Livin' Island Style!

When I first envisioned a family vacation to Hawaii with a 20 month old.... I tried to be very, shall we say "open" about the kind of relaxation that such a trip might offer. I didn't want to have lofty expectations for the same kind of brilliant relaxation, fine dining and adventurous experiences I have had on Maui in the past.


Thanks to the wise investments of my parents, our family has enjoyed vacationing ot Maui for 30 years! All this to say.... for me to bring my very own pride and joy to the very place where I once toddled when her exact size was, well a real treat! My mom even told me recently that I may have even been conceived while on Maui. SO, the passion for the sunshine is explained!


Trevor and I also enjoyed exploring Maui on our honeymoon just over 4 years ago.... during which we tested practically every activity on the island! This most recent trip with Mia and my parents was spent in a much more low-key way.... mainly swimming and relaxing by the pool, building sand castles and pits, and dining on delicious Maui cuisine! To watch my little sunshine swallow the same pool water, eat the same sand, and hunt for geckos in the same place that I once did was truly memorable! A huge THANK YOU to my parents for helping make all this possible and memorable for all of us!


Mia did much better than anticipated with all the adjustments. Though it took several days to get her interested in the water and waves, in the end she showed her true colors and turned into a Maui fish just like her mommy and daddy!


Here we are on the plane on the ride over.... in true spirit Mia fought sleep till the last 30 minutes of our 6 hour flight. She was a trooper... and I sure enjoyed the precious 30 minutes I

got to hold her sleeping body in my arms! A truly RARE occurrence during these busy toddler days.

The first few days we had to coax Mia into the water.... she mostly enjoyed watching from the edge. I was thankful she had a healthy fear of the water and I didn't have to worry about her jumping in without notice!

And after a few days, getting more confident in the water and begging for more!

Enjoying some fine dining! The ever delicious Hawaiian butter noodles and Mia drinking her first cocktail!

Kissing Grandpa Dank! Mia has a hard time pronouncing her "f" sounds right now and Grandpa Frank comes out Grandpa Dank! We all had a good laugh about that.

Some fun family shots.

In the town of Lahaina we found a store called Dan's Greenhouse where they sell exotic birds and baby pot bellied pigs. We had a hayday holding all the birds and even feeding the pig "Linnus" a bottle of milk and cheerios. My dad particularly enjoyed the birds... I think we've found a Christmas present idea!

Here we are enjoying one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen! And it kept going, and going, and going, kind of like the energizer bunny! All these pics taken right from our patio!

Our little hula girl for Halloween, plus a little wardrobe malfunction... Whoops!

Some post-dinner playtime! Who knew Grandpa Frank could squat so low?

Here Mia sits at the water's edge at "Baby Beach" near Paia, Maui. Named for it's ultra calm shores, it was a real treat because we didn't have to worry about waves knocking Mia over! The sand was also beautiful here and Mia enjoyed burying her various body parts! Peek-a-boo!

Since we didn't bring many toys along on our trip, Mia became an expert "color-er" on this trip! It seemed she couldn't get enough and even started coloring with BOTH hands. I love how intense she gets when she colors!

Even though the ocean was "too scary" for Mia, she sure loved building sandcastles on the beach with daddy! Including a giant sandpit that they turned into a slide....














Looking pensive at the ocean.... and snuggles with grandma!

Gotta love those bare buns! Since Trevor and I have been running a lot lately Mia got into the habit of putting my running shoes on and announcing "I'm gonna go for a run!" Now, Trevor and I DO run with clothes on, even though Mia does not. She is so observant and funny!

Constantly keeping us laughing, for sure.

Some more fun shots... daddy and Mia, and Mia at the Maui Ocean Center!

Mia's favorite animal at the Maui Ocean Center was this brass sea turtle. She also loved the seahorses and watching the shark fins from above the water!

Unfortunately, our camera is currently experiencing difficulty so I can't share any of the photos from the last week of the trip, when Mia, my mom and I stayed an extra bit! Hopefully I can share those soon!

Happy Holidays to all our friends and family, thanks for staying in tune with our lives!