Aloha!!

The view from our balcony

at the top of the volcano

we are above the clouds and then rode a bike through them!

ahhhh paradise

The sun bed from which we spent most of our afternoons

Flamingos . . in our hotel lobby!

Whale jumping out of the water (breeching)

the whale's tail

Pacific Whale Foundation whale watch boat

our friend the sea turtle that visited us each day

the volcano we biked down

our sunet view from our balcony

Aloha!!

What a fantastic vacation!

Mom and Dad were supposed to come and take care of Kendri here at the apartment but mom's dad is not well and so Dad came to take care of her for the week ALONE!!! He is a god send and we are so grateful! I honestly can't imagine!

John and I went to Maui Hawaii. It was absolutely amazing! He and I had been to Kaui Hawaii for our honeymoon as well as Oahu for a wedding but had never been to Maui. We really felt like it was the perfect mix of beaches and relaxation as well as adventure.

We were there for the Winter Convention for the American Association for Justice (AAJ) so John had classes in the mornings but got out at noon. We also arrived a few days early to spend some time to ourselves and enjoy the island. We got in on Wed at around 3:30 their time after 12 hours of plane rides (which was 8:30 our time .. . after leaving our house at 5 a.m.) and finally got to the resort at 5 or so after getting luggage, renting a car, and driving across the island. We were exhausted to say the least! We decided to get room service and eat on our balcony (which was facing the ocean). The next day we took it easy and relaxed by the pool.

Friday we decided to be adventuresome and headed out early to the top of a volcano to bike 28 miles down. We were picked up by a van at 7 am and then taken 10,000 feet up the volcano. Most people go to the top to see the sunrise but we would have had to be picked up at 3 am and for anyone that knows me knows that that would not even be a possibility. Our tour guide quoted "There is a big difference between Good Morning God and . . oh God it's morning. I would have been really ugly to be around =) The bike ride was FAST! and I was really nervous but John really enjoyed it. We actually biked through clouds which I am sure that I will never be able to say that I did again.

Saturday started the conference and the opening party was a luau. The fire dancer was awesome! Most of the rest of the week we spend relaxing on the beach. It was whale season so you could see whales swimming by from the beach as well as sea turtles. On Tuesday we decided to get on a boat (the Pacific Whale Foundation) and went whale watching. They were very active and absolutely amazing!

We headed back to Richmond Wednesday afternoon and got back to Richmond Thursday at 1 . . .we both got about 2 hours of sleep that night (neither of us sleep well on a plane) and were absolutely exhausted but very excited to see Kendri.

She was down for her nap when we got there but upon waking wouldn't take her eyes off of us! So sweet!

I have always said that I love Hawaii. It really is my favorite place ever!. . as John said "Hawaii suits you Merr" . . it makes us both very happy and better parents upon returning!