Maui

A few years back my whole family got Hawaiian Airlines credit cards. We've all be saving our airline miles. We finally all had enough miles for a free trip to Hawaii. My parents had time share in Kauai so we were set! After making plans, we decided that we couldn't go to Hawaii and not go to Maui. My little family and my sister headed over before everyone else and spent a few days in Maui. My cousin and her husband lived on Maui (they just moved to Oahu) and were nice enough to let us stay with them ... even in the midst of their move.

We just boarded the plane in Seattle. Maui, here we come!

We got into Maui about around 1:30 local time. By the time we made it to my cousin's house and got settled in, it was around 4:30...which happens to be 7:30 in Moscow. We couldn't not do anything, so we headed to Twin Falls. Evie was a little tuckered out since it was around her bedtime, but she did great!

It was even more fun that our friend from Houston met us in Maui. She was on the homeward bound part of her around the world in 47 days trip.

We did some cliff jumping and swimming in the fresh water. It was very refreshing after a day of traveling.

The next morning, Adam, Alona, and Katherine went to Haleakela to watch the sun rise. Evie had a rough night and was still sleeping when we needed to leave, so I stayed home with her. They got some great pictures though!

When they got home we ate breakfast and headed out for our first full day of fun! We drove to the Blow Hole first.

We then headed to Honolua Bay to do some snorkeling. Evie was loving it out there.

The walk to the Bay was so pretty...and so is Katherine! The snorkeling here was really good. We didn't get any pictures down by the water. There were a lot of fish and Adam even saw some sea turtles.

We stopped at a grocery store and got stuff for lunch. We headed down to a beach near Lahaina to eat.

We went into Lahaina to look around. We had to get a picture by the huge Banyan tree. I'm glad Evie puts up with us!

Alona carried Evie around for a while. Evie LOVED eating her hair. She loves hair anyway, but when it has that salty sea water in it...umm umm, is it ever good!

The next morning Delisa (my cousin) and Anthony took us over to Makena Landing and let us use their kayak. It was so fun! There was also pretty good snorkeling there. Adam and I saw a sea snake. The water was so clear and blue. I loved it out there.

Evie loved playing in the grass. She's a sweetheart!

Katherine was the resident sandwich maker! She did a great job!

Here is Delisa, Anthony, and Wellington! The were great hosts! Wellington loved Evie. It's just too bad he was so big!!

Evie's favorite part of Hawaii by far was eating sand. She couldn't get enough of it. She's so stinking cute.

Adam and I took the kayaks out for a while.

By the time we got to Kihei, Evie was zonked. This is my favorite beach!

She woke up and rolled in the sand. Life is good!

I love this shot!

There was some good body surfing here. I like this shot of Adam's leg!

After a morning full of swimming we heading to the Iao Valley. I love this place. It is so pretty. The Iao Needle is behind us.

We thought we'd try one more beach before heading home. This is Baldwin Beach. This is the beach we went to most growing up because it was closest to where we lived. It was so windy that day that we didn't stay.

We went into Paia instead and got gelato!

We took the long way home and stopped by our old home...the Hailimaile plantation. The Maui Pineapple Company is no more. Someone bought these old dorms and they are turning them into a wellness center. It looked way better than when we used to live there!

This was the only pineapple field that we saw. It made me kinda sad that there wasn't more. They have planted sugarcane in most of the fields. I'm glad there is at least one left. I love that Maui pineapple!

Katherine left the next morning and we headed to Hana. It is such a pretty drive. We stopped and got lunch and Bubba's BBQ. It was delicious. We then headed to Hamoa beach. I had never been here, but I loved it. It might be my new favorite beach. It had black sand...which Evie loved!

I love this sandy baby!

There was great body surfing here. The waves were pretty big. This was Adam's favorite spot.

This is a view of the beach from the road. Someone told us that it was voted the 2nd most beautiful beach in the world. I won't argue with that!

We went to Seven Sacred Pools next. We didn't swim this time, but hiked up to the water fall. It was a great hike. We passed this Banyan tree.

My favorite part was this bamboo forest. It was so cool!

Here we are inside. The bamboo was so thick that it was pretty dark in there. I loved it!

Here is a shot of the ocean from the pools. It is a beautiful place.

The circle of life!

I love Maui. What a great few days there. It was so whirlwind trip, but Evie did great! I feel so blessed. Off to Kauai! (For more details and pictures you can check out my sisters blog!)

Kauai

After all the fun on Maui we headed over to Kauai to meet the rest of the family!

After all that Maui sun Evie's sight was a little off! Grandpa's reading glasses did the trick!

Here are my little love bird parents! I always assumed I was part mermaid...

There is no wondering why Kauai is called "The Garden Isle". It is absolutely beautiful.

After church on Sunday in Hanalei, we drove over to Waimea Canyon. It is the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It was pretty incredible.

Now we know where Evie gets her facial expressions!

A view of the canyon.

We left Waimea so we could get into Lihue on time. My dad volunteered to give a fireside to seminary and institute students and their teachers. I think everyone loved it. They were all in "symbolism shock" afterwards though. They didn't know what hit him! He did a great job, as always!

We went on a hike the next morning. I can't remember what it was called, but it sure was beautiful.

Little Evie slept so peacefully. It was nice to have others help carry her!

This is a view of the ocean through some of the trees.

Here is a sign explaining all of the dangers of the beach were about to get to.

We hiked down to this beach. Swimming is not allowed here, hence all of the warnings. I guess 80 people in 10 years have died here. It was pretty cool watching the waves come up over the steep beach and into the little stream area.

We wandered down the beach for a look. There were caves and waterfalls all around. It was incredible.

Alona decided to do a helicopter trip. She got some great pictures. You can go to her blog to see them all!

Adam decided that he couldn't be in Hawaii and not go fishing. He took a tour and had a lot of fun. He caught that Tuna that is in the boat and helped to catch this Marlin. He said that Marlin wore him out. That is one big fish...and one strong man!

Here is Adam's fishing video. He had to drive the boat while they actually pulled the Marlin in.

He took the tuna home and we cooked it up. It actually tasted pretty good. I ate more than one bite!

This was my favorite beach on Kauai. It was called Tunnels Beach. There was great snorkeling here. We liked playing in the waves here too. The beach was steep here as well, and it made body surfing pretty fun. Alona was brave and took her camera out to sea. She got this picture of the shore. Adam and Evie are having fun in the sand!

We were all pretty hungry after swimming. We had heard that Bubba's Burgers was the place to go. We tried it out. We're too cheap to buy drinks there, so we went to the grocery store across the street and got some POG...our favorite island drink. We didn't have cups so we used the little condiment cups! Here's Adam modeling!

After lunch we headed over to The Queens Bath. When we got there we saw tons of sea turtles swimming around. Some of the local teenagers would jump in the water and grab onto them.

This is the actual "bath". It is a tide pool that you can swim in. It was pretty fun. There were fish in there and no real waves.

Adam, Mom, and Alona swimming in the bath.

We took a little boat up the Waimea River to the Fern Grotto. I guess this is a popular place to get married!

Here is a better shot of the Fern Grotto.

Some of the leaves were way bigger than Evie!

This is a shot of a place where they filmed part of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I love that movie!

Adam and Evie are contemplating the meaning of life!

What is Hawaii without a Luau? We went to the Smith Family Luau. They have 30 acres of land that you can wander around. There are tons of birds and other animals.

Adam loved the goats! He even got bit by one of them!

There was an all you can eat buffet afterwards that was incredible. This is how they cooked the pig! Delicious!

Evie LOVED the poi! I have a strange daughter! She ate a ton of it, plus the purple potatoes! At least she is healthy!

Kauai was a blast! It was fun spending time with the family. Truth be told, however...Maui is still my favorite!