Maui, HI

So as you know, Neils has the opportunity to earn a trip each year. This year it was to Hawaii. I had never been so it was a special treat for me. I was excited to not be prego or nursing for once (actually it's the first month in 6+ years that I haven't). So off we went just the two of us to a place they call paradise. I can see why. We stayed at the owner of Neils' company's hotel, The Mauiian. He recently remodeled the whole thing and let's just say it was a fabulous, quaint little place. It's only a two story place, which adds to the peacefulness of Hawaii. Everyone is so laid back and on a completely different schedule. When we first arrived, Neils always being in a hurry knew it was important to be the first in line at the car rental place. He went running with both pieces of our luggage around to the front. The nice Hawaiian lady at the check in location watch Neils in awe. When she asked him for his name, he whipped out his copy of the reservation with all the information and slammed it down on the counter. When she found his name the first thing she said, was "Sllllooooowwww down Neils." He smiled and took a deep breath and that was the beginning of our perfect trip. Well, it could have been a tad longer but other than that, perfect! The first day we slept in, that right there made the trip worth it. We took our time and eventually made it down to the beach we were on. For those of you who don't know, I am deathly afraid of water. The thought of drowning, or the thought of not having control is what scares me. Neils wanted to snorkel but knew I didn't want to. He has never let me live down the fact that he had to snorkel all by himself in the Bahamas. I agreed to give it a try, not sure if I could handle it or not. I told him I could probably do it if I had a floatation device to hold onto just in case I got tired. He came back with the gear and helped me figure out how to put it all on. The flippers were a challenge for me. I was already scared of the water but then to have those tripping me up as I was trying to get in, I kept having little panic attacks. I'm sure I was the best of entertainment as I was walking into the water. The water was about thigh high and as I took a couple steps forward it dropped off a bit to about chest height. I began to panic, waiving and breathing as if the ocean was about to swallow me up whole. Neils said I was quite the site. He figured at that point there was no way I would be able to breathe through the tube and swim out. But guess what, I did it. I eventually was able to calm down and as I took my time I got the hang of things. Thank goodness for the big yellow tube that held me up so I didn't have to worry so much and I could enjoy the fish and even the turtle we saw. It was great! We even went again a second time to an incredible little cove down the way. That was quite the accomplishment for me and I know Neils is proud I kept at it and did it. The rest of the time we laid by the pool, ate yummy food, shopped in Lahaina, at Whalers Village and went to the company Luau and awards ceremony. Here are some pictures. I found myself taking lots of pictures of just flowers and scenery which is not like me. I like people, but when you are in Hawaii it's all about the flowers and scenery. We saw two rainbows and when the sun sets and you see the shadows of the palm trees and the glow out on the ocean, you feel something you don't ever feel here in Utah. It's beauty and peaceful and what they call paradise!



Neils is a rubix cube master, he doesn't need a book to solve one. Neils saw this guys stacks of rubix's and asked if he could fix it. He was kind and Neils went to town. He later told us his secret, he found a type of cube that is much smoother and better quality than a rubix. Neils was able to whip it around and solve it in no time.


The first place we went to eat was BJ's for pizza. It was delicious and overlooked the ocean.


The view from our seat at BJ's.

And the live music was fabulous! He was really good!!!!

The view from our room.

Neils just outside the breakfast area.

Flowers around the hotel...




The view of the pool from our room...

One of the rainbows we saw...

Me and Neils at the Luau dinner and awards ceremony...

The dinner...

The sun was setting...


The Luau


The second rainbow we saw on the way to the airport to come home...

The sun was setting and it was hard to say goodbye...