Hawaii 2012

A few days ago we returned from our family trip to Maui.  An amazing time was had by all of us--a perfect family vacation (well, almost perfect.  The kids still fought, but not as much!)

I took almost 200 pictures.  Bear with me as I try and narrow it done to a few to share!

 We stayed at the Kaanapali Alii.  Great condo with a beautiful view.  Who wouldn't want to wake up to this everyday?

Aren't they cute?

The view from our deck

I loved waking up every morning and sitting out on the deck drinking my coffee.  Simply stunning.

Zach and Joey spent most of their time boogie boarding

I spent most of my time sitting on the beach!

 We took the kids to The Old Lahaina Luau-reportedly the best one out there.  It did not disappoint!

 I swear Zach is just drinking juice.

 The boys, especially Vinnie were fascinated with the man weaving animals out of coconut fronds.  Vinnie talked the poor guys ear off!  They got to take some of the animals with them.

 Pete found a long lost relative.

 The dancing was fabulous!

 Got to love the time change--Vinnie and Christopher fell asleep part way through it.

 I couldn't resist a picture with some scantily clad boys.

 The following day we went on a snorkeling trip with Trilogy.  I can not say enough how wonderful these people were.  The service, the food, the actual snorkeling, and possibly saving Christopher's life.  (Don't ask)

 We were treated to a rainbow on our way out to Honolua Bay.  I don't know what it is, but the rainbows in Hawaii were plentiful and somehow better than anywhere else.

 The kids were adorable in their gear.

 I was amazed at how well they all did!

 Zach and Joey took right off and did great.

 Me?  I was scared.  Scared of the cold water (yes, I know it is much warmer in Hawaii, but not as warm as my 90 degree pool!) and even a little scared of being out in the ocean ( I blame that on the Jaws/Orca double feature I saw when I was 8 years old)  I got to the bottom of the stairs and couldn't get in.  Too cold!  I was screaming and dangling by the rope while Pete yelled at me to let go.  When I didn't he swam over and pulled me down and dropped me in.  It really wasn't so bad after that.  I was amazed at the colorful fish.  It was really like being in a tropical aquarium.  We even saw sea turtles!

 Christopher couldn't get the hang of breathing threw the snorkle, so one of the crew took him out on a boogie board that had a clear plastic circle in the center.  He was able to see the fish and turtles through the plastic.

 When the kids were done snorkeling they went down the slide.

 I couldn't resist taking this picture--this young lady was on the trip with her parents!!  Who wears a suit like that in front of their Dad!!  And on a family oriented snorkeling cruise??  Too funny.

 Vinnie, ever the artist, built amazing sand castles.

 Proof I actually went in the ocean!  After the snorkeling cruise I was willing to spend time in the water and even tried boogie boarding.

 The resort had fun activities for the kids.  When I saw the class on weaving with coconut fronds I knew the boys would want to try.

 Chris needed my help of course.

 The finished product--fish!

Chris doing flips in the pool

 Zach and Joey started to get fancy with the boogie boarding.

 It was fun to watch.

 Vinnie was obsessed with being buried in the sand--Zach was happy to oblige.  If you look closely you can see that we turned him in to a turtle.

Even Christopher mastered the boogie board!

Aloha Hawaii!!  We can't wait to come back!