Mele Kalikimaka Hawaii for Christmas 2012

Christmas 2012 we found a deal we couldn't pass up to take the family to Maui. I had a friend that couldn't use their timeshare week so we used that for our hotel and ended up using our credit card miles to get half of our flights for free. The timeshare was for the week of Halloween but we made it our families Christmas present and it was a trip we will never forget.

First we had to tell the kids and we thought it would be fun to have them do a scavenger hunt to figure out what the gift was. They each had a clue to follow and Ben's was a map to the Hawaiian BBQ restaurant. When they realized where we were going they were so excited.

The time finally came and we packed up to fly to Hawaii. We got up early to fly out and made sure we had enough things for the kids to play with and enough motion sickness medicine so no one would get sick on the plane. As we approached the islands the pilot made an announcement that there was trouble with the brakes and we would have to land in Honolulu because the Maui runway was not long enough to land if the plane wouldn't stop. We couldn't believe what we were hearing. We said our prayers and were thankful we landed with no problems. The airline quickly got us on a flight to Maui and although it took longer than expected we finally made it to our destination.

We had planned to go up to Haliakula to see the sun rise the next day. We got up and made our drive up the mountain. The road up is very curvy not to mention going from sea level to 10,000 ft in a matter of minutes. Those two things made many of us sick and the irony is the two that ended up throwing up are the ones who don't get car sick. After a quick stop to clean everyone up we made it to the top to see the sun welcome us for a new day. 

The first second of sunlight

It was one of the most peaceful things and moments we have ever had. Everyone was so quiet and just watched as the light came up over the horizon ending the darkness of night.

When the sun was completely up we ventured to the tip top.

Sarah had some crazy static going on with her hair while we were at the top.

We ventured back down the mountain and loved that we were able to see another of our national parks.

Once we got to the bottom we decided to make a pit stop in the town of Makawao. I had done some research and found a doughnut shop there. We love to eat doughnuts. The bakery was called Komoda Bakery and those were some really good doughnuts!

We finished our day with some fun at the beach.

Halloween was during our trip and we packed the kids costumes so they could do some trick or treating Hawaiian style. I had done some research and found that the town of Lahaina did a Children's Parade on Halloween and the shops hand out candy to all the kids. We made it a day of fun! We played some mini golf, got snow cones, did some trick or treating, walked in the parade, saw the Banyan Tree and ended the day with a movie in the theater.
It was an awesome Halloween.

When in Maui you must do the Road to Hana. The views are amazing, the thrill of the curves is crazy and the things you will see are memory makers.
It took a full day for us to drive the Road to Hana and we only made it as far as Black Sand Beach. We took our time and pulled off at some really cool sites. Right away we saw a guy with some Macaw birds and he was letting people take pictures with them. We knew this would be something fun so we pulled over and got our pictures taken.

Rachel got kissed by one of the birds.

Further down the road we stopped at the Lava cave and explored the tube. 

It was so dark in there and we were amazed at how big the tube was.

Just past the Lava Cave is Black Sand Beach. The waves were a little to rough for us to swim in it but we did a little wading and played in the sand. It was getting late so we started heading back into town.

On the way back we stopped at a couple of fruit stands and bought some Lilikoi, saw some waterfalls and went on a nature hike. 

By the time we were done it was dark and time to head to the hotel.
Everyone loved the Lilikoi!

The next day we spent the entire day at the beach and then we went to a Luau. While we were at the beach Dan took Ben and Rachel snorkeling and they saw sea turtles. James, Sarah and I had fun playing in the surf and sand. During the Luau we saw the most beautiful sunset and the kids got picked to go up on stage and learn a hula dance. The food was great, the kids had fun and they all said the guy who did the fire dance was their favorite.

The next day we slept in and went on a snorkel cruise to Molokini. We didn't know how the kids would react to being in the ocean but had hoped they would all do well. We were so happy to see that all of them wanted to get in the water and see the fish. 

The best part of the day was getting this picture of the six of us in the crater.

Our last full day in Hawaii we decided to just spend the day at the beach. Being from WA we don't have warm sand beaches and we wanted to spend as much time on the beach as we could.

Sarah ready to catch some waves or at least have me catch a few.

Dan playing in the surf with the kids.

We had a blast spending time in Maui!

The day we flew out we took the kids up to the Ioa Needle. It was a great trip and we are glad we had the opportunity to take our kids to the islands and see a part of the world they hadn't seen before.