Back from Hawaii - Part 1

So we're back!! It was an amazing adventure. For the most part, the girls did okay. They had their moments. We joked that we saw elements of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Beginning with the flight down there...we left at 2pm on Saturday. We purchased a third seat and didn't take the car seat on the plane with us. It was the right choice because the girls were all over the place. We definitely needed the extra room for them to stand up and move around. When we traveled over the summer, they weren't too mobile yet and we could tolerate holding one of them at all times...not with this trip. We definitely needed the extra space. We had a stiff tail wind so we got there in 5.5 hours. We took off on a beautiful day in Anchorage and Alyssa LOVED the view. She sat in my lap and looked out the window while signing mountain and saying "wwwooooowww". Too bad, there were only mountains the first 30 minutes of the flight. Eventually, Lisa was able to get both of them to sleep. They stayed asleep for about an hour and a half which was GREAT.

When they woke up, we got out some snacks and kept them entertained by watching their favorite dvds on the laptop.


Before we knew it, we were landing in beautiful Kahului on the island of Maui. It was just before sunset but we would be at the airport way after sunset. Baggage took almost 45 minutes to come out and since every plane seems to land at the same time, there was an enormous line at the rental car place. FINALLY, we had our car with seats installed and drove the last 45 minutes to get to our home for the next 5 days at Kahana Sunset.

The girls were sleeping pretty hard by the time we arrived. We brought the girls in and in a rush to grab all the bags to get the girls their night gear, I dropped my new camera! Yes...I dropped it. It was TERRIBLE!! I quietly shed a tear but there was nothing I could do. Long story short, the camera was fine but the lens was busted. I have yet to find out if I purchased the extended warranty (I seriously can't remember) but as you'll see in tomorrow's segment...all was not lost. In the mean time, I borrowed Lisa's Dads extra lens for some pics the first day or so.

Not to be outdone, after we got the girls to sleep Lisa grabbed a glass of wine and stepped outside on the balcany over looking the ocean and swiftly spilled her wine all over her shirt. I couldn't pass up the chance to document her first night mishap.

Day 1 in Hawaii...MUCH BETTER!! It was an amazing day so after a big breakfast, we dressed the girls in their new Hawaiian outfits. They weren't too fond of them at first but still managed to get a couple of good pics.









We tried to take the girls down to the beach but they wouldn't have it. They didn't like the wind in their hair, the sand, the bright sunlight, the waves, or the grass. We tried and tried but they just wouldn't have it. That would change during the week but our first attempt was pretty sad. So instead we took a little time to soak in the beautiful scenery from the condo.





When it came for naptime, things didn't go well. The girls were exhausted but couldn't settle down in their new cribs. After half an hour of trying, we gave up and took them for a drive. Just so happens it's one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on.




Here's our car for the week. I reserved a Dodge Charger and for the second time in a year I end up with a fancy station wagon!


So there's part one. That only gets us through day 1 in Maui. I try to be brief but I have 573 pictures to pick through so it's kind of hard. Tomorrow, you'll see our trip to the Aquarium and maybe the whale watching tour.