Kailua Beach

As we were planning our trip to Oahu, so many people made us promise to visit "Kailua Beach".   We were told that the water was turquoise and the sand was white and that it's been named one of the world's 10 best beaches.

We took the advice to heart and decided to see for ourselves.  

It didn't disappoint us one bit!

The beaches away from Waikiki are much less crowded and less touristy.   There is also less coral to contend with in the water.   The sand here was like the finest powder - it was white and soft and it got into everything!   We couldn't believe how clear and warm  the water was.

Give our girls a few waves and they'll stay entertained for hours!  I absolutely love these next pictures.  They capture the spirit of the day and the incredible amount of fun the girls had being together.

Later in the day,  Sasha and Mike got to work at building a sand fortress.  Notice I didn't say "castle".  Mike's goal was to use his engineering prowess to construct something that could withstand the tide coming in.  He and Sasha took their jobs very seriously.   There were dikes and trenches constructed that could put the Manitoba flood team to shame.

At one point in the morning, Sasha had an unfortunate experience where she was knocked down by two big waves.  She wasn't too pumped about them after that.  That left Hannah and Ellie to ride the waves on their own for a bit, and Mom to coax her back into the water.

Here I am giving the most logical and reasonable explanation for why 

she should trust me and the boogie board.  

She was not convinced.

Finally, we made some headway....

... until the waves came up!

And Sasha decided she was done.  

Notice my concern and serious response.

Mike had been inspired earlier in the day by the body-surfers at "Sandy Beach". 

 He thought he had skill too.  

Here are some of his attempts at riding the waves.

By the end of our day, the Penner Fortress was facing a serious threat from the tide.

By the time we had to leave, it was holding its own.

Chalk it up to the engineering team of Penner and Penner.

Kailua Beach was one of the most beautiful we'd ever visited.

We all ranked it as one of our favorite days on the Island.