aloha. part 2. maui.

Ok, an Instagram repeat. Our little family takes on Maui.

Before we dive into part 2 of our trip...I want to share an anecdote from our first stop in Maui (before our death flight in the tiny airplane). 

In the midst of traversing the Maui airport, hoping there might be something other than a Starbucks (i.e.-a cocktail before the ride on the teeny plane)...we had a celebrity sighting! Scott turned at the sound of a man's voice and sure enough, it was Bob Benson from Mad Men (aka, James Wolk in real life). And, actually, we know him best as Brad Cohen from the Hallmark movie my mom made us all watch on our ski trip. A pretty hilarious/fitting sighting for the beginning of our family vacation.

No picture of Bob Benson, but I got a kick out of all the people snapping pictures of the sunset while we were eating dinner the first night.

Ok, back on track. We are now on Day 10 of vacation and landed back in Maui. I have another airport story, but I'll skip to the end. The moral of this story is put your cell phone number on all of your baggage when traveling. It just might save your golf clubs from traveling to a stranger's hotel ;-).

My boys...that is some sweet travel/pool/no bath hair Noah is rocking.

The beauty of switching islands and checking into a new place is that it really felt like we had two separate vacations. I was a bit concerned that this portion was going to feel a bit more stressful without Grandma and Papa, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was completely relaxing. Noah was a gem the entire trip (probably because he had our attention 100% of the time) and made our job really easy! Scott even took off for a round of golf one day and Noah and I had an amazing day playing in the pool, having a lunch date, and both enjoying a nap. 

A Plantation Lemonade from Hula Grill might have created more patience than normal in this Mommy (it is inappropriate to have cocktails daily with lunch, right?!)

Other highlights of our trip to Maui included trips to Lahaina (including some amazing new restaurants), Whaler's Village, tons of swimming, sneaking a viewing of a couple of luaus, sunset cruise, more golf for Noah, and a whole lot of general fun in the sun! Pictures...

Odds are Noah is asking me "Where'd it go?". I have deemed this the early version of "why"!

Noah discovered Fruit Loops at breakfast the first day. The upside to ingesting packets of sugar laden cereal? He was happy to do it while just lounging around poolside!

Just watching the swimmers, eating his Loops.

We ran out of Fruit Loops so we moved on to Apple Jacks.

Last one of my boy with his cereal.

Noah loved watching the waves crash while we dined at Mala. His giggles were infectious!

You just can't get tired of these sunsets.

Another amazing recommendation (thanks, Jessi!) was I'o and Pacific'o. We'll be back for sure!

Dad and Noah waiting for our boat to pick us up. (For the record, Noah never did warm up to the ocean. Maybe next time.)

I was a little bit nervous about taking Noah out on the open ocean (especially given his fear of said ocean) but it turns out he loved the boat and I am thrilled we went ahead and booked our sunset cruise.

We even got brave enough to take him out on the netting!

Love this boy!

There was plenty of wrangling of a very brave and curious little boater!

The family that gazes together, stays together?

Unfortunately, our trip had to come to an end. We were so sad to say goodbye to paradise and end our time removed from the real world. The silver lining was getting back to Nana and landing home on a Friday. We have decided that all vacations will forever end on Fridays. It was so nice to get home and readjust for a weekend before having to dive back into normal work-a-day life. 

Back in action. A traveling tip: pack all your dirty clothes right side out. It makes the folding process go SO much faster.

We tried to squeeze a Giants game in upon our return. Noah was definitely still on Hawaii time (for about 4 or 5 days after returning) so we figured a 6pm game would be in his 3pm island wheel house. FAIL. Aside from when Noah was teeny tiny, I don't think we have ever actually had to leave or cancel anything on his account. But Saturday we pushed him one step too far. It was chilly in the city and when we went to put Noah's jacket on, he lost it. There was no consoling him, and believe me, we tried everything. So, we threw in the towel, came home and called it a loss. There are worse things than making a lasagna and snuggling up on the couch, though ;-).

Before the jacket incident. Having paci and bear outside should be an indication that this was going to go poorly.

It was truly a trip of a lifetime and I just feel so fortunate that we were able to make it happen. There were new friends made, perfect weather, amazing marriages celebrated, and family memories made. I couldn't ask for anything more.

My brown bear. SPF 70 has nothing on this kid's ability to tan! (a note to my 16-year-old son: I am not sorry for posting this! That is the cutest little white tush!)

ALOHA!