Baby Commando Hike

 There is a little hike in Maui, around the 7 mile marker (I think) on the Road to Hana, that is lovingly referred to as the "Baby Commando Hike." This is in reference to the Real Commando Hike that begins just a few hundred yards down the road, which includes climbing through a lava tube, up waterfalls, hopping wet tree roots, and other more hazardous obstacles, summing up with 40-60 foot cliff jumps into the water below. I HATE jumping into water more than a few feet. My stomach just stays at the top and the rest of me freaks out all the way down.:) Because of the potential danger in the two of us going alone, we opted to take the Baby Commando route instead, though we've both been on it before--Natalie, numerous times. Still, it is a fun, scenic little hike, with just enough adventure to make it exciting.

  I did the hike in 2006 when we went to Maui with Tessa and Sam. I can't believe it has been that long! Corey somehow got ahead of us, took a wrong turn, and didn't meet back up with us until the end of the hike, and missed out on a lot of it since he didn't have a guide. Since then, it seems a lot of safety measures have been added. They are kind of nice, but make it seem a bit preschool-ish and unnatural. 

 Here we are at the initial bridge crossing. I think this is one of the new additions. I don't remember there being the wooden plank before. It's just a tiny jump over a crevice, but it's super safe now!

 A lot of the hike follows a rocky river bank. The water level was perfect this day. After heavy rain, the water levels can reach waist-high, making the trek dangerous, if not impossible. 

 Bamboo is always beautiful and exotic to hike through, and lends an air of mystery to the moment.

 There are several lovely waterfalls along the way.

 Natty is such a little daredevil! She hiked up these slick rocks without the help of the rope--in a skirt!

 Another scenic waterfall.

 The first time I hiked this, there was a single knotted rope to climb this 15-20 foot wall. Now, there are 3-4 different ropes, a rope ladder, and a full wooden ladder. For the love! Who carried a ladder in, and practically made it wheelchair accessible?!

 This is where the adventure on the hike begins, and where many people think the hike ends. I think this is where Corey made it to, and assumed we were elsewhere. The secret is, at this point, you have to jump in the freezing cold water and swim another 100 yards or so, climb the next 15 foot rock wall next to the waterfall, and walk down the riverbed to the last waterfall.

 Natty just jumps right in.

 Brrrrr!!!!!!!

 I took my sweet time to jump the 6 feet or so. The rocks along the edge project into the water everywhere, and parts are really shallow, so you have to be careful not to get banged up.

 Here's the climb next to the waterfall. Though you're supposed to jump off the neighboring rocks into the water, I choose to shimmy back down the rocks instead. Last time, my cousin Tessa was having a hard time getting the nerve to make the jump from where the water is flowing in the next photo.

 You can kind of see the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall which you have to jump out and over to miss when you land. I could see her toes curling over the edge in her indecision, and had the urge to push her hard so that she would not slide down and hit the flat, shallow rocks at the bottom that I could see immersed about 6 inches under the water. But I would have absolutely freaked out if someone did that to me, so I refrained, and in that moment, she slipped off the rocks and plunged 15-20 feet downward. Sam and Natalie were already in the water below, and my thought was that she would for sure be paralyzed by the way I saw her slide and hit the water. I quickly slid down the rocks on the side while Sam and Nat swam to the rescue. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, and of hers also, I'm sure! Miraculously, her hip and thigh hit the water in some way that her fall was cushioned before hitting the rocks full force. It was freaky because there was only pretty deep water around, and not a place to rest and examine her. Luckily, after a few adrenaline-filled minutes of assessing and calming ourselves, she was okay and able to swim with Sam's help the 100 yards back to the riverbank where we left our other clothing. She came away with a nasty bruise, if I remember right (feel free to correct any of these details, Tessa--It's been awhile!!), but that was it. It's not the only time I've seen modern physics be overcome by a higher power, thankfully. There is no scientific explanation in some of these instances, one which we experienced last week on a hike we took in Kauai (stay tuned!). Thank Heaven for the arms of angels!

 And here is the lovely climax of the journey-a waterfall surrounded by warm rocks that you can sun yourself on after the freezing swim. Only right when we arrived, the rain started pouring, and ,imagining the difficulty that would cause on our return, we chose to boogie back. The rain was pretty light and quick, thankfully, and did not cause any problems. We just had a wonderful time bonding as sisters, enjoying the awesome beauty of God's creation around us. Man, I love this place!

Hawaii 2012 Part Two

 What would a trip to Maui be without snorkeling at Black Rock in Ka'anapali?! Ryan chose this locale for his Bday, and we were happy to oblige. While Nat and I were snorkeling, Ryan took Bono and Zach in to meet a turtle, whom they aptly named Volkswagon ("Boltswagon" to Zach). Pretty awesome for a three year old to swim with a turtle. But even awesomer for me to be charged by said turtle. I had to do a hi-ya karate move to allow him to swim under my leg since there is a $10,000 fine for touching the endangered creatures. It was wonderful. Seeing turtles always makes snorkeling worth getting long hair wet and salty!

We then continued the celebration at Lahaina Pizza Co., the restaurant formerly known as BJs Pizza, for some delectable, thick-crusted pizza and a Pizzookie. Yum! Happy Birthday, Ryan! 

 My hair does this thing in the humidity and water. It gets all wavy and crazy. And I hate blow drying it. So for most of this trip, my long hair is a mess of frumpy, frizzy, wild, waves. I am getting too old and motherly to care about such nonsense as having smooth, orderly tresses.

 The three of us are practically triplets!! Look at my gorgeous sister, all brown and tall and blue-eyed!

 On another note, these pigtails are so cute, I could seriously EAT THEM!!!!

 My super kiddos!

 Sadly, we arrived just as the very last humpback whales said "aloha oe" to Hawaii. :((( Whale season is the absolute best. We try so hard to make it then, but our vacation time has been dictated by Corey's breaks from school, so we missed it yet again. I seriously love and miss those majestic animals.

 My superguys. Bono was not too happy. I think he wants a superman shirt.

 How does my sister look so hot and I look so ...I dunno...6 years older?!! We had so much fun together. She watched the kids while Corey and I got to do some kayaking and snorkeling together. She is the best!!

The Stevens' took us out to Tommy Bahama's, which has to have some of the very best cuisine on the island. Seriously-it is SOOO deliciously delightful. 

 Filet mignon with fingerling potatoes and asparagus? Yes, please!

 THese two little troublemakers were so cute together, when they weren't fighting over the same diecast airplane toy! Seriously, I am so glad Zach has several boy cousins his same age. Wish I could say the same for Zoey... (hint, hint, Cherlyn!!)

 I got an itch to go paddleboarding again this trip. Last time we went to Hawaii, it was just starting to get more visible. We did it, but it was pretty anticlimatic for me, for some reason. You pretty much just stand there and try not to fall down like all the other fools out there, right?! This time, we went again, and I enjoyed it much more, It's all about focusing on your center of gravity and enjoying the scenery. Corey even took Zach out for awhile, which they both really dug.

That blur in the black is me. I like the wave action Corey captured in the foreground! 

 A random trumpet fish and turtle I saw during our snorkeling and kayak trip between Mana Kai and Wailea.

Hawaii 2012 Part One

Last year I saw some super cheap tickets to Hawaii, but refrained from buying them in order to be more fiscally responsible. At first, I patted myself on the back, but I have regretted not purchasing them ever since, and vowed that the next time airfare dropped, we were going! In late January, prices finally went down again, so I bought tickets for the four of us to go to Maui and Kauai. Corey and I would have loved a little vacation on our own, but figuring out childcare was too tricky. Maybe next time!

The kids did amazingly well on the 10+ hours of flying we did to get to and from Maui.

 Thanks to Angry Birds and Mickey Mouse!

 Zoey's first experience with beach sand--she loved it!!

 Zach was obsessed with throwing sandy mud everywhere that first day.

 Don't let my whiteness blind you!

 The kids woke up at 2:40 the first morning we were there. We had gone to bed at 7:30 the night before (12:30am for us), so I suggested we drive up the Haleakala volcano to watch the sunrise. I am totally not a puker--it's only happened about 3-4 times in the past 5 years--but this drive, along with the road to Hana, is one of my pyloric triggers!! I need to remember this fact. The sunrise was lovely, but looked about the same as last time we saw it! Luckily, my stomach cooperated, but it was not a pleasant drive!

 It's hard to believe we went from 70+ to 37 degrees in two hours. 10,000 feet up will do that!

 Breathtaking!

 Look at that handsome guy! 

 We took our first small hike as a family to a rocky lookout point.

 Zach was usually good to hike awhile, then rode on his dad's shoulders for the way back. He serenaded us with "Bob the Builder" and "Elmo's World" a good portion of the trip. :)

 It kind of looks like a nuclear explosion or the Second Coming rather than a sunrise here, but kind of a cool sunbeam effect.

I carried Zoey in our Ergo carrier through all our hiking (we did quite a bit) and my back felt great. These things are worth their weight in gold. It is the best baby purchase I have made, by far.

 We stayed in a one bedroom condo less than a mile from Natalie in Kihei. It was nice, but the acoustics were terrible. Every time one person woke up, we were all up. Getting enough sleep was the biggest challenge of this trip for us. The kids were up at 6-6:30 am regardless of when then went down. I wasn't going to miss out on fun by being a Nap Nazi, though.

 Look at that hottie! Abs of steel! Natalie and Ryan are the best hosts and tour guides anyone could ask for. They always make our stay phenomenal, and are so generous and giving with offering their home, car, food, etc. They give visitors the true Hawaiian Ohana (family) experience.

 Corey playing with Zoey and Bono in the sand.

 She loved the sand. Bono took his shoe off and Zoey took a big, yummy lick of sand off the bottom of it, delighted as could be!

 I adore the drive around the secluded north part of the island. This is a quaint little village we passed through. 

The Nakalele Blowhole is one of the sights on this drive. There is about a 15 minute, moderate hike through some dirt and rocks to get there.

It sprays over 100 feet at times, as the ocean crashes and sends water spewing through an opening in the rocks. People have gotten too close and been sucked back down to their death. We enjoyed it from afar.:) 

 I don't know why this picture turned out this way, but Zach looks so beautiful here.

 I forgot the Ergo on this short hike. Not a good idea.

 Cool. Don't know how this happened either.

 There are a couple of paths to the Blowhole. I thought we were on the right one on the way back, but...suddenly it dropped off into trees.We were carrying both kids, had no food or water, were wearing flip flops, and I don't think either of us had a phone either. Not smart. It took 45 minutes to get back to the car from the detour we took. Luckily, we made it back safely, but wasted all our daylight on the mishap and drove the rest of the scenic route in darkness. Lots of life parallels can be drawn from this experience--being prepared, staying on the straight and narrow path, being a guide to your children, etc. We are glad it went okay.

 Sign stating "Park and walk at your own risk."

These are just the first few days of our trip, so there are lots more photos to come...