Maui and Hawaii!

This was our first "big" vacation with Charlie and we were so excited to bring him with us to one of our favorite places... Maui and Hawaii (the Big Island)! Then two days after we booked our flight, I found out I was PREGNANT and kind of started freaking out. I was going to be 10 weeks, which is smack dab in the middle of the worst part of pregnancy as far as puking goes. I was soooo nervous and suddenly didn't want to go. But it actually wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined it would be, so I'm glad we booked the trip before I knew I was pregnant because I would not have agreed to go!

Getting through security with all of our stuff (3 carry on bags, 3 backpacks, stroller, and carseat) was not fun. We were basically a traveling circus! But Charlie was soooo excited to fly on a big airplane. His little grin and giggle when the plane took off was just the cutest thing. He LOVED it. And he did such a good job on the flight! He took a little nap, watched movies, ate lotssss of snacks, and colored/played with stickers. We were so proud of him because sitting still for long stretches is definitely not in the norm for our busy boy! I'm sure having him strapped in his carseat was the trick.

We flew to Maui first and spent 3 days there. Day 1 mostly involved picking up our rental car, checking out our AirBnB (which was just off the road to Hana in a town called Haiku) and then checking out the beach. Charlie was NOT  a fan of the water and I was just instantly filled with anxiety and dread at what the next week would bring if our poor boy wouldn't play in the ocean... Landon got him to go in and swim a little bit, but he mostly cried the whole time! :(

He couldn't get away from the water fast enough!

The next day Landon got to go kiteboarding in the morning and Charlie and I stayed home so he could rest/nap. Then we went beach hopping to Paia, Maluaka, and Makena. Poor Charlie was still not a fan of the water and would seriously have to be alllll the way up on the beach as far away from the water as possible and would cry if a wave came remotely close. He didn't even want to turn his back to the water to take a picture with me! So he mostly played in the sand. I tried to boogie board and gave everyone watching a fun show while I wiped out over, and over, and over. :)

Maui Day 3 Landon went kiteboarding again and this time we went too and watched him. After that we drove up to Kapalua Beach. I had done a lot of research and tried to find a really cool beach that hopefully wouldn't have as many waves so Charlie would actually swim... Well, it was an AWESOME little beach but it was pouring rain the whole time we were there. I was sooooo sad! We tried to play a little bit, but we were just drenched and cold. So we headed to my favorite pizza place on earth, Lahaina Pizza Co. I have been telling Landon about this pizza for YEARS when I went as a nanny and he was worried I had talked it up... But he was not disappointed at all! It truly is the BEST. Then we walked around the Lahaina beach front with all the cute stores, got some shave ice, and just had a really fun night!

We had the beach to ourselves... because it was pouring... :( It was seriously SO cute!!!

Maui Day 4 was our last day before heading to the Big Island to see my sister and her family. Someone local told us about "Baby Beach" so we decided to check that out in the morning before our flight. Holy cow it was HEAVEN and perfect for Charlie! I wish we would've discovered it sooner. It was protected by rocks, so there were NO waves and basically a big pool for all the babies (seriously, soooo many babies were at this beach. It was adorable). Charlie FINALLY played in the water and had so much fun! We were only able to stay for a few hours and then we hopped on a plane to see the Caputos! It was pretty late by the time we got there, but Charlie loved jumping on the tramp with Bodhi and we were just so happy to see family that we don't get to see very much.

I had to crop this pic before I posted it on Instagram because you could totally see my tiny belly at 11 weeks!

Hawaii Day 5 was an adventure! Bodhi had a soccer game in the morning and Charlie had a lot of fun watching and kicking the ball around with Uncle Dan. Then we headed to Queen's Bath and Kiholo Bay. Queen's Bath is this fresh water spring in the lava tubes next to the ocean. It was so cool (literally!) Charlie hated it at first because it was so cold, but then he had fun going through the tunnels. After that we hiked along the beach for maybe 1-2 miles to these really cool lagoons and saw turtles. Charlie loved swimming since there weren't any waves and also loved riding on Landon's back. We finished the day at a yummy taco food truck.

Hawaii Day 6 was spent at Kealakekua Bay where Charlie went out across the whole bay on a paddle board with Landon. He was really brave and thought it was so fun! We had a picnic lunch and played some more soccer. That night we went to sushi with Ali and Dan while Sahalie and Bodhi watched Charlie (and taught him how to use chopsticks).

Hawaii Day 7 was probably my favorite day because we got to swim with dolphins... again! Every time we visit Ali and Dan we get lucky and go to a beach where dolphins just happen to be!!! We went to Ho'okena Beach where the sand is "salt and pepper" colored from all the volcanic rock. Charlie loved building (and destroying) sand castles with Ali and Bodhi and then especially loved getting buried in the sand. Then to see the dolphins, Landon swam Charlie out on a boogie board and he was able to see the tops of the dolphins while we stuck our faces in and saw them swimming around. There were SO many!! Then that night Landon got to go on a night dive to see the MANTA RAYS! Seriously a dream of mine, but of course I couldn't go because I am pregnant. Landon wasn't very excited to go since he was alone, but afterwards he was sooo glad he went. He said it was the coolest experience and by far his favorite dive. I can't wait to go back and do it when I'm not with child ;)

Hawaii Day 8 was our last day. The whole trip went by WAY too fast. Both Ali and Dan had to work that day so we adventured to Volcanoes National Park on our own. On our way down we stopped by the cutest little bakery (Punalu'u Bake Shop) and had the yummiest malasaldas (basically small donuts) and got to feed the fish. Then we stopped at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. It really is so cool to see a beach where the sand is completely black! And of course the turtles were awesome too. Then we went to Volcanoes National Park. It was a little sad because half of it was still closed from the volcano earlier that year but we still got to see the steam vents and then hiked the Kilauea Iki trail. It was about 4 miles total and Charlie did almost all of it himself! It's actually a pretty cool hike down into the jungle and then you pop out on a crater. It's basically a lava lake from a volcano that erupted in 1959. It was super cool!

   

That night we said goodbye to the Caputos and then took a redeye flight home (and Charlie slept the WHOLE way!) We seriously had the best time and made so many memories that I know I'll treasure forever. I was so worried to bring Charlie on such a big trip, and of course there were lots of meltdowns from the lack of schedule/naps but he really did awesome and we had SOOOO much fun with him! It was also so much fun to spend all that quality time with Ali, Dan, and the kiddos. We don't get to see them much, so it was just the best. We love them!!! Charlie still asks almost weekly (I'm writing this post 3 months later... woops!) if he can go see them and jump on the tramp with Bodhi. We love you guys!

And here's a 10 minute video recap of the whole trip too. :)