Twin Falls & Steaks

We made fruit salad with macadamia nuts for breakfast. 

A favorite Hawaii tradition. Yum!

We played in the plunge pool then left for our Twin Falls hike.

First we stopped for lunch at Flatbread Pizza Co in Paia.

Yum!

Made it to Twin Falls at 3:00.

Swam in the first falls.

Got lost on the way to the second falls and ended up at a waterfall we haven't been to since 

we toured with the guide.

(Take the left path, closest to the river next time!)

Chris and Lucy set off to find the next falls, but after waiting a while, 

Marty, Lizzie and Emi headed back to the car.

Dan and I headed up the path to find Chris & Lucy.

Meanwhile Chris and Lucy headed down the river bed to come back to us.

Fortunately Dan and I found the cliff jumping falls just a few minutes up river.

Fortunately a group of Mexicans were also there and Dan speaks Spanish.

They had seen Chris and Lucy and told us they'd walked down the riverbed.

Then called to us just after we left to go find them that they were back.

They jumped a couple of times and then we went hiked back to the car.
Left at 5:30.

The weather has been so perfect on this trip!

The water is cool, but not cold and the outdoor temps hot enough that 

a dip in the lakes and ocean is so refreshing!

Back at the Villa, we made our traditional Sunday bbq

with grilled steaks, salad, asparagus and mashed potatoes. Yum!

Beach and Nick's FishHouse

The boys had a morning tee time at the Wailea golfcourse for the first time and loved it.

Lizzie, Emi and I took a long walk to Makena.

Then beach time.

After the boys got back we ate lunch, Emi, Lizzie and Marty took a nap and

I got more time to read and tan and nap too.  A true vacation!

Tonight we had dinner at Nick's.

And Dan fixed my tangled necklace.

We watched Meet the Parents afterward. 

Marty and Lizzie had never seen it. It was one of my favorites for a long time.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! 

We sent the kids on the Kai Kanani sunrise catamaran tour while we spent the morning with Emi.

We played several rounds of Ring around the Rosies and 

Duck Duck Goose until Grammy and Papa got dizzy.

I realized I'd left the Christmas magnets in my suitcase from the Antarctica trip,

and we were excited to discover that our fridge is magnetic so Emi had lots of fun

decorating with Santa, reindeer and the Christmas tree.

She spent a lot of time "washing" her sand toys and "organizing" them

and having a tea party with us.

I just died when she said she was organizing. A girl after my own heart!

So glad to be spending Valentine's with these two in Hawaii this year!

(the other big kids are pretty cute Valentines too!)

A little before 9:00 a.m. (oh, yes, we'd been playing since everyone left at 5:40 a.m.)

we went to the Koi ponds to feed the fish.

She absolutely loved it! 

Also, she's been afraid of birds, flies and ants on this trip, but wanted to pet the fish.

We played hide and seek in the lobby, tried on clothes in the boutiques,

and ran "fast as you can" down the halls.

We played in the kiddie pool and that's where Marty and Lizzie found us when they got home from snorkeling.

They had an amazing time with a whale breeching over and over right in front of them.

Also, Chris and Lucy spotted a reef shark! They said it was super scary and also very cool.

We played in the kiddie pool for a while and then Emi went down the big slide.

You can't ride on laps, so she went by herself with Dan and Marty waiting at the bottom and Lizzie and Grammy sending her down from the top. She got turned around on the way down and came out head first, but when she popped up, immediately asked to go again!

After several trips down the slide, we recovered back at the kiddie pool and had lunch and met a family who just moved from New York to Long Island and were originally from Denver!

During Emi's naptime, I laid out at the plunge pool enjoying the ocean view and read.

Dan took a jog and jumped in the pool with his clothes on afterward.

Chris & Lucy had reservations at a restaurant for a V-day dinner.

The rest of us got dinner at the food trucks and ate it in the park hoping to eat 

while we watched the sun set.

Unfortunately, cloud cover hid the sun, but we stayed until after dark, Emi happy has could be with her sand toys and the promise of playing on the slides at the park before we left.

A luau was happening right outside our Villa when we returned so we stayed up with a front row view 

to the performers prepping backstage, including the fire dancers.

We'd planned to watch a movie tonight, but by the time the show ended at 8:30, we were exhausted.

But it was a pretty sweet way to spend the night -- entertainment outside together.

Hawaii Walk & Beach Day

Our first day in Hawaii we're always awake at 5:00 a.m., then have to kill time for an hour

or more before our morning walk.

Dan and I taking a morning walk in Hawaii is a tradition we look forward to.

We walk opposite the beach path, through the neighborhood to Makena.

Years ago we'd walk to the Makena hotel and then just beyond to land marked for a subdivision but never developed. As the years passed, the hotel closed down and a condo tower was an abandoned shell.

Then a few years ago, development started and now the area is the site dozens of new homes

townhomes, condos and a very exclusive beach club.

Our walk is almost six miles, takes almost two hours and if we're not getting caught up on all our thougths and dreams, we're solving many problems in the most beautiful place with all the time in the world.

When the kids were younger, we bought Eggo waffles so they had breakfast food they were excited about and wouldn't be frustrated we were gone for so long. 

Marty and Lizzie were up with Emi extra too so they'd already had breakfast by the time we got back.

But we ate with Chris and Lucy at the buffet.

We played at the beach -- lots of big waves today.

At lunch Emi held Lizzie's drink umbrella over her head to protect from Papa pretending it was raining.

Note to future selves... it's not easy to enjoy a lava flow when sitting next to a toddler who wants to share!

:-)

The boys and Lucy went golfing, Lizzie and Emi had a nap and I got to read in the sun.

When Emi woke up she had some chill time trying out all the lawn chairs.

We went to Tommy Bahamas for dinner and afterward Emi was captivated by the hula dancers.

We came home to beautiful light.

Pictures don't do it justice.

By 9:00 we were all exhausted--time change.

Early to bed, early to rise! 

(Or should I say, when early to rise, collapsing early into bed.)

Reprieve

I left New York at 7:30 this morning...

...flew for eleven hours to Honolulu than another hour to Maui.

Whew, I really like being "trapped" on a plane with a good book and a project

(currently working on book club questions and acknowledgments for my book),

but that was a LONG flight.

The flight attendants in their aloha shirts were a good reminder of where I would end up,

and the long travel day would all be worth it.

Origami shirt for the salt and pepper for my meal 

Three flights arrived in Maui all at the same time -- SLC, Denver & NYC!

Of course, in spite of it being 10:00 Utah time (midnight NYC),

 we stopped at Coconuts, because it's our favorite.

And finally arrived at our hotel. 

Yay for a Hawaiian vacation. We miss Courtney and Michael!

Last summer they called to tell us they wouldn't be able to come to Hawaii.

We understood--it's a long flight, Courtneys job is busy and so is Micahel's school.

And they replied. Yes, AND, the doctor said we can't travel so close to our baby's due date!!

YAY! A Baby!

It was a really great way to announce!

Warming Up & Outsiders

My very important task for today was to prep for Hawaii...

get a pedicure and spray tan.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, Emi was doing the exact same thing!

Michael, Courtney & I spent our last night together at The Outsiders.

(Look at that spray tan!)

It was fun to see it from a different vantage point.

Snow is always magical, right? 

It's easier to say goodbye to the kids and New York when I'll be back in a few weeks.

AND THEN the new baby will be coming soon!

Almost forgot, I saw a robbery today!

I'd popped into a Blue Mercury to look for some hair products.

Well, I tried to pop in but the door was locked.

The attendant saw me and opened the door right away. 

And right behind me came in a man who went to an opposite display and swiped an entire shelf of product into an open grocery sack.

It caught my attention because several bottles hit the floor.

It was so confusing trying to understand what was happening.

My first thought was that he was a super sloppy restocking guy.

He glanced at me and the young attendant with a guarded, frightened expression.

I walked the few steps to the front door and was half-way out of the store when I realized what was happening. The employee was filming him and he pushed by me to leave. 

Ironically, I held the door open for him as he left.

Suddenly it all came together that he was stealing product. 

I asked the employee if she felt safe.

She said it happened all the time and the store didn't do anything about it.

I asked her again if she felt safe and she assured me she did, so I left.

And before I'd arrived, I was just thinking, the 90's on Broadway are pretty nice.

Marty and Lizzie could definitely live here.