Things I learned on my vacation:

• Don't rent equipment at the resort (i.e. snorkeling mask & fins, swim board...). We paid way more for the convenience, as we found out a day later.
• If your place has a washer/dryer, you don't need change of clothes for every day of your vacation.
• Read small print, before you sign anything. That's how we got scheduled for a Time-share presentation...
• Take a day to figure out all the things you might want to see and make a plan.
• Bring a larger carryon, if you can, rather than paying for the extra luggage. We loaded each kid with a backpack and only checked in three bags between the five of us. At $20 per bag we probably saved $40 each way.
• Packing all the medical (diabetes) supplies into it's own bag made it so much easier to get through security.
• Bring a lot of things to keep kids busy on a long flight. Not only we had no problem with our kids, we had other passengers tell us that we have "such well behaved kids". (Boy, did we fool them...)
• "International Market" in Hawaii does not mean from around the world... at all.
• Bring snacks!
• Sun block is crucial. Make sure to cover yourself in even layer and do not miss any spots. It takes a day or more to get adjusted to the extra sun, so take it easy at first!
• Relax! You are on vacation!