The week started off with Heidi, Ali and me running the Maui Oceanfront Marathon. It was quite a difference from the Big Sur Marathon we did in May. Far fewer people (300 vs over 5,000), less 'pomp and circumstance', and SIGNIFICANTLY hotter! However, not as many hills so that was a nice bonus. Ari, Craig and Merrick met us about halfway through and we stopped briefly to give out high fives before we continued on. We're looking a little rough around the edges in that middle photo, but cut us some slack as we had just run 26.2 miles. ;) :
The next day we took a boat out for a day of snorkeling. Merrick joined us and did AMAZINGLY well! I was so proud of him. He was by far the youngest on the boat, and had no fear as he went searching for sea turtles, Nemo and his other fish friends. The captain and divemaster took a liking to Merrick and was showing him the ropes. Eventually he gave up the snorkel and fins and was perfectly happy floating along on a boogie board with a window on the top while we towed him around.
We also got to spend a lot of quality time at some of the beautiful beaches, and were able to successfully bury a couple family members:
One one of the days, I was writing Merrick's name in the sand. He was right behind me and said "Mama, I'm writing my name in the sand too." I said "oh, good", half paying attention and not thinking much of it. To my surprise, I turned around when I was done writing his name and this is what I saw. I cannot believe he did this himself...I've never seen him do more than trace a couple letters. Amazing!
Another highlight was the Road to Hana - a beautiful road stretching across the northeast side of the island. It ended up taking an entire day but was well worth the trip. We made a couple stops along the way, including walking through a lava cave and perhaps a bit of trespassing to find a waterfall with a beautiful clear pool at the bottom for some swimming (found out about this spot in a book I had on Maui). It may or may not have also included a hiking trail a bit too advanced for a 3-year-old (or even a 30-something year old), and a battalion of cattle staring us down as we made our way back up.
My beautiful sister and her lovely fiance Ari -- we like to call him "Argi" because he likes to argue a lot. But then so do I, so I think it makes a perfect brother and sis-in-law match (Heidi and Craig might disagree, but we would disagree with them, 'cuz you know, we like to argue).
Our best attempts at group photos. Clearly, Merrick and Heidi do not like to cooperate for these.
