Snorkeling at Molokini

Since the kids are usually not interested in exerting themselves (because they are lazy), Trung and I decided not to book any activities except for this snorkeling excursion at the Molokini Crater.  The girls were very excited when they saw all the fish, so much so that Sophie would let out a scream almost every time she put her head underwater.  Not such a good idea when you're supposed to be breathing though a snorkel.  After several mouthfuls of salty ocean water, Sophie called it quits.  Lydia did really well and especially enjoyed using her flippers to swim around.

Molokini Crater

The Four Winds and my family getting ready to snorkel

Typical underwater pose

The fishes just under our boat

Sliding off the side of the boat

Lydia's turn

Floating around

Underwater tricks

Too funny

The kids went back on board while Trung and I snorkeled just a little longer

My turn!

What?  Go?  Okay!

Underwater yoga pose

Wait for it, wait for it...

The captain nicknamed me "Smarty Pants" because I answered most of his Hawaii questions...I think he liked me.

Captain Sophie

We ate lunch around 10:30, so we got hungry super early and decided to go to Happy Hour at one of the hotel's restaurants.  The kids just ate the fried rice and edamame, but Trung and I feasted on fresh seafood.

Day 1 - Haleakala

Watching the sun rise at the summit of Haleakala made such an impression on Trung (who purchased a new camera just for it) and I, that we had to do it again, but this time with kids in tow.  You have to wake up around 3 AM for the drive and since we were already jet-lagged, today seemed like the best time to go.  I had been following the weather reports for the last week and it showed rain for today, but Trung trusted his instinct and said that we should go.  He was right and the sunrise was gorgeous.  It wasn't as cold (and sadly, not as amazing) as I remembered, but it was still very cool and I'm glad that we went.

The only thing that they will get out of it is that they woke up at 3 AM, but at least that's something.

Clouds over the craters

Here comes the sun

Family above the clouds

Lydia took this picture

Our Mazda2 rental is a far cry from our Jeep rental the last time we were here

The view from another location

Looking down at Maui

After a stop at Wal-mart and a cat nap, we explored the hotel for a bit before hitting the pool.

The kid's section

The waterfall and tunnel to the community section

Oceanside, baby!

Someone's happy to finally not be freezing in the water all the time

Sophie wasn't tall enough to go on this slide, so she patiently waited for her sister to slide down

We watched the sunset from our dinner table at Kimo's in Lahaina.

Hawaii Bound

 After almost nine years, we are finally making our way back to Hawaii.  We had a busy morning trying to get a photo shoot in with my friend John and packing, but fortunately I had already packed the girls' things a couple days earlier, so I didn't have much more to do.  We made it to the airport just in the nick of time; we were almost the last ones to board the plane.  Once on the plane though, it was smooth sailing and we had much to look forward to.

On our way to Hawaii!  My side was empty too, so Trung and I got to have some distance from the kids.

 We made it!

 Hawaiian dancers kept us entertained while we waited for our luggage

 The girls fell asleep on the drive to the hotel, so I got triple lei-ed

Our resident Sleeping Beauty

Work party

Trung's company had its annual summer party at the pier; the one time of year that we let the kids spend company money on games and stock up on stuffed animals.

 We took over the entire amusement park

The craziest ride where you control the movements

I screamed the entire time

Everyone else waiting to get in

Trung concentrating includes sticking out his tongue...no luck though

 Trung looking straight at the camera

 Our friends, The Chambers, came out and joined us for a couple of hours

 My Austin friend came into town early today and met us at the pier after some photo shoots

Julian's Train-iffic birthday party

We attended Julian's third birthday party at the Travel Town Railroad Museum at Griffith Park.  We had never been to this museum, probably because we have girls, so it was a nice change.  You could certainly feel the heat of the valley, but it was a nice day for a party.

 Julian and Norah with Guro's train cake.

Last birthday party as a family of four

The girls acting goofy with their conductor caps

 My girls, on the left behind the curtain, all the other kids, on the right.  My kids were the oldest ones in the group and apparently not so easy to convince anymore.

 Ready for the train rider around the museum...twice.

Train stopper

Weekday workouts

Since I took Friday and Saturday off from working out since we were out and about both days, I hit Naam Yoga for the zumba and pilates classes this afternoon.  Never again!  The zumba class was super crowded with barely any room to move and then I pulled a couple muscles during the pilates class (since it was an instructor who I have never had before).  I think I will stick to going on the weekends.  

Crazy zumba class

Festive Fifth

Our fourth was very chill, but our fifth was busy.  We ate a very small breakfast of champions, cereal, and met our Texas friends Thomas and Chi and their three boys for brunch at Real Food Daily.  They were in town to celebrate Thomas' grandmother's 95th birthday, and decided to spend the day out in Santa Monica.  We had't seen them in at least four years, so it was nice to catch up.

  

 The Ly's and the Chen's

The kids...brunch was funny with the girls at one end and the boys at the other.

I took Thomas' family around Santa Monica a little bit after brunch, while Trung dropped the girls off at a birthday party.  Right after we picked the girls up two hour later, we headed to the valley to attend Trung's co-worker's party.  We were pretty much right on time, so everything was still being prepared, but once the food starting coming out and the girls hit the pool, it was much more fun.

 The nicest pool I've ever seen, complete with swim up bar

Nailed!

We met (and fed) a cute Corgi named "Butter"

Celebrating Independence Day the Asian Way

 With no concrete plans for the 4th, we decided to spend the day in Orange County, stuffing our faces with delicious Asian food and seeing how much the cousins have grown the last month.

Cousins snacking on fruit

 Caleb was happy to see us

Quick pic before Alexis got away

Lately

It's been awhile since I've written a post because frankly, not much has been going on.  The weekdays consist of the girls going to Summer Adventure and me going to zumba and Pilates classes on alternating days.  In the afternoons, I usually rest (while the girls play in the room) because one week I had a hacking cough that kept me up at nights and the next week, I hadn't been sleeping well.  Then we all swim at 4 PM and go home for dinner.  I always believed that summers are supposed to be lazy and fun, but man, I'm always tired, but I do enjoy my workout classes, especially the zumba ones.  Just two more weeks and Hawaii, here I come!