Maui Trip 2013: Getting There & Trip to Lahaina

We just got back from our family of three's first vacay! Jesse and I have never been to Hawaii before and were so excited to experience warm weather and tropical drinks. My mother-in-law (mil) is amazing and brought up the idea shortly after Harper was born, we definitely could not have afforded to go without her and she even gave us some baby-free time during the trip. Seriously, I hit the jackpot with my amazing mil and Harper's grandma Alexa!!

We left on my sister-in-law Julianne's bday and I was so nervous and anxious about Harper's first flight, but she did so great. We even had a delay once we were all loaded on the plane to test out just how well she would do and I couldn't have been more proud. It totally helped having grandma there, since we passed her back and forth throughout the flights. Our reward - complimentary mai tai's to get us in the island spirit. We deserved every drop!

Once we got to Maui, we grabbed our hot little mini-van and stopped at one of our fave places - Costco! After picking up all the essentials (hello giant bottle of vodka and fresh mangoes + pineapple), we headed off towards our condo in Ka'anapli on West Maui. Weather was absolutely awesome and we were in awe of the scenery. It was getting to be late afternoon, and I was exhausted from my anxiety about the flight and staying awake with our 5 1/2 month old the entire flight that it was hard not to just collapse into a pile of mush when we arrived. But since it was Jules' birthday, we had to celebrate. After unpacking and changing into more island-appropriate wear, we headed down to our resort's restaurant for some dinner and celebrating. Harper was asleep by 7:00 island time easy, but decided that sleeping in the roll away crib was not as appealing as sleeping in bed with mama and daddy. I was secretly happy about this arrangement and spent the whole trip in the middle sliver of the king size bed while my hubby and daughter angled themselves to take up the most room possible. Typical.

our resort - Aston Ka'anapali Shores

On Friday, we lounged around in the morning while the hubby made us a delicious breakfast. Harper woke up pretty early, so she and I hung out in the fresh air on the balcony watching the island wake up. These moments were my favorite of the whole trip! We then loaded up that mini van and headed towards Lahaina. Walked around, poking in and out of shops, and then went to a seriously very yummy lunch at "Cheesebuger in Paradise". I had the coconut shrimp and Jesse had the fresh fish & chips - we split and had half of each. Delicious decision. The hubby was all in to the island way of life and even completed his meal with a mai tai (we each had probably 50 of these while on the island, no joke, they were amazing). Then we walked back to our car, stopping for some delicious gelato (hooray for the completely yummy dairy-free mango, first "ice cream" I've had in a long time)! The hubby and grandma then worked their magic and booked us out for all of our excursions and activities for the rest of the week. The downside: we would have to go to a timeshare "presentation" but we got a really good deal.

Harper ready to head to a fun day of shopping and gelato!

Back to the condo we headed for Harper's first dip in the pool (pictures to come soon) - which she would have loved more if she wasn't ready to pass out for her nap. She fell asleep shortly after all snuggled up with grandma in a towel, I took over and she slept for at least an hour - an epic nap in Harper standards.

my water baby

Then the hubby grilled a delicious dinner and I was able to eat every bite with both hands since Harper passed out for the night even earlier than the night before! The hubby and I had a baby-free date walking on the beach with some drinks in our hands. Relaxing is an understatement.

tropical beach date with my honey

There are more days and adventures to talk about, but for now I leave you with a Team Winters photo.

Aloha!