Swimming, Snorkeling and Shopping

 Day started out slow, with the kids sleeping in a little longer than they have been, soon as everyone was fed and ready to go we went swimming for a few hours, lunch and then we headed down to Front street for some window shopping, ABC store and the Whalers store for some souvenirs.

 Outside Bubba Gumps.

 Sharing some Gelato.

 The 140 year old Banyan tree, it has one main trunk with 16 additional trunks.

 This is an example of one of the additional trunks.

 It is still windy and the surf is too high for these little swimmers so we drove to another beach where the surf aint so high. We got Alivia and Cooper to snorkel and they saw lots of fish and a really big sea turtle. We finally talked Bauer into going and he was so funny, once he saw the turtle, that was it he was done. The sand has kept them thoroughly entertained.

 We have used a lot of sunblock but still have some pink shoulders, nothing too painful yet.

 This was a great flat beach right of the main road. We were there when folks were getting off of work, there were a few people who came to the beach to either run, walk and mostly they would put on a mask and their fins and go swim back and forth between these buoys. I thought that was pretty awesome!!

 Never talked to this little kid into going and see the sea turtle in the ocean, he got pretty upset and so he stayed happy on the beach playing with his sand toys.

Brothers making a sand fortress together, they are so funny to watch all the ideas they talk about between the three of them.
I love going on vacation with my little family all the things they talk about in the car, listening to the highlights of their day. I also love listening to how they see the world through there eyes.
We have tried some fun foods, the kids I don't think have ever had gelato, we also bought some POG (passion, orange and guava) juice. We had some really great BBQ from this local Hawaiian place

Sand, surf and grilled pineapple

 Today has been a great day, we finally got to the store (Costco) and moved into the Condo (reservation we originally booked). It is nice to have all of our meals planned and ready for the week, snacks for the kids, waves crashing out our lanai, birds chirping, and the kids happy.

 The weather has been windy (more than normal) and there was big waves today and the kids loved watch the surfers.

 More turtle watching/spotting, snorkeling will resume once the surf is not so high, for now boogie boarding, body surfing and sand castle building.

 Lots of pool time this afternoon. Kessler has much more fun when he has his life jacket. We made it over to the airport today and got our bag that made it's way here via Houston, Memphis, Los Angeles and then to Maui. The bag had all our life jackets, sun block, sun hats, more snorkeling gear. I am glad it didn't get so lost we would have had to replace all of that.

Overall fun day, we had the best dinner I will spare you the photos, I am not a good food photographer, I think it makes the food look worse. We got some great steaks from Costco, some fresh green beans, grilled pineapple and this crazy chocolate cake, some Hawaiian lady raved about!! (it was heaven)

Sea Turtles and Body Surfing

 Our day started really early I couldn't sleep after 3am Maui time (7am Utah time) and the kids were awake at 5am. We hung out until breakfast time, which we thought was 7am but was acutally 730, so we ended up being 2nd in line at the ocean-side restaurant and had a great Easter breakfast, bacon, eggs, pancakes, coconut syrup, Hawaiian potatoes (cooked a special way I guess). So nice to sit by the ocean for breakfast it was warm but windy.

 After breakfast some swimming and lounging by the pool.

 On our way to pick up Ben from the aiport, we stopped at a couple scenic spots and tried to spot some humpback whales but saw some other amazing views instead.

 After lunch we played in the ocean and that kept us busy for a few hours. The kids loved playing in the waves and then they saw a few sea turtles swimming through the bay and almost riding the waves like the kids were. The turtles were so close to the shore, the kids would run from one place to the other following the sea turtles trying to get a good view one time it came so close to Alivia she probably could have reached out and touched it.

 Watching the sea turtles.

 So happy Ben made the flight and is able to get some R&R, he deserves it and are so thankful for how hard he works to make this possible for us to do this as a family. I hope he feels rested when we leave and maybe a little more tan, he was looking a little pasty today:)

One of the action shots from today, hope the kids sleep good tonight!

Aloha.........We're baaaack!!

 Like the Hawaiin's care that the Whidden's are back in Hawaii, but for some reason this place has such a warm, home feeling to me.

It wasn't easy though and not necessarily "fun" getting here.

Stand by turned into a chess game, which move should we make. We ended up flying to St. George and getting a one way rental to Phoenix. (found out Phoenix was having MLB training camps busy, busy flights.) I didn't think the drive was going to be bad, it isn't until I drive for more than three hours, then I remember how much I hate it. It was a pretty drive though.

There was one section in the drive that was so thick with cacti and other desert plants it made me thankful for the beauty of the earth, It reminded me of when we drove through the everglades and how swampy, water logged everything was and this was COMPLETELY opposite, I was so thankful for our beautiful earth.

 We made it safe and sound to PHX and stayed the night in a hotel, had a fun night in the pool and a good nights sleep, breakfast buffet and on our way to the airport. We made the first flight to Maui, we got the last 5 seats Cooper and Bauer were on the same row, but both window seats, they were in heaven.. The kids did really well, Cooper and Bauer sat by this cute Hawaiin family who took really good care of them, shared snacks, played games with them.....Alivia sat by these teenage girls that slept the whole time:) Kessler and I were towards the front. 

Our beloved Napili Bay!

On the docket tomorrow....
Macadamia nut pancakes for breakfast,
Watching a special Easter video,
Enjoying some of the beauty all around us,
Picking up the Mr. tomorrow, can't wait!

Stand by...shmand by!

We are packed and ready to go, now the stand by stars need to align and give us a little luck. All of the flights are filling up, just like I knew they would and that what makes it so stressful, BUT I am just going to show up and see what happens. We are only trying to make it to PHX tomorrow and then our flight to Hawaii is on Saturday so that eases my tension a little bit.

This pic below doesn't do justice of what we have to fit into it, that is Ben's department, I got the kids ready so he gets  to take the family bag.

 Tramp's in....boom!!

Right now

Ben is hard at work prepping the garden  .........his garden, I don't claim ownership anymore, I think it's because I give very great suggestions that he doesn't think are so great......ha ha

For example....please do not plant so many onions this year, we had buckets of onions......so how many rows of onions did he plant today 4!!!!

In all seriousness I really appreciate all the hard work and dedication he puts into it.

Meow, meow....

Her favorite spot to lay, under the computer desk.