Hawaii Part 4 - Sea Life Center & Black Rock

We took a break from the beach one morning to check out Maui's Sea Life Center and the boys LOVED it.  The underwater tunnel was by far their favorite.  The sharks and stingrays were amazing.  I just hope the fish can't hear through the glass because the boys could not stop screaming with excitement.

 

With a few days left, we found an amazing beach and snorkeling spot at Black Rock.   It was awesome.  We bought a ginormous inflatable turtle for them and Bo literally rode on it for hours at a time.  Hours.  The waves were perfect.  They would take him out and push him back in, take him out, push him back in.  All day long.  Out and in.  Out and in. 

The snorkeling was just as awesome.

Scuba Steve (Wes & Ethan)

And then there was this . . .

It took me awhile to figure out what they were doing and why on Earth they were all covered in sand but then I saw this . . . 

Duh . . . "HEAD MARKS"!!

And here are just a few more pics from our last day at Black Rock

Wes playing football with the boys

Where did everybody go?

It truly was a great trip.  We can't wait to go back. 

Hawaii Part 3 - Beach Time

Max finally started working his way closer and closer to the water. 

Locals playing on the beach next to us.  The music was fantastic. 

Hawaii Part 2 - The Wedding

It was a long time coming but Randi and Ethan finally got married on December 11.  We couldn't be happier for them and were excited to share in their special day. 

 

The beautiful bride and her dad

Groomsmen: Lee, Mike, Ethan (Groom), Brian, Corey (ring bearer), Chris, & Wes

Best attempt at a family photo

Hawaii Part 1 - Day 1

Other than having a stomach bug with endless diarrhea for a week, the boys were beyond excited to go to Hawaii for our good friends Ethan and Randi's wedding.  I, on the other hand was freaking out about packing enough diapers and extra clothes for the plane ride and worrying about entertaining Max for 6 hours.  We usually fly at night and 6 hours is a long time for a wiggly 2 year old.    But despite Max pooping 4 times and Sam twice from Anchorage to Maui (the flight attendant kept spraying air freshener in the bathroom after we left), the boys did great on the plane.  They each zoned out to their itouches and took a nap.  I was so proud of them.  And on top of that, we made it there in our original clothes.  Bonus!

Just landed and all smiles

We rented a 3 bedroom condo in Kahana for the week and enjoyed not having a schedule or anything planned (other than a few wedding festivities).  It was a great vacation and felt amazing to escape the cold of Fairbanks for awhile. 

View from our lanai

Early the next morning we went to the beach for the first time and Bo and Sam went wild.  They were in heaven and ran and laughed for hours. 

 

Max on the other hand was not so sure.  It was his first time ever to the beach and was a little freaked out.  The first day he just stayed back and dug in the sand. 

Later that afternoon we went on a three hour snorkeling cruise with the other wedding guests.  The weather wasn't great and the water really choppy so we unfortunately did not get to go to the good snorkeling spot but we still had a nice time.  They boys even swam with us for a while and Max actually fell asleep while bobbing in the ocean. 

Rewind - To Cancun

I finally found a cable to get the pics off our camera. Yay. So here are some pics from our kid-less week in the sun.

The wedding was beautiful, the weather warm, and the group never dull. We had a great time but by the end of the week, we were more than ready to get back to the boys (and thankfully we did so with a tan).

Our Room At Cancun Palace

The Pool

Matt (the groom) & Wes

First Night Out in Cancun - Bryan, Lisa, Wes, & I

About To Go Snorkeling

At Senior Frogs

Who The Hell Gets Their Nose Pierced In Mexico?!

Zip-Lining (super fun)

Crazy Wes