Goodness, I’ve got some catching up to do around here. We’ve had not one but TWO beautiful sun-cations with a grief-filled March in between. Life has been full, to say the least.
I’ll start with Maui, because that happened first and because it feels good right now to reminisce about those few days at our favorite place. Maui. Maui, Maui, Maui. We have built a precious handful of annual trips and traditions into our family calendar, but our February trip to Wailea takes the cake. We book our room nearly a year in advance, before the points-per-night rates skyrocket, and we look forward to it all winter long, religiously swallowing our zinc and vitamin D in an effort to ward off any bugs that could waylay our trip. I was feeling especially anxious this last time around, as Juliette and I were both so traumatized by the five hours of puking she did on our 2023 trip to Maui, but as we inched down the jetway and Isaac tried to board with a family that was not his own, we laughed and my shoulders relaxed. The kids felt great. Our bags were packed. We were making it happen!
Isaac is becoming such a good little traveler. IPads help, as does a flight that spans naptime, but also, he’s just generally a more reasonable little human these days. Way to hang in there, Bud. Good things to those who make it through flights without throwing fits!
We landed on Maui, snagged our suitcases and rental car, and bee-lined for the hotel. Our room wasn’t ready, but we rummaged in our bags for our swimsuits and passed the afternoon in the pool. ALOHA.
We walked over to the beach as the sun started to set and the kids played in the sand and splashed in the waves.
When we took Isaac to the beach here a year ago, initially he hesitated to even put his feet down in the sand – it took him awhile to come around to the feeling of it squishing between his toes. But this time around, he ran and rolled until he had sand in his hair and his shorts and his ears. No time to waste!
We walked back to the room at sundown, feeling like Maui had rolled out its very finest welcome mat.
Saturday! Rise and shine! We walked to the market for our morning acai bowls and then it was right to the pool.
Isaac’s blue arm floaties proved to be the best thing we packed. We’d click that buckle, toss him in the pool, and he’d happily bob and bob, the sweetest little buoy you’ve ever seen.
We took a break from pooltime to complete our annual scavenger hunt.
I appreciate that Juliette pretends like it’s all still a big mystery, even though she knows the location of each landmark backwards and forwards by this point.
Scavenger hunt over and prize claimed! Back in the pool!
Pooltime -> NAPTIME.
We drove to Kihei in the afternoon for shave ice at Ulilani’s. I really didn’t want to share my green tea / guava / passionfruit bowl of goodness, so I let Isaac get his own. It was as big as his head.
And he ate it all!
We spent the evening at our dreamy little stretch of beach, digging and sunset-gazing.
Inevitably, Juliette couldn’t resist the pull of the waves and wished she’d left her swimsuit on.
Inevitably, Isaac followed sister into the tide and ended up with soaking wet clothes that were stripped off by sundown.
All in a day’s work.
We ate dinner in our room that night, too pooped to put on real clothes and read a restaurant menu. Isaac threw the fit to end all fits before passing out way past his proper bedtime, then we woke at midnight to the sound of Juliette sleepwalking into the balcony sliding glass door. She was fine, we were fine, all was fine, but sheesh! Did we overdose on sunshine?
Sunday was another wide-open day, kicked off with yogurt and fruit from our beachfront cafe, then some lawn antics with the kiddos while Shane went for a run.
We settled into our beach chairs mid-morning and played in the surf.
Some of us played further out than others!
God, I love Beach Jules. Freckly and smiling and wrapped in a cozy towel.
Pool Jules!
These photos are Isaac in a nutshell. Silly as all get out, sometimes aggressively so (that second pic!). I can always count on this boy for a good laugh. It’s such a gift.
Juliette looks like she’s taking a mid-day Zoom meeting while her brother naps…
How many photos of my kids playing in the pool are too many?
Is there such a thing?
We walked over to Waikiki Brewing for cocktails and dinner.
Followed by ice cream at Lapperts.
Juliette left for a minute to use the restroom and Isaac spent the full time she was gone on a fierce lookout for her return.
She’s back.
We played for awhile on the lawn while the sun went down, twirling in the wind and tossing the ball around.
CLASSIC.
Does Isaac bug the crap out of sister sometimes? 100%. But at the end of the day, do they have the sweetest, loving-est sibling-ship? 100%.
We walked back to our room as the sun dipped below the horizon, Isaac pointing up the sliver of moon brightening in the sky and exclaiming “MOON!” every few steps. Even in one of the loveliest places on earth, it’s sometimes still about the simple pleasures.
Goodnight, Maui.
