Maui 2018: Snorkeling at Kapalua Bay

November 27, 2018 by

On our last day in West Maui, before heading south, we returned to Kapalua Bay, which had become our favorite beach! The bay was shallow with no waves, so it was the perfect beach for the kids and we visited it several times on our trip. Everyone was still on California time and waking up at the crack of dawn, which meant we got to the beach before anyone else. The sun was intense for 7 in the morning, but the water was crystal clear and the beach pristine. We had to bribe the girls to take a few pictures before diving into the water… it was very tempting!

A nice old man had set up his painting supplies and was painting the scenery when we arrived. He offered to take a break from painting and take some photos for us!

He just kept clicking, so most of my photos are of us wrangling the kids.

 

We finally gave up and let the girls explore the rocks, which they had been begging to do all morning.

A Meredith photo bomb.

Bored with pictures, Meredith returned to the rocks.

 

Amelia the cave explorer and rock climber.

 

Meredith the mermaid.

Samantha the leaf collector.

Making sand pies and castles.

Eleanor was not cooperative for photos and just wanted to take a nap!

 

Amelia was the most cooperative for pictures.

After much begging, we finally let the girls change into swimsuits and go wild. Samantha and Jake put on their snorkel gear and swam pretty far out into the bay where they saw sea turtles up close! Amelia didn’t want to go, but was jealous of the turtle sighting!

Way to go, Samantha!

Meanwhile, Amelia and Meredith dug a giant hole in which to bury each other.

Eleanor observed from the quickly decreasing shade.

 

When Samantha returned from snorkeling, she and Amelia let Meredith and some other random kids bury them in the sand. Little did they know, Meredith is a master torturer and wasted no time tickling their faces.

Meredith’s life goal was to pick up this rock and throw it in the water.

Amelia and Meredith tried on the life vests and swam for a bit, but decided not to snorkel this time around.

Beach bums!

Lots of love,

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Maui 2018: Kapalua Beach, Lahaina and Kaanapali

November 26, 2018 by

Since Maui was a few hours behind CA time, the kids were up at least an hour early everyday, until the very end when they finally acclimated! We took advantage of the early risers, to get up and out the door pretty early every day, which helped beat the crowds and the heat. Everyone was up bright and early with the intense Maui sun, so we headed to Kapalua beach for some tidepooling and playing at the beach.

This one has sensory issues… not sure how she feels about grass!

Island baby.

Everyone was screaming, “I WANT TO HOLD ELEANOR.”

We hiked along the rocks to reach the tidepools and found some colorful starfish, sea anemones, urchins, and an octopus.

Ouch! Amelia took a spill. Good thing I had the diaper backpack with me… another lady fell, and cut herself so badly there was blood everywhere. We helped her wrap it with an extra disposable baby changing pad I had on me until she could get help.

   

Sammy was excited about her colorful finds.

Meredith reflecting on the meaning of life.

After the tidepools, the girls played on Kapalua Beach for hours.

 

Kapaula beach was tiny, but picture perfect. It was packed by the time we left, but wasn’t bad while we were there, early in the morning.

I had packed a 12 month swimsuit for 5-month-old Eleanor, thinking it would fit her perfectly. But when I tried it on her in Maui, it wouldn’t even go past her legs! I had to buy a 24 month size swimsuit for her! Everywhere we went, we were flooded with comments about the chubby mermaid baby!

Eleanor was not sure how she felt about sand.

 

The girls made some new friends, and Meredith kept confusing the little girl for her friend, Maple, back home.

The boys declared war on the girls after Meredith kept dumping water into their sand hole.

That apparently wasn’t enough beach time for the girls, because they wanted to go back in the afternoon. We ate in Lahaina and walked to Kaanapali Beach for the evening.

  

Watching the crazy divers do back flips off of Black Rock was entertaining.

The twins were exhausted after all the swimming they did.

Even though the sun was setting, it was still incredibly hot, so Eleanor and I found a nice spot in the shade and observed from there.

  

Playing oopsy daisy with Daddy.

On island time, without a care in the world.

Lots of love,

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Treasure Island Beach Family Photos

November 1, 2017 by

While Aunt Sarah was in town, we seized the opportunity to have her and her camera tag along with us to Treasure Island Beach in Laguna. The girls normally cringe at the mention of “family photos,” but with Aunt Sarah along, it just felt like another day at the beach. The girls quickly ignored the camera and started playing once we were done taking a few posed shots. The rest are candid (which always turn out to be the best ones) and a perfect encapsulation of a typical beach outing (crazy running around, sandcastles, kite flying, random meltdowns/tears, and wind in our hair).

Meredith wasn’t in the best mood that morning (teenager), but Aunt Sarah worked her magic and snapped some cute ones of her anyway. Thanks for the beautiful photos and easy-going morning, Aunt Sarah!

Queen of the Nile, Meredith, escorted by her caravan.

Getting ready for her close-up.

We bribed the girls with gummies to get them all together for a family shot before everyone dispersed to play.

I selected outfits from what we already had for these beach photos, but since we found out a few weeks later that we’d be having another girl, the pink ensemble worked out perfectly!

Jump, Samantha!

Run, Meredith!

Jump, Amelia!

Moody teenager.

         

Chasing the birds.

Meredith’s death glare.

Kite flying is a dangerous sport. The kite almost killed us five times randomly nose-diving from the sky straight down.

 

(Photos from my phone)

Hanging with Grammy.

 

I’m ready to be carried away, servants.

This wagon ain’t gonna move itself, slaves.

More pink coming soon! Thanks, Aunt Sarah!

Lots of love,

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Tidepooling at Crystal Cove

September 6, 2017 by

Now that the tourists are mostly gone and most local kids are back to school, we’ve been going to the beach again! I took the girls to Crystal Cove on a weekday to look for creatures in the tide pools and we had the entire place to ourselves.

This was definitely worth waiting until the end of summer for:

It’s a bit of a hike down to the beach, but so worth it. Going back up is a different story.

Even though we timed it perfectly for low tide, we were disappointed to not find very many creatures this time around. We saw urchins and crabs, but no starfish. The girls didn’t care and entertained themselves poking the poor, squishy anemones endlessly.

Jump!

As per the usual, Meredith just wanted snacks the entire time. “Nack! Nack” is her most consistent phrase. I just took her in for her 18 month appointment and she’s officially three feet tall, 110% percentile for height and 95% for weight. If it weren’t for her lack of language skills, she could pass for a 2.5 year old, not 1.5.

Meredith can be a handful, but whenever I start complaining, I look back at what it was like to corral two toddlers all day. I honestly don’t know how I ever made it out with both of them at this age. Maybe they had a lot less energy than Meredith? Those days are hazy in my memory, but somehow we made it work… I remember using leashes on both of them!

Put me doooooown!

Samantha found all sorts of cool rocks and shells, which we couldn’t take with us, but she loved to feel them anyways.

While Samantha explored the tide pools, Meredith snacked/chased seagulls, and Amelia mostly hung out by herself building sandcastles. She was not a fan of the cold ocean water that day.

Fortunately for us, Jake played hooky for an hour and came to visit us. Everyone flocked to Daddy immediately and attached themselves to him like barnacles.

Searching for sea creatures.

 

The perfect spot to build their castle:

Amelia joined at the last minute and claimed Samantha’s castle as her own.

And that’s where the fun ended. Despite cheering them on and helping them think positive by likening them unto the Little Engine That Could, the girls complained, cried, and scowled as they dragged themselves all the way up the hill. I think I can… I think I can…

C’mon, guys! THIS IS NOT THE OREGON TRAIL.

Lots of love,

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