Maui 2011

A few weeks ago, Daniel and I went with Jon and Mandy to the gorgeous Hawaiian island of Maui.  We had such a great time!  I am so thankful for that special time that I get to spend with my husband....and being on a beautiful beach makes it just a little bit better! :)  I know that this might be picture overload but there were so many pretty sights and fun things to do that I just couldn't narrow it down any further!  If it is a really good photo, then it was probably taken by Jon! :) Blogger will only let me upload so many at a time so this little recap will be done in two separate posts but I am going to do them at the same time so keep reading!

The car of choice in Hawaii has to be a convertible.....but 6 days worth of luggage for 4 people, plus those 4 people, make for an interesting trip to/from the airport!

Upon arriving, we went straight from the airport (don't look too closely....we had just been on a plane for 8 hrs) to Mama's Fish House for a delicious dinner.  Daniel is STILL talking about the mahi mahi!  Looking out over the ocean while waiting for a table is not such a bad welcome either!

The Black Tahitian Pearl dessert - chocolate mousse covered in chocolate with a cookie shell....yummo!!

After dinner, we went to check in at the hotel.  We were greeted with leis and lots of alohas.  When we made it up to our room (which was really nice by the way) this was sitting on our coffee table.  They leave a welcome platter in every room (right) but, because it was both of our birthdays in Oct, they left us some special birthday cakes with 'Happy Birthday' written in Hawaiian.

Looking out over the main pool towards the ocean.

We left the hotel at 3 AM the next morning to go watch the sunrise at the top of Haleakala.  The elevation is 10,023 feet (and we were at sea level at the hotel) and it is COLD up there!  It was 41 degrees when we got there....luckily we were all prepared!

What a backdrop, right?

It was absolutely stunning and, despite the great pictures, it is even more beautiful in person.

It was kinda crazy to come back down to 85 degree weather at the hotel!  This picture is of the pool/lawn area while they are lighting the torches before sunset.

Dinner looking out over the ocean....so enjoyable.

Part two down below!

Maui Part 2

The next day we took off on the Road to Hana.  What a road.  In 52 miles, there are 617 turns (some of them going blind into a one lane road) and 54 bridges.  This site has some great pictures of the actual bridges.  Some curves tell you to blow your horn to make sure no one else is coming! If you drive straight there it will take you at least 3 hours to go the 52 miles.  Of course the whole idea behind the drive is to spend the entire day making your way there and back (we were gone from our hotel for 11 hours) and just enjoy the scenery.  There are tons of places that are scenic lookouts over the ocean and there are also several paths were you will walk along a path for 10-15 min. into the trees.  You also have lots of beautiful waterfalls.  We didn't even stop at all of the possible places.  It was amazing. They sell t-shirts that say "I survived the Road to Hana".  I need one of those.  It took me 3 doses of Dramamine, some sea bands, a stint at driving, and a very understanding husband who drove much slower than he wanted to for me to make it but it was definitely worth it!   

What a way to spend the day seeing the sights!

Daniel and Jon did some body surfing at one of the beaches.

This definitely wasn't a bad place to hang out and watch the guys :)

We actually went swimming in this pool and under the waterfall....such pure, refreshing water

Eucalyptus trees - love the bark!

Daniel going for a swim

Black Sand Beach

Lava at the black sand beach...not a place to go swimming!

Overall it was a great drive!

We also spent some time at the pool, on the beach, and snorkeling.
 

Looking back at our hotel from the beach

Sea Turtles up close and personal!

 We spent the last night of our trip at a traditional Hawaiian Luau.  Fun event!

The pig that had been cooking all day

We were standing next to the emu when they started to dig out the pig.  They asked Daniel and Jon if they wanted to dig, so of course they had to say yes!

Sunset before the show started

The fire guy was AMAZING!

There you have it! We had a great time!  I really missed my kids but knew they were in good hands.  Kenna was convinced that Hawaii was a place where Mommies and Daddies go while their kids are on vacation at their grandparents house.  :)  ALOHA!

Halloween 2011

So I need to join in with all of my other blogger friends with a few (or several) Halloween pics!!  Kenna has been counting down for weeks and was so excited to wear her costume.  I don't think she really remembers much about last year but she was ready to go this time around!  From the very first time I asked her what she wanted to be (sometime around Labor Day), she has said Strawberry Shortcake.  My little girl has turned into quite the Strawberry fan!!  (That really makes me laugh because I remember having a Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag and birthday party....among other things I'm sure!).  Dane didn't have a preference :) so he went as a monkey.  We got to dress everyone up twice.  Once for Trunk or Treat at church (Sunday) and then for the actual Trick or Treating on Monday.

Trunk or Treat Pics

I think she makes a great Strawberry Shortcake!

My sweet little monkey

Kenna was very ready to show Dane how it all worked.

She definitely wasn't shy about finding what she wanted!

Cousin JD made a great Captain Hook!

Dane decided he needed to sample some of the loot.

"If you don't open this sucker, I am going to eat it paper and all!"   Which he did....

 Trick or Treating Pics

We took the wagon so we could move things along a little faster and these two had a blast!

Didn't take them long to figure out that ringing the doorbell meant candy was on the way!

 Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween as much as we did ours!  Now to hide all of the candy..... :)