Maui!

Our time in Maui has been so wonderful. It's been the perfect mix of busy and relaxing. We are at a great location with a perfect beach just steps from our door and it's the perfect spot to sit and watch the whales jumping and spouting. They are everywhere. Derek & I did a snorkel trip at Molokini crater- a small isle 3 miles off the coast. We got to swim along with a 3-4 foot white tip shark. Crazy! On the way back the whales were everywhere. They were breaching, flapping their pectoral fins and diving. We got to see a mother and calf jumping out of the water over and over so close to the boat. Amazing. I could have watched it all day! We took a long day trip up to the summit of Mt. Haleakala at 10,000 feet. We could see the islands of Hawaii, Molokai, Lanai & Kahoolowe from here. It was beautiful to be above the clouds! Another day we took 11 hours to drive the road to Hana and back. We all started feeling poorly from all the turnbacks over and over. Jett threw up a bit and we started making extra stops to take in the beauty and hikes and let our tummies recover. We made it to black and red sand beaches and then all the way to the seven sacred pools- a line of small pools cascading into eachother. It was a beautiful and tiring day. We've seen a lot and had a lot of relaxing time and now we are ready to come home!

Family Time In Hawaii

It's hard to believe that we're only days away from being home in Orlando. 6 months have both gone fast and slow. I'll be doing several "wrap up" posts as we are nearing our trip home. Here's a compilation of our best family pictures together. Aloha!

Listen to Aloha Oe

January 2011- our last weeks here!

Since January is our last month here, we have been running around the island and finishing up everything left on our list that hasn't quite been done yet. We've toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation and taken the train around the property (the kids favorite!). We took a trip up to the North Shore to see massive waves. They were finally up to a good size- with a 20-40 foot face! There were a few brave surfers out there on them and it was truly amazing watching them risk their lives for the thrill of surfing something so large! The waves were so big and constant that they had a buddy on a jet ski who would pull up next to them and tow them out past the big breaks to catch the next big one. It was so cool! We had some time in Chinatown too watching the dancing dragons and listening to the music and eating some authentic food. All fun experiences! We've been busy, but we're quite happy to be ready to slow down and get home!

Kauai Vacation 2011!

At the end of December and the beginning of January my parents and my brother, Scott came to visit. After a few days touring around O'ahu, we hopped a plane for Kauai. This was our first chance to get to one of the other islands and we were so excited! My parents had an amazing place for us to stay and it was such a treat to get away from the busyness of Honolulu. Our kids were thrilled to get out and just run around for a few minutes and we were thrilled to not have to watch them every second to make sure they weren't falling off a cliff, drowning or getting hit by a car! We were staying on the North Shore and took a drive one day to the end of the road to visit the wet and dry caves and the areas where they filmed "South Pacific" and to take a 1/2 mile hike into the Na Pali Coast. It was a beautiful area! Derek, Dad & Scott got to get out on the golf course during the trip as well and enjoy a beautiful view while they golfed! With it being the winter, it's whale season and it was so amazing to sit on the cliffs above the coast near our hotel and watch the humpback whales spout and breach! We took a boat tour to see them and it was amazing! We didn't get to see them jump out of the water up close but saw plenty of their backs and tails flipping out of the water to be sufficiently awed! Bumpa & Grandmom had a day with the grandkids while Scott, Derek & I picked Christina up from the airport and took off on a small plane flight around Kauai. It was so beautiful from the air! The next day we took a long drive around to the other side of the island to see Waimea Canyon. It's called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and it really was a lot like the Grand Canyon- except much greener as well! What a wonderful time with my family touring the 2 islands and doing amazing things together! Kauai was both a time of relaxing and a busy touring time but all of it was wonderful!

The Beaches of O'ahu

One of my goals for our time here on O'ahu was to visit every beach park on the island. To my count, that was 90 of them! It took a bit of time (and patience from my amazing Derek as sometimes he waited in the car with the kids and I jumped out for a few pictures!) but today we visited the last ones! Some were definitely on our daily treks but some were way off the beaten paths too! It was fun to find new parts of the island while going in search of them all! I never did find an official list of them all, but with my a little help of my gps, google maps and just driving past some all the time, I think I got them all. If I missed one, then it deserves to stay hidden! So, let's take a little walking trip around the island along some amazing beaches! The pictures start at the North West corner of the island and go South and then make it back up to the same corner of the island again! Aloha!

The Haiku Stairs Hike (The Stairway to Heaven)

Derek & I both agree that this morning's adventure of hiking up the side of a mountain on the Haiku Stairs was the most adventurous thing we've ever done together! The morning started very early at 4:15am. We had to arrive early because officially, the stairs are off limits. They spent major cash to replace the stairs to make them safe just a few years ago, but there are complications in land rights to the entry of it, so they post a guard at the entrance to the hike every day. Since he arrives at 6:30am, this meant that it was going to be an early day. (We attempted this hike the day before, but got lost on the entry to the hike and didn't make it in time). The guard suggested we start earlier next time! :) So, today we did. With flashlights in hand, we battled through the mud to the foot of the stairs and started up. We knew already that it was a 3,922-step stairway to the summit of the Koolau mountain range. The stairs climb 2,800 feet up a nearly vertical cliff from the base of the valley to the summit. We thought that some of those "steps" would be easier uphill type hike steps, but nope, they were steps right on a stairway! The beauty of this hike is that there are handrails on either side. I'm not huge on heights, but I wasn't struggling too much since there was something nice and sturdy on either side to hold on to. There were tons of people on the hike though and since the handrails pretty much hit you on either side of your hips, you have to climb over the rails and hold on or straddle them to let people by. Thankfully, there were portions of it that were flatter with a few feet beside the stairway before the major drop off. We used those spots to rest and let people pass. We got up to the first viewing platform just before sunrise and all I can say is that it was gorgeous. You could see the whole coast here and look way down under the interstate below to see where we started! Derek, being abundantly more energetic and brave than I, took the remainder of the steps to the top while I sat and clicked away with my camera and waited for him to come back. When we started the decent, it was easier than I expected, but there were a few areas that were so vertical when we climbed up that it was like climbing a ladder. These areas were fairly terrifying to me since and there was no way down but flipping around and backing down. Of course, now that it was daylight I could see that I was in fact, clinging to the side of a rock wall at the top of a very long drop. Down we went though, and I was quite proud of myself for making it down without freaking out! What an adventure to do with my best friend! There was nothing quite like it. On the way home, we took the I-3 interstate that went right past it and slowed down enough to be amazed at how steep it looked and that we just hiked it!

Christmas in Hawaii

Christmas in Hawaii was more relaxing than at home in some ways, but at the same time just as busy! Whereas we didn't have any parties or get together, we also live in a big city where it takes forever to get anywhere and we're still learning the stores. You spend just as much time circling in the parking lot as you do in the stores too! We had a great time playing with the kids and doing special things together like stringing popcorn and making ornaments.

We took a day trip up to the north shore to see a surf tournament. The waves were bigger than any that we had seen so far and it was quite a treat to see the pro surfers riding them.

We also took a camping trip the weekend before Christmas. It was a beautiful beach and pretty uncrowded, which is a nice treat. The kids loved running in the open area and Derek was able to get a few pickup games of volleyball and go boogie boarding on some large waves. I enjoyed sitting on the beach and painting while everyone played so happily! The 2nd night in (our last night), we woke up with a half wet tent. We got drenched loading up the car and heading home. An amazing treat awaited us though. Oahu in not prepared for rain like Florida gets. They don't have retention ponds and no fresh water. The rain determines the flow of the waterfalls and the height of the streams. So, when it rained for just 1 day the streets were flooding and as we drove through the passes that take you home between the mountains, I counted at least 30 waterfalls streaming down the sides of the mountains. It was breathtaking!

For Christmas, we got sick. The kids all had bad coughs and weren't feeling well generally. After presents on Christmas morning, we decided to take Jett in and found out that he had Pneumonia. Poor fella. At least the antibiotics kicked in quick and he was feeling better by the time my family got here on the Tuesday after Christmas.