Maui

 The first week of June we took a family trip to Maui.  Yes, this was Elin's 2nd time to Hawaii, 2nd time in her less than two years of life. What a lucky little girl she is!  Hawaii is an easy non-stop flight from Seattle and we have a time share which is the reason that we now seem to take an annual vacation to Hawaii. At least until we have kids that are old enough to not need diapers, strollers and car seats then we hope to resume our more adventurous travel.

We stayed for a week and had a very nice, relaxing time. I was almost 8 months pregnant so we did a lot of beach time and had a nice slow pace with a nap in our condo every afternoon. We went to the beach everyday to play (sometimes twice) and did a few other things like a glass bottom boat and the Maui Ocean Center.

Beach

Elin loved the beach and every day asked if we could go "wimming" (swimming).

Warming up in the hot tub

She loved to play with sand toys and dig in the dirt. 

She would make sand castles with her Dad and then stomp on them.

She loved to play in the surf and would run straight into it,  fall down and let it crash over her. She would giggle and giggle and say "more".

She had a particularly great day playing in some pretty rough surf that at one point cartwheeled her over...she didn't care, she got up giggling and ran right back into the surf.

The result was sand EVERYWHERE. It took at least 3-5 washings to get the sand out of her hair/scalp and ears.

We had a lot of fun just watching how much she loved being in the ocean and playing.  Well, I had a lot of fun sitting on the beach and watching. Due to my "delicate condition" (OK, truthfully my increasing size) I was not as mobile as I would have liked and James took care of Elin.

Glass Bottom Boat

We went on a glass bottom boat because we thought Elin might like to see the coral and fish in the ocean.  She had a fun time, but she mostly enjoyed playing with a little girl that was also on our boat.  She was a little scared of the diver that would come up to the window and show us things that he had collected (star fish, sea cucumber, sea urchin etc).

 

Maui Ocean Center

We went to the Maui Ocean Center (aquarium) and Elin enjoyed seeing all the sea life there. She would look in the tanks and then ask for more and move on.

They had a really cool tunnel you walked through and the fish, sharks, manta rays etc would go right over your head. 

Food

And then there is the food.....there are always a few things that we like to have when we are in Hawaii. They include:

Macadamia nut pancakes (with coconut syrup). We had these at the Gazebo Restaurant in Napali.  They were delightful and came with a fluffy, whip topping that was new to us and very good.

Hula Pie at Kimo's in Lahaina.  Hula pie is cookie crumb crust with Macadamia Nut Ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream.  Elin REALLY loved this dessert.

Shave Ice (with mac nut ice cream).  This was so great we had to have it two afternoons.

Malasadas.  We were excited to find these on the dessert menu at Star Noodle.  Amazingly they are almost as good as the ones at Leanoard's in Honolulu.

Other

Here are some miscellaneous pictures that I like: 

Painted toddler toes

Miss Hollywood

Tired baby

We had a great trip. Next year we hope to be back with two little girls. Although it may be a logistical nightmare with 2 car seats and all the gear.  We are taking applications for someone to come along. Any takers?

Aloha.

Maija