Okahna: Whale watching from your front yard......

...is not something you can do in Milton, MA. Squirrel watching? Yes. Driveway destroying snowplows? Yes. A constant parade of black cats, teenage girls and campus vehicles? Sure. But breaching humpback whales off the coast of your sun drenched condo? Not a chance.

So begins the story of our adventure to Maui. We arrived on Friday, March 25th after 13 hours (including a panic inducing 18 minute layover in Phoenix) on two planes with our two boys who could not have been better. It was as painless as 13 hours on a plane can be. Met by my parents at the airport, we stuffed our rented mini-van to the gills (yes...I'm officially a grown up...I CHOSE to rent a mini-van) and headed to Polynesian Shores, a small condo complex on the west coast of Maui. We're staying here with my parents for the first week of our 9 week adventure and have settled in to early mornings, rainbow watching, constant whale and sea turtle sightings, family naps and the occasional mai tai. The weather is beautiful, the pace of life is slow and the family time is limitless. So far, it's exactly what we signed up for.

A few random thoughts.....

1. Blogging with 2 small children is difficult. A post every day seemed like an ambitious plan. Now it seems like mission impossible, but I'll try. Hopefully, once the transition from east coast time to Hawaii time is complete, we'll all be getting more sleep and I won't have to go to bed at the same time as my children. Some pretty rockin' evenings so far, let me tell you.

2. The Hawaiian word for family is ohana. Now that I've taught you something, re-read the name of our blog and smile. Cute, huh?

3. Traveling with grandparents has some serious perks.

4. In case it's not obvious...life is good.