Back from Paradise...

Okay, feeling the pressure for not holding up to my promise of posting on Monday but in my defense, I came home with a brain altering head cold and anything I wrote would have been incomprehensible so I figured y'all would forgive me. That said, I'll do my best...

We had a FANTABULOUS time in Maui!!! Can't wait to return! We arrived to warm but windy weather on Saturday and barely fit all of our luggage into the mini van and convertible that we rented. The condo we rented had been a little misrepresented on-line but we decided it wasn't too bad and settled in for the week. We were going to go to dinner that night but decided the kids were a little too off their schedules and didn't feel like battling them the whole time so the ladies headed to Safeway to round up some dinner. Weren't we in for the shock of our lives when we saw that butter was on sale, ON SALE! for 2 fer $9.00. Ouch! We did our best and consoled ourselves with the fact that we were in the long run saving money by not eating out constantly. The first night was rough, sleep wise. Peyton had a hard time getting to sleep, I'm not used to sharing a room with him and hearing his every whimper, the highway ran right past our bedroom window which we had to close even though we hadn't yet figured out the air conditioning and so it was hot. I lay there at 2:00 am, then 3, then 4 wondering what I'd gotten myself into? Morning came at 5:45 for Peyton and I and as I sat on the Lanai watching the sunrise in Paradise, I suddenly forgot all about my bad night and was finally ready for vacation to begin.

Sunday: Mom, Court and I headed to Costco to stock up on MORE groceries for the week, strollers (because we negligently left ours in the garage - don't get me started) and general beach supplies i.e. boogie boards, aqua socks, beach towels... called to check-in from K-Mart and learned of our first intruder, a mouse so we added mouse traps to the list. Got back around 1:00 and headed to lunch at Bubba Gump's - it was okay. The interesting thing is that it is open air and the birds take full advantage of that. I have to say it was a first for me to have little birdies hopping around my feet and flying overhead as I ate my meal INSIDE a restaurant. I decided to call it charming and go with it. We arrived home to two caught mice. Yuck. Another was caught sometime that evening.

Day 1, Mice tally: 3

Monday: After a fun morning in the ocean, the guys headed to Kapalua Golf Course for an afternoon round and the ladies tried our luck with shopping. The men fared better than we did and we nervously headed back to the condo without them, fearing a "fresh catch". The traps were clear so we breathed a sigh of relief and made some snacks after Courtney declared "I just wanna eat!" (She is 7 months pregnant after all). During dinner Mom swore she saw a mouse run into the kitchen but upon further inspection, we didn't find little Mickey. A little while later, Ian saw the little guy trying to run behind the stove (the TOP part of the stove) and he managed to grab it's little tail and hold on for dear life until help arrived.

Day two, Mice tally: 4

Tuesday: Up at the crack of dawn again and sitting in the living room with Mom when she spots mouse number five run from behind the couch into the kitchen. That was it, her final straw. She and Dad quickly got showered and headed down to the Real Estate Mgmt. office looking for some varmint free living quarters. We were very smiled upon that day. They granted us a very nice 3 bedroom home with private yard on the water on Front St. (Lahaina's main drag). It was a Polynesian Palace. None of us could believe our luck but we happily packed up our stuff and were out of that mouse infested condo before anyone could pinch us and take it all away!

Day three, Mice tally: 1 sighting at old place, new place: 0

Wednesday: Woke up happily in mouse free zone and enjoyed breakfast of pancakes with coconut syrup before heading shopping and then to Kaanapali beach. It was a pretty good day at the beach - Peyton seemed to like the sand and water just fine and no one got sun burned. Mom and Dad babysat Peyton and Eli that night so the two couples could each have a date. Ian and I ended up walking up and down front street before settling on BJ's Chicago style pizza. I know, I know, not very Hawaiian but we had already had our fill of seafood and were ready for some "normal" food. Besides, it is very highly rated and lived up to it's reputation - great pizza!

Day four, Mice tally: 0, and so it went for the remainder of the week

Thursday: Dad, Greg, Courtney, Ian and I left at 6:30 to head to Maalea Bay to catch our snorkeling charter out to Molokini Crater. It was a beautiful day for snorkeling and we saw a whale on our way out to the crater. I was a bit nervous having never snorkeled before but it was quite fun. We saw some really cool fish and had a wonderful sail back to Maui! We spent the afternoon laying around like sloths - snorkeling (and babysitting) really wore us out!

Friday: Beach day! Mom, Court and I headed out for some last minute shopping in the a.m. while Peyton caught his morning nap. We went to Starbucks, Old Navy, Costco and Pier 1. I know, all stores we have here but somehow different there, besides we had some Christmas shopping to do! Upon our return and a quick lunch, we headed north to the "2006 best beach in the country" (I forgot the name) but it was pouring rain and windy so we decided to head closer to home and go to a calm, sunny beach near the house. It was a fun afternoon in the sun and Greg, Ian and I did a little more snorkeling there - I have to say, aside from the cool boat ride, it rivaled Molokini!

Saturday: The end of our vacation...Greg and Ian took one last snorkel as the ladies packed and then we headed out to Cheeseburger in Paradise for one last lunch before trekking to the airport. We heard about the NW storm for the first time that morning so we called home to see if we were coming home to power - we did, thank God! We landed at 11:00 p.m. and due to long delayed luggage and poor service by the shuttle we had reserved arrived home just over 3 hours later. Arrrrgggghhh, not a good way to end a glorious vacation. Nevertheless, it did not negate the good time that was had by all.

Some catch phrases I will not forget...

Eli - whenever he wanted...anything "Puleeeeeze, mommy, please!" the politest 2 year old I've ever met, even when whining
Eli again - when told he needed to take his medicine, yelled, with finger pointed accusingly "No! Thank you!"
Eli - (yes they're all Eli, Peyton doesn't talk yet and the rest of us just aren't THAT cute) as our plane taxied the runway leaving Maui "Bye Owie!"

Bye Owie, until next time...