Aloha

Aloha everyone! 10 years of marriage deserved a special celebration, we thought. We've been dreaming of this trip for years. So as I sit here and let my mind day dream back to the beaches and sunshine instead of cold rain, mahi mahi instead of PB & J and getting lost in my book instead of Go Diego Go (don't get me wrong, I LOVE my boys and I LOVE being a mom...but a trip to Hawaii with my man, bliss!) I share with you a bit of our trip in no order what so ever:

We spent the second night in Maui at a Luau. It was great fun ending with a fire and knife dancer. We ate food we've never dared dream of with it's many courses that went through the history of four islands. Here's a snap shot before and some of the interesting food we sampled.


Here is a view from our condo. It was newly remodelled and right on the water. The first time we closed our sliding glass door after we got there was when we walked out the door to go home. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves every night. We'd often have the pool and hot tub to ourselves where we took our late night soaks by the ocean's edge.
Kyle and I took on snorkeling for the first time together. We brought our own gear. We gleaned all we could from an older gentlemen that we watched snorkel early in the morning. He gave us all his tips, helped us defog and with his last push of words "it's all about confidence" we did it. It was amazing!! A whole other world just under the surface.

We did the infamous "Highway to Hana". If you haven't heard about it...it's quite an...adventure? One lane roads, sharp 90 degree turns where I was able to reach out and touch the rock out my door and a cliff down to the ocean graced the other side. We wound through a jungle like setting that displayed the most exotic and roughest side of Maui. We saw our lives flash before our eyes on multiple occasions but with Kyle's finer driving skills and our small jeep we maneuvered through the entire thing!! We're talking a 12 hour day! Here is one of our stops at a spring. It's hard to see but just under me is a whole perfectly clear pool of clear spring water.

We walked through a PITCH BLACK lava tube. Here is a picture as we just entered into the tube.

One of my favorite detours off the highway we made our way into a little town where we bought warm banana bread that we ate along side this cove. It had raw lava rock that had oozed in the ocean and made an amazing display when the waves smashed against it. Kyle made it his mission to make it to the top.

We ran into serious wind and some rain the first few days we got there. Can you see the rainbow in the picture???? The first couple days we drove to the south beaches to escape some of the wind and get a bit warmer weather. By the end of the week we had seen a big portion of the island.

I don't know if it was the jeep, relaxed Hawaiian culture but Kyle got pretty comfortable using that "hang loose" sign.

A picture from one of our dinners out in Lahaina.

Notice the palm tree...that is the wind I was talking about!!

We fell in love with this restaurant called the Plantation House. The food was good but the view was amazing! It overlooked a golf course and the coastline on the west side. So pretty!!

It was the longest I had ever been away from the boys for the trip. My mom took a good portion of the time and Kyle's mom took over on the weekend. They did great and were spoiled while we were gone. Kyle often leaves us cards when he goes on trips and little things for the boys. So, taking my cues from him, I set up a little package for each night. It had little cards for the boys, a little Hershey kiss and hug along with a book. Kyle and I split the books up and took video of ourselves reading the boys a bedtime story for each night we were gone. It was a big hit. Unfortunately for our moms they watched them multiple times.