Maui for Thanksgiving

On November 20th, we left for Maui. My dad, Sabrina, Justin and Aubree were on the flight with us. Luc did pretty well for his first flight. He did not do as well as Hudson on his first flight and he was not a fan of his carseat. He cried during take off because he was hungry and I wanted him in his seat (they had made an announcement about turbulence and I prefer to have the boys in their seats during take off and landing when they have their own seat). Once I was safely able to take Luc out and feed him he was fine, except he just wanted to be held the whole time. I ended up putting him in the baby carrier for most of the flight. I knew that would happen though just because that is how Luc is at home too. Hudson and Nic took a nice nap together. Overall, the flight went pretty well and it is always the best feeling when you step off the plane into that tropical, warm Hawaiian air. *On a side note-look how much crap we had! It is amazing how much more you need to bring when you travel with young kids. 

On November 21st, we spent most of the day getting settled in and unpacking. We did squeeze in a little pool break while the boys napped, which was nice. Nic's parents, sister and Oliver arrived that afternoon. It was their first time meeting Luc!  

That night we went to dinner at Hula Grill. Hudson sat at the opposite end of the table with Auntie Beena and Nonna. It is hard for me to let go, but I have my hands full with Luc and it was nice to only have to worry about one kid for the evening. I did still order his meal for him because of his allergies. We were all having such a nice evening, but towards the end of the meal I noticed my mom and sister acting funny. I asked why and could tell they were hiding something from me. It turned out that the kitchen had made a mistake and Hudson's fish was sitting in a butter sauce. I checked my diaper bag and to my horror realized that my benadryl and epi pen weren't with me (of course the one time I might actually need it it was in another bag from traveling the day before). I started to panic and decided we needed to leave immediately. The waitress came over and apologized and started crying, which made me start to cry. Thankfully nothing happened with Hud and the restaurant gave us a card with the manager's info on it and a note for $100 off our next meal. What a way to start off the trip! 

On November 22nd, Susan, Lauren and Oliver stayed back at the house with Luc, while the rest of us went out on the BRB. We had the best time! We went snorkeling, saw turtles, took Hud for a swim and the highlight: we saw bottlenose dolphins! It was so magical. They were all around the boat and riding the waves. I was loving the experience, but even better for me was that Hud got to experience it too! He loved it!!! 

That afternoon, Hud wanted to swim in the pool. He was jumping in and swimming under water-having the absolute best time! Luc enjoyed spending some time outside too! 

That night we were spoiled by a beautiful sunset, then our friend, Brianna Rubin, who lives on the island came over to babysit. Hudson and Oliver watched movies (aren't they so cute holding hands?) and Luc did a lot of crying apparently. Brianna was cracking us up with stories when we got home from dinner. Hudson was oblivious to Luc's crying, but Oliver kept politely asking Bri to keep him quiet. haha. 

We went to Lahaina Grill for dinner, one of my all time favorite restaurants. The bread and butter are the best I've ever had. In fact, they brought us out an extra large serving of it because we were all eating so much of it. I also always get the cake walk as an appetizer-its a trio of "cakes" crab, tuna and lobster. For dinner, I always pick something different, usually the special, and it is always amazing. It was so nice to have a relaxing meal without the kids.

On November 23rd, we visited the turtles. The boys loved them! 

Then we took Luc for his first swim. He was a little unsure, but he seemed to like it. He was pretty calm and relaxed. Experiencing firsts with your kids never gets old. 

Hudson and Oliver spent the afternoon pretending to be pirates, playing sword fights and playing with play doh. I have loved watching the two of them together and in my mind keep envisioning Hudson and Luc acting the same way together in a few years. Hudson followed Oliver around and wanted to do everything just like him. They played so nicely together this trip. 

That afternoon, we went back in the pool for a bit. Hudson didn't want to get out, but he was getting cold, so Sabrina suggested they go in the jacuzzi for a few minutes. I know kids aren't supposed to go in jacuzzis so I said no, but she promised it would just be for a few minutes. Hud of course had a blast in the jacuzzi and didn't want to get out and my family kept telling me I was being over paranoid so he stayed in much longer than I was comfortable with.

After Hud had dinner and got ready for bed he was extra cuddly. Nic knew something was up right away. He was holding Hud and mentioned he felt hot. A few seconds later Hud threw up. Nic raced to get outside and Hud threw up again. Not to overshare, but I have never seen so much vomit in my entire life. We spent a good two hours that night on the tile floor with Hud in my arms because my mom was freaked out about getting more throw up on the carpet or her furniture. Poor little Hud was really not feeling well and it was his first time throwing up so it totally freaked him out. I felt awful for him. Hud threw up two more times over night (I slept in a towel covered bed with him and somehow managed to get the bowl to his mouth in time to catch everything). 

On November 24th, Hudson went through phases of seeming normal and phases of being sick. He went the entire day without throwing up. I felt so guilty for allowing him to go in the jacuzzi and was convinced that is partly what contributed to him not feeling well. (I also had a brief thought that it could have been the butter, but that would have been a really delayed reaction). We spent most of the day on the couch, watching tv and trying to keep Hud hydrated. 

After going over 24 hours without throwing up, on November 25th, Hud woke up in the morning and vomited 3 more times. We decided it was time to visit a doctor. The doctor said the jacuzzi probably wasn't to blame (or the butter) and that is was more likely that Hud caught some strange bug. He prescribed zofran and sent us on our way. That night everyone went to Roys for dinner. We decided it was best to stay home with the boys. We were getting a bit stir crazy, so we took the boys down to see the turtles and the sunset. It was a beautiful night and felt great to get out and get some fresh air. 

Everyone had fun at dinner and they brought us home food so we got to enjoy the food in the comfort of my parent's house. (Poor Luc-he was so helpful through all this-sleeping better than normal and allowing me to focus most of my attention on Hudson-such a sweet boy.

On November 26th, Hudson seemed to be feeling better, but we still had a pretty low key day just to be safe.

We went to Sansei for dinner that night. Hudson and Oliver had the best time playing and making faces together. Hudson seemed to be feeling much better, which was a relief. 

November 27th was Thanksgiving. We started off the day with Starbucks (thanks Aubree and Justin) and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

Then we took the boys to the park. They had so much fun. Hudson was zipping around on the tricycle and bouncing around on all the equipment trying to keep up with Oliver. It was nice to see him back to his old self. 

I am so bummed we don't have videos of the boys together from this trip. Apparently they were hysterical in the car together (Hudson would say Oliver, Oliver, Oliver over and over again and Oliver would ask Hudson very politely to be quiet, but Hudson would just keep saying it) and it would have been awesome to capture their interactions. 

When we got home from the park, we quickly went in the pool, while the boys went boogie boarding. The waves were huge though so the trip didn't last too long. 

My little turkeys! (We took these photos a few days later as we had a very busy Thanksgiving Day)

We took family photos as the sun was setting. Luc decided it would be the perfect time to have an explosive diaper all over himself and me! Yuck! At least we got the photos done before I had to rush in and change us into new outfits. 

We had a wonderful meal and a great time eating together. I feel so very blessed and 
thankful beyond words for this wonderful life I have. 

On November 28th, we did some lounging by the pool and played some croquet. 

That night, we left the boys at the house and escaped for our anniversary dinner. We were supposed to go earlier in the week, but because of Hudson being sick we had to re-schedule. We missed Australia night, one of our favorites (Susan and Lauren make amazing Pavlovas and Chicken Burgers), but it was so nice to have some time just the two of us. Kimos has become our tradition and we just love it. We both get the parmesan crusted white fish (whichever fresh fish is recommended for the night) and share a hula pie for dessert. We were treated to one of the most stunning sunsets that night! It made the wait well worth it. 

On November 29th we went to Black Rock beach. It was fun to get the boys to the beach. Hudson loved playing in the sand and Luc was pretty casual about the whole thing. We got to see a portion of an Indian wedding take place too, which was pretty cool. Music was blasting and everyone was dressed in gorgeous outfits and dancing down the beach. Luc and I were dancing and clapping and we got invited to join the festivities. My mom and the rest of our group got an invite as well. I think they were genuine too-the group of people were super friendly and welcoming. If I hadn't of had Luc with me I probably would have taken them up on the offer, lol. 

We couldn't come to the beach and not stick Luc's feet in the water. What a lucky little boy to have his first beach water experience somewhere so beautiful! 

After the beach, we met up with everyone else at this delicious food truck called the Shark Pit. 

On November 29th, we woke up to a beautiful double rainbow. The boys spent a good chunk of the morning in Grandma and Grandpa's room jumping on the bed, cuddling and throwing a ball back and forth. It is so fun to see Oliver and Hudson playing together, but it also makes me a bit sad.I so wish we lived near each other so they could be together way more often. 

That afternoon, the boys played croquet again. This time, Hudson even got in on the action.

We spent the rest of the day lounging in the pool, visiting the turtles and eating Ron's delicious sushi!

On November 30th we went to Kapalua Beach. This is definitely one of my favorite places, especially with kids.

We decided it was the perfect spot to test out the raft we bought with the view window. So after the Hud and Oliver played in the sand for a bit, we passed Luc off to Susan and headed out. Kapalua is great because it is nice and shallow and quite calm and protected. Hudson loved it. He got to see a turtle swim right under him. I was focusing on Hudson and the raft and ended up accidentally bumping right into the turtle! (We technically were just floating so the turtle actually bumped into me) Hudson also got to see a bunch of fish and seemed to really like it! 

That night we went back to Hula Grill to use our credit. It was so cold and windy that night! None of us were prepared, but we still had a great time. 

On December 1st, sadly we had to say our goodbyes to Nic's family. It is always so hard to say goodbye, but seeing the friendship between Hudson and Oliver made it even more difficult this time. We are going to miss everyone so much, but we are so thankful we got to have this time together. 

We made one last quick trip down to see the turtles and threw flowers in the water as a tribute to Nic's grandma. 

That night, we went out to dinner with my parents to a really delicious Italian restaurant. 

On December 2nd, we squeezed in one last dip in the pool before we packed up to head to the airport. It is always so hard to leave paradise. We will be counting down the days until we get to come back!

We are so lucky to be able to spend time in such a magical place every year for Thanksgiving. Thanks so much to my parents for making this annual trip possible. We love you both!!