Hawaii 2011

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Chamberlins in Maui. It was amazing! It was one of the best vacations I've ever been on. Most might be surprised when I say that because our 10-month-old crazy, hyper, squirmy, man-child of a baby was there too. But, he was fantastic and so so good to us. He played with his toys in the sand, explored, crawled around on stretches of grass, and floated in the warm pool and ocean. And while he was occupied in all of that, Ben and I got to relax on the sand, in hammocks, on the grass, on lounge chairs, and in the water by his side. My idea of a vacation. That's how all of our days were spent; doing nothing but relaxing. Here is what a typical day looked like:

9/10am: Wake up in our king size bed, eat breakfast, get in bathing suits, pack toys and sandwiches for the beach, and walk 1 minute down to the water.

11am-5pm: Play in the sand, get sandy, get wet, change Luke into a onesie, go play and lay out on the grass, rock Luke to sleep, put him on the grass in the shade, lay out some more, Luke wakes up, pool time.

5pm-11pm: Dinner and games.

Both Sundays we attended Church and spent time indoors talking about our family tender mercies, playing scripture golf, and napping. We walked to Wailer's Village a few times, went snorkeling at Black Rock, and on the last Sunday we left the site and went to check out the blowhole. Other than that, our days consisted of lots of playing and lots of relaxing.

Excited to be in Hawaii.

The view from our villa.

First stop: the beach!

And what was the first thing Luke did when we got to the sand? Nope, didn't eat it. He crawled straight for the water. He loved it!

Sunday we went to church and took some family pictures

We also went for a walk by the beach and got some pictures in front of the Christmas tree.

 

Played in the sand and ocean...a lot.

Walked to Black Rock.

Did some snorkeling 

Ben and Sam jumped off the rock.

Can't pass up on these.

 Walked to Wailer's Village for Hula Pies, a little luau, and some entertainment by Makenna and Luke.

Played in the pool...a lot.

Lots of napping by the beach.

Did a lot of playing on the grass.

 

(This one below is probably my favorite picture of the whole trip.)

Luke did a lot of walking.

Grandpa time.

 Tub time with cousin Makenna.

Thanksgiving Dinner! Can you believe it was done without a stove? We really took advantage of the BBQ for dinners. Oh, and we didn't go out to eat once! I really liked that.

Luke got a lot of love.

Saw some beautiful sunsets.

And rainbows

My boys after church. We attempted to take family pictures in the howling wind. Yeah that didn't work out so well. But I thought these two were cute.

Went to the blowhole. By the look of Luke's face you could tell how windy it was. His face is hilarious! 

Spent our last night watching the sunset and playing on the sand.
Look how beautiful is this picture of Lauren and her little girl.

 

Gramma Jamma time.

 Last day in the Maui sun!

We are so grateful for Mom and Dad Chamberlin for giving us all the opportunity to spend time together in Paradise. It was perfect. 

Thank you! We love you!