Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! We had a great day of surfing (Geoff), playing beach paddleball, baseball, and then fireworks by the ocean. Maui is very low key for Independence Day. No parade, fair, carnival .... only one spot on the island for a big fireworks show. But we made our own fun!

We miss you, Chaser Boy! We hope you had a fun holiday with Grandma and Aunt Ali!

Crazy Weekend!

Friday started our party weekend with a MUCH anticipated trip to see Elmo! For those of you who don't know, Crew is a BIG Elmo fan. It was so cute to see him during the show. He was dancing, singing, clapping, ...... he just loved the whole show!

On Saturday, Geoff surprised us with tickets to see Cirque Polynesia! We had no idea so I didn't have my camera with me! It was a really cool show - Cirque de Soleil Hawaiian style! But the best part of the show was the preshow when Geoff got called onstage to play the drums. They made him take his shirt off, put on a skirt, chant a bunch of weird sayings, pound his chest with drum sticks, and play the drums! I thought there was no way Geoff would do any of it but he did it all and was very animated! Several people came up to him afterwards and told him how good he was. I was very impressed and totally shocked. 

But Sunday was our most eventful day! We were all set up to enjoy a lazy day on the beach. Geoff was surfing, my mom and I were reading, Crew was building sand castles, and Chase and Caden were skimboarding. Then I heard Caden crying .... no need for alarm as he often cries when he falls or gets in a fight with Chase but then I looked at him and his darling blond hair was rapidly turning red and I knew this time the crying was for good reason! Chase's board had gotten caught up in a wave and came down right on top of Caden's head splitting it wide open!
After much fuss from the staff at the Grand Wailea and emergency beach paramedics we got him cleaned up, calmed down, and took him into the clinic for stitches. A sucker and DS really helped to calm him down. But when it came time for the numbing shots he had a full panic attack and I had to pin him down so we didn't have to go to the hospital to sedate him!
This picture's kinda gross but he wanted me to post it! After he was al done I told him very excitedly that he was now officially a part of the stitches club. He very cleverly reminded me that he had already had stitches. I was confused, searching my crazy mommy brain, trying to remember if I could have forgotten a trip to the ER? He then explained that he had stitches on his privates in the hospital after he was born! (circumcision) Hee-Hee!

Ride Da Wave

This is one of my boys' favorite things to do here. Go figure, we have natural waves all around us and they prefer the fake one! Its so funny to see Caden on it. The wave is so powerful that when he falls the machine rockets him up over the hill! I actually can't believe he hasn't gotten hurt, knock on wood. Chase is actually pretty good on it and Geoff is still learning. :) You'll notice there are no pictures of me. The first time I went on it I fell right on my neck, had my suit bottoms ripped off, and had major whip lash for 4 days after! I'm retired!

Maui Film Festival

We had the best weekend at the Maui FIlm Festival. It was so much cooler than I thought it would be. Celebrities everywhere just enjoying time with their families. We saw them at the pool, beach, dinner just enjoying beautiful Maui. We saw Eddie Murphey (his children are gorgeous), Brad Garrett (Everyone Loves Raymond), Justin Chambers (Grey Anatomy), Dax Shepherd, Kristin Bell..... The venues were even better!Friday night, we went to the SandDance theater set up right on Wailea Beach. The waves almost touched the screen poles. Everyone just brings chairs and blankets and camps out on the beach. We saw a series of documentaries called the Explore series. Some of them cool, some not, but the whole atmosphere made for a good night.

Saturday Night we scrambled around last minute to find a babysitter so we could see a taping of Americas Next Top Model. We couldn't find anyone so we just brought the kids (we were just about the only ones with kids). It was such a cool runway show - I can't wait to see it air! And Tyra Banks is beautiful, fun, energetic, and talented. You can really tell she loves the models and wants all of them to do well. It looked like she was coaching more than judging!
But Sunday Night topped all the others. We saw More Than A Game at the Celestial Cinema on the golf course. Awesome movie, perfect weather, pink clouds everywhere for the sunset, and millions of stars above afterward.
2 thumbs WAY up for this movie, especially if you have boys. It is a documentary that followed Lebron James and his group of friends in Ohio from the age of about 10. Then movie covered all their lives, relationships with each other and their family, and their success on the court. Just amazing - I am now a HUGE Lebron James fan! He is such a stand up guy, so loyal to his friends! The movie comes out in October - SEE IT!
This is the Celestial Cinema, set out on the golf course with incredible ocean views behind.

Soccer Camp

My boys just finished a week on soccer camp. I am a bad mommy and have NO pictures of the action - what was I thinking? Oh ya, I was trying to keep Crew out of all the drills and games. He SO wants to be one of the big boys and gets very upset with me when I don't let him. Ok, brag time! There were over 200 kids at camp and about 15 received medals. Caden got one for outstanding play for the 7 year olds! He was so excited but immediately was concerned why Chase didn't get one too. He has such a tender heart. He is really getting good at soccer. He has all these new moves now, scissors, double scissors, pull back, etc. We are all excited to see him in the Fall when he puts his new moves in action. Chase had a great time at camp too and made lots of new friends but is more excited about football season starting in august. He's too physical for soccer - Chase is more of a football, rugby player! :)

Waimoku Falls

5 mile hike, almost no one else on the trail, perfect weather, an all around great day!

Roughing It

I think every boy needs a camping trip once a year.

This year we went to the gorgeous Waianapanapa State Park in Hana (about 2.5 hours away from our condo)

The campsites here are these cute little cabins. Absolutely bare bones, only moderately operable, but perfect for camping and WAY cheaper than getting a tent, sleeping bags, mats, etc.

The path along the ocean was just a few steps away from our cabin. The kids explored blow holes, caves, palm, forests, etc.



The main attraction of this state park is black sand beach. The pictures with my point and shoot camera don't do it justice. The black rock and sand with the bright turquoise waters and lush green vegetation is awesome!

The boys braved the FREEZING cold water in this cave to explore with their underwater flashlight.
I got the boys bow and arrow sets which was a lot of fun. Daddy was of course the best!
What camping trip would be complete without a campfire and smores, even though it was still about 75 degrees at night!
UNO tournament - Daddy won this too, although I was a close second. I think most families let the kids win, but Geoff and I are too competitive for that!
Pancake and eggs in the morning to get us ready for our big 5 mile hike - stay tuned for pictures from the hike. It was my favorite hike ever! We had a blast!