Maui Part 1.

First of all, Oh my goodness, THANK YOU! For every kind word and all the love we have felt with our recent announced new addition to our little Powell fam! We are beyond thrilled and I wish you knew how much those kind words meant to us. Thank you thank you.

We just got from the most wonderful vacation with my family in beautiful Hawaii!
Time spent together as a family is so priceless and I wish I could snap my fingers and go back in time
to relive it!

Our first stop was MAUI.
OHHH beautiful Maui.


Getting off the plane and seeing my parents and 5 siblings was pure heaven.
My baby was on cloud nine. He loves his aunts and uncles so much.
It was pretty cool jammin' to Hawaiian tunes in rental cars around the island and
finally getting to our hotel at 11 PM Hawaiian time. (( which was 4 AM Houston time HA ))

 I am pretty sure we were all running on adrenaline…
and Aaron and I were just happy the 9+ hours of flying time with a 2.5 year old was successful.
( Some more toddler tips for long flights to come! We seem to keep learning on the way HA )

Hawaii's 5 hour time difference for us was quite the adjustment for Mr. Ryan.
(( so if you are traveling to Hawaii with young children - expect a few days to get into it :))


We got in late Friday night and woke up Saturday morning to the most beautiful scenery.


We stayed at Ho'olei at the Grand Wailea.
( Probably top 3 of my very favorite hotels on earth )


This was our first time to the Ho'olei part of the Grand Wailea.
Ho'olei is a little community of "beach villas" ( or so they call them ) that have multiple bedroom options.
With my huge family and the need of at least 3 bedrooms this villa was perfect because we had plenty of room, a kitchen, a game room to play games and hang out late at night and even a grill on the back patio that we chose to grill on one night.


 Helping Grandpa on the grill ^^ ( and pantless - typical Ryan )


The views from this hotel are so breathtaking. ( view from our breakfast table )
And the food…. Oh my goodness, is incredible.


I will be dreaming of and craving their coconut syrup for months.
Why does everything you eat taste better in Hawaii?
I am already having pineapple withdrawals!

Our first day there was spent relaxing at the beach and the pools…


and watching LDS General Conference.


We had planned to stream Conference live through our laptops on the internet but got there to find out the hotel had the channel on TV -- Amazing! Such a cool experience to be able to sit down and watch it all together on vacation.

A few favorite moments from the day….


Megan and her pink tube getting taken out by waves. HA


I'm convinced Grand Wailea has some of the best pools.
There are slides from pool to pool all the way to the bottom.


Watching my mom come down every slide was the cutest thing.
Mamma, I only hope I can go down slides like you do after having all my kids.


Just a little tangent because it makes me so happy to watch them.

Because my husband is an only child, 
it has been pretty cool to watch him take my siblings in as his own.
And literally feel like they are his own siblings.
He texts them on a regular almost daily basis 
and he is almost just as protective of my 17 year old sister as my dad is HA.
( good luck to her future husband )
I love the fact that my youngest few siblings will never remember a life without Aaron in it.
We've been married 5 years this summer and have been together for 6, so in their minds, he has always been there and I love it.
Just a really big blessing on all accounts :)

End tangent..


Ha this slide is 100 times faster than it looks I promise. You get swooped into the rapids at the end and it's pretty fun.


Dinner that night was at Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.
If you want an amazing fresh Hawaiian fish experience.
You MUST go. 
Hands down my favorite restaurant of the trip! ( located on Grand Wailea property )
If not for the food, go for the incredible views of a perfect sunset dinner by the beach.


So here's to the blurriest phone picture ever, but at least it shows all of us!
Party of 10 is the best way to go. ( Almost 11 - come on little one! ;) 

P.S.  Aaron… somehow our child got "King of the Table" chair.



Anddd for the largest lobster my eyes have ever seen.
Our waiter brought it to our table and it was a little creepy watching it kick it's legs trying to escape! HA
I was a little nervous she would lose hold of it and it be running across our table, charging us.
What a story that would be HA.


I got the Salmon and Aaron got the Snapper - BOTH I would highly highly recommend.
( I always make us split our meals in half so I can have the best of both worlds and try TWO things - HA my poor husband. Good thing he is the best sport ever. )

^^ Ryan's kids meal came with ice cream and he clearly couldn't pause a bite for the picture. ^^
( I don't blame you babe )


Finished the night with some Lapperts Hawaiian ice cream and the most beautiful sunset.
( I'm slightly biased in thinking Hawaii is the best place on earth. Aaron and I spent our honeymoon here and it holds so many special memories in my heart! )

Karina Marie Powell

13 comments:

  1. Aww, such fun family memories! Beautiful photos. Congratulations on another precious blessing!

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  2. Looks like such a wonderful trip! Hawaii in the springtime seems like an incredible way to do a vacation. And holy cow - coconut syrup?! I need some of that ASAP! :)

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  3. SUCH beautiful pictures, breathtaking! :)

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  4. Such pretty pictures, even the blurry one because the whole family is in it. So much fun!

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  5. i love everything about this! I am so excited to see all of your hawaiian posts--especially since we are going in august! wahoo! also, your family is the cutest! and that tangent about aaron and your siblings--the cutest!

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  6. such a fun trip! can't wait to hear about the rest :P

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  7. What a beautiful trip and family! I love Hawai'i! Such a fun place! Can't wait for part 2:)

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  8. Looks like such a great trip and it really is cool how that has worked out for your family and husband, having Ryan truly adopt them as his own in such a real and meaningful way. I love it :) It is very cool.

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  9. this looks like such a fun trip! and seriously how amazing to get to go with your whole family!

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  10. Oh how insanely special! I love seeing how your family interacts with each other, particularly as adults too, makes me really want a big family too! xx

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  11. What an awesome holiday and gorgeous photos! x

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  12. Time spent together as a family is so priceless and I wish I could snap my fingers and go back in time uber black maui alternative

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