hawaii 2011

two days after thanksgiving my parents took us and my brothers to hawaii for 10 days. we chose to go to maui, on kaanapali beach, where we stayed at the honua kai resort. it totally exceeded our expectations! so, the last time we went to hawaii, shelby was the same age as cora. so i knew what i was in for in terms of a vacation being not quite "relaxing" and more "memory making" instead. i was also a nervous wreck about the flight. everyone was praying for me and the girls because i was kinda freaking out about that long flight with busy cora. shelby wasn't a big worry, just give her an ipad, her blanket and thumb, apple juice, and nemo (fruit) snacks and she is good to go. i started preparing way in advance for the flight, gathering new little toys, stickers, even tags from clothes because cora loves playing with those. i also got a fisher price iphone holder that protects your phone while your baby plays with it. i was a mobile day care. the best part of the flight was that it left super early in the morning which meant that cora didn't get much sleep and was super tired on the flight! after fighting to stay awake for what felt like forever, she slept for 3 of the 5+ hour flight!!!! unheard of. fantastic. thank goodness she had her own seat so that she could sleep in her car seat. richard and i sat with cora, while brett and trevor were with shelby. it was a memorable flight also because there were more kids then any of us have ever seen on one flight. parents were up in the aisles with kids and babies of all ages for the entire flight. so my kids were in great company! we were all in it together. the last hour was the toughest. the poor girl just wanted to crawl! her cries just meant "why mom, why won't you let me down?" :)

 richard's face says it all...we freaking made it. 

yay! 

mom, why do we have so much luggage? 

why can't you pack like a normal person? 

brett's best friend mike was along with us too. 

he had to miss a few classes at byu and a big snowstorm to be with us, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make!

i was trying out a hat look. still not sure. 

cnn said that this airport, kahului maui,

would be the least busy airport in the u.s. over thanksgiving! 

look at those trees. the trade winds were in full force!

once we got settled at the hotel, we all headed straight for the beautiful beach. it was cora's first time playing in the sand! she immediately started eating it. thanks babe.

these cute boys worked so hard on their tans the entire trip! brett is always fighting a golf tan. serious white people problems. 

shelby wanting to keep her bow on with her bathing suit makes me sooo happy! 

day 1 was so awesome! and we had 9 more days of fun in the sun waiting for us!