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Maui - Ka'anapali Shores Resort

It was a lovely drive to our hotel on the west side of Maui.  As soon as we got to the ocean, we could see whales spouting all over the place.  I was driving and couldn't stand not being able to watch, so we stopped at the first scenic look-out and watched for awhile.  It's amazing to realize how many whales migrate to the waters off Maui every year - sightings from the shore were easy!

Finally, we tore ourselves away and did a drive through the town of Lahaina.  Strangely, it's a hotbed for art and gelato.  We stopped at Paradise Found Creperie to indulge in some awesome gelato and made a promise to ourselves to return the next day to try their crepes and paninis (we did!)

When we finally made it to our hotel, we were stunned by how big and beautiful our room was.  We stayed at the Ka'anapali Shores Resort, just north of Lahaina.  Our "room" ended up being a two bedroom apartment that is, in many ways, nicer than our current house.  The kitchen was certainly bigger and it even had granite counters.  I wanted to move in and live out my life in Maui.

But the kids were eager to get to the pool and play, so off we went.  Mike is such an awesome dad that he joined in and they all had a blast.  Check out the background - pool right on the ocean.  Paradise!

 

Maui - Iao Needle

For President's Day, we flew to Maui with the goal of seeing lots of whales.  But since we were there, it seemed like a good idea to see a few other sights as well.  After a traditional American brunch at IHOP, we drove out to investigate the Iao Needle.  It's a distinctive mountain peak that stands in a valley where many Hawaiian battles took place long before Europeans showed up.  It's also very pretty!

Marisa was very happy to be going on a "nature walk" (if we call it a hike, she says that she can't handle it and whines.... a nature walk is fun, though.)

It was a beautiful walk through a small park.  Up the stairs, there was a viewing area to see the needle and the whole valley. 

After all that hard work, Jillian had to find a relaxing place to catch her breath.

We love Bellows Beach!

We love to introduce people to our favorite beach on the island and do so as often as possible.  So we definately had to get the Gimnigs out to Bellows Beach and have a day in the sand and sun. 

Marisa loves to do piggy back rides and in the ocean it's alot easier on the on the "piggy."  And it's a fun way to jump waves together...

Jillian has fun tossing little kids around and Ryan was the perfect size and temperment.  She wore out long before he did - he's a total energizer bunny.

 

And here's the only group shot we got during the whole trip and we're still missing Mike.  It's so hard to remember to take one!

Marisa is 8!

Marisa wanted her birthday celebrated at home with friends, so we invited over 7 friends (for a total of 8 kids), dreamed up 8 games and had a party.  She wanted an under the sea theme so we had Pin the Tentacles on the Octopus, search for pearls buried in sand, a fishy treasure hunt, sea creature charades and freeze dance.  But I think that the favorite for the kids was the special story that Karen wrote and Mike read.  It was a fairy tale that incorporated the names of all the kids at the party and they had a blast acting it out.  Karen and I are amazing party planners!

Houseguests 2010, version 2.0

In February, we welcomed the Gimnig family.  We packed in a whole bunch of fun in just a mere nine days.  Here we are on the Pali Lookout.  Can you tell that it was a bit windy? 

The highlight of the trip for many of us was our day out on a boat watching for dolphins, whales and turtles.  Marisa was worried for the first little bit, but finally settled down and had a great time.  We had a whole pod of dolphins swimming with the boat for awhile - it was awesome!  We only saw a couple whales from way off and the snorkeling wasn't for near long enough, but it was a great day.

 

Houseguests 2010, version 1.0

Our first set of off island visitors arrived in January... Julie and Sara from Virginia.  It was a birthday celebration trip for Julie (I'm not telling which milestone she reached, but will mention that we graduated together...  hee hee!)

We had lots of fun doing touristy things around the island.  We got a couple fun shots at the Waimea Falls Park.  Believe it or not, it's even more beautiful in person!

Yes, Marisa does love stuffed animals

Marisa names each and every one of her stuffed animals and would love it if she could sleep with all of them every day.  One morning, I came in to discover that she had added a few to the five I try to limit her to each night.