March 2008 - Maui Sun!

March 2008

March was filled with fun. We spent the first two weeks preparing for vacation and the second two weeks vacationing. Ahhh...Paradise! In celebration of Grams’ 70^th birthday and Kelan’s 1^st birthday we headed to the Island of Maui for two weeks in the sun. The boys and I flew over on Friday the 16^th with Susan. Daddy flew out the next day on his own. We arrived and got settled in and went to the beach on our first morning. The boys loved it! Oweghn of course, immediately made a friend and they played all morning long…all week long in fact. That afternoon we picked Daddy up at the airport…he didn’t get quite the welcome he was hoping for as both boys were zonked out in the back of the very cool Dodge Magnum wagon we rented. We stopped off for lunch on the way back to the condo and Oweghn got to have his first Shave-ice. He loved it…even though he was sad it didn’t look like their perfectly shaped Styrofoam sample on the counter.

We spent most of our time playing on the beach, building sandcastles, boogie boarding and snorkeling. On day 2 in Maui, we found a great little beach with good snorkeling…lots of fish as well as turtles. There were rocks to explore and lots of room for Sandcastle constructing. And best of all, both Oweghn and Kelan got to boogie board with Dad. And being such a big boy, Oweghn decided he could do it on his own. Lots of laughs…lots of fun. What a trooper. Oweghn loved the water and Kelan loved eating the sand. We kept wondering when he would realize that all the sand on all the beaches tastes the same…but he didn’t seem to get bored with it.

On the 20^th of March, we brought Susan to a Luau at the Maui Prince Hotel to celebrate her birthday. Kelan was celebrating his 1^st birthday the same day. We had a cupcake and candle for him…Susan opted for Mai Tai’s. Everyone had a really fun time and the dancing and music was great! As an additional surprise for us…some friends we met 6 months ago in Japan were in Maui during our visit and we got to see them again. Sean’s long time friend Akira’s family was there. His wife, Miwako and their daughter Haruka were staying at the Maui Prince hotel so they walked down and visited with us for a bit during the Luau. Akira had to stay in Japan due to business, so unfortunately we didn’t get to see him, but we had a great time visiting with Miwa and Haruka over the next couple of days.

On one of our days in Maui, Sean, Oweghn, Kelan and I decided to drive up to Lahaina to check out options for boat excursions. We hung out near the marina for a while and then we picked up some drinks and snacks and found a great little place along the beach to watch the sunset that evening. The turtles were playing in the surf and the surfers were performing as well. It was such fun and so nice and relaxing. We got some great pictures that night.

After researching our excursion options, we decided to take a whale watching cruise. Great uncle Bill, Aunt Jen, Uncle Nopa, and Sean and I and the boys all went. We had a great trip with lots of whale activity. Our next excursion was on a boat called the reef dancer which looked like a submarine but stayed on the surface of the water. The hull of the boat was full of windows so you could see out under the water. We went out to a reef and a couple of divers dropped into the water and collected different sea creatures and brought them up to the windows. This was a lot of fun for the boys. Oweghn couldn’t believe it and Kelan kept pointing and saying ‘ish…ish’. Cute!

We also celebrated Easter while in Maui. Sean, Susan, Oweghn, Kelan and I went to a cute little church where they held an outdoor service overlooking the ocean. It was so nice. Everyone brought a flower and decorated a topiary style cross by adding their flower to it after receiving communion. At the end of the service, they released doves. We particularly liked the sandals and flip-flops the pastors wore. Only in Hawaii… There were many highlights on this trip. We definitely need to make it over to the condo on a more regular basis. It’s always so much fun!

Upon returning to the mainland…ie. reality (where it snowed every day for the first 3 days we were back), we dove right into getting ready for Kelan’s Big 1^st Birthday party. The theme…a Hawaiian Luau of course. Oweghn helped decorate the star shaped cupcakes which were his idea. Unfortunately we ran into some issues with ordering the Kalua Pork we wanted for the party. After about 5 phone calls, Sean got online, found a recipe and decided to take it on himself. What a success! The food at the party was great. It was SO cold that day so we cranked the heat and pretended we were still in Hawaii. Kelan had a good time and loved his cake which he demolished.

A great month…and it’s unbelievable that Kelan is already 1. Where does the time go? We ask ourselves this all the time. Life is good for our family. We are very fortunate and we have lots of opportunities for fun together. We continue to take advantage of those opportunities and make the most of them. Who would have guessed that life could bring so much! When we have our moments, Sean and I look at each other and smile and remember the words to a song that is played all the time on one of the radio stations we listen to. “You’re gonna miss this. You’re gonna want this back. You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast. These are some good times, so take a good look around. You may not know it now, but you’re gonna miss this”. It has become our mantra.