Maui Vacation 2014 Day 1

I know, I know - we're Maui junkies. It's no secret! We absolutely love Maui! It's our favorite place to go on vacation, and this time we got to share the trip with tons of people we love!

The last time we were in Maui was back in 2010 for our honeymoon.

Here we are just outside Twin Falls, at a stop along Hana
Highway in 2010!

 However, we were in Honolulu in 2011 for a vacation with Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Ken & Aunt Judy!

Here we are in King's Village in 2011!

Our trip to Maui this time was with Robert's parents, his sister, our BFF Bryce, Uncle Brian, Auntie Sloane, Alisha & T2!

Our family picture at the Last Lava Flow
Maui, 2014

 Without further ado, let me start by what was going on the morning of September 21st, when we left for paradise.

Everyone met at our house in the wee hours of the morning. We left Ellie Jo asleep for as long as we possibly could. Uncle Brian, Auntie Sloane, Alisha & T2 arrive first, and then the Andersons' shuttle service (AKA, 15-passenger van) arrived to take us all to the airport. We were all getting loaded up, and there was a misunderstanding about Ellie's stroller. I explained that we needed to have it, and that I wouldn't be able to carry her everywhere. We were able to collapse it and sit it between Jeff & Erin up front - amazing! (PS - Jeff is really an incredible luggage packer-upper! He made everything AND everyone fit!)

Robert's parents and sister arrived next, and we all got situated while Ellie fussed and cried in her carseat after being loaded up. I couldn't blame her. I wanted to fuss and cry. I think we all did!

We got to the airport, quickly disembarked and went our separate ways. Everyone else was leaving a couple hours ahead of us. We were flying Hawaiian with Bryce (best deal around, bar none).

Bryce and Robert hauled all of our bags while I raced through the airport with a crying baby in her carseat in her stroller to the Hawaiian airlines counter (seriously, the last one in Sea-Tac).

We checked our one gigantic suitcase (for all 4 of us), and went to security. It took forever. We learned about yogurt being a "gelatinous" substance, and only allowed for babies. We learned that some people who don't have small children and do airport security do not understand how much food you have to bring for a kid traveling over 10 hours. (We were told that we had "quite enough." Robert and Bryce laughed.)

Once we were through security, we had plenty of time to get settled at the gate, use the restroom a few times, and Bryce and I got breakfast. Elizabeth did pretty good, but she got a little restless while we waited to board. Unfortunately, the airline wouldn't let us bring her carseat on board (she was a "lap infant"), even though there was an empty seat and plenty of room  Sigh.

Once we landed, we only had to wait a couple minutes for the minivan to pick us up! Robert's parents and sister had made a trip to Costco while they waited for our plane to get in. Loading up was interesting, to say the least! But we got it all to fit. We went to Ruby Tuesday's for food, then to the condo to unload.

Once we got unloaded, we wanted to check out the beach, of course! It's only a 4-5 minute walk from the condo. I purposed to put my toes in that sand every single day. There is just nothing quite like that feeling in the entire world!

Here's the baby, ready for the beach!

Amazing sunset!

Mommy and Daddy on the beach at sunset

Tiki torches outside our condo!

Oohhh palm trees!

I'm not one for selfies...but that flower is adorable!

Outside the pool at the condo

Tiki torches along the pool gate

That night, we all did a cook-out together at the condo, and had salmon and chicken from the grill! Delicious! (There was other stuff, too - those were just the higlights!)

Anyway, we were all pretty tired, and just happy to be in paradise!

More to come about day 2 tomorrow...

Preparing for baby's first plane ride

In a short amount of time, we'll be taking Elizabeth on her first flight.

Yikes. 

Tonight, I started looking up everything from "tips for traveling with baby" to "FAA Approved Car Seats," and everything in between. I just got done making sure our carseats were both approved (even though we are obviously only taking one).

I want to back up for a minute, and say thank you to our friends, family and neighbors, who will be driving our cars and house-sitting for us while we are away. We very much appreciate these kind gestures, and we feel so much better knowing that our home will be in good hands while we're gone! (Even though it's only a few days).

As for the packing - and if you know me, the lists - that are imminent...I'm starting to feel apprehensive.

I've got some lists started, and my goal is to complete them by tomorrow, specifically the ones for Elizabeth.

Here are my goals for packing:

• Pack light
• Don't forget anything (duh)
• Keep baby happy on the plane

I've read some horror stories - I mean really scary stuff - happening to moms, and I've also read some really encouraging stories about moms who travel with their babies (alone!), too. I've also found that Google has nothing on Pinterest when it comes to preparing for baby plane travel.

I've made a list of the items/ ideas for traveling with baby that I thought were genius, and that I hadn't thought of:

• Baby's birth certificate copy (to prove she's under 2 years old) 
• Ask for the bassinet seat on the airplane so she can sleep (I doubt she will; it's only a 2 1/2 hour flight, but I know it's available if we need it) 
• Bring 1 new toy, 1 familiar toy and a soft book for the plane
• Pouches of food (not containers) and plastic spoons

There are always the obvious items: diapers, wipes, sanitizer and comfort items, plus clothes (layers) for all.

So I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

Since this is a business trip for me, I'm having to do literally all of the planning and preparing myself. I am booked literally from 7:15am until 9:00pm every day of our trip. Thankfully, the only expense that we've had to incur so far is Robert's plane ticket, and I was able to get it for the best deal I've ever seen, directly through the airline. (Ellie is flying as a "lap infant," and is free.) We were smart, and booked our seats with one empty one in the middle, and have been checking every day to make sure that middle seat is still available. Since it is, (and if it remains that way), we'll be able to use her carseat on the plane. But because all carseats have to be FAA approved in order to allow the baby to use it on the flight, I had to look into all that. And it wasn't as easy as you'd think: The FAA doesn't actually stamp their "approval" on carseats. It's just the red lettering that says it's certified for motor vehicle and aircraft transportation.

I'm exhausted already, and I'm calling it a night.

More notes and details on our travel later, hopefully after I figure out what bags to take and such.