Maui Sunrise Bike Tour

We arrived in Maui late Saturday afternoon and first thing Sunday morning we were waking up to a 2:15 am wake-up call. Yes, intentionally! We were out the door by 2:45 am (7:45 am Dallas time - see, doesn't sound so bad now, right?) and headed to the home base of our Haleakala Sunrise Bike Tour. We rode a bus up the winding roadways in the pitch dark with 6 or 7 other lovebird couples and half a dozen adventurous 20-something-year-old Australians who were stopping off in Hawaii and then headed stateside for more adventure. What were they most excited about visiting? Las Vegas!

Once we arrived at Haleakala's 10,023' summit, we bundled up as it was about 40 degrees and windy, and looked out.  This is what we saw. The sun was not rising above uneven terrain...

...it was rising above the clouds. The color changes were fascinating.

Finally, we see the first glow just barely peering over the moving clouds.

Spectacular. If only our camera could catch the large mountains, craters and textural details all around us.

What made it even more interesting is that we had the sunrise on the east and the "supermoon" on the west. I'm tinted red from the bright sunrise in front of me. And do you see the blue peak in the background? That is a shadow on the island from the mountain behind me!

This is part of the crater we were surprised to see just below us once the sun came up. The 3,000' deep crater is 7 miles long, 2 miles wide and 21 miles in circumference. Big enough to contain all of Manhattan!

Time for our self-guided 23 mile bike ride! No sweat. Seriously though - it was all downhill from there. ;)

Having just arrived in Maui the evening prior, this was our first good look at the island and some of its vegetation and interesting characteristics.

About halfway down our bike ride we stopped to eat a delicious breakfast at this cute upcountry restaurant called Kula Lodge. We overlooked their sloping green tropical gardens, the clouds above and the oceans below while we munched on macadamia nut pancakes and homemade french toasts.

We were done with our bike ride down Haleakala Highway by 10:30 am and stopped to watch the surfers on Maui's north shore.

There was a tiny "private beach" nearby that Keith designed with a "P" made out of rocks for Payson. We captured a special photo for each of the kids while on the trip.

Then we began our open jeep drive along the "notoriously narrow and twisty county-maintained section of the Kahekili Highway" along Maui's northwest coast. While we don't have any pictures of what this "highway" looks like, it will forever be etched in my mind. One writer describes it as a "narrow one lane road, no guardrails, little reflectorization, and a long way down into the gulch should you wander over the edge." It was super spectacular and super fun. And the views were incredible!

If you're wondering if the waters really look this blue the answer is yes! No editing needed. This place has coves, capes and coastlines that will blow you away.

Where's Waldo?

Now this is what Hawaii is all about!

Maui or Bust!

Keith and I were blessed to get to go to Hawaii for our upcoming 10th Anniversary! We've been planning it for a year and it took a lot of wonderful helpers and caretakers to pull off leaving three preschoolers back at home. Bags checked, security checked, Mimosas served, and we're off!

We landed in Maui and headed south to the Grand Wailea where we stayed for two nights. The property is huge with around 800 rooms and the grounds are covered with vegetation and winding pools and lazy rivers.

This place is a hotspot for events and weddings and even has a chapel onsite. Here's the view from the center balcony.

The beach was gorgeous...

...and the sunset was perfect.

Our first night in Maui was the same night as the "supermoon" so we captured it big and bright that evening.

We celebrated my belated birthday that evening at Nick's Fishmarket. I ordered the Greek Maui Wowie which was DELICIOUS! Chopped Maui onions, tomatoes, avocado, romaine, feta & bay shrimp. Yum! And I was surprised with a tasty birthday dessert too!

The next morning we took a Sunrise Bike Tour and then went on an adventurous drive on the Kahekili Highway along Maui's northwest coast (more on that to come). Once we were off of the one-lane roads (yes, you heard that right, just one lane) and back in the populated area of west Maui, we took in the sights and beauty of Kapalua, Kaanapali and Lahaina.

We had a late leisurely lunch at Pacific'O where we took some extra time to talk to the kids over the phone and watch the activities going on out at sea (including a dog and his owner on a surf board!)

The must-see of the area is definitely the banyan tree in Courthouse Square in downtown Lahaina. It's so large that it's practically impossible to photograph the entire thing. It's crazy to think that it started as an 8 foot tree back in 1873!

Aerial roots that hang from the tree hang down and grow into trunks when they touch ground. Yes, this is all a part of the same tree!

Twisting, turning roots make each new trunk strong and unique.

Downtown Lahaina is a cute little coastline town that has lots of food and shopping to offer.

Stay tuned for more on Maui and Kauai. The best is yet to come!

"The days pass happily with me wherever my ship sails."

- Joshua Slocum

Summer A'Knockin

Summer is coming and Dallas and the heat is on in Texas! We joined Grandma for another fun party at her nursing home. Yes, they do know how to throw a good party - ha! My mom's good friend who works there also brought three of her four boys so the kids had fun hanging out with them and their cousins, Avery and Addison.

How low can you go?

Careful...

Lean that head back...

You got it!

Thatta girl - check out that form from big cousin Avery!

 She learned it from her father (aka my brother). It's the Limbo Frankenstein style!

Payson's T-Ball team had a team social at the Rangers game. It was a full house!

Payson and Griffin taking a break from the popcorn and cotton candy.

Ahhhhhh!

It's hard to get to the pool with three preschoolers by myself so I see lots of spray parks in our future again this summer. Yep, it's already hot enough. This time we met up with our playgroup.

Payson filling up his bucket with water.

Hayden loved running through the water.

Now that's how you live life!

Tea for Two (Or Seven!)

Hayden, Madison and I hosted our first tea party for five of their friends. The invitation read, "Wear your finest dress and your mother's pearls, Hayden and Madison are hosting a Tea Party for just the little girls!"

Upon arrival the girls had two play stations: one was set up with pretend tea party play food...

... and the other was set with a castle and a plethora of Disney princesses and accessories.

After some free play, it was time for the real tea party to begin. Their plates were set with a Peanut Butter and Jelly Flower with asparagus as the stem and a slice of white carrot for the center and a petal cupcake liner that held mixed fruit. A passing tray held additional sandwiches including Strawberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels and Fairy Bread.

What is Fairy Bread? It originates from Australia and is simply a piece of white bread, spread with butter and topped with loads of sprinkles. Every little girls' dream!

The girls so elegantly sipped their tea (pink lemonade, of course!) from real china that was originally their great-grandmother's, lovingly known as Granny Bug for her love of ladybugs. Its delicate pink flowers and dainty design made the perfect place setting for the little girls' very girly tea.

Who wants more tea sandwiches?

All of the girls looked so darling and behaved so well. But, of course there was a lot of giggling as the girls definitely had the sillies over having a real tea party and all of those delicious treats!

Not surprisingly, dessert was highly anticipated. They had their choice of Marshmallow Teacups, Queen of Tarts, Perfectly Princess Cupcakes, Tea Cookies or Chocolate Dipped Fairy Wands, all homemade with love.

Yum, yum, yum, yum and yum!

While our princesses-in-training enjoyed their sweets, my sweet helper for the day, Liza, read the girls "Fancy Nancy: Tea for Two" and gave them a brief etiquette lesson including simple concepts such as to always say "please" and "thank you," be honest, respect grown-ups and apologize when necessary. Each guest got to take home a copy of the book as their party favor.

While Liza was with the girls the moms snuck away to the kitchen for their own tea party. The menu for the ladies included Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, Egg Salad Club Sandwiches, homemade Buttermilk Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream and Strawberry Preserves, fruit salad, chocolate covered strawberries and fresh Strawberry Lemonade.

After the girls finished up their treats, they got busy at the first of their two craft stations. They each chose a Sticky Mosaic with designs such as cupcakes, teapots, teacups and teddy bears. 

And for the last activity of the day, the moms assisted the girls in decorating their own tea hats using their choice of ribbon, silk flowers, feathers and butterflies.

Madison and Ryann proudly showing off their beautiful creations!

It was hard to get these two giddy girls to be still for a photo with Mom, but we managed to snap a quick picture before they could Houdini their way out of this one!

Such a special day for a delightful group of young girls!
(top l-r: Keira, Abby, Ryann, Madison, bottom l-r: Hayden, Elle and Juliet)