A Disney Princess Castle Play Day

It's Disney princess castle play time!

Sleeping Beauty, Brave, Aladdin and Little Mermaid doll fun

She loves her Genie, Aladdin, and Jasmin dolls

Fairies love castles too; Tinkerbell multiplied by three

Beauty and the Beast, Elsa, Rapunzel, and Alice joined the fun

Her favorite princesses; Rapunzel and Tiana

In Disney heaven - happiest girl ever

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2014

2014 St. Patrick's Day fun and festivities

Our two sweet little Irish girls had the best St. Patrick's Day treasure hunt and activity time last week. That mischievous and clever little leprechaun planned a day full of fun festivities. It started with an exciting treasure hunt for gold, and led to hours of St. Patrick's Day arts and crafts fun. The girls were thrilled to discover that the cheeky leprechaun left his footprints on the toilet seat. That was certainly the icing on the cake...or perhaps it was the special shamrock milkshakes he left behind? Either way, the Easter bunny had better be on his game after the leprechaun's success!

Leprechaun Mickey and Minnie crafts; shamrock shakes

Road to Hana with Kids: Part III - Hana Lava Tube, Black Sand Beach, Driving off in the Sunset

Halfway to Hana waterfalls, flowers, and banana bread

Hanging tree vines on road to Hana

Ready to explore Hana Lava Tube

Inside the cave created by Hana Lava Tube

Lavasicles; they reminded the girls of melted chocolate

A peek in to the beautiful Travassa Resort in Hana

Black sand of Wai'anapanapa beach in Hana

Once we arrived in Hana, we made the most of our time by checking out the Hana Lava Tube and black sand beach of Wai'anapanapa State Park. The Ka'eleku Cave/Hana Lava Tube was a huge highlight on the way. The cave itself is easy to navigate and doesn't take long to explore. The girls liked getting to carry their own flashlights, and were especially intrigued by the lavacicles, which reminded them of melted chocolate. After spending some time spelunking (what a word!), we soon made our way back to the surface with the goal of reaching the Wai'anapanapa black sand beach. Once we arrived we realized that there is a lot to see in Wai'anapanapa State Park. If we weren't on a race against sunset, we would have stayed much longer to explore the bluffs and sea caves. The black sand beach is actually fairly small and crowded, so we stayed just long enough to leave a few footprints. The girls had fun chasing a few Hawaiian mongooses on our way out of the park.  

After a very long and enjoyable day on the Road to Hana...with kids, we arrived at our final destination; Ohe'o Gulch in Haleakala State Park to see the aptly named Seven Sacred Pools. These tiered waterfalls are an incredibly beautiful sight. We arrived close to 6pm, which was nice because we didn't have to fight the crowds. The downside is that we didn't make it early enough to hike the Pipiwai Trail and bamboo forest, but in all honesty I don't think the girls would have made it far. We didn't stay too long as it was still a very long drive back to Kihei. The girls were pretty tired out toward the end of the journey, as were we. It took about another hour and half for us to drive from Ohe'o Gulch back to Kihei. Driving up toward Haleakala at dusk gave us our last incredible views of Maui. What a crazy/long/fun/exhausting/fulfilling trip it's been. We couldn't have envisioned a better vacation to start off 2014. Aloha Hawaii!

Beauty of Wai'anapanapa state park; Hawaiian mongoose

Seven pools at Ohe'o Gulch

Waterfalls, mountains, horses and cows

Secluded tropical bungalows outside Hana

A final Road to Hana shot before sunset

Lights of Maui at dusk

Road to Hana with Kids: Part II - Parrots and Waterfalls

Picturesque old bridge on the Hana Highway

Parrots on the Road to Hana, Maui

The girls loved the macaws; one loved momma too, hah!

Bird man dad; he took on all six

As we continued on our Road to Hana adventure, crossing picturesque old bridges and stopping to take photos of a few waterfalls, we eventually encountered some very beautiful parrots of all colors of the rainbow. This was, hands down, the highlight of the day for the girls. They loved getting to take photos with the birds. Elise was even able to hold one of the parrots in her hands. They were all very well trained and sat very still for photos. Perhaps the funniest moment of the day was when momma was duped into "pretending" to kiss one of the parrots. I was not expecting him to stick his tongue out, ack! Daddy and the girls thought it was absolutely hilarious. Elise now asks to see the photo at least once every few weeks, so she can break into laughter all over again. Despite getting up close and personal with that particular parrot, I really enjoyed the blue macaw that sat on my shoulder. He had the most mellow personality and even little Alina felt comfortable petting him. They were all gorgeous birds and this was a very fun and unexpected surprise on our way to Hana. 

After spending some time with the parrots, our next stop was at Waikamoi Falls. It is a smaller waterfall around mile marker 10, and it happened to be flowing quite well considering it had rained heavily a day prior. The best part about this waterfall is that it is right off the Hana Highway and only takes about five short minutes to hike up to the top. This is perfect when you have small kids in tow. We all found the falls to be quite beautiful and much less crowded than some of the other waterfalls along the way. Daddy took both girls up to the very top of the waterfall. I was a nervous wreck taking photos of the three of them sitting atop a precarious waterfall ledge, but those little thrill seekers loved it! It made for great photos as well.

Waikamoi Falls off mile marker 10 - Hana Highway

Dad and the girls hiked to the top

At the top of the waterfall

Picture perfect shot atop Waikamoi Falls

Road to Hana with Kids: Part I - Garden of Eden Arboretum - Haiku, Hawaii

Beautiful ocean overlook at The Garden of Eden, Maui

Greetings from paradise - Garden of Eden, Hawaii

Gorgeous peacock plumage on display

Rainbow Eucalyptus trees - Garden of Eden, Maui

Exotic bird welcoming committee; what a sight!

Idyllic view at The Garden of Eden, Maui

We spent one of our final days in Maui making the full Road to Hana travel journey. The kids were along for the ride and they truly loved this travel adventure. We saw beautiful rainforest plants and animals, incredible waterfalls and stunning beaches and sea views. They enjoyed the long drive, mainly due to the many fun stops we made along the way. The first stop being the lush tropical paradise known as the Garden of Eden Arboretum located in the town of Haiku. The name is 100% on the money, this place is so beautiful it's almost unreal. When you drive up toward the entrance of the garden, you are surrounded by a myriad of tropical plants and trees. The most unique of the bunch are certainly the Rainbow Eucaplyptus trees. The layered bark on these trees are multiple colors of the rainbow and had girls quite intrigued. Elise declared that, "this is the most special place in the world to have rainbow trees", yep, that would be here in The Garden of Eden, Maui. 

Once we drove further up the road and parked we were greeted by a welcoming committee of peacocks, ducks and geese. The girls loved the birds. Although one goose got a bit aggressive when we were feeding them and went chasing after little Alina. She was not a fan and quickly swung her finger in protest saying, "you're a bad boy, goose". This had us all quite amused.

After feeding the birds, we made our way toward some of the hiking trails. Most of these trails lead to beautiful ocean and waterfall overlooks. The Keopuka Rock Overlook is perhaps the most pictursque, and well known; the opening scene in Jurassic Park was filmed here. We also made the short hike up to the waterfall overlook for an incredible view of Puohokamoa Falls. From this vantage point you also have stunning views over the Hana Highway and lush surrounding rainforest. There is plenty to do here and many more trails through beautiful tropical landscapes. We saw all kinds of unique plants and flowers. When traveling the Road to Hana, The Garden of Eden is a must see stop. The kids will especially love it!

The girls admiring beautiful Keopuka Overlook

Gorgeous purple water lilies

Skipping toward Rainbow Overlook

Unique tropical plants and flowers - Garden of Eden, Maui

Stunning Puohokamoa Falls Overlook

Love the fuchsia Ti plants brightening up the landscape

Mt. Haleakala - Maui, Hawaii

Beautiful views of Haleakala National Park

Haleakala Crater is a very unique and stunning spot

Haleakala Silversword thrives in the otherwise barren terrain

Closeup of Haleakala Crater's volcanic cones

Mt. Haleakala is a must see when in Maui. I know most people go crazy for the whole Haleakala sunrise thing, but with young kids it's really not feasible. Also, it is very cold and windy at the summit especially during early morning hours. On our first trip to Maui, before kids, we did watch the sunrise atop Haleakala and while I remember it being a beautiful sight, I also remember the freezing cold and shaking uncontrollably despite being mummy wrapped in a warm blanket. With that in mind, we make our drive to the summit in the afternoon. It was a partly cloudy day, which made for great photos. The views on the drive are stunning, and there were moments when the windy road appeared to veer off into the clouds. The summit views and Haleakala Crater are even more breathtaking. It's interesting to see the volcanic cones up close, and realize that you're standing atop a volcano that essentially created the majority of the island of Maui. Another unique feature at Haleakala are the abundant Ahinahina or Silversword plants. They are large silvery light-green plants that resemble cacti and flower only once in a lifetime. They grow on the slopes of Haleakala and nowhere else in the world. I wish we had more time to explore and hike Haleakala National Park, but there is always next time once the girls get a little bigger and and can keep up the pace.

Haleakala summit - elevation 10,000+ feet

Velvety green silversword plant

Haleakala road to the clouds

Watching the sunrise on Mt. Haleakala...before kids