We haven't been to Maui in about 8 years, so it was great to go back. Everything felt so familiar and we were reminded why we love Maui so much. We had a mid-afternoon flight to Maui, which was long, but it went well. Terra slept for some of it, played and was a good girl overall. Tim's Dad John was sitting in front of me and he reclined his seat a few times, which I just had to laugh about. There isn't a lot of room to begin with on a plane, so reclining your seat into someone's space just sucks. John was oblivious to it all, which made it even funnier.
Laughing at how much space I now have...not!
Happy to be on our way to Maui.
Aloha! We made it to Maui and can't wait to enjoy the week.
Family selfie while going through the drive thru at McDonalds. We needed some much needed fries and a Diet Coke.
Our first Maui sunset as we were driving to the condo.
First morning (Happy 4th of July) in Maui. Costco was our first stop after landing. So we were stocked up with breakfast food, snacks and drinks.
Our view from our condo. The ocean is beyond the farthest palm tree.
Terra's putting her piggies into the Maui sand for the first time...in her pjs and Dora hat, of course!
Our beautiful beach for the week.
These ariel pictures are from Zach's drone, love the drone and the awesome pictures!
Us playing on the beach.
The resort.
The first day on the beach we didn't find any shade, so we didn't stay long. The rest of the week we made sure we found a place under that big tree in the left of the picture. It was the best place to be.
Auntie April and Terra hanging out.
We spent our first full day enjoying the beach and pool. In the evening, we enjoyed some fireworks on the beach. Zach had fun putting on a fireworks show for us.
We were very festive.
On Sunday, we went up north about 15 minutes to Napali Beach to snorkel. Words cannot describe how pretty the beach, ocean and surroundings were. Terra and I didn't last long snorkeling, but Tim and Trent had a great time and even saw a sea turtle.
Another cool picture from the drone.
My cuties!
My almost 11 year old little boy.
Terra wanted and enjoyed being buried.
Chillin'
It was a bit too calm for boogie boarding, but Trent was still trying and having fun. He could float around in the ocean all day.
Madison and Terra
Having fun with Auntie.
Mondays usually stink, but not when you're in Maui. The Reimers of Santa Clarita drove to Hana and had a great time exploring Hana. The rest of us just relaxed at the beach and then the pool. In the evening, we went to one of our favorite restaurant's the Hula Grill. It's always a great meal and watching the sunset is always spectacular.
Enjoying our Monday.
Trent usually isn't a big fan of the sand, but Terra loves it. Her favorite thing to do is stump on sandcastles...we build them for her and she destroys them.
This is the life.
Dinner at Hula Grill.
All smiles.
Beautiful sunset.
On Tuesday, April and Madison took a helicopter ride around Maui. The rest of the group, except Cindy, Terra and I cycled down Haleakala or the East Maui Volcano, which is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by another volcano, Mauna Kahalawai, also referred to as the West Maui Mountains.
The tallest peak of Haleakalā ("house of the sun") at 10,023 feet is Puʻu ʻUlaʻula. From the summit you look down into a massive depression some 7 miles across and 2 miles wide and nearly 2,600 ft deep. The surrounding walls are steep and the interior mostly barren-looking with a scattering of volcanic cones. Per wiki.
Trent was really excited about the possibility of cycling down the volcano...unfortunately the employees of the company they were renting the bikes from didn't think Trent would be capable of riding down safely. Tim and Trent were really disappointed, but made the best of the situation. They made their own version of a cowbell from a coke can and rocks and cheered the others down the volcano.
Views from the summit.
Making the best of the situation after disappointment.
Selfies!
Cheering for Aunt Debbie!
After Madison and April went on the helicopter ride we met them in Makawao (which is considered the upcountry in Maui) for a little shopping while we waited for the cyclists and the cheering duo. The cyclists finally made it to Makawao and we had lunch at our favorite Mexican spot Polli's. It was delicious as usual.
On Wednesday, we enjoyed the beach and pool again. Just what you want to do on vacation, relax. We had a big evening ahead of us...we were going to a Luau at the Hilton, which is one of the best. I had never been to a Luau, so I was looking forward to it.
Love these two!
Hula girls.
Terra enjoying her fruity drink...she wasn't sure what to make of this drink with flavor. She usually only drinks water or milk.
Dinner...the pig.
Being silly.
A mouth full of chicken.
One of my favorite pictures of Terra.
Having fun with Daddy.
It was a great show. I wish I would have taken a picture of the plate of pork that Tim got. He had a mound of pork that was ridiculous...he said it was ridiculously good.
On Thursday morning, we went to Slappy Cakes where you make your own pancakes, which was so cool. I had banana bread french toast, which was so delicious. It was a fun place to have breakfast.
This was Terra's favorite thing to do (other than stomping on sandcastles) at the beach. She loved the shower and the button was low enough so she could push it on and off.
The showers were a big deal for Terra because she isn't a fan of water in her face. So, this was on her terms (which we are learning is the way she likes it) and she is now taking showers at home. Becoming such the Big Girl!
On Thursday night, we had some rain, which was nice. What is great about Maui is you always see a beautiful rainbow after the rain.
This was typical every morning, just chillin'.
Friday our last full day...boooo! We spent the day at the beach and had a great time. We were even able to build the two volcanos from the short movie Lava...I lava you!!
Pictures taken and then Terra was free to stomp.
Terra loved playing smashball. She would ask, "Are you ready?" and you would say, "Yes, I'm ready, are you ready?" It was the cutest thing.
My Big Boy!
He finds interesting places to chill.
Zachary went spearfishing and caught this huge fish. His first time spearfishing and this is what he catches, very lucky!
Fresh fish for these two. They said it was delicious, I will take their word for it.
These 3 having fun yelling at the waves. They could have stayed out there for hours.
Big Brother and Little Sister.
This was such a great find at the market...share a Diet Coke with Trent! We never find Trent's name on things. He was so excited!
This was such a great vacation. I had low expectations because Terra is our wild card and we were just going to try to go with the flow. Our flow turned out to be pretty good. We would play hard in the morning, Terra would nap in the afternoon (we would all get some down time), then we would play hard into the evening and that schedule was on repeat for us for the week. We can't wait to go back.
