We’re on our way to Paradise!

Post Edit: There are 9 days of posts listed for our trip so when you get to the bottom you may have to click, Older posts to see more.

I usually wait until after a vacation or event to blog about it but I decided it would be fun to blog about our trip to Maui as it happens. I doubt that we’ll have the opportunity to take our kids to Maui again so I want to remember and savor every moment. So here goes…

Chris was asked to go to Maui for work a couple weeks ago. We toyed around with the idea of me going and leaving the kids but I couldn’t bear to leave Libby for that long since she is so young. If we decided to take Libby, we thought we might as well take the whole family since the kids would really enjoy it. When we were in Oahu in November there were so many families there we kept saying how much the kids would love the resort we stayed at. So after going back and forth about who was going to go, we decided to take the plunge and take the kids with us. (I wasn’t about to let Chris go alone since my birthday is this week and he’d be gone.) Less than a week ago we bought our plane tickets, got our hotel, and made all the arrangements. Everything came together so quickly it was like it was meant to be. The kids were so excited when they saw pictures and videos of Maui, Maddie and Carter especially realize what a great opportunity it is and know that they are VERY lucky!

So here we are on the plane heading to Maui. I am so relieved that we finally made it! I was so worried about getting all packed and ready in time but I did it. It is difficult enough to pack for 6 people when we go on vacation in our car but packing for an airplane ride was pretty challenging. We didn’t want to pay for any extra bags either so I had to be tricky. We checked one big bag that Chris’ work paid for then everything else had to go carry-on. The kids were troopers with their heavy back packs going through the airport. We had a few strange stares but most people smiled when they saw our little family.

Waiting at the airport to board our flight

So far the kids have been great on the plane. There were some empty seats around us (including a window seat we could see out, SCORE!) So we spread out and it was so much more comfortable. I was able to lay Libby down on the seat next to me and she fell asleep for an hour and a half! The kids are keeping busy with their DS’s and Ipods and I Chris and I even got a nap. We’ve got about an hour left in our 5 hour flight and we are doing great!

Days 1, 2, and 3 in Maui

I thought I’d feel like blogging each day while we’ve been here in Maui for the sake of journaling all of our many adventures, but I’ve been so busy and just plain tired to blog. I think the time change has gotten to me a little. This morning I feel much better and ready for a day in the sun! So here’s a little recap and pictures of what we have done so far…

Day 1

We arrived on Saturday afternoon after a long flight. The kids were very excited and anxious to get to our hotel and see the beach and the pools. There were a few things we had to do first: Get our luggage, get our rental car, and go to Costco.

Yay! We got all our luggage and we’re almost ready to go!

We got our Rental Car (it took a while- 45 minutes to be exact) headed to Costco for groceries and were finally on our way. Libby was wiped out and went right to sleep.

Here are our first views of Maui…

We got to our hotel and it was just perfect. We stayed at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club on Ka’anapali beach which is in Lahaina.

After unpacking and a little nap for daddy, we headed out the the pool and the beach where we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a fun swim.

It was just breathtaking, I couldn’t believe we were really in Maui with the whole family. It was surreal!

Day 2

The second day was Sunday. We started off our day by going to church at the local ward in Lahaina. It was right across the road from the beach. To our surprise more than 75% of those in attendance were visitors like us vacationing in Maui. We asked a local ward member and she told us it is this way every Sunday! It was fun for the kids to go to church in Maui. It would have been a little cooler if we could have gone to a ward in a more remote part of the island. As I mentioned earlier we packed very light so I refused to bring Chris’ size 14 church shoes that take up an entire carry-on alone. He wore his flip flops with slacks and a tie of course. He fit right in though, many of the visitors there also had sandals and a few even had Hawaiian shirts on!

The ward was so crowded we had to park a ways a way. What a beautiful view as we walked in to church.

Maddie and Carter in front of the church

Crazy Bucky climbing a tree in front of the church.

Since we didn’t want to swim on Sunday we decided it would be the best day to take the “Road to Hana” for the long scenic drive that everyone here talks about. We read a lot of reviews on Yelp and asked around and almost everyone we talked to said to not bring children since the drive is very long and has winds through the southern coastline and has over 600 curves and 58 one lane bridges. The drive, making several stops along the way takes about 6 hours round trip. Chris and I did not know if we’d ever have the opportunity to make this drive again so we went for it and took the kids on an adventure. An adventure it was!

I took Dramamine so luckily I didn’t get carsick but the kids complained most of the way back of being car sick. Luckily no one threw up. Even Libby cried much of the way back. The way there was actually pretty good. We stopped frequently got out, even took a fairly long hike to some waterfalls. It was breathtaking to see the beautiful untouched island. You would think with all the people that take this drive every year, there would be tourist attractions along the way, signs telling you where to go to see the sights, but no it is very natural and the only way we knew where to stop to see certain things was from a CD we bought that told us along the way and a magazine we picked up. It was an adventure we will never forget. I’d love to do it again but without the kids and I would love to spend a night in Hana that way we could explore some more. Some of the stops we rushed a little because it was so late in the day and I was worried about Chris driving back in the dark. It would be nice to take it all in a little more. Here are some pictures of our trip…

One thing that surprised me was many of the roadside stands selling fruit and banana bread were all run by hippies. Naturalists living off the land. I kept wondering when I’d see some Hawaiians but they were all hippies.

We hiked up a mile and a half to see this beautiful waterfall. It was cool to see people swimming in it.

Much of the hike was beautifully shaded and we were able to enjoy just being outside in Maui.

The road to Hana was very scenic and breathtaking, here are some pictures taken from our car.

I was navigating the entire time, making sure we made the right stops along the way!

The Keanae peninsula was beautiful. I loved the bright blue water with all the white foam crashing against the black rocks.

Our favorite stop on the road to Hana was Wainapanapa. This area had black sand beaches. The sand was fine just like regular sand but it was black as can be. There were also many caves there that we could go inside. It felt like we were in a remote place, and a pirate ship was going to appear. It started raining pretty hard when we were there so it was nice that the caves provided some shelter. I wish we could have stayed a little longer but it was getting dark and we had to head back to our hotel.

Chris was a trooper and drove the whole way. (It was dark on the way back!) We started our day at about 1 pm and didn’t get pull into our hotel until 10 pm! What a relief when the journey had ended it was too long for the kids but they were troopers and I think they’ll always remember it.

Day 3

Monday was my birthday! What a treat to be in Maui for my birthday! I was a little nervous about being alone with the kids all day at the pool and beach while Chris was working but it ended up fine. Libby was great and took a nap on a one of the lounge chairs while the kids played on the pirate ship. We headed out to the beach and played in the waves for a while. I got a lot of strange looks with 4 kids. Since school is in and it is winter time 90% of the people here were of retirement age and some of them didn’t like seeing (or hearing) 4 rambunctious children running around. It was a very windy day so the waves were pretty strong.

Sawyer posing on the pirate ship

Maddie, Carter and Libby playing on a dolphin

Just look at that clear blue water! This wave was so strong it knocked them all down!

Libby was such an angel, she loved the sand. The other kids complained about having sand in every crevice, but Libby was happy as can be!

My birthday treat, hawaiian ice, mmm…

The resort had lots of hammocks on the beach. The kids enjoyed playing on them.

Chris came back from work and we went to dinner at Outback.

What a wonderful birthday to be able to celebrate in Hawaii! I felt so lucky, it will definitely go down in history as one of the best birthdays ever!

Days 4, 5, and 6 in Maui

Day 4

Today was such a great day! For some reason (even though it was my birthday) yesterday I was so tired and felt a little overwhelmed with the kids. I’m blaming it on the Dramamine from the day before on our road to Hana. Seriously, I even fell asleep next to the pirate ship at the pool (Libby was sleeping). We got up early and got ready and headed to the pool and beach. The kids got to do a treasure hunt at the pirate ship which was really fun!

After playing by the pool for a while, we went on a walk and walked down to Whaler’s village where we found a McDonalds and enjoyed some nuggets. We were tired of the uncrustables we’ve been eating at our hotel room!

We went out to the beach and the water was much calmer and there was no wind which was very nice. Libby and Sawyer as usual enjoyed playing in the soft powdery sand.

After a fun day in the sun we headed back to our room and got showered and dressed and went back down to walk around the resort and enjoy the relaxing sunset. Maui transforms into a fun place when the sun goes down. We walked along the beach walk lined with tiki torches and listened to live hawaiian music coming from all the restaurants and hotels we passed. I was a little sad Chris wasn’t with us but he was working really hard Monday through Thursday so he could take Friday off and enjoy a full day with us. Nonetheless we had a great time, it made me excited for the day when we could come here without kids and without work and just relax in a hammock and watch the sun dip into the ocean. Seriously (even with kids), Hawaii is the most romantic place I’ve ever been. Here are some fun pictures from our walk…

We walked by a new pool area we hadn’t been to and Carter still had his trunks on so he took a dip while Maddie and Sawyer put their feet in.

We found a fun playground the kids played on for a while.

The kids were exhausted when we got back to the room, Chris brought some pizza back and we relaxed for the night.

Day 5

On Wednesday we spent another fun day at the pool. We went back to the room early and Chris was able to come home in the afternoon so we went out to the beach and snorkeled! It was so much fun! Since we couldn’t take all the kids, I went out alone while Chris waited on the shore and Chris took Maddie out. We saw all kinds of beautiful fish and a gigantic sea turtle and it was AMAZING!

Carter discovered that he could swim all by himself if he used a snorkel!

Black Rock- where we snorkeled. It was so easy to just swim right out and snorkel. Chris and I both agree that we’d love to come back and snorkel more when its just the two of us. It was a little difficult with the kids.

We walked back on the beach walk and enjoyed some time on the hammocks. Then we got all cleaned up and went to dinner at a restaurant at our hotel that had live music and was right in front of the ocean.

We had so much fun on our walk the night before that we took daddy on the walk. We even got a little alone time in a hammock while the kids played tag in the grass. I wished I could just pause time and stay in paradise forever. We walked past a party at one of the hotels that had this huge wave, the kids jumped on and took a picture.

Day 6

Today was pretty low key. The kids had tons of homework they brought with them since they were missing school for an entire week and a day. So we stayed inside all morning and got caught up on most of the homework. When Chris got home from work we went out the pool for one last time since we are checking out tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from our day at the pool…

After our day at the pool we went to Outback again for dinner. Libby fell asleep in her stroller so we had a nice quiet dinner. We are packing up tomorrow morning which I’m kind of sad about since I really like this resort but I am excited to see Wailea where our next hotel is.