MAUI

This trip turned out to be better than we could have hoped.  And not because we went to Hawaii.  I mean, that's an amazing place and it definitely lived up to our expectations.  But Brynne was able to go with us and for the last week before her mission we were together as a family.  THAT is the part that made it super amazing.  And that's something that I plan to repeat for all future missionaries in our family.  It probably won't be as luxurious as Hawaii, but finding a place to be alone as a family is a must.

We flew out of Portland and had an afternoon to kill on our way up there.  Josh loves the Japanese Garden and so his vote was to take the kids there.  I don't know if they appreciated it as much as the entrance fee....but since the cost of our entire family is basically a year family membership...we did that and will have to go back at least once in the next 12 months.  Maybe combine it with a zoo visit or something cool like that.

For dinner we grabbed smoothie bowls at Jamba Juice.  Two thumbs up from everyone (we'd had a big, heavy lunch and wanted something cold and light).

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Faith loves flying.  She very careful looks over the safety card and asks me questions about where her oxygen mask is and how we will get it on her.  She's not worried.  Just curious.

When we landed, the Edward Jones service included being greeted with fresh flower leis. 

SHAKA!

As we're standing around waiting for our luggage, Brynne suddenly starts hyperventilating a little and she tells me that she just saw a famous YouTube celebrity walk by.  She followed him around a bit and got a far away picture and came back to show me.  Then she decided the moment was too good to pass up and she ran back and actually introduced herself and got a photo with Brent Rivera.  I wouldn't have known who he was, but she said he was all the rage with her friends when she was younger and it was fun to see him in person.  And she said he was super nice and cool.  

I thought that was a funny little random happenstance.

BRENT

This was our kids' first experience with WARM ocean water.  Brynne waded in and the first thing she said was, "Mom, I never want to leave".  I think we all felt like that.

Coming from the west coast means we got there early before our room was ready at the resort.  Luckily, we had access to our suitcases and bathrooms so we changed and hit the pool area.  Logan and Brynne got to work on their Maui tans.

So this was funny - Faith whined EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. we said we were going to the beach.  Every time.  But then she loved it and never wanted to leave.   She loved bouncing around in the water just as much as digging in the sand.

Brynne has surfed before, but it's been awhile, and no one else had.  So we signed them all up for some beginning surf lessons.  I have some amazing pictures on Josh's iPad that I'll have to try and get.  But here they are with the basic instruction before hitting the waves.

We only spent one day really driving around and touring the island.  This is a lookout on the north end of the island at a place called the Olivine Pools.  Josh and the big kids hiked down to swim in them, but they're kind of dangerous (when the tide comes in it can sweep you away), and the hike's not easy in flip-flops, so I stayed up with Faith and watched them inspect the pools.  They made it safely down and back.

We also snorkeled and Hanalea Bay which is a prime snorkel location.  Faith hated snorkeling.  Natalie didn't love it.  Everyone else had a great time looking at the fish.  Saw lots of sea turtles too.

Another cool thing about Edward Jones trips is that people come and leave their toys behind for future EJ folks to use.  We ended up with three boogie boards that saw a LOT of use. I even gave it a whirl - the first time I'd ever done something like that.  It was incredibly fun.

Kenna LOVED everything about Maui.  The surfing, the food, the weather...she's a beach babe for sure!  She came home pretty tan, too.

He's hanging in there with all these sisters....

Almost time to go home... and get this girl off on her mission!

We had one rainy day - our last day there - but we went to the beach anyway.  It was supposed to be windy from a hurricane blowing past but other than a drizzle of rain we didn't have any issues.

Our favorites from the week:

Shave Ice - that was a daily MUST and we found some places we loved

Snorkeling with turtles

Swimming at night in the resort pool

Coconut's fish tacos (went twice - it was so good)

Maui Bread Company

Sunset walks by the beach

Being together