brrrrrr......

I'm laying here on my couch in my living room and I can hear the sound of the freezing rain hitting my sliding doors...brrrr!!  Wasn't I just listening to the waves crashing on the shore just 10 days ago???  Ugh!  I miss Hawaii desperately! I miss the warmth, the sunshine, the laid back way of life, the total disregard to driving the posted speed limit, which was usually 45 and no one went slower than 55!!  I miss the moisture in the air and how wonderful my skin looked and felt!!  I hate this cold, dry air that is making my skin look like it has scales on it!  I even miss being so close to my family, although living in the same house for 10 days was starting to take its toll....maybe Hawaii will be in my future when I finish my degree....2 classes this semester and then 5 next semester....finally!!!

Whale Watching Video

Here's the video from whale watching on January 5, 2011

January 6-8, 2011

Well, our vacation came to an end :(  The last two days (Thursday and Friday) were rainy days, so we did what any other person on vacation would do when the rain comes, we went shopping!!  We shopped all over Kihei on Thursday.  On Friday, Chase, Anna, Blake, Grandma, Erma and I went into Wailea and did some more shopping.  We went to The Shops at Wailea and hit the jackpot!  It was an open air style mall and they had some great stores.  We shopped til we dropped and then headed home.  It was still kind of rainy so most of us started the dreaded job of packing.  The sun did manage to come out late afternoon so we were able to catch one last great sunset.  We got all packed and all the suitcases squeezed into the cars and headed for the airport around 9:00 p.m.  The cars were returned, luggage was checked (and one of us had to unload some things from our suitcase and add to another because it was overweight...), security was gone through and to our gate we went to wait for our plane.  We boarded and took off at 11:50 p.m. and said goodbye to Hawaii and hello to a looooooong day of travel.  We landed in Los Angeles around 7 a.m. (LA time) and had a few hours until our next flight.  We got some breakfast and chilled for a bit.  We boarded our plane bound for Chicago and started the next leg of our trek home.  We arrived in Chicago and had about an hour and a half until our next flight.  So we got some food and sat in the terminal and watched the NFL playoffs.  We boarded our flight for Grand Rapids and 35 minutes later we were on the ground, which was covered in this white, powdery, cold stuff...snow.  Brrrr!  It was cold!!  We got our luggage and waited for Tom Najar and Dan Melpoder to arrive to take the family home.  It was a wonderful vacation, filled with many memories!  Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the trip of a lifetime!!

January 2-5, 2011

January 2 - Well, this day was another typical Hawaiian day!  Get up, eat breakfast, put on bathing suit, grab book and go to the pool!  We spent a good part of this day perfecting our pool jumping skills!  We played some paddle ball in the yard, Chase tried to fly his kite and I splashed around in the ocean!  It was another perfect vacation day!

January 3 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHASE!!!  Dad, Blake and Chase decided that the best way to celebrate Chase's birthday was to go golfing!  While the boys were out chasing a little ball around, Mom took Grandma and Erma to get their hairs did and Anna and I ate some breakfast and watched some television.  Mom stopped at the store to get all the fixings for Chase's birthday dinner and, of course, an ice cream cake!  We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging around the pool.  After dinner we all turned in early for bed.  Tuesday morning required us to wake up at 3:00 a.m. so that we could get ready to leave the house at 4:00 a.m.  We were heading to the island of Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor...

January 4 - 3:00 a.m. is not a fabulous time to wake up!!  We all got up and at 'em and were out the door by 4:00 a.m.  We were told that we needed to be at the airport 2 hours before our flight...we arrived at the airport at 4:30 a.m., the airport didn't even open until 5:00 a.m.!!  So we sat outside of the airport while we waited for it to open.  The good thing is that as soon as it opened, we went through security and didn't have to wait in any line!!  We boarded our flight and headed to Oahu.  We landed in Oahu and Mom, Chase and Anna grabbed a taxi and headed to the USS Arizona Memorial to get our tickets while Dad, Blake, Grandma, Erma and I went to the rental car place to grab a car for the day.  The 5 of us got a lovely tour of Pearl City on our way to the USS Arizona Memorial...did I mention that Pearl City was NOT on the way to the memorial?  We eventually made it to the memorial and got ready to spend our day at this historic site.  We boarded the boat that took us out to the USS Arizona Memorial.  It was very surreal and somber to be above the ship where so many people lost their lives.  It was even more frustrating and sad that so many people that were there visiting the site didn't take it seriously.  I thought it was very rude for people to be so loud in their conversations with each other and to be talking on their cell phones in a place where respect was to be displayed.  I am still amazed that after almost 70 years there is still oil that seeps up to the surface.  After we visited the Arizone, we watched a video about the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked, toured the museums at the site, walked through the USS Bowfin, walked through the USS Missouri, ate some Dippin' Dots, got stuck in traffic and headed back to the airport.  We were very fortunate that we were able to get our flight switched to an earlier flight.  We ate some dinner at the airport, boarded a plane and headed back to Maui.  We got home, sat in the hot tub for a little bit and then went to bed!  It had been a very long day filled with lots of walking so we were beat!

January 5 - Another beautiful Hawaiian day!  Most of us slept a little later than normal today.  We were pretty worn out from yesterday.  This afternoon we went whale watching and snorkeling.  We took a large boat about 10 miles out into the ocean to a small island called Moolikini.  We saw quite a few whales on the way out to the island.  Once we reached the island we tied off and into the water we went.  Dad, Chase and Anna did Snuba, which is like scuba diving, but you don't have to carry your own tank.  The tank floats in a little raft on the surface, but you can swim down farther than if you were just snorkeling.  It looked pretty cool.  Mom, Blake and I just stuck to snorkeling.  We thought it was pretty funny that the boat crew considered the water to be cold since it was only 74 degrees...we thought that was pretty comfortable considering we swim in Lake Michigan and it's usually only in the 60's!  We swam around for a bit, jumped back on the boat, ate some lunch and headed back to port.  On our way we saw some more whales.  We spent a lot of time watching a mama whale and her baby swim by.  That was really cool!  After we got back to port, we jumped in our cars and headed home.  Dad and the boys and I played some paddle ball until it was too dark to see the little ball, then came inside and had some dinner.  After dinner we just all relaxed.  It's been awfully tiring being outside all day!  Only 2 days of vacation left :(

A little behind...

Well, I'm a few days behing, but since I've been up since 3 a.m. and can hardly tell my right hand from my left, I figure a quick note to say that a big long blog catching up will come tomorrow!!  Must....sleep...now!!

January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!!  Not much to report on today.  We all got up early to cheer on our Michigan State Spartans, but quickly learned that if we stayed in bed, we wouldn't have missed anything!!  Oh well, better luck next year!  We spent the morning by the pool and noticed out in the ocean some whales!  We found some binoculars and a telescope and watched the whales for a little bit.  We saw their tales and their blow holes spouting, pretty cool!  We're planning on going whale watching and snorkeling (some of us have no desire to snorkel, but whale watching will be fun) next week so hopefully be able to get up close to see some whales!  This afternoon we went to the Maui Ocean Center, a fancy name for an aquarium.  It was pretty cool.  Afterwards, we went to dinner to celebrate Chase's birthday a little early.  Once we got home, it proved to be an early night for some of us...the rest stayed up and watched a movie and then we all went to bed!  We're still adjusting to the time difference, but by the time we head home, we'll be good and adjusted!!

December 30 and 31, 2010

December 30, 2010 - My last blog of 2010!!  I can't believe how fast the year went!!  Yesterday was a typical vacation day.  Us kids spent the day playing and floating in the pool, well, Chase and Blake were the ones playing, Anna and I read all day by the pool.  The grown ups went shopping for some luau attire.  That evening we loaded up our cars and drove 45 minutes into Lahaina for a luau, The Feast of Lele.  It was pretty cool!  We all received leis when we arrived and some of us enjoyed a Mai Tai...although they were really that fantastic.  We were seated and got settled in to enjoy the show.  Our menu that night consisted of a tour of the Polynesian Islands.  I don't have the menu in front of me right now so I'll post the actual menu later.  We sampled all kinds of foods from duck to steak, various fish and seafood dishes, and some vegetables that ranged from a green bean/asparagus/hearts of palm salad to mushrooms with sweet potatoes, to squash and taro leaf.  Some of it was good, some of it not so good, but the experience was fantastic!  We were entertained by dancers that performed dances from all of the different islands.  I have video of each of the dances, but I'm not sure if (or how) I'll be able to post them on here.  They might just end up on my facebook.  We had the best servers for the luau.  Mike was hilarious!  He brought out a tray of coffee and said, "Hot stuff coming through...and coffee, too!"  Sammy was fantastic, as well.  He brought out all of our foods and, at the end, he brought out the dessert plates for Grandma and Erma that had "Happy Birthday, Maui 2010" written in chocolate on them.  He also brought Chase and Anna a big plate of dessert that had been written on as well.  It was really cool!  By the end of the night, we were all zonked!  Did I mention that on the way to the luau we spotted the best thing that could ever be found?  No, not the whales that we saw spouting while we were driving, it's better...a TACO BELL!!!  That will be probably be the highlight of the trip for Chase!!  Of course, on the way home from the luau we stopped there!  After we got home, we were all done for the night!!

December 31, 2010 - Happy New Year's Eve!!  Today was another relaxing, uneventful day!  A lot of time was spent by the pool.  Blake, Chase and Anna played croquet a few times, but mostly they stayed inside because they were a little sunned out from the day before.  They did make a trip to the store to get fireworks for the ringing in of the new year...but they lit those off around 7:30 and were done by 8:30!!  Right now it's 11:02 p.m. and I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one that is still awake!  Who knew that being outside and basically doing nothing could be so exhausting!!  I'll wrap this up by saying, I wish you all a very Happy New Year full of God's blessings and favor!  Goodbye 2010, hello 2011!!