Picnic Under the Palms

After nap time the little ones and Cam met us at the beach. We had just ordered take-out lunch for a picnic under the trees. We added an order for Cam and sat on the lush grass over looking the ocean.

By the end of the trip the boys were re-applying their own sunblock.

I love this photo. There was such a nice breeze blowing. The kids and I really love the orange guava juice.

Cam looks funny...just chewing his yummy lunch. Every day we ordered pulled pork quesadillas, mini burgers with caramelized onions, Gorgonzola cheese, aoli sauce on taro buns. Delicious!

Another chance to swing in the hammock with my precious babies. Singing and swaying in the breeze.

The boys were all laying on the grass after lunch.

Baby George and Mr. P were all snuggled up.

We had the most amazing trip. Thank you so very much to Make A Wish Foundation for making Tuba's dreams come true...and for letting us come along too. We could never have given Tuba this trip and we will cherish it for the rest of our lives. I think it was the best 5 days of our lives:)

Luau Night

MAW scheduled for us to see The Old Lahaina Luau. We got dressed up and drove into Lahaina to see it. We had the concierge snap our photo for us. After the photos Busy Guy informed me that he stuck his tongue out for the pictures. And...yes he did!

Waiting for our car to be brought up from the valet. They look so cute!

We arrived early for the Luau and enjoyed the beautiful gardens. We were given the great MAW VIP service at the Luau. Wonderful people work at this Luau! Sweet Baby George holding his flower. Each guest was given a flower to wear behind the ear.

Mr. P sporting his "single" side flower and a big smile.

With my babies. Sis looked so cute that the tourists were all lining up to take her picture!

Isn't this the cutest picture of Tuba. I'm sending a copy along with our thank you card to Old Lahaina Luau

Mr. hip daddy and his flower....and his grown out I'm on vacation beard:)

The view was amazing from the Luau grounds. We walked around listening to a Hawaiian band play and gazing at the boats in the ocean. The sunset was gorgeous.

Busy Guy walked all around me Tuba, Mr. P and I looking at the scenery. There were traditional wood carvers carving items. Tools! Busy Guy's favorite thing. We bought a lovely sea turtle carving.

This is a nice photo of Tuba and I. Cam, Baby George and Mr. P went and sat our our Luau table while we walked around. Tuba's behavior had been VERY bad. I don't want to dwell on it but let me tell you that he can be very naughty...hitting, spitting, biting...at times. Cam had enough and took a breather at our table. It helps sometimes to switch off with Tuba...good cop/bad cop:)

The view from our Luau table. It was really easy to see everything. The tables each sat eight. Our table included a nice married couple. I bet they about died when they saw that they were sitting with 5 kids! At first they were kind of quiet but as they realized that the kids wouldn't ruin the show they warmed up and engaged with the kids.

The food was traditional and it was YUMMY! Too many dishes to name but the chicken and Mahi-Mahi were especially good. The kids' favorite part was the dessert tray filled with miniature assortments. Everyone got to try several desserts.

The Luau was beautiful! We had heard that this particular Luau did not have fire dancing. At first we were kind of bummed because Tuba loves fire so much. But, after seeing the show we were so thrilled. Tuba loved the music, the dancing, the drumming...all of it. Hula is so sensual and so enthralling to watch. The whole family had a great time. I highly recommend this Luau if you are going to Maui.

The boys and I were out for an evening walk one night at our resort (Hyatt) and caught the fire dance portion of the Hyatt's Luau. I was very surprised. The show was a much more "Las Vegas" type of show. I'm so glad we got to go to the Old Lahaina Luau.

Also, they had photographers taking family portraits along the sea wall. We of course had one taken and we were given two 5X7's for free. Nice!

Brotherly Love

This was one of my fondest times in Maui. It was during nap time and Tuba, Mr. P and I had the most amazing afternoon together. We had been trying to get a turn in one of the ocean side hammocks. They are always occupied but this day as we approached this beach Mr. P spied an open hammock. We ran to it and practically belly flopped into it before anyone else could get it:) We laid in the shade of the trees gently swinging in the hammock for over an hour. I laid with the boys and we sang songs. Tuba loves to sing and he will snuggle and lay for hours to listen. It was such a precious time. A lady walking past commented that I must be in heaven. Yes, I surely was! It was a great time for the two boys to have some bonding time too. Usually it's Mr. P and Busy Guy who are paired up and playing together all day. This was a special time for my oldest two boys to make great memories together.


Gorgeous views up and down the beach in front of Hyatt.

A family who was leaving and didn't want to try and take their new boogie board home gave it to us. Mr. P had a fabulous time surfing the day away. He really got good on it! Tuba loved watching him....."wheeeeeeee" he would shout at his brother as he came ashore.

I keep talking about the Luau coming up....but I just have SO many pictures that it's taking me forever. I think I could post about a 5 day trip for about 30 days ;) Just kidding...I really will be doing the Luau next. It was so beautiful.

Dining Out Under the Stars

After a glorious day at the pool and beach we showered and got ready for dinner. We went to the most fabulous and what turned out to be our favorite restaurant at the Hyatt. Yum! All the seating is outdoors with an ocean view, with a patio and sand on the ground. They had nightly Hawaiian live music. Our fav was a big Hawaiian guy named "Big John". His voice was awesome and he sang lots of mellow tunes that we could sing along with. Tuba of course LOVED the music. I'd say it's his second favorite to the ocean. Our server treated us to free dessert too. So nice!
The restaurants at our hotel were very expensive but they did have a good kids menu that was very reasonable. Of course MAW gave us funds for our meals so it wasn't a big worry. It was too hard to get in the car and try to go find a place to eat....much easier to just go downstairs.

Side note: Of course NO family vacation is compete for us unless someone goes to the Dr. or ER! No joke! This time it wasn't anything too serious. Baby George got a bad case of pink eye which quickly spread to Mr. P. Nice bloody red eyes...ewwww! Luckily I just phoned our family Dr. and he called in the prescription to a local pharmacy. So....that's why it looks like my baby had been crying. He was happy:)

Beautiful boys coloring.

This is the next morning. Sis's 2nd birthday. Lucky girl got to celebrate her big day in paradise. She loves to open presents:)

I had bought her this adorable Hawaiian dress the day before and had the shop wrap it for her. She loved it...she LOVES clothes!

More to come...our big Luau day!

Tuba Loves the Ocean!

Forgive the LONG posts and so many pictures...unless you're a grandparent:) I took 475 photos on the trip and I LOVE my family and LOVED this trip.
After the very long and very unfun time in our rooms changing into suits and sunblock...we were ready for a day at the pool and beach. Disclaimer: Sis isn't picking her nose...look close:)

Mr. P spent HOURS on the slide. He really became such a BIG kid on this trip. He was able to play in the pool and slide on his own (us watching of course) and he met lots of friends to play with. Busy Guy didn't like the slide...especially when Dad took him down it against his will. :0

Mr. SPF 80+++++. Cam had malignant melanoma 10 years ago and regularly has pre-cancerous things taken off his skin....SO he always is covered up and makes sure the rest of us are too. I think we used about a gallon of sunblock in 5 days.

Busy Guy loved the pool.

Sis loved the sprinkler and the pool...here she is near nap time! Ahhhh...Nap time...the favorite time of the day for both Cam and I. Each day Cam would take the three youngest ones up to the rooms for a nap. He'd order room service (beer) and kick back on the couch or deck listening to the ocean and the wind. Bliss. I would take Tuba and Mr. P down to the ocean with drinks and chips. No way I wanted to spend time napping when I was in Hawaii:)

The beach in front of our hotel. Gorgeous! I love the beach but Tuba loves it even more than me. And the ocean is the top of his favorite things. The beach and ocean are the reason Tuba chose Hawaii as his wish.

This picture makes me cry. I love it. It sums up who Tuba is. He raised his hands and danced, swaying back and forth to the beat of the waves. Music to his ears. Thanks you MAW for making Tuba's dreams come true.

Tuba and Mr. P enjoying the surf. The ocean is WARM...warmer than the pool! We all swam in it and had the best time. The nap time usually lasted about 2-3 hours so we had quite the nice time just the three of us each day. I loved this time each day. It was Tuba's favorite time too.

Mr. P was thrilled because he got to have pop! I'd have a pina colada each day sitting with my feet in the sand...bliss!

More to come...tomorrow.

Exploring

Our first full day on Maui started early. The kids were all up by 5:00 am. We were dressed and ready for breakfast by 6:00 am. We wandered the open air lobby to waste time until the restaurant opened at 6:30. The courtyard of the hotel is the most beautiful place. Tall palm trees and luscious gardens. There is an area with African penguins and Koi ponds that meander through. It is true paradise. My favorite part was the birds that wake up and begin to sing at that time of day. It is so peaceful. Sis and Tuba especially loved the birds...they both chirped back at them....tweet, tweet, tweet. The sun wasn't even up yet when we sat down for breakfast.
What a beautiful place. All open air with birds flying in and out. The water fall was Tuba's favorite!

After breakfast we took a long walk around the grounds of the hotel. Acres of water ways, water falls, lush gardens, art and walkways. So much fun.

The center courtyard. The view from the 17th floor.

Looking down at the courtyard, coffee bar, Koi pond area.

Looking at the penguins and making Mom a nervous wreck that they'd fall in;)

Tuba LOVED all the water ways. He would park himself and look at the fish. The Koi are used to being fed and they all come over and "beg" for handouts. They were huge fish as you can see from the photo. We would have to bribe Tuba away...and sometimes drag him away to go see something else.

The penguins. Fun to watch and kinda stinky.

Lookin' at the Koi pond near the coffee bar.

Super sweet Busy Guy making sure baby brother doesn't fall in.

There is nothing Tuba loves more than the ocean. It speaks to him.

View of the kid's pool from the bridge.

Wobbly hanging bridge that Tuba loved to jump on and send us all falling over.

Mr. P looking at the Egret area.

The kids loved running on the board walk.

After our walk we headed to our rooms to change into swimsuits and start the line-up for sunblocking...all of this takes about an hour:) The kids were ready for the pool. It was never colder than 68 degrees and then warmed up to mid 80's in the afternoon. Perfect! To be continued....if your still reading;)