Do you people never tire of getting wet?

This is what I just asked of my family as they went off, yet again, to enjoy a water pasttime. It is now well past dark in Hawaii, but luckily for them there are tiki torches and lots of pools.

Today was our first full day in Hawaii. I really am sitting here typing with my door open, listening to the ocean, the breezes (or... heavy winds, let's be honest), and the distant sounds of polynesian drumming (not kidding). Today was amazing. I had absolutely no idea what I was missing out on about 7 years ago, the last time I was in Hawaii - when I couldn't get over the panic of putting my face in the water to snorkel.

I should specify - we are in Maui, West Maui actually - Ka'anapali to be specific. We made the epic trek yesterday to LA (of course preceeded by the dogs untimely running away - yet again). David at one point actually lost hope that we would be seated in first class - yet strangely, I never did. Alas, he and I did enjoy a comfortable visit in the first class cabin while our children suffered in Economy Plus - but the screeching toddler and man-with-no-plane-etiquette directly in front of me attempted to steal my glee at my first class good fortune. If I had paid for that seat, I would've been SO upset.

But I didn't, so I remembered to be grateful that I had that wide seat, yummy meal, and seemingly ever-filling wine glass. I think those 1st class stewardesses are fairly hell-bent on seeing you stagger out of the plane. Or perphaps pass out and stop asking for things.

I resisted. I knew we had a long night ahead, and although we did indeed have an extended night, we ended up arriving at our fabulous destination safe and sound - about all you can hope for.

David and I were taking on the kids' role this morning. While the kids slept in their ultra-dark room until past 8am, David and I were literally up at the crack of dawn, excited to see what lay out our front door. Awesomeness, that's what!

I typically hate first floor rooms - but in the case, when the 1st floor opens out onto an ocean view and an expansive warm-enough pool - I'll take it.



My family pretty much laughed at me when I asked them to acknowledge my bravery today - but although they pushed it off, it was a huge, huge milestone for me. Today was the first day I have ever swam in the ocean - honest to goodness swimming, out more than about 5 feet from the shore, for any significant length of time. And I put my face in the water. Full on, face in water. All those times I was laughed at by them learning to swim, all those embarrassing days at the masters swim team in Idaho - they all paid off. Because I was finally secure enough in my swimming abilities to do what I had dreamed of when I failed to snorkel the last time I was in Hawaii.

I had NO IDEA it was as awesome as it is. Ethan simply cannot get over it. I am surprised we can get him out of the water at all. Lucy enjoys it nearly as much, if not equally. We have extensive coral right there - a very, very short swim from the beach, and you are viewing "brain coral" (Ethan may have asked 600 times, "Did you see the brain coral?"). Many of the coolest fish we've been admiring in the finest mainland US aquariums can be found right off our shores. Much of the cast of Finding Nemo was spotted - moorish idols, schools of yellow tang, parrotfish, and yes - the amazing sea turtle that I, unfortunately, did not see (because I had a defective snorkel set!). I wish I had some pictures of this amazing experience - but it's definitely something that I do not want to forget.

Ethan simply doesn't stop talking about it. For the boy who adores aquariums, it is pretty much a dream come true. Relaxing his head back in the hot tub, he stated, "This is going to be a vacation to remember."

Indeed.

Ethan is very quotable. It's fun to spend lots of time with him just to wait for the gems.

We were talking about negative people, and Ethan shouts with real earnest, "I'm NOT a negative person, I'm in the middle!"

Shortly after, David asks him why his hair is so awesome, and he says blandly, "I condition it twice a day."

His delivery is hard to replicate in the blog, but if you know Ethan, you can imagine it.

Lucy, on the other hand, is rather blown away by the teenage dream awesomeness that this resort delivers - it is very family-oriented, which means lots of families - that bring their teenage boys with them. From Australia. Lucy is a sucker for an Australian accent. She is hoping for one of those Disney-channel-show dramas - we, on the other hand, are not.

The day also involved some tennis playing, some running, some swimming, some more swimming, some eating, and then some more swimming. That's why I'm writing right now - because while I have definitely come a long way, I can only take so much swimming. Oh, it involved some weight lifting, too. I am hoping I return to California so buff as to be unrecognizable.

Some pictures. Sorry - for those of you who read me through Facebook, you've already seen these - but I need to make sure the blog stays illustrated as well. I'll try to pepper it with a few different shots.




I saw at least half a dozen rainbows today. Lucy said, "I guess there's a reason rainbows are on the license plate."

This is a fairly bad photo, but it's the only one I had my camera with me for.



I followed them out the last time they went into the ocean, and took some shots of them leaving the water - one posed, one not so posed. All good memories.




I am hoping to get some better sunset pictures this week! This is all I have for now, so I conclude.