramps/elevators and the need to pick up and carry the stroller, our 2 1/2 hour trip to K-Mart, a few comments from MIL on top of it, was getting to me the first two days. If it wasn't such a long flight and such a process to get there, I would have turned around and said, "That's it, ENOUGH, back to the airport... we are going HOME!!!" Trust me, I mumbled that A LOT the first two days. Once we had some alone time to enjoy our surroundings, all was good W/o that help and time alone, it would have been MUCH easier to just have stayed home or to have traveled locally in the same time zone

OK, here's some more pics.

Next up for us, African safari, 6 weeks of tent living in the Sahill with the Masai tribe Or maybe, the moon

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Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

You can see all of the steps in these pics. This was the Grand Staircase at the Hilton.

Second pic... I zoomed from our room's balcony down to DC's who were at the restaurant. No barrier to the koi pond and the lovely waterfall and tropical foliage they had in the garden between our rooms and the restaurant. Oh, and you better love small birds, they fly in and out of the open air restaurants DC's were over the birds.

Third... suction cup placemats from One Step Ahead. I have no makeup on at breakfast.

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Message edited 8/18/2008 1:35:31 PM.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

Dinner the first night. We had our own room. Doors all around that opened to the elements. My favorite restaurant, right on a peninsula over the Pacific

That was the sunset. I took that pic from the table

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Message edited 8/18/2008 1:35:55 PM.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

The dolphins at the Hilton.

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Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

Message edited 8/18/2008 1:36:31 PM.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

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Message edited 8/18/2008 1:37:03 PM.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

Our flight from Kona back to Honolulu so we could then get another flight to Kauwai.

Yes, that little HUT is the gate I expected Gilligan and the Professor to jump out from behind a palm tree

A pic of my nephew and DS. My DS was soooooooo happy. He's always surrounded by girls. He was "Ah, finally a boy... one from my tribe!!"

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Message edited 8/18/2008 1:37:34 PM.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL.

There are wild roosters all over Kauwai. They just roam everywhere. There were two huge storms that hit in 82 and 92. So many were freed from the farms.
Betcha never saw a rooster in the parking lot of Wal-mart

View from lunch at the Marriott. My BIL and SIL stayed extra days and we dropped them off on the way to the airport to leave.

Thanks for looking.

It had it's crazy moments but it was such an AWESOME trip and I'm so grateful for the time we had.

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Message edited 8/18/2008 1:38:19 PM.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

Looks like you had an awesome time! We went to Kona on our honeymoon and we are dying to go back.
We always said we would go back on our 5 year anniversary but chickened out.

I can't believe you did Hawaii for their first plane ride.
DD's have been on the planes a few times and we always do weekend trips, & still would have felt unprepared to Hawaii.

You plannned it right. Love the placemats at the restaurant.
I usually just get the disposable ones but those look great.

Well you have inspired me. Maybe next year that will plan a trip there.

Thanks for sharing.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

Oh one more question. How did you deal with Toys? We are
going to Florida next week & are not sure how we are going to deal with this? In this past. We always pack a bag.

TIA,
Melissa

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

Great tips, thanks for posting!

Looks like everyone had a blast! What beautiful pictures, and looks like it was a true vacation!!!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

WOW! I am so tired from READING this that I am off to bed!

Great trip, Theresa! I am so glad you survived! You look amazing BTW and the kids have gotten so big!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

Amazing Theresa~ you should really be proud of yourself for being able to pull that trip off!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

Posted by pinky

Amazing Theresa~ you should really be proud of yourself for being able to pull that trip off!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

Wow! You did it! Looks like an amazing trip! Congrats to your inlaws too! My IL's are celebrating 50 years in February and we're also doing a family trip. When I mentioned Hawaii, I got nixed At least I know it would be doable after you did it!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

Wow you are amazing! You stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. We stayed there for part of our honeymoon!

Re: OK, you asked for it... Tah-win-ZAH's go to Hawaii... 10 days... How to survive and ENJOY... tips and tricks for traveling with twins if you're not Brangelina or J-Lo...LOL. Updated 8/7 w/ tips.

looks like fun