Maui...Maui...Maui... we missed you so!!!
Maui has become our families "place", which I realize sounds so privileged to say... but having gone now four times, I think its officially our place!
Like everyone, this ongoing pandemic has had us dreaming of a holiday for years now, and to be honest I didn't allow myself to get too excited, or accept that it might really happen, until we received our negative covid tests 24 hours before, and were physically on the plane, on the way to Maui.
Kaden, (age 3.5,) is now old enough to understand what a "holiday" is, and was beyond excited to get to go on an airplane, and arrive somewhere warm and beautiful. And Miles, (age 19 months) is excited to do anything Kaden wants to do, so he too was thrilled!
Would I recommend traveling with two kids, under four? Not if you hope to feel relaxed, well rested, and carefree... that's for sure. But am I glad we did it? Absolutely.
Trips with kids are funny. There are high highs, and low lows, and you don't really appreciate the trip until you get home, take a deep breath and realize ...we did it!
Flying is for sure the most nerve wracking part. A six and a half hour flight, with two children and two adults, in three seats, on a relatively small plane sounds like some sort of torture, or an incredible form of birth control. Surprisingly the flights themselves went pretty well. We came well prepared with a backpack FULL of snacks ( only to realize we didn't actually pack food for adults,) another backpack FULL of toys/stickers/books... and of course the real MVP... two IPads, stocked with hours of movies.
Luckily our kids snoozed a good chunk of the flight, and happily became brainwashed by hours of screen time ( thank god for technology) and a bottomless pile of goldfish.
What felt like a lifetime later, we touched down in Maui, collected our FIVE checked bags/carseats, our stroller, and our many carry on items, picked up our rental car, and off to our beautiful home in Wailea we went!
First walking in, we thought surely we had the wrong house. This is a famous person house, this can't be ours!
But it was infact our "home" for the next ten days.
Before bed the boys HAD to jump in the pool, and then into their beds they went. (shoutout to Maui baby rentals who had cribs set up for the little ones.) Because it was such a long travel day, we were sure they would sleep in, and get on track with the two hour time difference...
As it turns out, kids don't care about time changes. 05:00 AM hit hard, sometimes 04:30 AM if we were really lucky, but honestly we all slept so deeply there that we felt well rested( or as well rested as parents feel.)
Our favourite things to do in Maui:
Beach. Everyday a different beach. But if we had to choose favourites, I'd say the baby beach in Lahaina ( no waves for kids). I don't want to butcher the names, but any beach along the coast from Wailea. They're honestly all stunning, and you will spot a turtle on almost any given day,
Aquarium. This is our second time at the Maui Aquarium, and if you have kids, it is a MUST. Its not huge, but its amazing to see all the fish/turtles/ sharks/ starfish etc. The kids minds were blown, and touching the starfish was their personal highlight.
Threes Bar and Grill. Our personal fave happy hour spot, always. Embarrassingly we know our fave server by name, (hey Joe.) And the food is amazing. Hurricane fries call my name, every time. It's located next to a market, so after a couple mai tai's , mama took the kids shopping and "supported local", by purchasing some overpriced matching backpacks, and any other knick knacks the kids decided they "needed"
A pool. While not a legit necessity... it kind of is. Usually by afternoon we were "beached out" but still needed to keep cool in the heat. It was also our way to rinse off, or bath the children of salt and sand. We spent many hours playing and even had Kaden swimming without his puddle jumper by the end of the trip!
A luau. While we didn't go this time, ( we couldn't stomach paying for our kids knowing they'd probably whine the whole time and not eat the dinner,) we have gone every other time we have been there. We have always gone to the "Marriott Te Au Moana Luau- and have NEVER been disappointed. The drinks are real strong, the food is amazing, and the show is beautiful. Never-mind the fact that it's on the edge of the ocean, and the sun sets throughout the show. We will certainly go next time, when the kids are slightly older and can appreciate it!
There are sooo many amazing things to do and see in Maui. You can't go wrong anywhere! These are just a few of our favourites.
Now for the reality of travelling with kids. My advice is to set the bar low, expect the worst, and roll with the punches. My kids are very high needs (to put it politely.) There were plenty of meltdowns, tantrums, tears, and fighting... but that is not new. If you go on vacation expecting it to feel like it did before kids, or for your kids to turn into grateful little angels, you will be left very disappointed!
A friend of mine suggested it was more of a "work trip" than a vacation, and I completely agree. Parenting doesn't become easier, in fact probably harder because you throw in lack of sleep, way too much candy, a routine tossed out the window, and a home that isn't set up like your own. But to see the excitement on their faces, hear the happy squeals as their feet touch the ocean for the first time, laugh and play for hours in the pool, and get to spend time all together as family, making memories we will talk about for a lifetime.... it is worth every grey hair that I am certain to wake up to any morning now.
While I do think I need a vacation ALONE, to recover from our family vacation, I am so so thankful for the opportunity to take our kids on a trip like this, and enjoy these memory making moments together.
A few suggestions I would make to reduce your stress :
Pre-delivered groceries. We used "Maui Market Delivery" to put in our grocery and alcohol order the week before, so that it was stocked in our house upon our arrival. This was a first for us, but made life so much easier not having to have one of us rush of to the grocery store, upon arrival. Of course we still needed to restock throughout our stay, and did that the old fashioned way ( going into a store), but showing up to fresh fruit, a pantry of snacks, and most importantly, cold beer, was well well worth it.
Maui baby rentals. Companies like this are genius. We show up to the house, and cribs are set up in each room, a high chair for the baby, and anything else baby related you may need, they have it. Having the little ones sleep in an actual crib, as opposed to the pack and play we would have had to haul over, was a game changer!
Rental cars. This is pretty much a must do in Maui. There is so much to see and do that would be missed without your own vehicle. We rented two vehicles between our two families that went, and highly recommend that as well. Although we did almost everything together, having our own vehicles gave each family a little more freedom and independence.
Overall, we had an amazing time, and it felt so good to be back in the sand after two years of lockdown living.
If you've read this far... you must be thinking of going to maui, or else you're my mom... hi mom!
Thanks for reading, and enjoy some photos I took along our adventure!
Until next time, mahalo, and aloha!
-Nicole
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