It was an extremely windy day! I had a tail wind for the first half of my run and probably one of the strongest head winds I've ever ran in on the way back to Lahaina. I couldn't help but laugh as I felt like I was running in place because the head wind was so strong (...and I'm pretty sure there were times where I looked like I was running in place)!
When I got back to our condo, I got to open some birthday presents:
In the afternoon, we headed to Kanapaali beach:
It was really windy at the beach!
Shaylie made me this "birthday pancake" and sang me 'Happy Birthday' :) Soooo sweet!
Shay is giving Tyce a kiss :)
Scott and I were supposed to go on a sunset dinner cruise, which I was really looking forward to, but it started to get pretty stormy in the late afternoon and early evening so they ended up canceling the cruise. Grandma Jan had agreed to stay home with the kids, so we ended up going out to a nice dinner in downtown Lahaina, just the two of us. As much as we love being with Tycen and Shaylie, it was nice to get away with my honey for the evening and enjoy uninterrupted conversations and some time alone :)
Gramps and Oma surprised me for my birthday with a helicopter tour around Maui! On Wednesday, March 7th, my mom and I went on our first helicopter ride!! I have to admit, I was a little nervous and I was so glad my mom came with me because I wouldn't have done it alone :)
Tyce and Shay were pretty excited for Mommy and Grandma to go on a helicopter ride and they really wanted to go with us. It was so nice of the ground crew to let them sit in the helicopter before we left!
I was pretty nervous to leave my babies!
Watching my family as we were ready to lift off:
The ride was much smoother than I had anticipated:
We saw a full circle rainbow over the ocean (I had never seen one before)! At this point, I was pretty sure God was assuring me I'd be just fine on our helicopter ride :)
The famous Road to Hana:
TONS of sugar cane on Maui...
SO SO happy to see these 3 faces as our helicopter touched safely back down on the ground!
After our helicopter ride, we drove to Wailea Beach for a gorgeous afternoon in the sun!
On the walk from the parking lot to the beach, the kids loved this big hill:
T-Man loved being in the ocean!
Walking around the Grand Wailea Hotel:
After spending a few hours at the beach, we had to take Grandma Jan to the airport. Of course, the kids fell asleep in the car:
Soooo tired, look at their poor necks...Ouch!
We were sad to see Grandma Jan go back home but were also so thankful for the time we had with her! We will never forget our first trip to Maui and all the great memories we made with Grandma Jan!! We love you SO much! Xoxoxo
We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Lahaina for dinner:
The kids loved the live music and wanted to give the musician a tip in his tip jar:
Thursday, March 8th, was our last day in Maui. I got up early again for one last run in paradise. I figured I had enough scenery photos while running, so this time I only took pictures of the amazing flowers along my way...
When I got back to our condo, we cleaned up and packed up in order to be ready for our 11 am check-out time. Our flight wasn't until 10 pm, so we headed out toward Kihei to explore more of the island. We stopped briefly at a local flea market in Kihei before finding a fun park/playground for the kids.
The playground was right on the ocean:
After playing for a while, we continued to head South. We stopped to walk around at the Wailea Shopping Village for about an hour and then continued further South past Makena to the southern most area of West Maui that you can drive to, La Perouse Bay (a large lava area from the last lava flow on Maui in 1970).
We drove from La Perouse Bay to Pa'ia, which is a cute beach town on the North end of the island, near the airport. We explored the North shore a bit and were able to see a few people surfing the very rough waves before heading to dinner at a local wood-fire pizza parlor. After dinner, we all changed into our PJ's and headed to the airport.
It was a looonnnngggg red-eye flight home... the kids slept most of the way, but Scott and I both got very little sleep (if any at all). We sat at the very back of the plane...right near the bathrooms. Being in my 1st trimester of pregnancy still, I had a heightened sense of smell and quick propensity to getting nauseous/queasy, which made for an uncomfortable flight ;) On the bright side, I was sandwiched by two sprawling kids for a majority of the flight and enjoyed the snuggles :)
We arrived home on Friday morning, March 9th. It was a very sleepy day for all of us! Scott had to go to work by late morning and unfortunately Tyce and Shay didn't want to take naps at the same time. I don't know how I made it through the day with such little sleep, but I just remember thinking that I was grateful to survive the day...I was SO tired (again, being in my 1st trimester, I was especially sleepy most of the time...on a normal night's sleep)! :P
Anyhow, I took this picture of Tyce after he fell asleep on our way to the park and remained asleep for about 45 minutes! It's not like him to miss out on playing at the park!
My little angel:
We truly had such a fun family vacation in Maui! Since we've been home, Tyce will often ask if we can 'go back to Maui and swim in the ocean.' Shaylie usually reminds Tyce that, 'it's too far of a plane flight.' :)
I want to thank Grandma Jan again for coming with us, we are so grateful for the memories made with you! And also a HUGE thanks to my wonderful hubby, who planned the trip and made such an effort to make my 30th birthday unforgettable. I love you, babe! So glad we finally made it to Maui together!! :)
