Huh-Vie-Ee

It was one of those trips we'd been looking forward to for over a year!  My dad usually gives us an idea of where we are going, some dates, and then says "if you're planning on getting pregnant, either do it now, or you might want to wait!"  I learned the hard way when I had to miss last year's adult only trip to Costa Rica when my little precious one, Remi, came right when they were kayaking the coasts of Central America.  I'm not complaining.  

So, off to Maui we went with all 26 members of the Sansom Family.  You can only imagine the ruckus we caused on our flight.  I heard at least three people say "Man, I need a drink!" after sitting behind our crew for 6 hours.  It was worth it.  Here's a little snip-it of our week-long trip to paradise.

After church on Sunday, we decided to explore the island.  Many of the little ones hadn't been to Haleakala, so we decided to drive to the top of the volcano.  It was freezing up there, so we quickly took in the beautiful vistas and headed back down to the warmth.

Next we headed to the Iao Valley and hiked up to see the Iao Needle.  While its a short little hike, its was perfect for stretching our legs and letting the kids get their energy out.  Plus, you feel like you're in the middle of a rain forest, so you can imagine that imaginations were running wild.

Beach time was on top of our "Favorite Moments" list for the trip.  Whether it was soaking in the ocean, snorkeling, building sandcastles or sandsharks the beach never left us disappointed.  One thing I love about the beach is that it appeals to every age.  From Grandpa Matt to Remi Ruth, everyone enjoyed soaking up the sun (some a little too much) and burning up some energy.

We spent an amazing day on the water - cruising, snorkeling, and whale watching.  The whales didn't make us wait long in between shows, and got up close and personal to our boat showing off a new baby calf.  It was like being in the middle of a National Geographic film, and all the kids were going nuts over feeling the spray from the blowhole.  

We stopped for lunch in a bay and all the kids took their turn looking for turtles and Humuhumunukunukuapua'a's.  Even Remi took a soak in the sea and loved kicking her little feet in the salt water.  Dieter took his first turn snorkeling, and, while we wasn't sold, he did see a few fish which was pretty exciting for him.

Surfing lessons mid-week made for a lot of great memories.  Finnley wanted to learn how to surf, so we signed her up with some of the older cousins.  I was a little worried how she would do when she fell off, but she just kicked right back to her board and crawled back on.  She was up on almost every wave, making the "shocka" sign with both hands.  She was an expert in no time, even telling her cousins how to do the proper "shocka" stance.

Pretty sure he didn't mean to hop boards. ;)

When we weren't on the beach, we were in the pool.  This also meant sipping on chocolate smoothies and virgin Lava Flows.  This meant sliding down the slide and sitting in the hot tub.  This meant kids talking to themselves in the kiddie pool thinking nobody was watching.  This meant good times!

Another FAVORITE memory was our afternoon in the Banyan Tree forest.  If you haven't already watched the video in the next post, do yourself a favor and do so.  You may just see four vines break causing Mitch do do a back-plant causing my brother to do is infamous honk-laugh.  So funny.  Maybe you had to be there??  The kids climbed on every vine they could find, and even the adults got in on the fun.

All 26 of us!

Other highlights - learning the hula and making leis.

We decided to celebrate Remi's first birthday a week early while we were still together with our family.  Whats better than Hula Pie to dig into on your first??

One of our last nights, we went to the Luau.  While I've never liked luau food, I always love the entertainment.  For some reason i feel like I've stepped back to the 70's when they had good, wholesome (girls in coconut bikini's?) entertainment.  Plus the fire-dancer was awesome!

An amazing trip all thanks to these two!  I couldn't have asked for a better mom & dad.

I was sad to give up my morning workouts with my mom and sisters.  I have many, many wonderful memories from walks and runs with my mom and sisters - lots of laughs.  This was actually a really funny morning.  Sara and i were trying to take a running pictures to send to her close friends.  We tried timer a bunch but they wouldn't turn out.  Finally, we asked a lady walking the beach to take one of us - we felt like total idiots and I couldn't stop laughing or look at the lady in the eyes.

Take me back!

So, that was our trip in a nutshell.  Until next time....as long as I'm not pregnant. ;) (which I'm not!)

Thank you to my sister for giving me over half of these gorgeous photos!