Hawaii - Part 1

We arrived here in Maui on Sunday afternoon and have been having a great time. The plane ride here was tough. We were seated on the last row of the airplane, next to the bathroom. Aside from all the people who come and stand there and lean on you, you get to also listen to the toilet flush CONSTANTLY. To make matters worse, the flight attendants were HUGE! Every time the lady would come by she would ram into me. Once again, to make matters worse, the two 30 minute naps we got Peyton to take were rudely halted when she would knock Peyton's head or foot. I'm not a small person, but I believe that if you can't fit up and down the aisle of the airplane, you probably shouldn't be a flight attendant. That's my politically incorrect opinion! After we couldn't fit any more into our car, we headed off to our resort. We got to the resort and gotOnce we got here, we quickly got our bags and we got our car. We headed with the rest of the tourists to the Costco across the street from the airport and loaded up on a few groceries. Since checked in. We headed upstairs, threw on our swimsuits, and headed out to the pool. I seriously LOVE this place. It makes me wonder why we haven't been back here for 4 1/2 years. Yes we've been to a lot of other great places, but come on, this is MAUI!!My parents arrived later in the afternoon and we had a great time swimming and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather. Everyday has been a lot of the same. We've been swimming and Ryan would be happy to sit at the pirate ship all day long. She makes friends with any little kid she can and pretends all day long.Ryan and I learned to make leis down at the shopping center nearby. The lady who taught was kinda crazy, but in the end we had a great time. Ryan made a beautiful Plumeria and Lavender crown for her head and I got to make a beautiful necklace. The fresh flowers don't last long, but they're fun while they do.We went snorkeling at black rock down the way. We saw lots of fish and my parents even saw a big sea turtle. By the time we got back out, the turtle was gone. The snorkeling didn't seem like as much work now that I've been scuba diving.Thursday my dad and Troy took a surfing lesson in the morning. They both got up really quick and did a great job. My dad has been talking about surfing for years so it was fun to be around when he finally did it! Who knows, maybe I'll go out one morning and take a lesson!
Friday we wanted to go scuba diving, but the South Swell (whatever that is!) came in and it churns up the water and makes for not very good diving. So then, we planned to go snorkeling down at black rock again and by the time we walked all the way down there, we realized the waves were HUGE and the water was really strong. Everyone was standing on the beach staring out at the ocean and I kept wondering what they were staring at. We walked down the sand to the water and realized they were watching the waves. There were warning signs all up and down the beach to not enter the water because of the strong water. There's no telling how long it will last, so we'll see what the next week brings for diving.After spending all day at the pool, we took the bus to Lahaina to wander around. My parents wanted to take pictures at the Parrot man. The six of us took pictures with five beautiful birds. I held Peyton in hopes of not having to hold a bird, but "unfortunately" I got one on my HEAD instead. When the guy put the bird on my head, Peyton started to freak, but luckily she got it under control. Ryan got to hold a little green bird named Peanut. Ryan was standing next to Peyton and at first the bird wasn't to happy to be close to Peyton, but luckily she warmed up to it and Ryan had a great time holding this beautiful bird. We got some great pictures and we go back tomorrow to pick up the prints. When we were done we took a few pics of Ryan alone with Peanut. We then got kisses from Tango, the bird Troy was holding. Ryan couldn't get enough and Peyton even got one!Saturday morning, Troy woke me up bright and early and told me that I needed to get down to the surfing lessons. I hurried down and there were only three of us in a lesson. I got up quickly and had a GREAT time! It was easier than I thought, but it was also much easier with a professional teaching me and pushing me into the waves. Seriously, it was so much fun! The current was really strong and I had to paddle long and hard to get to the instructor. By the time I got up and rode the wave in, I then had to spend forever paddling back out. I got some serious rash on the inside of my elbows and on my knees. By yesterday afternoon, I thought my arms were literally going to fall off. I couldn't even carry Peyton around. When I woke up today my arms just felt like they were really sore from working out and it also spread to my legs and abs.In the afternoon, we got a car and drove up to the Iao Needle in one of the state parks. It was gorgeous and just like a rain forest. We "hiked" around a bit and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Afterwards we went over to Kihei and had dinner at an old-fashioned diner where they had a little classic car show going on for my dad. We even went down the road and walked on a beach that had some tide pools. Unfortunately there was nothing in them.Today, Sunday, we woke up early, got checked out of our room so that we could move to the next room and went to church. My children are HORRIBLE in church. Peyton screams the whole time and Ryan won't sit still and be quiet. Peyton finally fell asleep during Sacrament Meeting, but she would only stay asleep if Troy was holding her in the back of the chapel. Ryan refused to go to Primary, so we left my parents to finish out church and went for a drive. We drove back by some places we went on our honeymoon. After church, we drove over to Kiehi and had Maui Tacos for lunch and then over to Wailea to wander around. We wandered through the Grand Wailea Resort and it is probably the most gorgeous place EVER. If I was getting married on the beach, it would be there!My parents leave tomorrow for Kauai and we are going to spend some more time at the beach and pool here on Maui. Another week in Paradise!
We're having a great time and will keep you posted on what else is to come!!!