Merry Christmas to our Keiki!

We awoke Christmas morning and the girls put on the Santa hats Aunt Jody had sent for the trip and took some pictures on the beach.  The hats said "Aloha" in glitter ink on one side with each of their names on the other side. Aunt Jody even glued on fancy little Christmas wreaths and Hawaiian flowers to complete the look!  The girls had so much fun wearing these around all day.

 

Merry Christmas!!!!

Hayden found a nice piece of coral on the beach (and returned it to the ocean shortly after this picture was taken).

There was a pretty tree with a rope swing attached to it that we found on our walk.  The girls had fun taking turns swinging on it.

 

No fear!

 

 

Another of our many family photo shoots on the beach!

 

After we were done at the beach, I went on a spectacular Christmas morning walk along the coast from Kahana to Kaanapali.  Along the way I smelled many different kinds of tropical flowers in the air, along with bacon and maple syrup coming from some of the houses.  We headed to Lahaina after lunch and walked along Front St. taking in all the local sights and shops.  We had some Hawaiian salted caramel gelato as we walked along the boardwalk.  We missed our family back home, but really enjoyed our relaxing and slow-paced holiday. 

Mike made some BBQ chicken on one of the new stainless steel grills by the pool while the girls swam.  We had chicken and rice with fruit for our Christmas dinner and watched our favorite Christmas movie- Elf.   

 

 

Hayden found a coconut which Mike tried to teach her how to open the "right" way.  He completely pinched his finger causing him to scream like a little girl!!! Hayden tried drinking the coconut milk, but thought it wasn't worth all the effort and hype!

 

 

It was Christmas and the children were  nestled all snug in their beds......

Christmas Eve 2012

 

It was the start of a very "untraditional" Christmas Eve for us and we LOVED every minute of it!  It was a cloudy day so we went for a sunrise walk on the beach where Hayden hunted for crabs all morning long- ewww.  Needless to say, she had the patience and perseverance to catch a few!

 

 

Hayden dug and dug and dug to find this guy, who was so surprised that he jumped up and started running to the ocean as fast as he could while Rian and I stood there screaming.

The littler ones were easier to "collect".

 

After she had her fun, Hayden let them all go where she found them.  We stood out in the ocean a bit and two sea turtles came within feet of us.  It was incredible!

 

 

We attended the 5pm church service at the Kumulani Chapel in Kapalua. It took place in a little red barn on the golf course near the Ritz Carlton, with ocean views in the background.  We couldn't believe it was Christmas Eve and we were in our flip-flops!

 

Jessie brought Kanani and promised that she would be on her best behavior (the doll, that is.  Jessie doesn't typically make these kinds of promises about herself).

 

The service was wonderful. The singers' voices were so amazing that we all were moved to tears (that is saying a lot for Mike!) The message was powerful and we enjoyed listening to gospel by ukelele. The best part was the very talented hula dancer who danced to the entire song of "Silent Night"- her movements to the words were nothing short of beautiful, and many of the children stood up in the aisle to dance and sway with her.

 

There was the traditional candlelight service at the end and we all felt welcomed and took part.  This is what Christmas should always be about... After church, we headed to Whaler's Village for dinner at the Hula Grill.

 

A Hawaiian Santa and his sleigh.

Jessie was tired and did her best to look cute so she could catch a free ride instead of having to walk on her own accord.

A humpback whale skeleton caught Hayden's attention.

Jessie spent her entire gift card from Grandma Thomas on a fancy Brazillian silk wrap that could be worn 40 different ways.

 

The girls enjoyed their first "real" Hawaiian shaved ice as an appetizer (hey, it was a long wait til dinner..)

 

 

Every night at Whaler's Village there was a free evening show.  On this night, the performers all sang and danced to Hawaiian Christmas Carols- our favorite was the 12 Days of Christmas -where on the first day of Christmas "my tutu gave to me, a myna bird in a papaya tree". 

 

We enjoyed a nice and relaxing meal at the Hula Grill and headed home to bed.

 

 

 

Island Fun

After a glorious night's sleep breathing in the salty ocean air, we went again to look for sea turtles near the rocky part of the beach. We didn't have any luck spotting turtles, but the lighting was just right for catching some good photos of the girls before stopping for pastries and coffee at Maui Coffee Co. and then heading out to see the Nakalele Blowhole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nakalele Blowhole is described as one of the most spectacular sights on West Maui, and it didn't disappoint.

 

The ocean has undercut the shoreline, pounding underneath the lava shelf, where it splits through a man-sized hole in the lava.  The amount of water shooting up through the hole varies tremendously, ranging from zero to seventy feet in the air- at times making the ground tremble.  We kept a good distance back, as people have been known to get too close and get sucked into the hole and drown.

We headed to Kapalua Beach for the afternoon.  It is a great swimming beach because the bay here is usually very protected.  We also loved that it was a fairly private beach in a beautiful location and that we had almost the whole beach to ourselves.

 

Nothing like happy, carefree kids playing at the beach all day!

 

The water was so clear and aqua blue we could hardly believe it.

 

 

 

 

 

She has ALWAYS wanted to be a mermaid.

 

After a few hours in the sun, we headed home for showers and some downtime.  Rian wrote in her travel  journal she was keeping for school and Jessie and Hayden played on their "Ipads".  After dinner, we went for a walk and enjoyed another beautiful sunset.

 

There were banana and coconut trees on the condo property, along with a "help yourself" herb garden by the BBQ grills that included cilantro, sage and fresh lemongrass.

Jessie showed her "beautiful hula hands" every time the opportunity presented itself.

And she taught her her Hawaiian American Girl Doll "Kanani" to do the same.