Hawaii 2023

This past week found me in a tropical paradise with my favorite travel buddy! We headed to Hawaii (specifically the island of Maui) for a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Zack always works so hard and this trip was one he earned as a President's Club winner.  We used this work-provided trip to also celebrate our two 40th birthdays which are about a year apart along with our 15th wedding anniversary that takes place this year.  As you can see we have lots to celebrate in 2023 and this trip was the perfect opportunity to explore a new state and have some time just for us.  A huge shout out to Grammy and Grandpa who kept our home running, the boys educated, our pup entertained and made it to all the boys' extracurricular obligations while we were gone!  It was the trip of a lifetime and I can't say enough positive things about our entire experience from beginning to end.  We are equally thankful to be home with our boys tonight after missing them this past week!

We left last Tuesday and spent the first day in the air traveling from the east coast to the Hawaiian Islands.  The ten hour flight was tough but we were excited about the experiences we had planned for the week and got to see some incredible views outside our window as we left the west coast and headed to Maui.  This was the longest flight we have ever been on and the farthest we have traveled from home.  We did go to Alaska for our honeymoon so Zack and I are now joking that if we want to visit all 50 states in our lifetime, we have knocked out two of the hardest ones to visit!

We arrived at our resort around 5:00 p.m. and found a bottle of champagne waiting for us upon arrival!

Our room was on the first floor of Napili Kai Beach Resort, Keaka #1.  We are the third room over from the left on the bottom.  You can see our private lanai that I sat at most days reading a book!

We got to celebrate Zack's actual birthday while on vacation.  We ate breakfast at the Sea House Restaurant on the resort's property.  We came back to the same place for dinner that night as I had made a reservation and knew after a long travel day, we didn't want to travel far for dinner.  I had a Mai Tai with breakfast, a drink of choice in Hawaii.

We ventured to the northern portion of the island during the day on Zack's birthday, admiring the breathtaking views from the tops of the mountains to the bays that were far below.  Zack even went swimming in one of the bays we visited that day!

Zack's birthday dinner at the Sea House Restaurant

The next morning we were leaving the resort at 2:00 a.m. to catch a tour group for a sunrise bike tour of Haleakala.  We were blown away by the beautiful sunrise at this 10,000 ft. elevation.  It was quite cold, hence the wind resistant gear.  Then, we headed down the mountain with all its switchbacks on bikes.  One of my favorite pictures from the trip was taken about halfway down the mountain where Zack and I are sharing a bike for a pose.  We also stopped in a quaint little town to get malasadas (donuts) before finishing the bike ride back to the compound where we started earlier in the morning.  It ended up being a twelve hour excursion where we learned a lot about the natives of Hawaii along with seeing part of our country on bike that we normally wouldn't explore.  It was incredible to bike down a dormant volcano!  

We got to see our boys each day thanks to FaceTime!

After our sunrise bike tour, we came back to our room for a nap prior to grabbing a delicious dinner at Cane and Canoe.  It was so fancy and we were able to watch the sunset from our table!  We actually got to watch the sunset most evenings over the water!

The following day, we started our morning with a trail run on the Ohai Loop Trail and Overlook. This run definitely kicked my tail and made me wonder if I'm ready for a trail race with my sister at the end of April!  We were able to go ziplining that day as well!  We zipped on 8,500 feet of zipline and were approximately 300 feet off the ground as we soared from one line to the next.   We got to walk on a suspension bridge and ride in ATVs as well.  Not many pictures were taken as we didn't want to lose our phones while ziplining and the packages to buy the photos were quite expensive.  Rest assured, we had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it!  We finished off our day in Lahaina at Kimos were I opted for a burger (after eating seafood the last few days) and hula pie for dessert!

The next day we enjoyed some well-deserved and needed rest time at the resort.  I read a book with my toes in the sand while Zack explored the bay around us.  He saw a sea turtle, many beautiful fish, an eel and we watched many humpback whales jumping through the water in the distance.  

We ate dinner at Merriman's that night.  The restaurant was within walking distance of our resort so we enjoyed a quiet evening close to "home".  They wrote "Happy Anniversary" to us on our dessert that evening!

The following day, we took our rental car and explored the Road to Hana.  Our favorite parts of the drive were Twin Falls, Ke'anae Peninsula and the town of Hana.  We even got to walk on the black sand beaches!  We also enjoyed spotting waterfalls along the drive!

That night, we went to the Old Lahaina Luau.  This was probably one of our favorite events of the whole trip (which is hard to say since I think all of it was pretty spectacular)!  We had a delicious dinner and enjoyed an authentic luau positioned right near the water as the sun was setting!

For our last day, we enjoyed some relaxation at the resort.  That evening, we ate dinner at Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar.  Jay and Amanda surprised us by leaving a gift card for us there to enjoy that night!  It was delicious!

Tuesday, exactly one week after starting our journey, we had to say goodbye to the beach we enjoyed!  This is a trip we will never forget!  I loved seeing all the Hawaiian Islands as we made our way back to the east coast.  We are running on very little sleep at this point but we have two boys that are ready for our attention and we are back to work in the morning! Aloha and Mahalo Maui! ;)

Quick Catch Up Post!

Maddox continues to make me smile..... he saved up his money to buy a mesh holder for all of his stuffed animals.... that boy loves some stuffed animals! ;)

He also enjoyed our STEM Across America week where each day had a different dress up theme.... today he was Scientist Maddox!

We finished out last week with an art show for our school system.  Maddox's artwork was selected for the second year in a row to represent our school at the district's art extravaganza.  We are so proud of our little artist!

Zander also joined in the fun of the STEM Across America Week with our Artist Day!  (He borrowed this from a friend for photograph purposes!)

I love seeing my niece around our school! 

Zander had the idea for Student Council to collect items for the Ronald McDonald House and their hospitality cart.  After he was in the NICU for his first week of life, and I personally benefitted from their hospitality cart, I love that his heart wanted to find a way to give back to this organization.  Last Friday, we took all the donations from our school and dropped them off at the Ronald McDonald House.

We've moved into spring sports!  It has been quite frigid at the soccer field for Zander's games! We are hoping for some warmer weather in the upcoming weeks!  Maddox has also started back with baseball practices this past week.  Bring on the busy schedule and cheering on my boys in all the fun things they enjoy doing! ;)

Making it into March!

This year is flying by!  I cannot believe we are already 1/6 of the way through 2023.  Here is what we have been up to since my last post....

We finished out Maddox's basketball season!  We had an end of year celebration (completely planned and organized by daddy).  Maddox also had his teacher and some of his best friends in attendance for his final game!

We got to meet up with one of my college roommates and best friends, Ashley Greene, and spend the day with her boys at the trampoline park halfway between our homes.  With these five boys, it was a perfect activity to keep them entertained.  We planned this same event last year and it was a success.  All five boys have been asking when we were going to do it again!  It was great having an opportunity to talk in person and "let boys be boys"! ;)  As all the adults are moving into a new decade, we had to joke about our ages as well.... so glad we are able to grow old with some of our favorite people! ;)

Is there anything daddy can't do?!  He fixed our back doorknob that was broken!  I am always impressed by his home repair skills.  Its nice to have my own maintenance man on site! ;)

Maddox has been helping around the house too!  One morning I came downstairs to have breakfast all laid out on the counter without any prompting from me!  It was such a sweet surprise and he was so proud of himself!

The weather has been beautiful!  I have enjoyed some outside time with my boys!  We can bike and run, play kickball or four square, and bounce around the basketball at our home court!  Bring on spring!! ;)