Maui

First off, we will not be held liable for the amount of shakas the kids are throwin’ in these photos… they really got into the spirit of things ;) Well, we took a quick break from playing in the snow so that we could take the girls to Maui – where we could all defrost a little. They’ve been to the island tons of times before, but they don’t really remember it. So now that they are a bit older, we thought a refresher course was in order.

Incase you’re new to our story, Maui is a pretty special place for us. It’s where Courtney and I (looooong ago) met while living and working on the island. It’s also where we fell in love and also got engaged. It’s where we found out we were pregnant with our first child, and that’s only the beginning. Many of life’s big choices/moments have happened on this little rock as we’ve revisited countless times over the years. It’s a magical place. But what we hold most dear are the relationships we have with families that we’ve come to genuinely love and cherish over the years. So we keep returning to check in with loved ones, and to rekindle the love of our youth as we adventure around the island chasing new experiences, surf, rainbows and beautiful beaches… this trip was particularly memorable b/c of the kids [older] ages. So much fun… lets begin…

First order of business was shaving off Old Man Winter’s beard… at the beach… literally. I had a vision of doing so, so I made it happen! Below: had to leave the stache on for a little while. It’s Courtney’s favorite, haha! ;)

Above: Before and after :) Below: we rented a Westfalia for part of our trip. Gotta say, it’s felt good to be back behind the wheel of an unreliable Vanagon… not enough to bring me back from Big Red though (our reliable Adventure Mobile back in Bend).

We posted-up on our friends property… which justsohappen to be next to the best beach on the planet. Truly a dream of a camping spot. We got rained out the following day, but had a great time nonetheless.

Here’s the beach across from the property! Meakena (Big Beach), one of our favorite beaches ever. Such a dream to wake up there.

Back to a different beach for some fun and snorkeling 101.

A family goal for this trip was to get underwater and explore more. On our first training mission out (to get the girls comfortable in a mask & snorkel again), this sea turtle (below) swam right to us! Nothing like a good first impression of the underwater world.

Playing in the warm waters. So good. A wise Native American I know said it best, “Saltwater preserves the soul”. Truth!

Playing with old friends and making new friends… from the offspring of our old friends… round and round it goes.

Had a fun adventure-day connecting with one of our favorite families from Central Oregon who was on the island at the same time we were! Fate. So we took the opportunity to explore a jungle hike that led us to a couple waterfalls, then we ate some fresh caught fish and treated the kiddos to Shave Ice. Always a good time with Team Miller.

We had the pleasure of joining Pacific Whale Foundation on a special excursion to explore some of Maui’s unique reefs. It was the girls first dive boat experience. It was truly an unbelievable trip. Dove several different spots, including the backside of Molokini Crater, which doesn’t happen that much. The weather and sea conditions were just right to explore the sheer drop into nothingness.

Back on land, we had to go take some pictures at one of our favorite sets of palm trees… Courtney and I took similar photos years and years ago of these same two palms. Thought it’d be fun to get our growing family in there.

We had several different stormy days while on island. Which was honestly quite nice. Giving our pale Oregon skin a bit of relief.

Friends… community… it’s what keeps us coming back. Yah sure, Maui is a magically beautiful place and not “hard” to keep coming back to… but for our family, we LOVE doing new things and going to new places, so to keep coming back to the same place speaks more to the people there than to the next beautiful place to spend some time together. In the end, life is all about sharing your passions and dreams with those you love. We still have a lot of love for our friends on Maui. They’ve helped us process through a lot, hosted our many trips, made us countless meals, let us borrow vehicles and toys, took us on adventures, and the list goes on and on. They continue to be reliable sources of inspiration and encouragement to live a more purposeful and meaningful life. We could never thank all of our Maui family enough! Your island, your homes and your families have breathed life into us for over a decade. We’re SO very grateful. Mega thanks to our main hosts Team Woodard (Mike & Ciara) and Team Strubhar (Nate & Jenna)! Incredible people living inspiring lives! Keep going friends.

Can’t stop talking about the good people on this island… We took a day trip up to a place called Lava Java that our friends Pat & Candy own. A beautiful piece of property high up in the clouds that they’ve transformed over the years… oh, and they have horses, so as you can image, it’s a dream come true for our girls.

Beach treasures and beach walks. The best. Soaking up our last day.

Taking a red eye home! Party on! Landed at PDX early in the morning – Dadding SO HARD in the photo above. The girls did really well on the flight! Champs. And below, from PDX we made it all the way back to Bend… back to snow! Here we go…

… and the next morning was right to the slopes for one of the best pow days of the year. Life. Is. Way. Too. Good! Live your dream people, chase hard after it.