ALOHA MAUI!

We had the amazing opportunity to enjoy a week long family vacation in Maui this month! Why would I take my first ever trip to Hawaii while 32 weeks pregnant? Kenny and Erin, our very close, fun and fabulous friends invited us to join them, so of course we said, YES! A week in Maui, at the Westin on Ka'anapali Beach with these guys- it was a little piece of Heaven! (Not to mention we made our plans over a year ago, we were going, pregnant or not!) Here's a little look at our trip...

(Oh and just a warning, if you haven't seen me in awhile, I'm huge. But don't worry, I didn't post any swim suit pics.)

Every morning we woke up and ate breakfast on our balcony and enjoyed this view...

 

Then we usually strolled down to the beach...

We spent lots of time playing in the ocean...

Kenny & Ryan playing in the water with all the kids

Addie, Pierce & Madi

A chance to try out boogie boarding!

Pierce & Ellie, always having fun together!

Erin took her turn getting in with the kids...

...and I enjoyed taking pics of them in the huge waves. I was too scared I'd fall down and not be able to get back up! Next time.

We loved playing in the sand...

We enjoyed lots and lots of swimming...

The pools were fabulous! The kids all loved this fun Pirate Ship Pool, it was such a hit! We made sure to hit the "Pirate" pool and then the "Big" pool everyday.

We went Whale watching...

Very cool! We got to see a pod of 5 Humpback Whales and 2 Dolphins! It was amazing to be so close to them. And I also thought the info from the tour guide was really interesting... I didn't know the Humpbacks swim all the way down from Alaska to have their babies and then swim back each year. Pretty amazing what they do, and they eat and eat and eat to prepare for the journey as there is no food for them in the safe ocean where they give birth. She was talking about how much blubber the mothers gain to prepare for this and I thought- hmmm, ya, I can relate to that. I really am kind of like a whale.

We Luaued...

The luau was definitely a favorite for all of us! It was great! I think we were all bug eyed watching these dudes dig up the pig! Crazy!

Checking out some hand carved souvenirs, we had to take home a couple of turtles.

Pierce & Madi were pretty fascinated! This guy is pretty talented! And kind of huge too.

Have I mentioned I love this man? We had a great time at the Luau enjoying the beautiful scene, the crazy dancing and especially the delicious food!

Pierce & Madi "hanging loose" with Ellie and Addie, and our cool server.

We Snorkeled...

Well, the boys snorkeled while Madi and I hung out. I was really happy Pierce got this opportunity, and I was really proud of him too. He did so great, he loved it and it was his favorite activity of the trip. Ryan really enjoyed taking him out and it was awesome snorkeling- they saw lots of cool stuff including several turtles, a puffer fish, a school of fish and a fish "that looked like Gil"! (Finding Nemo fans, you know what I'm talking about.)

Here they are heading out

I thought this was so cute- they had been out for about an hour and Madi was so anxious for them to make it back, here she was waiting for them to swim in (and some little boy she was being friendly to).

After the snorkeling we drove up the road to this great little lookout over the bay, it was so pretty and especially cool for Ryan to show us how far they swam out. If you ever make it to Maui, Honolua Bay is the place to snorkel.

We enjoyed gorgeous sunsets...

And apparently Ryan and I were not the only ones who enjoyed it. :) These two have so much fun together, they are the greatest little friends and we love watching them.

And we didn't want to leave...

Our last night there we went out on the town, we had dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe (ok not very Hawaiinish, but hey, it's the Maui Hard Rock!) I love this picture, it was the one and only shot with got with the whole gang, (and everyone looked at the camera, bonus!) Have I mentioned we love these guys?!

After dinner we strolled over to Cold Stone for some yummy ice cream. I know, real authentic again, but it's Cold Stone in Maui! What's a better treat than that?!

And here's Erin and Me, standing in front of some Giant Fisherman, in Maui!

We had so much FUN! It was so great to have a relaxing vacation- for Ryan to actually take a real break from work, and for me not to be thinking about how much my bathrooms need to be cleaned or how much laundry I need to get done- it was a real vacation! I didn't have to cook once, we mostly ate in and the guys did the cooking! Nice! And even though I spent most of my time in a lounge chair, I loved every minute of watching my kids having the time of their lives, playing with Daddy. (And I loved taking hundreds of pictures of them doing it.) And of course Ryan and I loved spending time with Kenny and Erin, talking, catching up and laughing, while Pierce and Madi had a grand time playing with Ellie and Addie. We couldn't believe how fast the week went by, Pierce kept asking if we could "just stay for 3 more days?!" We all wished. We were all sad to leave, the entire drive to the airport Madi looked out the window and softly repeated over and over and over, "bye-bye Hawaii, aloha Hawaii, bye-bye- Hawaii." She was my little "Aloha" girl and loved saying it. Aloha for now Maui, we hope we get to say Aloha again someday.