Sand in all the right places

A Saturday on the beach is even better when it follows a

Monday,

Tuesday,

Wednesday,

Thursday,

and Friday

on the beach.

Sundays are not beach days.

They are days that help you remember that going to the beach is fun.

Mission Accomplished

Dear General,



I succeeded in bringing down all of them. The father was the last to fall, but he finally succumbed. It appears I was even able to cause infected blisters on the mother's hands. She was seen crashed on the bathroom floor with a wet towel for a pillow.



Signed,
The stomach flu



PS. Some photos of the victims

Honu

On Tuesday, we headed down to our favorite snorkeling spot. There is usually an abundance of fish and, if you're lucky, a sea turtle. Most of the time, you have to swim out pretty far and against the current to get to the spot where they like to hang out.

When we got to the beach, we noticed a turtle about 50 feet off shore. Other people had noticed too and a large groups of snorkelers had congregated above him. Mark took Ava out for a looky-loo while I prepped Mia for her snorkel adventure.

Ava and Mark came back and Mia and I went out for our turn. She was complaining and crying about the mask and the sea water and her life jacket (incidentally, she was coming down with the stomach flu at the time but that is for another post). I snapped the mask on her face, shoved the snorkel in her mouth and pulled her out into the water, directly above the turtle. All complaining and discomfort ceased when she saw the turtle so close. We circled him for a while, then decided to swim closer to the reef where we could see a few fish before going back in.

As we approached the rocks, we caught glimpse of a second turtle, eating the red moss off the rocks. It was so amazing to see them up close. They are just as curious about us as we are of them. Mark and Ava went in for another turn and Mia, Lay, and I hiked up on the rocks above the reef where we stood less that 3 feet from the turtles for an hour.

Wish You Were Here...

Somehow, God took all the most

beautiful things


in the world and jammed them on a

tiny rock

in the middle of the Pacific.


When you are hot, it rains or a fragrant breeze blows.




When you are cold, the sun peeks from behind a cloud.




When you are sad, a rainbow appears on the mountain. (But who's sad in Maui, c'mon!)




When you have stared at the ocean long enough, a gentle sea turtle pops its head up to say hello.




When you are feeling mischievous, a lumpy toad lets you run him over with a golf cart.




When you are homesick, you see a BYU football sticker on a car, or you overhear tourists talking about how hot it is in Phoenix.




When you are feeling romantic, the sunset shows you colors that you have never seen and your honey is sitting next to you.




When you are tired, it's only 6:00 on your inner clock so there's nothing you can do about it.






We wish you were here to share it with us....


So here are some edited and unedited shots. I {heart} my camera.

Surfboard fence on Hana Highway.


Layla taking it all in



Mia and her shoes.


Ready for beach!