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!

aloha. part 1. big island.

I've clearly been away for awhile. A portion of the reason for this was that we went to Hawaii for two weeks! I pretty much turn into a frantic, OCD mess in the weeks leading up to a big trip, and add to that that diapers.com doesn't provide a reasonable delivery option to the islands, and I was pretty much a mental patient. I had lists, piles, and organization down to the very last Qtip...leaving little time for the ole blog.

But, we're now back from said vacation. Tanned and happy and with all suitcases unpacked, and laundry cleaned. Again, I don't know how to just relax so all unpacking commences the moment I cross the threshold of home.

Ah, vacation. How sweet it is. And you know what makes it even sweeter? A 20 month old who is a rockstar traveler. And what else? Grandma and Papa joining us. And what else? Having a final 5 days for our first real family vacation. And finally? Scott didn't work once. All of the above add together to make for a tremendous 14 days of fun in the sun.

This year is a big year for the Koon family. My parents are celebrating their 40 year wedding anniversary and I turn 30. Sounds like a pretty good reason to vacation, right?! That, and we haven't had a real vacation since our honeymoon. To define "real": longer than a weekend, no work for Scott, not in St. Louis, no agenda.

SO, with that, we headed off to Hawaii. We spent the first nine days of vacation on the Big Island in a condo with my parents. It.was.amazing. The company, condo, weather, food...all of it. It was such a nice way to kick off our vacation. But, pictures speak a thousand words (I am going to try and not make this a refresh of my Instagram feed so if you want more pictures, follow me there...my user name is Steffy7210)...

I sure hope he enjoyed his first class flight as much as us because we will be making the right turn to coach for every flight from here on out. Time to start saving miles again!

We had to take a commuter plane between Maui and Hawaii. Clearly, this was not my finest hour in making travel arrangements. I am pretty sure this flight took at least 2 years off my life. Please note how big the pilots are on the left in comparison to the plane. It was an experience. Checked that box...back to jets!

These two melt my heart. (that small plane in the distance makes my heart race. still.)

We made it! This was the view from our condo. Noah played golf ("golsh") every waking moment he wasn't in the pool.

He even got to join Dad (Gaga) and Papa on the 9th hole at Hapuna.

I did a lot of this. I am pretty sure I consumed my rum quota for the next five years over the 14 days.

We took a local recommendation and went to Da Fish House to buy some fresh fish. The place itself is a bit concerning when you drive up but just as we pulled in, a fisherman was unloading his fresh Mahi Mahi catch from that morning. Talk about fresh fish! We went back a second time because it was that good.

Tourists.

While we had Grandma and Grandpa around, Scott and I took off to try out stand up paddleboarding. We paddled about 2 miles and it was seriously SO fun. If you get hot, just fall off into the ocean for a refresher!

We also found Scott his true Hawaiian shave ice. These boys were happy campers!

We soaked up so much great quality time with Papa, and...

Grandma. We found just the place for Grandma and Noah...

This was the condo complex's pool. There was never anyone there so we had the place to ourselves. The area Noah was jumping into was supposed to be a hot tub (I think) but it wasn't hot, just warmer than the rest of the pool, and was only 1.5 feet deep. Like I said, ideal for Grandma and Noah ;-).

Scott and I also stole away for a date.

Morning walks.

And evening sunsets. Not a bad way to bookend a day!

And one with mom.

In between leaps off the side of the pool we made sure to get in a few back floats so we were still up to speed at swim lessons.

And, sadly, we had to say farewell to these two.

We did manage to squeeze in a family picture session. (Please excuse the light here, this is a picture of a picture...I'll share more when we get the disks)

And after a little monkey business at the airport...

We were off to Maui (on a much more reasonably sized aircraft).

So, why 5 more days? Scott and I went to Hawaii after we got engaged in 2009. We stayed for 10 days and decided that it wasn't quite long enough. After knowing my parents were only coming for 9 days, we made the decision to extend our trip by heading over to Maui as a family of three. It was the best decision imaginable. We definitely weren't ready to end our trip when we headed there and it was seriously relaxing! I was a bit worried that we were going to be stressed without the extra hands of Grandma and Papa...but we settled right in, had some amazing parental teamwork, and just truly enjoyed our time as a family. No interruptions (aside from Instagram...I need a 12 step program). 

Maui pictures and recap coming soon. Uploading and sorting is taking a bit more effort than I expected. Stay tuned!

This was one of 3 "feral"cats we had to feed while staying at the condo. I don't necessarily think they count as true feral cats when being fed Meow Mix twice daily, but they definitely weren't interested in coming inside or being pet...as a matter of fact, they hissed at you while you were feeding them. They also had crazy green eyes which made them a bit creepy. Ok, enough about cats...

my sister.

What, you thought I was an only child?! Oh, right, I am. But, I like to pretend that Lauren is my little sister. I have known her since she was negative 9 months old so I am pretty sure I get some sisterly rights ;-). And this weekend my "sister" came to visit!

Prom my sophomore year.

Noah and "La la".

A brief recap of how I know Lauren...Lauren's parents moved in catty-corner to us when I was 8 (or so). I took it upon myself to be the welcome wagon for Bobbi and Doug and pretty much just made myself at home, eating all their double stuffed oreos, from that moment on. It was actually funny, on this trip, Lauren asked me, "Why did you go over and spend so much time with them?!". I just loved them and loved being there, so when Bobbi was pregnant with Lauren, I was ecstatic (and spent 9 months trying to get her to name her Stephanie)! 

Lauren and I at our neighborhood pool. I'm pretty sure I thought she was mine.

In keeping with the pool theme, I was also her swim coach. Let's just take a moment to admire my outfit of choice for our awards banquet. I still own that skirt, that's not ok.

This spring my Lauren graduated from high school. This should probably make me feel old, but for some reason I don't have a lot of qualms about my age. What it does make me feel is so incredibly excited for her and the next chapter of her life at Ole Miss. It also makes me realize that time flies. It is a good reminder on those trying days with Noah that in a blink he'll be off to college.

How can you get enough of that little face?!

Backyard shenanigans!

That said, it was a little crazy to realize that she is almost 19, can have a few drinks with us, can fly as an adult (I dropped her off for her flight home at the curb...I felt like I needed to take her to the gate)! Lauren is an incredible girl and spending this weekend with her just solidified what an amazing person she has become and I can hardly see what her future holds. One thing I know, it will be full of great things. She is smart, funny, talented, inquisitive, witty, beautiful, and seriously just a joy to be around. She really just felt like one of the girls hanging out with a glass of wine!

I mean, could she be any prettier?!

I consider myself lucky to have had the joy of being Lauren's big "sister" and look forward to one day visiting her at her home. Although, let's be honest, my current mission is to pretend to be in college again and join her for a tailgate, Ole Miss style! And convince her to come back for an annual visit ;-).

Me (with some kind of awesome perm), Lauren, Dolly, and Gretzky. Gretzky is that furry half of a golden retriever in the bottom of the picture and probably 90% of the reason we picked a Golden. Other than the fact he peed on Lauren's head (entirely her fault) when she was little, he was the best.

Bobbi & Doug lived directly across from Allie. We were a great parenting duo, Allie & I! I give us a lot of the credit for her perfection. Anything that went wrong has absolutely nothing to do with the fact I dropped her on her head on the cement during a game of ring around the rosie.

Clearly, Lauren means the world to me (all of the old pictures were in our wedding slideshow...pretty sure she had as many photos in there as my parents!) and it was so special to get her for a whole weekend. If college doesn't work out, she can move in immediately!  Unfortunately, college is going to be a dream for her and I'll have to fly to London just to soak up some more girl time ;-).

Allie, Jordan (Lauren's little sister), Lauren & me.

Lauren and Jordan with Noah. Where has the time gone?!

Lauren, I love you. And Doug & Bobbi, congratulations, you made one amazing daughter. I am blessed to have her as a sister forever.

We took a really brief break from shopping to snap a Golden Gate Bridge picture. 

Ok, a pre Lauren bonus...Doug, me and Gretzky. There is so much to dissect in this picture, I am going to let you do it for yourself ;-).