This year we went to Maui for our family vacation. I was so excited to go because my friends, Marlaina and Lauralee, and their families were there also. It was a great time for us to visit and for our children to play with one another.
Several days before leaving for Maui, I began explaining to Colin that we would be going on an airplane over the ocean to Hawaii. The picture below shows his excitement the morning we went to the airport. We were so lucky that the Bair's were on our flight. Colin played with Luke and Jacob for a good portion of the flight and really looks up to them. When we landed and were walking through the airport Colin tried very hard to keep up with Jacob calling out his name.
Colin is so excited to be riding on the long term parking shuttle bus to the airport.
Welcome to Hawaii!
Need I say more?
After running in circles around the rental car lobby for 45 minutes, Colin finally fell asleep on the way to our hotel from the airport in Maui. He also enjoyed rolling side ways down the concrete rental car ramp.
View of the beach from our hotel, The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas.
Not too shabby!
View from our hotel window.
Colin loved the fish in the koi pond.
He loved to lay on the sidewalk and peer in every time we walked past.
We spent a lot of time at the resort pools on this vacation because Colin loved playing in the water and it was safer than the narrow beaches with large waves.
Dad and Colin eating ice cream.
Dinner at the Old Lahaina Luau.
Colin spent a good 30 minutes dancing and twirling in circles to the Hawaiin music. He was also mesmerized by the Luau and sad in entranced in Travis' lap for 90 minutes. He has never done that!
Sunset in Lahaina.
One of the many waterfalls on the road to Hana.
Windy road to Hana.
We started our journey on the Road to Hana by stopping at a great crepe place for breakfast in the cute town of Paia. After breakfast we stopped at Hookipa Beach Park to watch surfers on huge waves.
On Sunday evening we had a BBQ. Colin had fun playing with the decorative rocks and would try to balance them on his head and then watch them fall off.
After the BBQ we headed over to the park on the ocean to watch the sunset and fly a kite. They also went wild in a game of tag.
This is a banyan tree in the Courthouse Square in Lahaina. You can't see the entire tree in the picture because it so big...50 feet tall, has 12 major trunks, and shades two-thirds of an acre. It is the largest Banyan tree in Hawaii.
Atlantis Submarine
We road on this submarine and went 128 feet under water. We saw old anchors, fish, a sunken ship, reefs, and even a sting ray.
View of Maui from the ferry to the submarine.
Patton Family
Can you tell that the sun is bright?
old ship anchor
sunken ship
aboard Atlantis Submarine
Watching the submarine submerge in the water.
sting ray
Relaxing at the pool.
For the first time Colin wore his hat and sun glasses the entire time we were outside. He actually became attached to them. When the wind would blow off his hat, he would get upset. He had a blast playing with his football in the water. When it went missing for a few days, he even dreamt about it calling out three times one night in his sleep, "my football" and "football missing."
Taking time for a little snack by the pool.
Watching a cartoon with his buddy Luke.
Watching his favorite cartoon, Chuggington, on "his" iPad.
Can you tell there weren't a lot of rules, especially about watching cartoons on our vacation?
Our airplane for the flight home.
Colin put it best the day after we got back from Hawaii; "Mommy, Hawaii again!"
