Practice Aloha

Well, Russ and I just returned from our vacation of a lifetime. We were so fortunate to be able to spend 5 nights in Maui at the Ritz Carlton club residence at Kapalua Bay.  Our residence consisted of over 3,200 square feet of indoor living space with ocean views from our lanai.  It truly was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Our first morning there we walked down to the beach and as we were wading about knee deep in the water I notice something out of the corner of my eye.  I was hopeful that it was a turtle but sure there was no way I would see one so soon and so close to shore.  So I kept my eye out to see what it was and sure enough the turtle popped its head up and looked at me.  It was all I could do to keep from jumping in with it.  I was able to get Russ' attention and he was able to see it as well.  So far we were off to a good start on Maui.

We had such a wonderful time. Romance, action, and adventure were alive and well within us.  I finally convinced Russ to go snorkeling with me so we went on a kayak/snorkel tour.  It was just Russ and I with our guide (Dan). We kayaked quite a way out in some fairly large swells (3-4 feet). Subsequently, we got dumped out.  That was quite a feat to get our chubby bodies back in the kayak.  While we paddled we saw at least 6 turtles. They would swim by and poke their heads up to look at us and then swim on by.   Dan helped Russ get into a snorkeling "mojo". It didn't take long for Russ to understand the beauty of the under water world.  We held pencil slate and pin cushion urchins and learned a lot about the island of Molakai on our adventure.

On Sunday, we golfed at Kahili golf course.  We played one of the most frustrating rounds ever.  But it was Maui, and the views were amazing.  I can also say I made a par on Maui. That day I made a discovery that would change our lives forever. Roselani macadamia nut ice cream!! By far the best ice cream Russ and I have ever had.  We are having serious withdrawls right now. They also have a haupia (coconut pudding) flavor. For all of you who know me know that I do not like coconut. Well I am here to tell you haupia ice cream is one of my favorites.  You have to try it. I highly reccomend going to Maui just for the Roselani ice cream.

Russ was truly converted to a full fledged snorkeler on Wednesday.  We rented some snorkels and set out to explore Kapalua Bay.  We snorkeled together for a full two hours and saw several eels, a squid, two octopus, a puffer fish, trumpet fish, tons of moorish idols, yellow tang, humahumauka... (I can't spell it), and a baby spotted eagle ray. Russ fell in love with the ocean that day, and of course I fell more in love with him watching him see this whole new world with a child like awe. 

Our final day on Maui we took the road to Hana.  Wow, what an experience.  50+ miles of  winding roads at 15 mph and pouring (and I mean pouring) rain. The road snakes through a dense rain forest with one lane bridges and countless waterfalls.  Our journey took us to O'heo Gulch and the seven sacred pools.  Russ and I decided to take the hike to Waimoku falls, the tallest waterfall in Maui.  The trail took us in 2 miles into the rain forest which consisted of the most fragrant tropical fruit trees. Along the path there were trees dropping guava, papaya's, mangoes, and limes.  The smell was fantastic. About half way to the water fall there was the most amazing tree, I wanted to build a house in it. You then travel through the bamboo forest where it is so thick and lush it feels like the sun has set.  We crossed a couple of creeks before we met our reward, the 400 foot Waimoku falls.  It was breathtaking. The 2 miles back out were very tricky with the thick slippery mud making our footing very unstable.  Russ only "almost" fell 3 times. We made it out with no injuries which is a miracle since both Russ and I have bad knees.  We both agreed it was the best hike we had ever been on.

We know that we have been truly blessed with this opportunity. To fall in love all over again with the man of my dreams, and be completely connected to him in such a beautiful place was a dream come true.  I hope to maintain the inner peace I found while on that island and pay it forward to all those around me. I will practice Aloha every day.

Mahalo, and Aloha.

Ava (George as I call her) comes up the stairs and tells me, "Chelsea, the REAL Willy Wonka is on!" and I ask, "the one with the real oompa loompas?" to which she replies, "Yeah the ones that are dark peach with green hair." Hmm, dark peach is the new orange I guess.

One night at dinner Ava pipes up and says, "Oh I just love Mountain Dew." If anyone knows us, our family doesn't drink very much soda at all and especially not Mountain Dew. So after a short pause I look up to see not only the confused looks on everyone's face but also that Ava is eating a piece of honey dew. "That's honey dew, George." I reply and so without a second thought in the same tone as before she says, "I love honey dew."

When asked what George wanted to be when she grew up she replied, "I want to work at a Chinese restaurant, but I don't have my license yet." How those two depend upon one another I have no idea.

When asked after church if George had learned about fasting she replied matter-of-factly, "No. We learned about slowing."

Where to begin???

Where do I start? This whole blogging thing is new to me. I always seem to be about 3 steps behind when it comes to cool.  For example, I went all gung-ho creating a My Space page only to realize nobody does that anymore. So I left My Space for greener pastures (Facebook), and just the other night I watched the movie Julie & Julia and was introduced into the blogging world. So here I am!

One of the main reasons for starting this blog is to memorialize the crazy things my kids say and do. Ava for instance. This little girl just speaks and never thinks before hand.  The other day I was telling Russ something about the Erikson family and Ava piped up and said, "I thought we were the Eriksons".

Most of the time she is messing with you. She is a lot smarter than we realize.  She is great at tormenting Jackson in a mental way, while he just beats on her.  One day he was asking her a question and she kept making him repeat it over and over. It took about 12 times before he realized that she was messing with him.  Poor kid. He is going to be in for it once she perfects her "game".

Another great Ava'ism, is when she was throwing a huge fit because Russ and I are going to Maui and she is not invited. (That's right we are going to Maui!! Boo-yah.) So I decided to talk to her about the gifts we could bring her. I told her about the plumeria perfume and asked her if she wanted me to bring her some and she said "Sure, but I would prefer you to bring me a hula skirt and some hula boobies". I know right, where did she come from.

A day doesn't pass when something crazy doesn't happen around here. So keep posted for more to come.