Maui 2012....first big family vacation to the tropics

We have definitely found a little piece of paradise. The views are spectacular, weather is perfect and there is no shortage of family friendly things to do. Throw in a Walmart and Costco for convenience, and life is pretty perfect. Our condo is perfect, and the only downside is a busy road between us and the ocean but that seems to be the case for all of the houses 'on the beach'. The first picture below was taken from our living room. Other pics below are from a 'nature' walk, a trip to the Maui Ocean Aquarium (Fantastic) and a few random shots...

 

 

Dinner!

 

Stopped to get a cold Starbucks when Will promptly woke up and stole my drink - I had three sips. He drank the Grande buy himself - "MINE!". Luckily, it was a vanilla frappucino with no coffee!

 

Natey-Nate on the beach

 

 

Beach across the street

 

Water break!

 

Finding Nemo!

Fish and chips!

 

Our first (and not last) ice cream in Hawaii

 

"Cool Dude" wearing my sunglasses

 

"Who you talking too?"

 

 

...and then they sleep!

 

Toddler hip-hop 2012

Will is well known in our house for his fashion sense and stubborness...when he wants to wear something, he wears it! Found him on the couch tonight, drinking his milk, wearing his Dad's hat which he found somewhere and put on himself, and watching tv. Once he realized the camera was aimed in his direction, he was only too happy to show off....

Christmas!

I'll have more pictures to add in the next few days but here are a few of the boys second Christmas - they have been spoiled rotten by friends and family. Our house is like it's own Toys R Us and is very, very noisy. They have been having a blast with all of their new loot!

Kitchen!!

The trucks from Nanny and Mr. Wayne were a huge (and noisy) hit!

Christmas presents from Auntie Angie!

Ms. Gladys helping Will open Elmo from Uncle Rich

Love the farm!

Here comes trouble.......

No words required.......

Halloween!

Will and Nate had a blast trick-or-treating this year - it was their first experience and we figured we would be out for 20 minutes. Over an hour later, they didn't want to come home. Will discovered Smarties courtesy of our friend and neighbour Gladys. He just walked in, crawled up on her chair and helped himself to the candy bowl. As we are big fans of farm animals in this house, Will went as a cow and Nate went as a pig....here is a little video and a few pics of their take on the whole thing.

Shuswap Part 1

Some pics from our adventure where the weather was perfect, naps were pointless (according to the boys) and bedtime was missed nightly......despite the sleep deprivation, we had a blast and plan to return next year.

The boys were unsure of their new 'home', one guaranteed place to sleep was on Daddy!

Working hard to destroy the cottage

Outside all the time

Nate checking out the playground

Will looking for cookies

What's this?

Look mom...no hands

The view from the beach looking at the cottages

The private beach

View of the lake from our cottage

Will's first post-ice cream face of the trip (many more to come)

Naughty Nate post-ice cream

More vacation pics to come soon!

Road Trip!

We went all the way to beautiful Scotch Creek which is located in the Shuswap lakes area of BC. It was our first 'family' vacation and we had a fabulous time. Getting there was a long haul with lots of construction through the mountains. So, there were several stops along the way to give the boys a break. It took us 9 hours to get there but we made it!

A playground in the mountains

Eating sunscreen

Will

Nate

Trying to herd toddlers back in to the vehicle

Our destination....worth the drive!