After a rough March, I was looking forward to a little rest and relaxation. Plus... we'd get the chance to explore an island. The kids asked almost everyday if we were ready to go to "Maui island". I think they were as excited as I was. Waiting those few weeks was rough on all of us. The anticipation was killing everybody.
A few days before we left I had everything ready, I even bought food to take along with us. The food on the island is quite expensive so I planned to take an extra bag. We filled that bad boy full of snacks, breakfasts and sandwich stuff. Since we were flying Southwest I didn't have to worry about baggage fees :)
The day finally arrived for Maui island and we took to the air! Here's a look at our trip through pictures!
Quinnie Bear helped me pack up the bags before we left for the airport :)
Aaaaaannnnnd they're off! We flew out of Oakland at 5:30pm and landed in Maui around 10pm our time. The kids were phenomenal! I was super worried about the length of time we'd be stuck in a small space, but they did amazing. The boys were thrilled to have games and shows for that long and Q enjoyed a movie, shows and playing with stickers.
When we got into Maui, we had to get our rental car which ended up taking what felt like forever as we were late into the night. The kids didn't mind sitting in the parking lot with all of their car seats, haha. These three were troopers! Once we were finally set with the car, the kids fell asleep on the drive. It was a pretty good distance (45 minutes) for us to travel around the island to the condo, so they were out within a few minutes of the car ride. When we finally arrived at the condo around midnight our time, everyone crashed.
Waking up to a view like this is not bad at all ;)
Surprisingly, we woke up around the same time we do at home. We could hear the kids talking around 7:30am. We went straight to this view we had from our balcony. It was just so peaceful and absolutely breathtaking.
Pool Time!
The kids were extremely excited to get into the pool. After breakfast, we got everyone ready and headed down. They loved every minute. I realized that I need to sign these guys up for some swim lessons so they aren't afraid to leave the steps...even with floaties on ;)
We made it! We're in Hawaii!
"Lava rocks!"
Right down from the pool area is a rock beach. We climbed on the rocks and looked for any crabs, turtles, fish that we might be able to find. We found one crab, but that was about it. Everyone loved looking and exploring.
Best Buds
Jack referred to this area as the "lava rocks" anytime he wanted to go and do some more exploring. He'd say, "Hey guys, can we go to the lava rocks today?" He loved these rocks! Trying to find different kinds of sea creatures was always an adventure.
Quinn Marie in her favorite hat :)
Heading to the grocery store, beach and the mall!
Quinnie in that hat and glasses and Beckham just chillin killed me, haha. First thing we did that morning was go to the grocery store. I couldn't bring everything on the flight we needed ;) We ran everything we purchased back to the condo and took off for the beach! We couldn't wait to get our toes in the sand and bodies in the water.
Jack and Beckham absolutely LOVED the waves. They loved playing in them and watching them. These two were not scared of the ocean at all. Quinn, however, was a little more hesitant.
Waiting for the waves to "catch them." Love these two boys and their fearlessness.
This beach was right off from the mall in Lahaina. We walked a little bit around the mall before we headed down to the beach. I ran back up to the mall to get Jack a new pair of trunks. I bought him a pair right before we left but this kid has no hips, haha. They kept sliding down. He was happy to have new shark trunks for the rest of the trip. He wore them ALL the time, and actually continues to wear them in the house now :)
Family photo op :)
Waiting for the waves to hit our feet.
Once we were cleaned up, we headed back to the mall to have a look around.
We went home that afternoon to take naps and Pres went to scuba dive. He dove right off of Kaanapali Beach. He enjoyed the refresher dive, but wishes he would have done something a little more advanced. When he got back and everyone woke up, we decided to head back to the mall to grab a few more things and to eat dinner.
There was a really cool play place right in the center of the mall, Whaler's Village. The kids had a blast climbing on this thing. Even Quinn made it to the top! Jack had to help her down each time, but she could climb up by herself. Jack was a super helpful big brother! All three made it to the top in the pic on the right. Quinn is in the white, Beckham boy and Jack is behind Beckham :)
Dinner at Hula Grill.
Love Jack's excitement here. He was so happy to be eating on the beach and be near the water.
It was delicious! We ate right on the beach. Beckham is showing his cut lip in this picture. He went to sit down right at the beginning of the dinner and fell forward, hitting his mouth on the table. He bit right through his lip...poor kid. He was a trooper though. We wiped him up and he was ready to go again. He wouldn't leave my lap to eat. It was a little tricky trying to maneuver both of our plates, but we made it work.
That cute girl of ours! Oh my heart!
After dinner and some fun at the mall, we headed home to bed. We watched a little show, ate some popcorn and passed out for another good night of sleep. We were so excited to go on our whale tour the next morning!
Love this!
Breakfast smiles :)
We decided to do breakfast out before whale watching. We went to a little diner not far from our boat tour. We had a cool view of a surf competition going on that morning. There were booths and sponsors all around.
"Cheese!"
This girl loves cream cheese.
View from the boat.
Views from the boat.
Good morning Maui!
Our boat tour was from 9am-11am. I'm so glad we chose this time instead of a later one in the day. It wasn't as hot and by the time we were done it got really warm. We were ready to be in water or air conditioning.
Sail away, sail away!
Beckham got a little sick from the ride. A touch of motion sickness I think. He enjoyed it more when we were stopped. In his defense though, it was a pretty choppy sea day.
WHALES!!
We spotted a Momma whale and her baby in the ocean. It was quite exciting every time they breached to take a breath. We saw the baby more often since they can't hold air as long as the larger whales.
DOLPHINS!!
We LOVED watching the dolphins play! They are magnificent creatures and super fun to watch. Once we moved on from the whales we were headed back to dock and there was a pod of 50-75 spinner dolphins all around the boat.
Coincidentally Pres and I had just watched a new show on Netflix called "Our Planet" and knew exactly what kind of dolphins these were. When I first saw them on Netflix I had never even known these dolphins existed. They are incredible to watch and you find that your mouth just hangs open because you find yourself amazed by them. We were all awe struck watching them jump out of the water and spin in the air. They can spin up to 7 turns in the air!! It's insane! They were also leaping and swimming through the waves. Several dolphins followed along the boat as well as under the boat. We got to see them so close to us. It was incredible! I grabbed my camera towards the end of the "show" because I didn't want to miss it in person. I did my best to capture these awesome creatures but I'm afraid I did not do them any justice. They are so much cooler and absolutely beautiful in person.
So many dolphins! I should have brought my telephoto lens. I could have gotten better pics.
We decided to walk down Front Street before heading home. It has tons of shops and food. We stopped at a shaved ice place so the kids could give it a try. Plus, it was super hot outside, something cold just sounded right :) To say they loved it would feel like an understatement.
Once we got back to the condo for naps I headed outside to read and enjoy this scenery :)
Quinn sleeping
Everyone fell asleep super fast after the boat ride and from being in the sun that long. It was a very quiet and peaceful afternoon :)
Once everyone woke up we headed out for a drive. It was kind of windy so we decided to do a little hike to the Nakalele Blowhole. The drive was absolutely gorgeous! It was so green everywhere and you drove right along the coast the entire time. It was stunning. We had several switchbacks along the drive but nothing to crazy or scary. The 30 minute drive was totally worth the adventure.
It was incredibly windy when we got to the other side of the island. I have never seen waves that big before. It was incredible!! They had to have been 20-40 feet high at times. These massive jaw dropping waves were coming up and crashing into rocks all along the shore. I couldn't get over the beating these rocks were getting.
It was something that we couldn't look away from. We wanted to see how big the next wave was and then the next one. Fascinating.
The blowhole.
It was such a cool site to see. I think we had an advantage seeing the blowhole on such a windy day. It was shooting super high up in the air every time it went off. You can hike down a little closer to the blowhole but you can't get too close. It's actually really dangerous to get to close because it can suck you back in. The hike down was mostly going from rock to rock. It was quite tricky and a little slick in places, but once we were down it was totally worth it.
A view of the coast from down by the blowhole.
There it goes! So fun to watch!
Another shot. It was pretty exciting to wait for each explosion :)
It would shoot up every few minutes. It was like watching fire works. The boys would yell with excitement each time it shot up in the air.
Another shot of the coastline.
Gorgeous scenery all around us! Rain clouds started to come in so we didn't stay too long. It was nice to sit and watch the waves roll in like thunder for as long as we could though.
The color of the water is so pretty. It's such a beautiful blue.
I tried my best to capture the size of the waves. Pictures don't show how high these things were coming into the shore, unless I got down there with them and that wasn't happening. I don't know how many times you'd hear us say, "Oh my gosh!" and then laughing from the magnitude of these waves.
A wave coming in!
One more look before we go.
A crashing wave over a rock.
Those waves! Oh my goodness!!
Tons of fun at Nakalele Blowhole!
On our drive back, I captured this photo. It was an incredible drive and the view never disappointed.
Another view from the drive.
That night we went home to watch the sunset from our balcony while we ate dinner. It was the perfect ending to a pretty awesome day!
Goodnight Maui!
We woke up to a beautiful Sunday! It was a little windy but a gorgeous day outside. We got ready for church and headed to the chapel to find that it was Stake Conference that week, on the other side of the island. It's all about the effort, right?! We left from the closed chapel to go see the Maui Ocean Center and this place did not disappoint. I can honestly say that this was the best aquarium I have ever been to, and it was absolutely beautiful. The day was crazy windy on that side of the island so being inside seemed like the perfect chose.
Watching all of the fish.
We learned quite a bit about the unicorn fish which is also called the surgeon fish because it has razor sharp (scalpel like) appendages on the back of his belly.
So many colorful fish in one place.
Checking out the exhibits.
I liked this fish.
It looked like someone painted him and then set him out into the ocean. Stunning colors. I ended up seeing one just like this when I went snorkeling the following day. That was pretty cool I have to admit.
Looking for lobsters.
They had a really cool glass tunnel you walked through. It was one of our favorite parts of the aquarium. It was glass all around us so we could see all of the animals from every angle. They swam over us and around us. It was so cool. I told Pres that this is the best way to scuba dive for me :)
The glass tunnel.
Watching the unicorn fish. They even had these beautiful stingrays that would swim over the tops of us. It was majestic. Such beautiful creatures. Definitely a highlight of the trip.
Family photo in front of the whale exhibit.
Two boys and a shark ;)
They were captivated by all of the sea animals. This stingray in particular was a favorite of Jack and Beckham's. I think Pres will have some diving buddies one day.
Huge fish.
Cutest whales EVER!
LUAU TIME!
That night we had the luau! Everyone was really looking forward to this part of the trip. We went to the Old Lahaina Luau and it was wonderful. Everyone that participated in making that an evening to remember did an outstanding job. The greeters, the hostesses, the server, the dancers, etc. It was such an unforgettable experience and the food was incredible!
Too cute!
I didn't realize Quinn was trying to do this as well until after the pic. I tried to get another but everyone moved on.
Before dinner and the show they had some areas set up so you could learn more about the history and culture of Hawaii, specific to Maui. This was a music section. Everyone got a chance to try different types of noise makers :) Love the lei's guys!
Learning a dance. These three LOVED this part and were so cute doing it.
Watching and mimicking each move to the best of their ability.
My heart! :)
I love Q in this one...darling.
They had an awesome teacher. She was so fun and made sure to include the kids in the dance. For the rest of the night we watched the kids try to do more luau dances on their own. It was quite the site to see. We may need to work on rhythm.
Playing a Hawaiian game. Everyone got to take a turn. They each won a little fake tattoo for their arm, haha.
Pig Roast
A look at the luau. We sat just to the left of the stage on the ground. It was the perfect place for the kids to be able to see.
Clarks at the luau :)
More of what the luau looked like.
Beckham playing in the sand :)
Jack is ready to go. How cute is that kid with all of his flowers :) Love him!!
Dancing begins!
Watching intently.
Trying to eat dinner with a tired Beckham boy and a hungry Quinn haha. Mom life!
Beckham sat with Pres so I could eat. Love this sweet moment between these two.
A momma and her baby girl ... heart eyes for that sweet girl.
Doing some luau dance moves before the actual luau started, haha. These three kill me. Let's just say they entertained several of the guests with their awesome moves :)
Quinn fell asleep in my arms about half way through the dancing portion of the luau. It went fairly late so I wasn't surprised. Everyone loved the show and was completely entranced by the story and of course all of the dancing. It was a night I know I will never forget. The boys even started to fall asleep about 5-10 minutes before they finished but I knew we'd be pushing it with an 8:45pm finish. Everyone slept so well that night.
Three little angels climbed into our bed that next morning. They watched a show while Pres and I took those few minutes to talk about what we were going to do that day and enjoy the family time.
We should wear our lei's for breakfast ;) Yes, yes you should!
"Mom take a picture of me." Then I hear a "Me too, me too" :)
Once everybody got something in their bellies we set out for a beach day!
Time for some fun in the sun!
I think you can tell that we were all excited for this day!
By the end of the trip this little one was ready to take on some waves.
Ready to snorkel Mom.
I went out and did some snorkeling a few times while we were there. It was exciting to see all different kinds and colors of fish in their environment. I loved it! Quinn watched me put my gear on a few times and decided she would try it out to, haha. Such a cute girl!
Making "sand angels".
We buried Jack :)
We were having snacks and Beckham decided to dig a hole. He loved being in the sand. Building castles, dumping water into holes, covering his legs and entire body with sand, and the list goes on haha. He loved the beach!
After spending the morning at the beach we went home for lunch and naps. While everyone else took a nap I got a massage! It was incredible!! I am so happy that I booked one. The massage therapist came to our condo and we opened up the balcony door so we could listen to the waves and have a soft breeze come through. It was epic! I loved every single minute of that massage. I was definitely in my happy place!
That night for dinner we ate at a restaurant on Front St. and walked around for a minute. It was nice to get out, see the stores, beach and have some local food. We couldn't believe our trip was already winding down. We had one more full day to spend on Maui island.
I asked my massage therapist if he had any recommendations for us on our last day. He gave a few suggestions so we went with it. While we were mapping out what we were going to do, Pres found a really cool hike that was on the way to our final destination for the day, Ho'okipa Beach.
We stopped at Iao Valley. This was such a fun, cool place to see and walk around.
So lush and incredibly breathtaking.
A view from the parking lot.
A river runs through.
Through a child's eyes :)
Simply beautiful.
This was such a cool place to see. It was fun walking the trails and looking at all of the different types of vegetation. The kids loved following the signs to each view point.
The girls :)
Clarks take on Iao Valley
Loved every minute of this adventure even if Beckham and Quinn's expressions say otherwise, haha.
A view from the top looking down into the valley.
We hiked up so many stairs and then enjoyed a more casual descend.
Another view point. Looks a little like Jurassic Park.
Loved the trees. This tree in particular was so cool to me. The way the branches bent and moved was like a dance. Super cool.
Staying on the path.
Ho'okipa Beach
This was one place that was suggested to us to visit. We are so happy we did. The weather was once again super crazy on this side of the island but it was fun watching the surfers. There were about 20 or more surfers out catching waves and it was really entertaining to watch them catch one and ride.
There were two life guards at the beach. This life guard went out to check on the surfers and catch a few waves himself. It rained the majority of the time we were there. We sat under a pavilion and stayed dry while watching everyone else on the water :)
Waves crashing into the rocks.
TURTLES!
We were so happy to see so many turtles! This was one of the reasons we came out to this beach. We heard that there was always a ton of turtles on the beach and there really were. We would watch them come up from the ocean and park somewhere on the sand for a little rest. The kids loved seeing these guys. They were massive too.
After some time at the beach we headed home. We decided to skip naps and head to a beach close to home one last time. We parked at the condo and walked a short ways to a small stretch of sand for some fun in the waves. The current was actually pretty strong so we didn't venture out to far. While I was sitting on the beach digging in the sand with Beckham boy and Quinn I saw something off in the distance that made a massive splash. I looked a little harder thinking that I just saw a boat fall over. Then I saw it again. A huge black thing come directly up out of the water and land on it's side causing a huge splash. A WHALE!! I saw a whale breach from the beach! I yelled at Pres and he looked and the whale did it one more time. I could not get over how cool it was to see such a spectacular site. I was amazed by what we just witnessed. We watched for quite a while and he never came up again but we could see the water fly through the air from his powerful gasp for air. It was insane. That whale was so far out and yet we could see the spray from his blowhole and half of his body come up out of the water. It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip!
As we were leaving Jack yelled, "Mom look! A turtle!" Sure enough a turtle came in from the ocean and propped himself right up on the beach for a little rest and relaxation. What an incredible trip!!
That night we packed up. We headed back home the following morning. We had the best time on Maui and loved every minute we spent there. It was the perfect balance of rest, relaxation, fun, adventure and family time.
Here we go!
Hawaii, I think you will see more of the Clark family in the future! Next time we may have to try out another island :)
