Maui

We went to Maui in May.  The kids had never been to Hawaii and I love it there so much I couldn't wait to take them.  Plus it was our 15th wedding anniversary and we thought it would be fun to go back to where we had our honeymoon.  So we did and it was a great time. 

Since most of our entire family lives in California the kids rarely have had a chance to fly anywhere.  So they were excited about that.  It was a long flight though!  Mack did great on the way there with all of the toys and activities and snacks I packed for him.  On the way home we just loaded the ipad with movies and he watched them the whole time.  We were too depressed to deal with him.  Not really, but leaving vacation is never fun.

I ordered little hawaiian lei greetings for the kids.  They loved the leis but I  was annoyed with the presentation- the girl had a giant clipboard in her hand blocking all of my photos and she wasn't acting the part of a native hawaiian at all- geez. 

Mack kept trying to do the hang loose sign like Logan but really it was just a claw hand.  He kept calling Logan "dude" and "bro" which was the cutest ever.  We were so excited when we finally landed and were heading out of the airport!!!!

We hit up Costco first of course and loaded up on food for the week.  Then we drive to Kaanapali where we were staying.  We stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Villas, north of Black Rock on Kahikili beach- it was super dreamy and way better than it looked online.  Phew!  We were just steps from the beach shown below.  Paradise!

First thing we did was strip down and swim in the ocean till it was almost dark and everyone was hungry.  That's the best part about Hawaii -- the warm water that even I will swim in!  I'm a wuss for cold water so the kids were surprised to see me jump right in!

Our condo had a little trolley that would drive you around the area- to shops and dining.  Mack loved the trolley so much!  His grin in this photo kills me.

Travelling when your kids are bigger is so much easier.  However, three years old is still pretty little!  He got tired and grumpy a lot and maybe we pushed him too much on too little sleep but overall I would say he did great.

We of course had a stroller but oftentimes he would just want to walk like the rest of the kids.. . but he's much slower.  Here he is walkin along with a box of wheat thins.  I LOVE the Kaanapali beach walk. I love to walk on vacation.  Walk slowly, take in the scenery. This walk goes for miles along the beach in front of all the big hotels and took us right to our condo which was great.  We walked it a few times.

Laying by the pool is always the best too although we mostly did the ocean.  The pool was perfect for the kids but I kept telling them- you can swim at home!!  We would swim in the pool/hot tub at night which was nice and I totally recommend where we stayed because it was NOT crowded at all. Maybe it's the time of year too but it was quiet and peaceful at the pool.

We, of course, had to eat at Cheeseburgers in Paradiese.  We ate there on our honeymoon and it's good kid food too!  I love the live music and view of the water.

The first few mornings Mack got up early due to the time change and I took who ever was up out on the beach to walk.  It was gorgeous and somehow the kids end up wet even though they're in their pj's.

Molokai

*small disclaimer- I took my big nice camera but didn't want to lug it around and so a lot of my photos are iphone photos and I regret that now but whatever.  They're decent.  I've got to get myself a good camera, like my 5D but more lightweight so I won't mind carrying it with me every second.  I really do love taking pictures with it but when you have to carry your 3 year old too it's just too dang heavy and bulky.