Aloha!

We survived our first family vacation to Hawaii! I don't want to sound like a pessimist (which I innately am and wish I wasn't), but I was incredibly worried about this trip and traveling so far with 2 small children. I even had moments where I doubted if it was a good idea at all. Okay, so maybe that's a little dramatic, but canceling the trip did cross my mind a couple of times.

I'm SO GLAD I DIDN'T!

Don't get me wrong, it was hard. And it was tiring. But it was so nice to get away for a while and get a little taste of paradise.

Okay, it took me HOURS to upload these photos to this post since Blogger doesn't have a mass upload feature (Dear Blogger, please implement this right away -- it is a complete time suck to upload photos one by one). And, since I have 166 photos from the trip, it is nearly impossible to get them all in one post. For this reason, I have uploaded every single picture to Picasa so you can see the entire album here: http://picasaweb.google.com/aildebrando/Hawaii2010#. I still posted lots of pics here, so I can tell the story of our trip :)

We had a 24 stop in San Francisco on our way to Hawaii and of course, we had to go see our besties Jaemie and Owen and their new family addition Nate. Oh how I miss the Robins!! It was so incredibly wonderful to see them and visit with them. We walked right into their house where we've had infinite amounts of playtime in the past and it felt like not a day had gone by since I'd been there last. That says a lot folks.

Also, we will forever call this the "trip where Maddie grew up". She all of a sudden started getting up on all fours, lunging forward and pulling herself up. In just 10 days! I think she saw how fast Nate was moving around (and he's almost a month younger) and got jealous.

Case in point:



Owen and Jacob picked right back up where they left off:



But with 2 new playmates, Maddie and Nathan:



Jaemie and adorable Nate:



They became fast friends:



Don't you just want to KISS this face?



And they were quickly holding hands:



And grabbing ears:



And having a blast with the ball machine:



We finally landed in Maui. Jacob looks unsure of his surroundings and Maddie just looks downright exhausted. Rightfully so.



I love it when Mark carries Maddie in the Bjorn. She loves it too. And loves it WAY more with Daddy than she does with Mommy.



Our view from our suite:



We went to dinner and the sun was in Jacob's eyes and he asked to wear my sunglasses:



Family photo on the walk back to our resort:



Maddie felt right at home in the water:



Daddy and the kiddos:



Mommy and the kiddos:



Jacob watching over his baby sis:



Mommy chillin' in the water:



The most adorable face I've EVER seen:



For the record, Maddie prefers her Dad. And yes, it bothers me. I love that she loves her Daddy, but I don't love it when she pushes me away to get to him. She is definitely Daddy's girl!



Maybe it's because he lets her ride on his head:



Jacob loved the slide on the pirate ship:



That smile just kills me:



Playing with toys in the water:



She really couldn't be any cuter:



Or having more fun:



But for some reason, when she is laughing hysterically, Jacob is crying. And vice versa.



Hi, I am the most beautiful baby on the planet:



Jacob and Daddy heading toward the slide:



Jacob would go down the slide and let you catch him ONLY if you promised OVER AND OVER again that you wouldn't let him go under water:



And of course we never let him go under, so he was a happy kid:



Family photo in the water:



We decided to go to the Maui Aquarium about 40 minutes away one day to change things up a bit. Jacob was like a kid in a candy store running to all of the tanks yelling "Mommy! Daddy! Look at this one!" This is the first time he has really responded to an Aquarium.











Rachel, we learned that more people die from falling coconuts in Hawaii than shark bites. In fact, 10 (yes, TEN) people died last year from falling coconuts and not one single, innocent soul died from a shark bite. This should ease your fears a bit.







When we tried to leave the Aquarium, a wildfire was raging in the West Maui mountains so they closed the road to LaHaina (back to our resort). With no end in sight, we decided to get a room in Wailea so that we would be sure to have a place to lay our heads that night. Thank goodness because they didn't open the road again until very late in the evening and there was hours and hours of traffic trying to go west. We woke up early the next day and headed back to our resort in record time. THANK YOU Grandpa for letting us use your Marriott points!



So, Maddie, like most of the free world, fell in LOVE with Hawaiian pineapple. Whenever we'd buy an adult beverage garnished with a pineapple, she would scream her head off until you gave it to her. Either it was the pineapple or the alcohol soaked on top of it. I'll pretend it was the former.



Grandpa even came in the water:



And went down the big slide!



And gave Jacob piggyback rides:



Jacob loved the water:



We missed the luau we had originally booked when we were stranded in Wailea so we ended up going to another luau later at the Hyatt Regency. And Grandma bought Maddie a perfect luau dress:



Jacob was tired and grumpy so he didn't join in the picture:



But we finally managed to convince him:



Grandma and Grandpa:



Trying not to laugh too hard for the picture:



Mama and her baby girl:



And more:



And more:



Daddy being silly again (that's why she loves him so much!)



Mommy and Jacob:



Even Jacob likes Hawaiian tropical drinks!



Grandpa bought a headpiece made out of the most beautiful smelling flowers ever:



And Grandma had to try it on right before she screamed for the entire audience to hear, "This is SO LAME" (referring to the luau performance.) Yep, that's my Mom:



And then everyone had to try it on:



I think it looks best on Grandpa:



Then we finally had a beach day:



And Maddie ate the sand:



And then passed out:



So Mama took pictures of our paradise:



Just so she could remember how wonderfully beautiful it was there:



And how fantastic her feet looked in front of the ocean:



Maddie also fell in love with Ritz crackers on this trip. We were never without a roll since they made her happy wherever we went:



Mmmmm, yummy!



And cheerios. We don't go anywhere without those either:



Give me some of those!



And her blue eyes matched the ocean:



She loved her baby float too:



I took a picture of the top of her head so that you could see how BLONDE her hair is coming in. It's so light!



LOVE this face:



Our last night on our way to dinner:



Mommy and Daddy:



What fantastic memories we will forever have. THANK YOU SO MUCH Grandma and Grandpa for inviting us to join in on your Hawaiian vacation. We can't wait to go again someday!