Vacation - Day 9 (June 8)

Today was a pretty calm Sunday. We remembered our camera today, so we got a couple nice family pictures, and the girls got to wear leis for their own picture. Mom and Dad posed for a shot this week too.



On the way home, we grabbed our last couple shots for our Hawaiian Scavenger Hunt (G - golf course, and V - Verizon). Cassi and I volunteered to be in charge this year. Everyone has to find a picture of something from every letter of the alphabet. Adjectives are not allowed. It's been fun to take extra pictures this week. Today is the deadline to finish and submit all the pictures to us. Over this week, I'll compile them and we'll announce the winners next Friday. It should be fun.

Vacation - Day 8 (June 7)

Today was another Sugar Cane Train day, only this time Cassi came with us.





Tonight we had a Saturday Night Live - family style. Everyone showed off some talent. We sang "Popcorn Popping" because it's one of Megan's favorite nursery songs. The biggest laughs for the night came from Amy's kids. They did a choreographed rendition of "Hula Oni Oni E" that had a lot of shakin' going on. They also rocked out to "Life Is A Highway."



Stephanie made cute little flower hair clips for the big and little girls. Katelyn and Megan were super-excited and showed it.


The kids had a movie night tonight, so we had to have a pajama picture. I'm sure they stayed up way too late, but they had fun so it must have been worth it.

Vacation - Day 7 (June 6)

This morning we sent off our acceptance to sell our house! It seems a little surreal, but we're really excited. Now we have to make sure everything goes through, and decide on one to buy in Arizona! We'll always remember that we sold our house while we were in Hawaii.

Surf's up! Today was surfing day. Some of the kids had surfing lessons, but the younger ones came along to watch (and play Ring-Around-The-Rosies). We started the day at the Royal Hawaiian Surf Company. We got rash-guard shirts and shoes before walking over to where they keep the surf boards.


We carried our boards out to the beach for a quick lesson, then it was surfing time!





Tonight the menu was BBQ. The boys cooked up a whole bunch of burgers, hot dogs, bratwursts, and italian sausages. Most days it gets windy by dinner time, so we decided to eat a little earlier tonight. The trade off today was that it was hotter, and the sun was still high on the horizon. I let Katelyn use my sunglasses so she would eat her dinner.



The after-dinner activity included the white-envelope game at Grandma-ma's room. Everyone in my family loves this game, because it always means we get some money. Cassi and I came out great, with $100. Thanks, Grandma-ma!

Vacation - Day 6 (June 5)

Today's schedule: Horseback riding and free time. The horseback riding was for the boys (me, Ryan, Brett, and Dad) and Grandma-ma. They messed up the reservations yesterday and Grandma-ma couldn't go, so we welcomed her with us.


The ride was good, although I've learned that the Lahaina side of Maui stays pretty dry during the spring/summer, and the grass is more yellow. Maui's still one of the most beautiful places on the planet, but the view from our last trip (around a Christmas time) was a lot greener.


We rode along a trail near the West Maui Mountains and above where a lot of luxury homes are being built. They told us about one we could see that is Oprah's. Apparently, she has 5 houses on Maui (and others on other islands). The turn-around point of our trip was a snack at this "hale" (hut). We took a quick picture of the whole group, and then rode back to the stables.


It was a good ride, though I think most of us enjoyed the ride last time better. Cassi and the girls did some laundry and then went to the pool. I joined them after I got back and lunch.

We also progressed today in talks about our house. The family who offered counter-offered our counter-offer. We're going to sleep on our decision and send our response tomorrow morning. All-in-all, it's pretty exciting to be at this phase of selling our house. We really need to start getting more serious about deciding on one in Arizona now.

I took the girls and Bradley and Bryson up to our room for quiet time. The boys watched "Return to Neverland" for the first time, and Katelyn was thrilled to have them with her.

Vacation - Day 5 (June 4)

Today we just relaxed at the pool in the morning. At lunch time, I brought Megan up to the room while Katelyn and Cassi went to the beach for a little while. About halfway through her peanut butter open-faced sandwich, I saw she was starting to daze a little. I watched her another minute and saw her sway as her eyes were drooping and closing. She fell asleep sitting up! I didn't grab the camera because I didn't want her to fall off the stool, but it was a priceless moment.

** Housing update: We're waiting until tomorrow for our buyers to meet with the realtor and discuss the offer.

The highlight for the day was dinner. We went to a Luau at the Sheraton at Black Rock, just down the beach from The Whaler where we're at. After quiet time, Cassi and the girls went down to the shopping area and found a new hawaiian dress for Katelyn.


On the way over, we saw a cool rainbow.


We let the kids run around a little before finding our table.




During the evening, there were some really cool sunset shots.



The show at the luau was really fun. Katelyn said the dancing was awesome. I think my vote goes to the fire dancer. Katelyn and some cousins went up and did the hula on stage for a little while. I'll try to post some video from it. Katelyn picked this dancer as her favorite.