Maui

One of the first things we did in Maui was go to a Luau. The luau was close to the ocean so it was a nice setting and the sunset was glorious. I was worried that the luau would be difficult with the kids but it actually worked out great. The kids just ran in circles and played in the grass in the back.

Some of the adults did a guided hike one morning. Brianne and Nicole were sweet to watch the kids and take them swimming while we were gone. The resort had a really neat kid's pool. On the hike, the tour guide showed us different wild plants and we got to sample all kinds of fruits. It was really fun and we also saw some beautiful waterfalls.

Katelyn and Nana on the Reefdancer. Part of the boat is underwater so you can see fish and coral through the windows.

Katelyn was difficult on the Reefdancer. She wanted to go to the top of the boat then back down. I then realized that she just wanted to go up and down the stairs. The stairs were really steep and she could have easily hurt herself. I had to stand beside her to make sure she didn’t fall. At one point she tried to jump off the boat into the water. I eventually had Chris take a turn and then Nicole. It was making me sick to move around on the boat so much.

When we went to the beach we played in the sand with the kids and took turns snorkeling. We dug a deep hole for Katelyn and Matthew to play in. When a big wave would come it would fill the hole with water and they loved playing in it. At one point Matthew decided to throw wet sand in Katelyn's face. I told Matthew to stop and asked him if he would like it if I threw sand in his face. He then paused and it looked like he was thinking about what I said. He then threw wet sand into his own face. It was so funny!

I saw several big turtles while I was snorkeling. These turtles were really big even though it doesn't look like it in the pictures. Nicole really wanted to take some pictures of the turtles with her underwater camera but didn't want to get too close to the turtles. I offered to get some pictures for her. I found one big turtle and began following it to get some pictures. I then saw an even bigger turtle and tried to take a few more pictures. I then realized that there was a big turtle behind me and another one on the other side of me. I was surrounded and decided to hurry and get out of there. Brianne told me that turtles can bite so I was a little worried.

Chris, Diann, Michael, and I went to the Warren & Annabelle's magic show. It was really funny and clean. I don’t know how the magician did any of his tricks. Before the show began, we had desserts in Annabelle's fancy parlor. Annabelle is the "ghost" and she plays the piano while everyone enjoyed their desserts.

We went to the Iao Valley. It's a beautiful place to walk around and take pictures. Chris gave Matthew and Katelyn quite the adventure in the double stroller. Katelyn is crying in the picture because Chris is pushing her away from me so I could have a chance to walk around.

The flight back to LA was awful. Katelyn was good for the first two hours and then it went downhill after that. She was so tired that it was hard to keep her happy. Sometimes she would just start kicking me and Chris. We were happy to get home safely and tried to not let the difficult trip home tarnish our memories of the vacation.