To Maui, Group 3

Monday morning Mom left us in the condo alone *gasp* went to go get coffee and have her quiet time on the beach with the sunrise. *Exhale, sigh* The rest of us woke up slowly and did morning things. 

Midmorning Mom and the littles went back to the Maui Ocean Center for the better part of the day while I got to stay back and do school, etc. ("Etc" including taking a nap.) 

With this view, why not?

When they got back we all read and played games and ate dinner and watched "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" (a family favorite, especially when there is pie and ice cream to go with it). 

Tuesday morning Mom did the same thing as the pervious morning and will most likely continue to do that for the majority of the mornings on this trip. 

It was raining so we all stayed in the condo and worked on school stuff. After lunch it looked like it was clearing up. By the time we got down to the beach it was cloudy again, but the kids didn't care, they played in the sand and water to their hearts' content while Mom and I watched and read comfortably in the cabana. 

The first of our friends arrived!! Mrs Karen and Dr Mike joined us in the water (remembering all our correct names on the spot, we sort of kind of couldn't remember their specific names although we remembered that he is a dentist and of course recognized their faces, etc) and were soon carried away to play games in the cabana by the littles. 

The brutal game of Go Fish. 

Wednesday morning we all walked over to a fabulous breakfast buffet next door (I should actually get pictures of how big it is sometime...but only if y'all want that, because it probably will only make you hungry...maybe I shouldn't after all...). We were in no hurry whatsoever and enjoyed the food and our favorite Hawaii drink, POG (Passion, Orange, Guava juice). 

For those of you who don't know, 

this is a plumeria flower and they smell amazing. 

Flowers in our hair...

When I say, "take a serious picture." 

Mia and Gabe really enjoyed the "colored cheerios" at breakfast.

Looking over the golf course, right down to the ocean. Ahhhhhhh. 

The view from the girls' bedroom. 

Mom and Mia went to the airport to pick up Dad, Chloe, and Christian. They had the same flight schedule as I did, just 5 days later (main reason being they had extra school and such to work on and Dad couldn't be gone for 4 weeks). They decided that they would not go to bed Tuesday night and so tried to sleep on the flight. Everything went very smoothly for them. 

I worked on school and Ava and Gabe played games. We washed all the sheets and remade beds and talked with some friends. 

Mom traded in her car and Dad rented a mini-van. They hit Costco and grabbed lunch and all made it back to the condo about 2:00 pm. We got the car unloaded in just one trip (with all of us helping) and put most everything away. Then headed for the beach as quick as we could. 

Everyone was glad to see the travelers. 

Sea Glass cards! 

Family walking down to the beach. (Minus me, because I was taking the picture, of course.) 

Dad and his little girl. 

A view of our beach. 

That building with the white-ish railing is the cabana. 

We enjoyed a couple of gorgeous hours at the beach. The sky was clear, the water like crystal, the waves calm, a slight ocean breeze... And us all together again in our happy place. 

Taking showers took a little while... The kids ate dinner on the porch in the pale light of dusk. Then we watched "Pirates of the Caribbean." Dad fell asleep though and went to bed and Mom opted to read since, if y'all recall, we just watched this like two months ago... Christian also fell asleep and I had to fight to stay awake. The intensity of the sun here truly wears us out! Well and not sleeping the night before your day of flying... 

That Moment When...

Your hair almost gets sucked into the back of a fan.

Mom calls out that somebody's earbuds went through the washing machine.

Your sister is rubbing sand on your face to get your makeup off.

You're not heavy enough to make the recliner recline.


The Herd: Quoted

"My wife is either going to have to like the beach, or learn to like the beach." -Gabe

"Behold, there is a little boat out there for you to go fishing." -Mia in a very small, high pitched voice while playing Go Fish. 

"This might take 5 hours." -Gabe on his turn of Go Fish.

"Why are these out? I never had dinner." -Mia sitting down to eat pie.

"Did Dad say he was in bed yet?" -Me

"I don't think so." -Mom

*Gets text*

"He is pulling out clothes to pack." -Me

“I’ve got a dentist to beat at poker.” -Mia

“It glew!” -Mia talking about her glow in the dark stickers. She meant it glowed. 

“You want a gun for your birthday, right?” -Christian

“No!” -Me

"Now close your eyes and dream about little girls who love you." -Mia to me. 

"All this hair is making me hot." -Me 

"I told you, you should put it in a bun like that guy over there!" -Mom joking about a guy we saw with his blonde hair in a bun.