Maui Review

Whenever we go to a movie, I like to see how many stars a reviewer granted. The usual system involves four stars for the best movies all the way down to "Turkey" for the worst movies ever. Jeff Vice at Deseret News is a good movie reviewer. I use the star system at home too. Whenever I try new recipes I ask Jeff how many stars he gives it and mark it next to the recipe so next time I know. I decided to write about our trip to Maui using the star system. There were some four star events as well as some oners . No turkeys fortunately. Here is my review:

****

Grandpa Sandy

Jeff has the sweetest Dad ever. We were so excited when we learned he wanted to come with us on our vacation. The kids love him. Nicky and Andy didn't stop giggling the whole trip. Sandy is one of the most considerate people I know. He never stops thinking about what he can do to help. He is so easy going and was up for any activity we wanted to put him through. I give Grandpa four stars for easily fitting into our group and making our kids so happy. I highly recommend him as a travel companion. Now if we can just get Grandma Karen to join him next time, we will have the perfect combination.

Reading a book to Nicky.

Digging down to the water table with Nicky.

Tirelessly making sure Nicky didn't get swept away into the ocean.

****
Jeff
Jeff gets four stars too because I love him and it was so fun to spend time with him again after his long absence. He is so good and patient with Andy. He took care of him the whole flight to Hawaii because Andy drives me to insanity with his insatiable appetite for movement. Jeff walked him up and down the aisles and acted like it didn't bother him at all. Andy and Jeff are similar in temperament. They are both peaceful and easy going but don't like to sit still. So they actually fit together well.

The friends at sunset.
A sweet kiss.

My sweetheart.

****
Maui Beaches
The pictures speak for themselves. The water is warm and turquoise. The snorkeling and swimming is perfect. The weather is all hot and sunshiny. I love Hawaii.

***
Accomodations

We stayed in Kihei, Maui which is not the nicest most resortish place but we got a really nice deal on a two bedroom condo that was just remodeled. Also, we were close to all the nice places so we could easily travel by car. We also had an ocean view (and busy road view) from our balcony. The park across the street next to the ocean was not so nice because all the grass was dead. It was nice to have the park though because we took the kids out a couple of nights before bed to get them tired. The condo was all nice and clean. It had a flat screen tv and DVD player for those three a.m. mornings with the kids (lovely time change). The only thing we didn't like was the loft and its ladder to death. The landlady also told me that the railings were decorative and wouldn't hold with any pressure. Luckily the kids listened when I told them not to go up there.

Nicky bugging her friend on the balcony of our condo. Andy liked to drop things off such as sand toys and snorkel gear.

Hanging out on the leather sofa.

Nicky enjoying the park next to our condo at sunset.

***

Nicky and Andy's Behavior

I was quite proud of how well the kids behaved on this trip given that they are three and 19 months, respectively. They also had very little sleep. There were only a couple of bad incidences (including the Luau disaster discussed below). For the most part they did really well.

Grandma Karen sent Nicky a dress and Andy shorts and a t-shirt. Nicky decided she didn't like the dress but wanted to wear Andy's new clothes. We wanted Andy to be the first to wear his clothes so she had a tantrum for an hour over it. The next day we promised she could wear them...so here she is happily wearing Andy's new clothes.

Andy and Nicky played so well at the beach. This is probably why we spent 80% of the vacation on the beach.

Here is a cute shot of Andy being not so cute. Any time we had to wait in the car he insisted on being out of his car seat and in the drivers seat messing with stuff. He has started into the phase of having his own tantrums. He screams, "NOOOO" really loud and throws a fit when he doesn't get his way.

This sweet smile masks the incident that happened right before. Nicky threw a huge fit when I wouldn't let her go sailing out on her baby float into the ocean as far as she wanted. It was a really bad scene. Andy and Nicky got really bad colds at the end of the trip. Last night in the airplane, Andy's ears were hurting him. Instead of crying, he just did this. That is why I bumped their behavior up from two stars to three. How cute is he!

**

Road to Hana

The road to Hana is very famous for its long twisty road and one way bridges. It also has some amazing scenery and waterfalls. None of us were really keen on being stuck in the car for too long. We never finished the whole thing. But it was nice to see some of the rain forest in Maui.

*

Luau
I've worn the same Hawaiian shirt the last three times I visited Hawaii. So it is sort of a tradition to wear to Luaus and such. At the luau a couple of days ago at the Hyatt, I felt woefully out of style. I felt like I did the time when I was 20 and dressed like an ugly witch for Halloween only to go to a party and see everyone dressed like beautiful harlots and pretty things. I didn't get the memo. All the ladies at the Luau were dressed really nice and I was dressed like this. Jeff tried to make me feel better by saying at least the waiters and waitresses were wearing Hawaiian shirts. Some old ladies were too. These comments didn't help me feel better. I think I'm going to get rid of this shirt.

These nice pictures hide the fact that I spent most of the luau that we paid $90 each for, in the bathroom. Jeff and I also spent a fair amount of time walking around on the outside and wolfing down our food because Andy wouldn't stop moving. Back to the bathroom... As the show started, Nicky said she had to go. So we went and waited in line. She seemed to finish her business. We went through the whole ordeal of washing and drying her hands which can take 10 minutes because she insists on doing it all herself. As we were leaving the loo she says, "I need to go pee pee." I am like, are you kidding me? So we make our way to another bathroom and wait in line. This one only has one stall. The cleaning lady comes in and is waiting for us. Nicky flushes the toilet and then can't open the stall door so climbs up underneath it. The cleaning lady tells her she needs to go open the door. So she climbs back up under and starts rattling and shaking the door and she can't get it open. She is crying so the cleaning lady climbs under and opens the door. Nicky wants to wash her hands again but I tell her no. We have already spent a half hour in the bathroom. So she throws a tantrum over that. Arhrggg!

Actually my favorite part of the luau was hearing Sandy (Jeff's dad) describe the luau to his wife Karen over the phone. You could tell how much he missed her and wanted her there. He also spent some time buying her some little gifts. I teared up when they had the people celebrating their anniversaries stand up. There were some who were married over 50 years. They looked so cute with their gray hair and Hawaiian shirts celebrating such a momentous occasion in Hawaii.

Even though it is hard to travel with little kids, I am so glad we went on this little adventure. We made some really good memories and we all had such a great time. I love spending time with my family.