Mile High Hamiltons: Hamiltons in Hawaii

Hamiltons in Hawaii

and the Series of Unfortunate Events

Day 2 - Big Day on Big Beach

We had high hopes that the boys would adjust well to the time zone change since they have never given us a reason to think otherwise. Au contraire mon frere. Kellan thought 3:00 AM was an appropriate wake up time (hey, he's sleeping in, right? It's 7:00 AM at home.) Of course, Oliver was in on that action as well. At 4:30 I texted Lindsey and come to find out, William was up too, so they joined us for some quality morning time. But first (no pun intended) we had a quarter moon shining bright on our morning after Oliver's early morning bathroom visit. Someday, he may think that this should have been listed as an unfortunate event.

The advantage of an early wake-up call is that naps come early and so do afternoon events. We decided to hit the beach on our first full day in Hawaii.

Thanks to some new goggles from Papa, Oliver was ready to roll!

Our beach destination was one that came highly recommended and I can see why, it was amazingly gorgeous. We referred to it as Big Beach but it is listed with three names: Big Beach, Oneloa or Makena and it is located on (what I would call) the South West corner of Maui. As beautiful as the beach was, it was a bit rough for those of us under 4' tall. Maybe it was the day or maybe it is always that way. You know it's not a good sign when the life guard approaches you moments after you arrive to explain the beach, how the water rises and falls, how the rip tides work and how "people's lives can change forever and you don't want that to happen today". Hmm... maybe it was the kids that triggered this conversation, maybe it was obvious we were on vacation, maybe it really was that dangerous. Regardless, we appreciated the warning and took the life guard very serious.

Kellan's first order of business was a nap on the beach.

The sand was great for digging and playing in. Oliver enjoyed tossing the sand around like it was his own personal play ground.

The beach, amazingly beautiful.

I also recognize from these photos that the waves don't look that intimidating. Next time, action shots of the waves!

The weather in Maui is unbeatable. It was in the 80's and sunny Every Day! It was amazing to watch the storm clouds surround the mountains and move across the sky but not once did they come between us and the sun.

Keith and Oliver having a chat about the workings of the ocean. It is very common to find these two having deep conversations about their surroundings. I wonder if Oliver was asking his Daddy to take down a shark, since he is convinced that his Daddy can. Sharks, Cheetah's, T-Rex's, Dragon's, you name it and Oliver will tell you that his Daddy can take 'em.

William is a beach bum in the making! He couldn't get enough of the sun, sand and sea.

When his Daddy would put him in the water, William would kick and kick and kick!

Papa, Keith and Oliver enjoying the water. Once you got past the break, the water was quite nice.

Since this was our first day on the beach, I wanted proof of that I was wearing a bikini. My goal this summer was to be in a bikini for Hawaii. Ta-Da! Bikini Body! Eating well and hard work really does pay off.

On another note, do you see that wave coming in, the water was so strong that it was coming all of the way up to my feet and burying them in the sand. You can see the water already up behind me. Crazy!

Sister-in-Law Self Portrait: Lindsey and Carrie.

The two of us had such a great time during vacation catching up.

Jeff and William loving the beach!

Oliver, Daddy and Nana building sand castles on the beach.

Kellan wasn't much of a beach bum himself. After his nap he was a bit grumpy with the wind. We have high hopes that he grows to love the beach as much as his brother does. Oliver wasn't much of a fan in his earlier years either. I'm sure he'll happily teach Kellan the ropes once his inner beach bum emerges.

The other part we missed with photos was the boogie boarding, which was great fun and relaxing. This was until the ocean taught Mommy a lesson on who was the boss. As I was coming in and approaching the shore and just as I started to put my feet down to stand up a HUGE wave took me out and tossed me around a bit. As I got my bearings and finally stood up I didn't hear any words of concern from my family on the beach. Instead from Oliver and Keith I heard "Hey, Seaweed Head!" followed with loud laughter. Ha ha ha!! Very funny boys. (even though I'm sure it was quite funny as all of my hair was over my face from the back, forward). The two lessons I learned, the ocean is the boss and the itsy bitsy bikini is not a good choice when boogie boarding.

Saturday night we went to dinner with Nana and Papa at Cafe Ole. We had a great evening and the food was wonderful. Kellan's idea of a great vacation is full of plentiful yummy food!!