Maui

We went to Maui over Memorial Day weekend. It was a great trip although we think we possibly have the worst aged kids travel with right now: an almost-all-the-way-potty-trained 2 year old who needs a bathroom very often and who still really needs her daily afternoon nap and a 10 month old who really likes to be exploring and crawling and trying to walk or anything but being held or strapped in a carseat, stroller or backpack. I think you get the idea. :) All in all, we did have a good time and are grateful for the chance to see another beautiful island.

We went on the SuperFerry and we could drive our car onto it and then have a little mini-cruise upstairs. It took about 3 hours to get to Maui and we left really early so we had to get up at 3am! But it was really nice for the kids to be able to play and walk around and not having to rent a car and being able to take all our baby gear and food with us was definitely worth it!

MAUI OCEAN CENTER:
We went to this aquarium after we got off the boat. Natalie really loved looking at everything and it was probably the highlight of her trip!

Like Brian's sombrero a la mantaray? Ole!
First of many picnics on this trip.
OUR HOTEL:

I found a great military discount in the town of Lahaina. We booked a 1 bedroom suite but got upgraded to a 2 bedroom when we got there! Everything was newly renovated and we had a full kitchen with stainless appliances and granite countertops. It was fun to have such a nice place.

Natalie checking out the shower.Blake checking out the mirrors. :)
She got to have this bed (and room!) all to herself. She even had her own flatscreen TV on the wall. She loved it! :) Hammock right off our back porch. Fun!

LAHAINA:

Lahaina is the "fun" town on Maui with lots of restaurants and quaint shops along the harbor. We walked around and then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner overlooking the water.

And saw a beautiful sunset.
THE ROAD TO HANA:

We decided to attempt the famous "Road to Hana" which is along the coast and has something like 600 curves and 53 one-laned bridges. You head towards the little town of Hana but the main point is take all day and enjoy the scenery and views and stop at waterfalls and roadside stands, etc. It was really pretty but Natalie did not think so and cried most of the way so it wasn't as enjoyable as I think others might find it to be.
We pulled over at one point to get her out of the car for awhile. Look at her face as I was taking these pictures of us trying to get her to laugh. Definitely not enjoying this!
Some of the pretty vistas:

We stopped and had a picnic lunch by this (little) waterfall and then decided that the Road to Hana is just a little too long for our kiddos right now. We did make it more than halfway! Maybe we'll come back some day... without the kids! :)
They finally slept on the way back and we had a much more enjoyable time taking in the beautiful views.

Back at the pool at our hotel.
Blake trying out the floaties too. :)
Out to dinner for pizza in Lahaina.
THE REEFDANCER:

We wanted to do something on or in the water but we couldn't do snorkeling or any of the longer boat rides with the kids so we found this boat/submarine thing that you sit underneath and look at the fish and coral without getting wet. Sounded great. It was cool but it was Blake's turn to not enjoy the day. His new favorite thing to do is let out high pitched screams whenever he feels like it... and yes, you guessed it, that's what he did for most of the 1 hr ride.

His pacifier came in handy this weekend, except for when he threw it into the water half way through! Ahhh! Do I look like I was enjoying this? :)They have 2 divers that go down and find stuff to bring to the windows. We saw a sea urchin, a starfish and this octopus. Pretty cool!
It was neat and Natalie liked it... but as we were getting off, an old man told the owner that it was the "worst thing ever because there was a baby screaming the whole time!" Oops! :)

One last picnic lunch on the side of the road. Blake was beat from his performance on the boatride. :)

Love you honey... thanks for taking us to Maui. I love traveling with you!

THE TRIP BACK HOME:

We stopped by Iao Valley to snap some pictures.

Fortunately we made it on one tank of gas because Maui has the highest gas prices in the nation. We saw even higher than this... but it was $3.90 when we got back so not much better. :( Waiting in line to board the ferry.

Trying to get Blake to sleep--took about 2hrs of the 3hr trip!
Despite all the craziness with the kids, we really did have a fabulous time and we love seeing and exploring new places. Hawaii is a beautiful place and we are so glad to live here!

A Birthday Party and Yard Sale

Blake is climbing on everything and has had a couple spills this week. You can't see it too well in the picture but he fell off our slide yesterday and now has a big scab to match the bruise on the left side of his head. Jason threw Jess a surprise birthday party last week. She was truly suprised and we had fun eating, having cake and playing Catchphrase with them and a few other families. Love you guys!

Natalie and "Ms. Jess"
My big helper

Love this picture. 9 1/2 months and still no teeth...

The best $2 I've ever spent at Walmart. She loves these puzzles!
Popsicles with Ethan and Tyson

Our neighborhood had community yard sales on Saturday so we sold a bunch of stuff. The biggest hit however was our "Bake Sale." I made a bunch of muffins, cookies, brownies, and rice krispie treats and people went crazy over them! We also sold gatorade, water and soda. I think we made more on this than the items we sold! Highly recommend you try it! :)

Also, I realize that not everyone knows I became a Pampered Chef consultant in January. I love it and am having so much fun doing cooking shows in people's homes. For more info on the products or to shop online, visit my website: www.pamperedchef.biz/jenyoder

We all got a little sunburned....oops! Brian with his finds: ice cream maker, TriBond, the Chronicles of Narnia series (brand new!) and a few other books. We love deals! :)
We had the Mercados over on Sunday afternoon. Jason and Brian were in the same unit in Germany and they live in our same neighborhood now. We had a great time. Diego and Natalie
And Bri tried out the ice cream maker. It worked great and was the best tasting vanilla ice cream I've had in awhile. Yum! :)
Natalie is our crazy sleeper. She's been getting up somewhere around 5:30am no matter whether she goes to bed at 10 or 7. I don't know if it's the birds or the sun but we've tried everything. It's frustrating because then she's tired and fussy during the day. Also, she has been pulling extra things in her bed after we leave at night. This is what we've found the last couple nights when we've gone in to check on her.
Shoes on, books, babies, balloon, stuffed animals, toys and her baby pack-n-play.
And last night she wasn't even in her bed but on the futon. A blanket on her head, one on her stomach, and another on her legs on top of two pillows and surrounded by stuffed animals. That's our Natalie... now that you're laughing, you can pray that she starts sleeping! :)