Pictures from Maui

Here are just a few more pictures from Maui. I am a TERRIBLE photographer!! These pictures aren't great...nor do they do our vacation justice :)....

Jackson was just starting to walk...He was so cute!

January update

I have been so bad at blogging! Maybe it's because I don't have much to say...or maybe it's because I'm not good at articulating my thoughts...or maybe it's just because I haven't been good at taking the time to do so. I will try to be better...

January always seems like such a long month. And last month started out really long. Both of my kids got bronchiolitus...no fun!

But, as the month progressed, it got better and better! Jack started to take a few steps on the 19th. He perfected his walking when we were in Maui at the end of the month.

Hawaii was AWESOME!! It was so nice to be in the warmth and sunshine for the last week of January. Of course we took our kids - and for the most part, they did great.

Jack's very favorite thing was the beach. He LOVED the sand & water! He was so happy playing and eating the sand. And he was just starting to walk, so he was really unsteady on the sand. People all over the beach would watch him because he was so funny - he was so busy getting dirty, trying to walk and falling, and getting in the waves. He has no fear of water (which scares me to death).

Ellie also LOVED the beach. She had a great time building sand castles with her Papa and throwing clumps of sand into the ocean. I was surprised by how scared she was of the water. She's a great little swimmer, but I think the waves scared her. She had a great time screaming and running up the beach when the waves would come in.

It was so fun to have my kids with us to enjoy the beach. They had the time of their lives!

We also went on a whale watch that was very cool. I'm fascinated by whales, and we got to see some really close.

One morning John, my dad, and I went sea kayaking. It was just the three of us with a young guide who had no fear. I have been sea kayaking before, but never like that. It was awesome! We went in search of whales. And got a little too close for my taste. We were about 1 1/2 miles out in the ocean when we could hear whales singing under the water. One came up a few hundred yards away from us so we watched and after it dove under the water, our guide started paddling toward where he thought it would come up. About 10 minutes later, we were sitting in our kayaks listening to the whale underneath us singing. It was so loud that I had to raise my voice to ask the guide if we were safe. It sounded like a wounded cow :). I usually like to be thrilled by things, but that was too close. We knew it was right underneath us, and I couldn't even look in the water. I was SO scared I started praying that it wouldn't come up right then. Now, I'm not afraid of being eaten by a whale, but I was terrified of being hit by it's tail or being knocked out of my kayak and suffocated by it...or worse, being eaten by a shark (which is my very worst fear)! So after what seemed like forever, the whale finally surfaced right next to us. It was HUGE!!!! Very graceful, very loud, and very HUGE. Being in a little kayak gave me a real perspective of how big humpback whales are! It was like a great big semi-truck coming out of the water. Thank goodness it wasn't close enough to knock us out of our kayaks or hurt us. It took my heart about a half hour before it calmed enough that I was breathing normally again. I haven't been that terrified in years. But it was awesome looking back on it!! I'll probably never have another opportunity to be that close to a whale again. At least that's my hope :).

Anyway, we ate delicious fresh fish - my favorite was the Opakapaka. I'm still craving it.

We had a couple of days where it rained and rained, but it was still warm so it wasn't too bad. I was really glad that the last couple of days were hot and sunny again.

Oh how I love Maui. I feel so cleansed after being there...it's good for my soul. There is a beautiful walkway in Wailea that I love to walk or run while I'm there - and for some reason, I become very introspective while I walk it and look at the beauty around me. It's a very calming feeling that I rarely get. It's not that I'm not calm at home... but it's a different kind of calm and peace. I'm not sure why...maybe it's because I'm distracted when I'm at home. But I do think there is something about the ocean that calms my heart and my soul. I can't wait to go back. And although it wasn't quite as relaxing as it would have been without our kids, I'm so glad we took them! They had the time of their lives being with Nana and Papa and being at the beach. Ellie has gone through major withdrawals from Nana since we've been home! And I have too a little :). My parents are so fun to be with. My mom is so funny and delightful to be around. And my dad is always up for a fun adventure - he had more energy than the rest of us combined!

Thanks for the wonderful time, Mom & Dad! We love you!

I'll post some more pictures VERY soon. I've got to run...Jack is crying.