Saturday, January 2, 2010

"Maui" Christmas 2009!

We were SO incredibly lucky to get the opportunity to celebrate Christmas 2009 in Maui! BIG thanks to my amazing parents who made it possible! My parents, 4 siblings, & brother-in-law were all able to come! Total we had 10 people (including baby Jackson). Here are some pics of the trip. We spent 10 days traveling up and down Maui. What a trip!!! It was most of the group's first time in Hawaii.

Jackson's 1st plane ride! He did awesome! Slept during take-off and landing--even during our layover in LAX. Only had to change outfits once-ha ha ha!

The 3 bedroom 3 bathroom condo we stayed in--right on the beach! It was incredible! We only had 2 cockroaches and 1 baby lizard in the house the entire trip.

The sign in front of the condo. We stayed in Kahana, Maui.

Our deck. We were on the main level of the building/house.

View from our deck/living room.

Some beautiful plants & flowers all around the condo.



A lemon tree!!! We also saw lots of papaya trees, pineapple fields, apple-bananas, and orange trees.

A giant snail I found outside the condo. I found another one stuck to someone's house, ha ha!

Jackson's first time in the swimming pool! Lucky baby--first time he goes swimming it's in Maui! The pool was ice cold though- he didn't like it too much.

Maui Beach & Sunset Pics

Here are a bunch of random pics of different beaches, sunsets, and "Jackson's firsts". We wish we lived closer to such beautiful tropical scenery! :)

First day in Maui--off to the beach!

Toes in the sand for the first time.


Toes in the water for the first time.






Sitting on the beach in front of the Maui Marriott.

Amy & I decided to build a "sand man" instead of a snow man.

Our "sand man" quickly became a hula girl...ha ha ha!

Beautiful night shot of the Marriott beach.

This is the beach where the group saw an octopus and sea snakes while snorkeling--no thank you!

So excited to be on Maui!!!



My wonderful & adorable boys.

Jackson's footprints in the sand-so cute!


Nice shot Matt! Check out these phenomenal colors!!!


All the siblings.

My fam--and the amazing parents who planned the whole trip and made it possible for us to go!


Surfers we saw right before leaving for the airport.

Haleakala

These pics are from on top of a very massive volcano called Haleakala. It was so cold there, and reminded us way too much of desert barren Utah. We did get to see some wild pigs on the drive up the volcano, though.




Over TEN THOUSAND feet!!! Crazy!

Yes, those are clouds. We felt we were flying.

Ok. This is a "silver sword" plant. One of the few plants at the top of the volcano. This pic doesn't capture it, but the plant looks like it is cut out of steel. It's even shiny like metal, and looks like it might stab you, but in actuality it is very soft. It is beautiful!

On the way back down--we can finally see the coast through the clouds! :)

We Survived the Road to Hana

One of the "must do/must see" things on Maui is the Road to Hana. It is a narrow winding road through the jungle made up of about 600 curves and 54 bridges. It is BEAUTIFUL! There are hikes, waterfalls, fresh fruit stands, and amazing look out points all along the way. We did one major hike, a few short walks, and stopped at a small village--and even with only those few stops it still took us 2 days!!! There is so much to do on the Road to Hana. Hana is a tiny little authentic Hawaiian village next to the coast. Once we got to Hana (yes, Stephie...we actually DID get to Hana even though you slept through it ha ha ha--no more Dramamine for you) it was later in the evening. We only wish we could have spent more time there or even stayed the night. What a gorgeous drive. My favorite plant we saw was the Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree.

Rainbow Eucalyptus tree trunk.

Banyan tree on our first hike to a waterfall.

Hiking with Mom :)

Nasty bugs are in the jungle...ew.

Lovely Pond we passed through.

Canal system winding its way through the jungle. We walked over this on a bridge.

Waterfall with a beautiful clear water pond.

View from the road.

A Lava Rock beach with some massive waves.

The traditional "Charlie's Angels" pose. Ha ha ha.

Us at the Lava beach.


Us at another lava beach.

Waterfalls from the car window.


On our way walking to a black sand beach- another of my FAVORITE things to see!

Sea cave at the black sand beach.

The group--minus grandma who took the pic.

Us at the black sand beach.

Another cave--Matt was brave enough to go inside.

Another Banyan tree--so many trunks! They are incredible.

"Tourist Pineapple" trees. The green fruit in this tree looks just like a pineapple--but it is not a real pineapple. Not a tasty fruit.

Some pools on the "Seven Sacred Pools" walk.




After the Road to Hana we were starving. So, we went to Cheeseburger in Paradise in Lahaina and ate some delicious food!

Us at the largest Banyan tree in Lahaina. It was introduced to Maui from India.