Hamiltons in Hawaii - Day 3

Hamiltons in Hawaii

and the Series of Unfortunate Events

Day 3 - Seven Years on Sunday

On Sunday, September 25, Keith and I celebrated our Seven Year Anniversary.  It is amazing how far we have come in Severn Years!  Every year is better than the last.  

We kicked off the morning with Breakfast with Nana and Papa at the Kihei Cafe.

Nana and with the Guys:

Oliver, Bill, Keith and Kellan

Oliver had a whale pancake.  Yum!

He informed me that it didn't really look like a whale to him but he was going to eat it anyway.

Nana had a veggie omelet and it was the most unique omelet we have ever seen.  It appeared to be modeled after a volcano.

After breakfast we took a drive North to see what we could see.

The boys had a great view of their eye lids as they took a morning snooze.  Wake up time on day two was 4:30.  Better but still EARLY!

We landed in Lahaina and decided to stop to walk around.

Unfortunate Event: Kellan was BEYOND GRUMPY!  He was absolutely inconsolable and in his high stress time he took a huge bite of his Mamas arm.  OWIE!!  This was a first but I noticed that he kept trying to bite the ergo straps too.  We didn't know what was wrong so we walked around with him trying to calm him down.  We settled in a park where we probably disturbed a few people who appeared to be taking naps (rise and shine, time to wake up to a screaming kid).  We finally laid him in the stroller with his bottle and he went to sleep.  When Oliver was a baby the Doctor had told us that children will bite when they are frustrated because they are trying to communicate something and people aren't understanding.  The question was, what was he trying to communicate?? I'm confident that it wasn't that he was hungry.

Lahaina was a very pretty town and we enjoyed walking around.  

We noticed several sail boats just off the coast. 

Then we looked closer and noticed that there was a sail boat casualty.  I'm not sure that this would be a place that I would want to park if I was a sailor.  There could be bad Karma!

Since Kellan didn't want to ride in the ergo, we tested it out for Oliver as a back back.  It is rated to carry his weight and he LOVED IT!  Actually, I enjoyed it as well.   It was very comfortable and it gave us a chance to have some great conversations.  It was like having a little voice on my shoulder.  Hey wait, I DID have a little voice on my shoulder!

This was our attempt at jazz hands.  Clearly, we need some practice.

Kellan sleeing peacefully.  Poor kiddo!  We knew something wasn't right but what could it be?

Ahhh Gelato!!

A perk of vacation is having gelato in the morning.

Mommy had cocunut and pineapple.  (Also known as Pina Colada)

Oliver had Raspberry.

There was a great deck off the back of the store where we could enjoy our tasty treat.

Daddy enjoying the view of the beach down below.

This banyan tree was awesome!  

According to the Banyan Tree Park Website:

"This Banyan Tree was first planted in April, 1873, and marked the 50th Anniversary of Christian missionary work in Lahaina. The tree was imported from India was only 8 feet tall. It now stands over 60 feet high, has 12 major trunks in addition to a huge core. It stretches over a 200-foot area and shades 2/3 of an acre."

We would have loved to have played around the tree without the art festival.

Can't you see Oliver running around this tree like a jungle monkey?

Front Street is lined with cute little shops that we had hoped to return to but we didn't make it. (Ok, maybe Mommy hoped and Daddy hoped not to)  On the way back, I took an out the window shot of these fun trees that canopied the road.

That afternoon, we took the boys to the beach in front of our condo to enjoy the sand and surf.

Unfortunate Event: Prior to heading out to the beach, we discovered what was causing Kellan dissatisfaction when we noticed a third top tooth had emerged.  Ibuprofen to the rescue!

Kellan much preferred playing a game of catch on the hill above the sandy beach.

Well... really it isn't much of a game of catch as much as a game of fetch.  Kellan throws the ball and we fetch it for him.  Yes, he has us well trained.

Back at the condo, we were getting ready to go out for our anniversary and our Big Guy Oliver was all tuckered out and fell asleep on the couch.

Kellan was perfectly happy checking out the plumbing in the bathroom.

That night we went to dinner up north in Paia.  This took us right by the sugar cane factory (we think that is what it is)

We had an amazing evening at Mamas Fish House.

The restaurant came highly recommended by several people and I too would recommend it if you are ever on Maui.

The view of the ocean upon arrival at Mamas Fish House.

The view of the beach from the patio of Mamas Fish House.

The happy couple after seven years of marriage.

The flowers around the restaurant were gorgeous and unique.

Coming from the Pacific Northwest I couldn't help but think these resembled pine cones painted pink.  I'm thinking these are MUCH better than the pine cones I had to pick up from the yard when I was a kid.  (Yes, Mom and Dad, I'm scarred for life!)

Ahhh... my uber handsome husband.  

LOVE YOU BUNCHES!

Mrs Hamilton with an amazing Martini and an appearance of being made of wax.  WHAT?!  I have no idea why the camera gave me this tone.  All I could figure is it was capturing the true moment.  Unfortunate Event: I had been suffering from tension headaches and just as we arrived at Mamas, I had one come on hot and heavy.  By this point my vision was blurring and I had a deer in the headlights look.  Fortunately, our waitress came to the rescue with some Ibuprofen from (what appeared to be) the first aide kit.  She was an absolute life saver to the evening.  She also recommended this amazing martini that I would have never picked out on my own and it was absolutely perfect.  Major Unfortunate Event avoided.

The food was so divine that we captured images of EVERYTHING!  Yes, we played up the tourists on vacation card, big time.

Fresh baked bread with a mustard spread.

Amazing soup!  With coconut milk, crab and a bunch of other great stuff that made this soup light and refreshing.

We about died of laughter when our dinner came out.  It was classic and a testament to each of our personalities!  This crazy fish was too much to handle.  

Carrie's comment, "Hey, who invited the third wheel?"

Carrie's dish was some fancy Hawaiian fish (that I couldn't remember the name of even when I ordered it) with a divine sauce.  Classic, conservative yet amazing!

How often do you get three desserts with dinner?

Our first dessert was a complimentary anniversary ice cream.  The flavor of the night was home made pineapple.  

The dessert we ordered was a pineapple cheesecake with coconut sherbert.  Again, simply divine!

Finally, out came a complimentary dessert that was of Hawaiian tradition.  I'm not sure what they called it and it was fairly flavorless but it was tradition, so we enjoyed it all the same.

The cool clothes were also amazing as they smelled of almonds.

Sure dinner was great, but how often do you find the restrooms to be of the same caliber?

I was so impressed by the baby changing station that I almost wished Kellan was there so that I could place his bare bum upon it.

Even the toilet paper had pizazz.

What an amazing bathroom.  Can we move in?

Before we left the restaurant, we walked out by the beach to enjoy the surroundings.  We found this great turquoise boat.

Keith ready to take the boat out for a spin.

I loved this palm tree that bent out over the beach and waves.

Every girl should have a palm tree seat to sit upon for a photo op.

We had an amazing evening celebrating seven years of marriage.  It's hard to believe that it has already been seven years.  Two days before our wedding I remember a friend telling me about the seven year itch.  She said after seven years people just want out and it's like they have an itch that needs to be scratched.  Keith and I talked about this and we can't even imagine having such a desire.  The only itch we may need scratched it the one in the very middle of our back that's tough to reach and that's what we have each other for.  OR, maybe we should get a palm tree in our back yard for that.  What a great excuse to bring the beach to Colorado!

Unfortunate Event: Kellan has an ear infection and gets a trip to the ER for antibiotics.

On our way home, Keith's Dad pocket dialed him and all Keith heard was Kellan screaming.  YIKES!  Keith called his Dad back and after Kellan had a great night and had been sleeping for 30 minutes, he woke up screaming and was inconsolable.  Everything was starting to come together:

Unhappy with the wind

Discomfort while sleeping

Batting at his ears (when windy)

Generally grumpy

Screaming for no reason

EAR INFECTION!

The second we laid eyes on his we knew we were headed to the ER.  Nana was gracious enough to stay with our sleeping Oliver and we headed out with Kellan.  (THANKS NANA!!!)

Of course, Kellan was chillin' in the ER.  No screaming.  No grumpiness.  A perfect angel.

One peak in his ear and the Dr didn't hesitate to confirm that he had an ear infection.

Kellan: "Come on, Mom.  MUST you take photos of everything?"

Mom: "Yes, Kellan.  I WILL take photos of your trip to the ER in Maui.  It's my job as your Mother."

The ER is up on a hill and when we walked out the door I said to Keith,

"Look, the island is on FIRE!"

It didn't take us long to figure out that they were burning the sugar cane fields.  Whew!  What would we have done if the island really WAS on fire.  SWIM!

As we drove by the fire it really was an amazing site.  We stopped for a very quick photo and you could hear it crackling.  The fire was HUGE!!  The photo that I would have loved to have captured was when we drove by the fire trucks standing by.  You could see the silhouettes of fire men standing on top of the trucks and to the side just watching the flames.  What a site!

We made it home with Kellan chatting the whole way.  (See video below).  We were thankful that we knew the cause of his pain and relief was well on it's way.   On another note: This is our second beach vacation and both times Kellan has had an ear infection.  We're thinking that he could find a better way to tell us if he really doesn't see the title of Beach Bum in his future.