Christmas Eve & Dayy 2016

Traveling around Christmas was oddly refreshing (as I mentioned before), but it did require lots of planning. Thanks goodness I've got the best momma ever! I did most of my shopping online, and had it shipped to her while we were gone. My intent was to get it all when we got home and wrap it, but she already had it done - stocking stuffers included!!! Thanks mom! 

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents, like we always do. We had so much fun being together...the kids sure missed their G&G!

Great Gram won big with all the kids, gifting them each a Bruder truck. Evie even got one - she has to keep up with the boys you know!

 

Daddy got new kicks for golf league - much needed for him! He and I dont typically get each other Christmas gifts, but I drew his name this year so it gave me a chance to spoil him a bit ;)

We came home and get ready for the next morning, as a family of 5.
(our christmas tree base gave out while we were gone, and we can home to find a tipped over christmas tree resting on the entertainment center. whoops!)

Our Elf, Clark, had painted everyones noses red while they were asleep, so we had lots of laughs when everyone woke up. We kept our Christmas very small this year, since we are in need of nothing, and our hearts were so full from our trip!

the kids each got one gift along with some stocking stuffers. Harry and Bentley had asked Santa for what they got (such a smart guys he is! ;)) and Evie got Rapunzel's horse! We had the most perfect day relaxing, building legos and just being together!

 

Hawaii Trip {Last day+home}

While we were sad to see it arrive, our last day did show up. ;)  We had to vacate our house in the morning and our flight didn't leave until after dinner so we headed to the Maui Ocean Center.

There was so many cool things to see there, and Miss Evie LOVED the fish! She giggled and made all kinds of goofy noises at them, it was hysterical.

We saw sea turtles, crabs, shrimp, eels, jellyfish and we even got to touch star fish in a touch tank exhibit! Plus, we got to see inside the mouth of a shark! ;)

The shark exhibit was the biggest hit - the boys loved being up close and personal with the big fish!

Merry Christmas from Maui!

We headed to a park to see the surfers one last time before we grabbed something to eat and headed to the airport. Papa and the boys had fun filling up his camera roll with some last minute selfies!

The whole day went great considering we didn't really have a "house" to go to! The boys were beat by the time we hit the airport, but they maintained their composure very well.

The all sure love their Papa!!!

This whole trip is one that will forever hold some of our best memories. As a family of 5 we couldn't have asked for more and as an extended family we had an amazing time spending so much time together; which isn't something we often get living so far apart! A huge thank you to Nana and Papa for the wonderful trip - we will never be able to relay our gratitude for all the amazing memories you gave to us. We love you guys!

(and yes, Maui is back on our list of places to go...there was so much more we wanted to do but need the kids to be a bit older! Hang loose, Maui, until we meet again! ;))

Hawaii Trip {days 9+10}

The last thing we wanted to do that we hadn't done yet was the actual Road to Hana, all the way around! So we let the kids burn off some energy with a morning swim before we set out on our 100+ mile journey!

about an hour in, we stopped for an ice cream treat. we had read that it was some of the best, so we thought we better give it a try! it was a great way to stretch our legs a bit too

We mapped out where we wanted to stop, as there are SO many things to see, but we knew with the kids we had to narrow it down! The first stop was the Hana Lava Tube. Its an old cave that lava made when it used to flow from the active volcano.

they gave us flashlights - and the boys had a blast! they loved being in the dark damp cave and checking everything out with their lights.

The next stop was Waianapanapa State Park. The sand was another black sand beach, but not as much sand as tiny rock. It was so cool to see!

There were big waves and quite a current but Bentley was brave and got a little wet 

{wetter than he bargained for with the big waves!}

The entire road was full of natural waterfalls along the way. Absolutely gorgeous and the kids had fun seeing who could spot them first!

One last stop before we hit the one lane road around the back and deserted part of the island. This beach was very rocky, but still beautiful!

Most of the road to Hana is about a lane and a half wide only; definitely not like our roads here. There are over 50 one lane bridges, where you have to stop for oncoming traffic and can only cross one at a time and there are a handful of spots where the roads edge is a cliff, typically with no guard rail. The island is very deserted on the backside, because it is hard(er) to get too so it is less populated. Our trip around took us literally all day!

Being able to see the backside of Haleakala crater was really neat. This picture shows all the runs down the mountain where the lava used to flow! So crazy to think what that might have been like in real life. 

We saw spots where cars had gone off the cliffs and been left - some piled up, all of them rusted and beaten up. Since the island is so small and space is limited, they often don't have the means to get the cars, and if they did they don't really have anywhere to put them. Very interesting!

Mid morning the next day we headed into Makawao, a small cowboy village near where we stayed. We did some shopping and grabbed some lunch before heading back to the house. Our time was winding down and we felt like we had lots of cleaning and packing to do!

We spent the afternoon soaking up the last of our swimming, and catching up on some much needed sleep before our big night of travel coming up! it was a BUSY 10 days!

 

Hawaii Trip {days 7+8}

We started Sunday morning early and headed back through Lahaina and Kaanapali on Highway 30 to tour around that side of the island. We had mapped out a few things we knew we wanted to stop and see and we played the rest by ear.

We stopped for a bathroom break at a little park that led us through the coolest forest, out to the ocean.

the ocean was a black sand beach, which was super cool too! not one beach we visited had the same kind of sand - its definately not like our beaches here.

our group - the boys sure loved hiking/walking through the woods

one of the stops we wanted to see was the blowhole, and it was well worth the stop!
soooo cool for the kids to see!

the blowhole behind us.

again, the cliffs and the ocean were just breath taking

Miss Thang sure had it rough, if you can't tell! She wasn't the best of riders, but she did well, considering!

Bentley had complained nearly every day of a sore ear. I didn't give it much thought, assuming it was water in his ear that was bothering him from all the swimming. Finally, after he got to tears, we took him into a local med center to find out he had an ear infection; in fact the doctor described it as "bulging". Whoops! This mom felt terrible! But a round of antibiotics and we were on our way - plus the doctor was super cool and gave us some insight to our next few days' journeys.

The next morning we swam again, before heading into the neighboring town of Pa'ia for some shopping and lunch! We had a bloody mary at a super cool little bar and had some really great pizza too! Pa'ia was one of our favorite spots we found during this trip.

We got back to learn mom and dad had gone back up Haleakala and it was clear. So they kept the kids and us and Viening's took the hour and half run back up, hoping it stayed clear so we could see too!

It did stay clear, and holy amazzzzzing! Again, the pictures don't do it justice!
But here you can see that the clouds are level with us....unreal feeling to be 10,000 feet above sea level!

Behind us in this pic is the actual crater still full of mounds of ash. Such a view! And we could see the next island over we were so high up and it was so clear. That island had snow on it!

A close up of the crater. You can actually hike into the crater itself but we just didn't have time. It is on our "if we ever get back to Maui" list though! ;)

It is so strange to me, but cattle roam free around nearly the entire island. We had to stop coming down the mountain for them to cross the road!

Haleakala crater was a highlight of the trip for B & I, while we are bummed the kids weren't along, we know they wouldn't have appreciated the real beauty of it anyway. Maybe next time! ;)

Hawaii Trip {days 5+6}

Being in the "country" of Maui, on a large property made for some great creature catching for the boys...thought Bentley was pretty much the only one brave enough to touch anything. There were some monster toads we saw on numerous occasions as well as this snail that they found!
 
It was friday, now, and one of the things we hadn't done was head up Haleakala Crater; the volcano that actually is Maui!

Crazy long winding roads led us to the top, about an hour and a half ride, one way.

the weather changed the closer we got to the top. some clouds rolled in and we actually found ourselves climbing through layers of cloud to get to the top. So crazy to think how high we were!

When we finally reached the summit, it was super windy and raining (apparently that is normal when you're IN a cloud!) ha. We didn't get to see much and no one dared to get out, so back down we went!

While it was a "waste" of a trip, for some, we had fun seeing what we could see and we returned to this gorgeous site over our pool! I am telling you, the beauty here is like nothing I have ever seen.

Our neighborhood was off Hana Highway, one of the only and main highways on the island. So Saturday we set out part way around it to do some hiking and find some waterfalls.
We found some bamboo too! 

Twin Falls on the road to Hana - absolutely amazing! people were swimming in them, but we chose not too.

we stopped to see some birds on the way back, and were conned out of $20 and forced to hold birds for pictures. Some people are pretty brassy, and this "bird man" sure was one of them! While it wasn't what we expected when we stopped, it sure made for some good laughs and the boys are still talking about it.

An afternoon back at the pool on day five and beauty girl decides to FINALLY get in! After this, we couldn't get her out!!

No hesitation from these two; they were both fish and Harrison's confidence level climbed immensely on this trip.

 
Pre-bedtime dance party! These boys just loved being together 24/7...no better reason to celebrate than your cousins and vacation, right?