Maui sunsets

We have the most incredible view of Maui sunsets right in our backyard. We sit at dinner and just enjoy God's majestic canvas!!!

The Aquarium

Well, we decided to buy the annual pass to the Maui aquarium since there doesn't seem to be much else as far as attractions on this island. We have already been there twice. The first time we went, we met one of Julia's friends from school there, Maya and her sister Reiley. The girls had so much fun together. Of course I brought my camera, but left the battery in the car. Oh well.

The next time we went, we took Emma's little friend Jules with us.
The girls favorite exhibit is the shark tunnel. They have all kinds of hawaiian sharks in this tank, including white and black tip reef sharks, hammer head, and of course a tiger shark. The girls also really like the touch tanks where you get to touch and hold star fish and sea slugs.
Olivia needed a little encouragement with touching the star fish, but she soon became brave enough to do it all on her own.








The girls enjoyed the aquarium so much we went through it again. For how small the aquarium is, it really is abundant with beautiful and awesome sea creatures.

We Survived the Road to Hana

The Maui rainforest, what a sight to see. The morning before we left on our drive to Hana, it poured rain. Our first stop was on the side of the road at a rest stop about 20 minutes into our drive. We came upon a muddy trail behind the rest stop and decided to start our first adventure. We treaded carefully upon the muddy trail with our flip flops and narrowly escaped slipping down the steep slope. We saw breathtaking views of the Hana Coast, and then we decided to go with our primitive instincts and swing on some vines like Tarzan.



The first waterfall we came to was not very far into our drive to Hana (which takes a total of about 5 hours). We came to a stop at this amazing waterfall, with water spilling over the lush cliffs overhead down onto the road- Julia just couldn't help herself.
Our car is parked where I am standing taking the picture of Julia under the waterfall. These roadside waterfalls are all along this road. And more abundant on days like today, after a significant amount of rain has fallen.






Three tropical
beauties.







So on we went to one incredible waterfall after another. Standing near a waterfall you get the awesome sense of feeling rather small, with a powerful roar all around you and the moisture enriched air clinging to your face. What a rush!!!

Olivia the Musician

Here is a little clip of our oh so talented Olivia playing multiple instruments. Olivia is in the midst of potty training hence the naked bottom musician look. She has now managed to pee on Julia's sling (Julia had an elbow sprain from falling off a slide), in her carseat, on the carpet, on the pool deck, and in the shopping aisle at Kmart. I am not sure how I survived potty training for 2 kids already. Sometimes Olivia sits on the toilet and says "it not workin" when she can't go. She keeps our whole family in stitches with her little antics. Even though age 2 is challenging, it is also full of surprises, fun, sweet, innocent, complete trust, and full of new discovery. Brian, Julia, Emma and I are having so much fun with our precious 2 year old little girl. She is quite unique (like our other 2 girls). We thank God for such wonderful daughters everyday.

Surfer Girls

What a great experience this has been so far for our girls. They are really loving the warm water ocean and what it has to offer.
Here is Emma surfing.. well at least jumping off the surfboard in midair. Of course the day I have the camera, Emma was having a hard time standing up. The day before this day, she was surfing the wave all by herself and doing great (no camera)..

Here is a clip of her surfing...





Julia started out a little scared and not motivated for surfing, but with a little encouragement and a lot of insistence, she got the hang of it pretty quickly, and actually enjoyed it (mommy and daddy know best!!)....


Here is a little clip of Julia surfing...







Olivia, I think, is going to be our little radical surfer girl. She loves to go out on the surfboard with daddy and seems to have no fear of the ocean. Every time she sees a surfer, wave, the ocean, she tells us that 'she needs to go surfin.' As soon as we get to the beach and pull out the surfboard, she says "my turn."

Macadamia Nut Fest

Well, they said you could only open a macadamia nut with a vice or backing it over with a car, but Brian found that a hammer works just as well. All the girls got a chance to break them open. Watch out for your fingers and toes, Olivia has the hammer!! We have a huge macadamia nut tree in our front yard. The girls decided to dress up for the occasion. I want to know where Brian's outfit is? Not into the Aloha spirit I guess...

Our first visitors, Grandma and Papa Eiseman

We all were so excited to have family come visit us. Coming to a new place can get a little lonely. The girls were eating it up and Brian and I were very excited to have a little break.


Here we are at our Hotel at the Westin Kaanapali for our little vacation over the labor day weekend. Here is Julia coming down the water slide at one of the many pools on the property.


Papa!!!
Our family, but I think Brian and Olivia are drowning under the falls.


Emma loving it!!










Well, we found an amazing deal through starwood membership Kama'aina (local) for the Westin Villas in Kanaapali for the weekend. Brian and I stayed at the hotel Friday night for our anniversary, yes 15 years of marital bliss, while the kids stayed with Grandma and Papa Eiseman. They then all came over to the hotel for Saturday and Sunday night. This hotel was wonderful. There was a pool with a great waterslide, a pool with a cool pirate ship play structure in the middle of the pool, and a pool with a volleyball net. We had live music every night and were able to take the shuttle into the whaler's village for a night of dinner decadence at the Hula Grill, one of our absolute favorites.
All the girls enjoyed the water slide, even Mom, Dad, and Papa. Olivia wasn't sure at first, considering the first time she had to come down all by herself, hotel rules. But once getting the hang of it, she went down the slide about ten more times. Our friends Bonnie and Ian (designer at Cabrinha Kitesurfing) and their two kids Eva (age 4) and Kai (age 7) came on Sunday to play at the pool. The kids had a great time.

Nice vacation, especially the 45 minute drive ( no airplane)....