Going Home

The last day in Hawaii was a little tricky because we had to check out of the condo in the morning, but the flight didn't leave until the evening.

We passed the time with a few activities in town. We started by having a fun lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. The kids were well-behaved and the food was delicious -- Cassi and I each tried the fish taco special, which was AMAZING!

Amy, Scott G, Cheryl, and some kids

What a surprise . . . Megan and Joshua are sitting together!

Elizabeth found interesting ways to entertain herself

I had to take a picture of the back of her hair . . . it was so beautiful and curly our entire vacation thanks to the humidity. I wish it would stay that way in dry Utah!

Grandma-ma and Ryan

Nathan and Bryson

The girls tossed our leis into the water and we also took some family pictures.



Our last activity before going to the airport was visiting the Maui Ocean Center (aquarium). Elizabeth had fallen asleep in the car, so I waited with her. She eventually woke up and we went in, but we didn't catch up with everyone else until the very end so there aren't any pictures. She loved the little octopus -- it was right up against the glass so we could see the suckers on the tentacles.



To get all 27 of us back to the mainland and home, it took us 3 plane rides: Maui to Oahu (Honolulu), Honolulu to Los Angeles, and L.A. to Phoenix or SLC. So there was a lot of time to hang out together!

Nathan will read just about anywhere!

waiting for the dads to get the rental cars returned

More waiting for the dads . . . I love Benjamin in this picture -- he's growing up so fast!

Bryson and Nathan passed the time with a little wrestling match

Joshua loved this Hawaiin dot-to-dot book that Grandma gave us. I think he and Megan just about finished the book while waiting at the gate.

While waiting for the group, Benjamin decided to hold onto his backpack plus Nathan's, Katelyn's, and Megan's. I should've given him mine :)

It was a long day -- we left the condo around 10:30am Hawaii time, and pulled into our driveway around 10:30am Utah time the next day! We all crawled into bed and took a 5-hour nap! But the long travel day was worth it . . . Thanks to the Big Kahunas, Scott and Cheryl, for a wonderful vacation and many great family memories!

Maui's Old Faithful

On our last full day in Maui, Ryan and I took the kids on a drive out to the blow hole. It's about a 20-mile drive to get to the site, and then you hike down to see the actual blow hole. I am not a very adventurous person and I was holding Elizabeth and wearing flip flops . . . but the hike down was a lot easier than it looked!



There is a hole in the floor of the rocks and when the waves come in right, water shoots up through the hole. Very fun to see!


We found this heart in the rock off to the side of the blow hole -- wow!

I love the contrast of this rocky-cliff shoreline compared to the brown sandy beaches where our condo was. So many different beautiful things on one island!



On the hike back up, it was a lot harder to find the best path up the rocks than it was on the way down. I remember thinking, "I can't believe I got all the way down here so easily!"

another beautiful view

Sandcastle Contest

We couldn't spend a week in Hawaii without a family sandcastle contest! Ryan and I were in charge this year -- we divided the kids into 4 groups according to age and sprinkled in some adults on each team.

Each team was given a name (Hawaiian fish) and "the list" with about 12 Hawaiian things on it. The list was the same for everyone, and the rules were that they were to choose at least one thing to incorporate into the sandcastle but they could use more if they wanted. They also were to create a story or "Hawaiian legend" to go with their sandcastle.

Here are the results (a lot of volcanoes!):

Team Ulua: Bradley, Nathan, Bryson, Grandpa, Kaley

Team Ono: Katelyn, Benjamin, Blake, Scott, Ryan

Team Mahi: Megan, Joshua, Hyrum, Brock, Cassi, Brett


small volcano and village (next to the large ukulele)
unfortunately, one of the kids trampled this ukulele before I took a picture

Team Papio: Adam, Noah, Elizabeth, Chase, Chris, Stephanie


eating sand
Chase built a deep moat
the team poured water in the top and it made a nice waterfall out the front

Cheeseburger In Paradise

Most of the time we had dinner in someone's condo. But all 27 of us did go out to dinner one night to a family-favorite: Cheeseburger in Paradise. It's a fun restaurant right on the ocean in downtown Lahaina.

views from my seat in the restaurant

We were seated upstairs, right next to the live entertainment. It was a little loud, but it kept the kids entertained while we were waiting for our food!

All of the kids love Cheeseburger in Paradise because they have delicious smoothies that come in these fun pineapple containers. Then the kids get to take them home and use them for money banks (or mom gets to use them for fun luau-themed party decorations)!



This was shortly after the kids did their surfing lessons. Can you tell how tired Benjamin and Katelyn are?!



The waitress brought some paper umbrellas to entertain the kids. Our whole group was spread out over 4 tables so I don't know about everyone, but the kids near me loved playing with them!

Benjamin and Katelyn were the first at our table to put them behind their ears

Naturally, Elizabeth thought it was a great idea and wanted to do it, too!

Nathan used the bands that came on the umbrellas to make funny faces with his smoothie cup. This one was my favorite.

Joshua loved turning them into weights, and held on to them while he was dancing

When we grill at home, Nathan will usually eat 2-3 hot dogs. He of course ordered the hot dog at the restaurant, and was thrilled when he saw how huge it was! He told me, "They should re-name this place to Hot Dogs in Paradise!"



After dinner, all of the girls posed for a "Hawaiian Bag" picture. (Grandma-ma left her bag in the condo, so she is not in the picture.) And yes, there are two more bags than what I blogged about . . . I whipped up two more (a little bit smaller) for my two nieces right before we left town! The sun was setting by the time we took the picture, so it is harder to see than I would like, but it gives you an idea of how they all looked together.