Day Two in HI: Rainy Day

Day two in Hawaii we woke up to rain.  We went out for breakfast, took Jim to work, and the kids and I looked for something fun to do in the not-so-sunny weather.  First we visited our favorite look-out point to watch the surfers.  There was only one, and we saw him catch a few waves.  It started to rain a little heavier, so I loaded the kiddies back in the car, and we went for a drive.

I found out there was an abandoned ghost town behind the sugar factory, and in this ghost town is a little open-air bookshop that sells used books for 25 cents each.  They even had some for free.  I thought it might be worth the drive in the rain, so off we went.  It was actually a nice little drive, and the babes and I had a lot of fun checking out some vintage classics and not-so-classics.  I let Tralee and Hunter pick out a few books, and I grabbed a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.  I haven't read it since 7th grade English, and thought it might be a nice re-read, especially for 25 cents!

After the bookstore we left for lunch, visited Jim at work, and then made our way back to the hotel to wait out the rain.

The rain didn't want to quit, and I worried that our week in Maui would get rained out.  Luckily for me, I was wrong!  We hardly had any rain the rest of the week.  I guess the rain didn't want to stop until Jim could finally explore the island with us and our real vacation could officially begin! 

Day One in Paradise

The kids and I landed in Maui on March 6th.  Tralee and Hunter were wonderful little travelers!  Thank goodness I have good kids!  Once we arrived, we took a cab to visit Jim at work and pick up the rental car from him.  After visiting Jim, the kids and I headed to his hotel, relaxed, and went to bed.

 The morning of March 7th we all woke up, and Jim took us to the beach before he had to head in to work.  After dropping Jim off, the kids and I had the whole day ahead of us.  We shopped, ate lunch, and drove out to the Maui Ocean Center where we spent a good portion of the day exploring sea life.

Hunter fell asleep on the drive, and I had a heck of a time trying to wake him up.  I didn't want him to miss anything, but the little bugger must have really needed to rest, because nothing seemed to get those eyes to open.  Hunter woke up when we were by the sea turtles, and finished up the tour with us well rested and ready to check out the sea creatures.  I took him back to the first part of the aquarium when we were done so he didn't miss anything due to his siesta.  

Sleepy Hunty and Stinks

Tralee liked these fishes

This was my favorite fish.  It's called a frog fish. 

Tralee petting some sea life

Hunter kept saying, "Whoa!  Look at that!"

Shark tank!

Scuba diver in the shark tank

I've never seen such a huge stingray in all my life!!  Amazing!

The munchkins and I had a lot of fun at the Maui Ocean Center.  After we were done looking at fishes, we went to visit Jim at work, then went out to dinner at a local eatery.  The food was very Hawaiian, and there was a lot of it.  Our bellies were full as we went back to the hotel.  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and waiting for Jim to arrive from work.

Our first full day in Hawaii was great!  The only thing that would have made it better was if Jim spent the whole day with us.  Luckily, we only had to wait one more day for our family vacation to officially begin! 

More coming soon. . .

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Hawaii at a Glance

We're back!!  Hawaii was everything everyone said it would be.  It was all I hoped it would be.  It met every expectation, and yes, now I want to sell everything we own and move there.  That's probably not going to happen anytime soon, so I'm glad we have over 1500 pictures to remember our vacation by.  1500 is A LOT of pics.  It's going to take a LOOOOONG time to post what I want to post so I can remember what I want to remember about this trip, but I know there are peeps chomping at the bit to see some photos of our amazing Hawaiian vacay.  So. . . here is a little taste of our Maui vacation --   Hawaii at a glance, if you will.

Tralee at the Maui Ocean Center

Hunty at our favorite beach in Maui.  That's the face he does when I tell him to smile.  Love that boy.

Tralee riding in a wave

Jim and Hunter showing one of the many sand castles built during our stay

My little model by the Koi pond at our hotel.  She named her favorite Koi fish Goldie.  It was smaller than the rest with pretty swishy fins.  We stopped everytime we passed the Koi pond to look for Goldie and watch all the Koi fish swim around.

We drove by this surfboard fence several times during our trip

A little kiss by the waves

Bamboo forest (we hiked through this by the by).

Jim and one of the MANY waterfalls we stopped to marvel at (and swim in) during our road to Hana adventure

Hunty by a waterfall

The kids and me during our road to Hana day

Another waterfall

Yes. . . many waterfalls were seen

I LOVE SEA TURTLES!!  We saw several while snorkeling, body surfing, and while walking along a certain beach we always stopped at to watch the surfers.

We also had some surprise visitors!!  Adrienne and her girls showed up to hang out with us the last few days of our vacation.  It was SUPER fun to have them along!  My kids adored their cousins!

Jim and Tandra walking back from a good snorkel session

Lots (and lots and lots and lots) of body surfing was done by all

Tralee went down this slide about, "one-hundred-forty-fifty-sixty-twenty times."  That's a direct estimation from Stinks!

This was Hunter's favorite hang-out during our vacation.  He wasn't a fan of the ocean, but he couldn't get enough of this kiddie pool.

Ade, Cassi, and Tandra on our way out for the night

My cute lil' family

The only thing Tralee requested to do since she found out we were going to Hawaii was to see some Hula girls.  Oh BOY was she excited (and a little cute and shy) when we finally made her wish come true!!  I teared up I was so excited for her!!  

Jim learning to surf.  Not bad for a first-timer!

Jim loved to snorkel

Our last sunset in Hawaii as seen from our resort.


I feel so incredibly lucky and blessed to have had this opportunity.  I really do hope my little family and I can find a way back someday.

Aloha!

Hi people!  I just put my Etsy shop on vacation mode.  Why you ask?  Did you notice the scene outside the window on my blog banner?  I put it there because. . . that's where the kids and I  are headed tomorrow (Jim's already there).  We're on our way to MAUI!!  Can you say freakin' awesome in Polynesian?  I can't, but if I could I would be typing it right now.  I still need to pack!  YIKES!  But, I just wanted to officially announce that the old blog-a-roo and Etsy shop will be taking a little break whilst I'm sipping something yummy as I lounge about on a Hawaiian beach. . . OH WAIT!!!  I forgot, the kids are coming too!  So. . .I might get some lounging in, but more than likely I'll be sandcastle building and sunscreen applying more than anything else.  Whatever I'm doing over the next week-and-a-half, I bet it'll be fun.  Maybe I'll even do THIS:

Probably not.  Jim wants to, but sometimes I'm afraid of the ocean.  I mean, sharks live there!

 I'm hoping to hike to a place like this with the fam:  

 Gorge!

Here's an infinity pool located where we're staying.  It's "adults only" (that sounds a little oh-la-la, doesn't it?) so I probably won't make it there too often. . . OR maybe I'll leave Jim with the kids, sneak away, and steal a few moments all to myself.  Now there's a plan!  :)

 Here's another image of the place we'll be staying.  (This is where I'd type "freakin' awesome" in Polynesian if I knew how).

 I'm dreaming of spending a good portion of our vacation on a beach like this. . . 

. . . with some of my favorite lil' peeps!

See you again mid-March!

Mahalo and aloha!

Happy St. Paddy's Day (almost)

Here's a free Saint Paddy's Day print for you.  We like Irish Day around here.  If you do to, you can print this out (it's sized to 8x10), put it in a frame, and add a some green cheer to your house this March 17th!

More cute prints available here.