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I'm Shay! I’m a cookbook author, lifestyle blogger, travel agency owner, wife and mama who loves making every day special for my family.

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Mix & Match Mama

Shay, Travel ·

Hawaii Part 1: Maui


Well…we just spent 10 days in Hawaii…and it was glorious :).
Here’s the thing…usually, I would take a 10 day trip and blog 10 posts (one for each day).  But our time spent was not a trip, it was a vacation.  Know the difference?  
Usually the Shulls take trips…we go to destinations where we are on the run from the minute we wake up to the minute we go to sleep, we visit museums, historical sites, we learn, we absorb, we come back exhausted and yet so energized because we really had an adventure.  That is a trip.  We just went on a vacation.  A vacation is when you go somewhere to purely relax.  We slept a whooping 10 hours every night (which is twice as long as Andrew and I normally sleep at home), we ate, we went to the pool or beach, we ate some more, we went back to the pool or beach and we did nothing.  Whatsoever.  That is a vacation.  And it was wonderful :).
I’m not going to give you 10 posts of us sitting on the beach doing nothing…because that’s just obnoxious.  Instead, I’m going to break our vacation down into 3 posts.  Prepare yourself for lots of selfies, pics of us in swimsuits, lots of beautiful scenery and my little fishies in the water.
We left on Monday, April 7 and met my parents in Maui (they were already there).  We stayed 6 nights in Maui and then my parents went home and the Shull four sailed (brace yourself…that little sailing trip got UGLY!) to the island of Lana’i for another 3 nights.  The last time we were in Hawaii, Kensington looked like this…
…and Smith wasn’t around yet.

And then the last time we went to the beach, we took the kids to Bermuda but they were only 1 and 2…

But now, we have big kids!  Our kids were so excited to head to the beach.  We have been talking about this trip for months and months.  This is our last big trip before kindergarten…and our last big trip as a family of four (on our next big trip as a family of four, we’ll come home a family of FIVE!).
So, here we go.  The Shulls do Maui, part one :).
Here we are!  We loaded up into Andrew’s old truck and headed to the airport on Monday morning.  Happy faces ready for the beach!
After a 8.5 hour flight from Dallas to Honolulu and then another 30 minute flight to Maui, we arrived late Monday night.  On Tuesday morning, the kiddos headed straight to the balcony to take in the view.  Not too shabby.  
We were on the 8th floor of the resort and it overlooked the grounds and the beach.  Normally, we stay in the city of Kaanapali on Maui but this time, we stayed in Wailea.  And oh my goodness!  I’m not sure if we’ll ever stay anywhere else!  We loved being in Wailea!!  We stayed at the Grand Wailea Resort and it was perfect!  The pools had 7 different slides, a beach entrance, great restaurants and shopping.  It was so nice!
We headed down to breakfast and Miss K wore her swimsuit and lei…perfect for a Hawaiian breakfast, right?

Me and my other beach bound breakfast buddies!
After breakfast, we headed straight to the pools and slides!
And we spent time on the beach too :).  We stayed at the beach and pool from 9:00 am until 3:00 and then we headed back to our hotel rooms to shower and rest until our luau dinner that night at 6:00.
Sunset Luau 🙂

They drew a flower on Kensington’s cheek as we were coming into dinner.

Love my boys!

The kids loved watching the show!!  They were mesmerized!
The next day, we drove our rent car (or van, I should say) to Lahaina for some lunch and shopping.  Me and my boys.
And my other boy :).

The only treasure he wanted from his Hawaiian vacation was a ukulele.  Sigh.  Lovie bought him this one.  The first song he sang and “played” with it…Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone.  Seriously.
For lunch we ate at Cheeseburgers in Paradise.  It’s this fun open air restaurant that’s right over the water.  We were on the second floor and the rail behind my dad there was right over the ocean.  Best place to eat a burger and watch the waves.
Us at lunch 🙂
The girls.  We stopped for ice cream…coconut flavored, of course!
The best attempt at a family picture…Kensington is giving the “I’m over pictures already and it’s only Day 2 of our vacation” look.
Exploring.

I have no words.

Shopping.

Showing off her new ankle bracelet.

Love this silly boy!

We ate dinner in Kaanapali at a restaurant right on the beach.  The tables are in the sand, so everyone eats without their shoes on…my kids loved it!

Happy island girls!
To see Part 2 of the vacation, click here.
That’s enough vacation pics for one day!  On my foodie blog today, I’m showing you Bar #35 Vanilla Bean Brownies!  Did you read that? Vanilla. Bean. Brownies.  
And today is my sweet friend Keisha’s birthday!  She asked if I would guest post on her blog today and share my tips for birthday dinners and easy entertaining.  Click here to read that post!
Happy Monday everyone!  I loved being away from my computer and focusing only on my family…but I did miss you all.  I feel so blessed to share my life with YOU!
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Comments

  3. Slightly Askew Designs says

    OMG! All that sleep?!??!! Y'all won't be sleeping for WEEKS now 🙂 hehehe I agree with Sheaffer – your hair is looking FAB! and your kiddos look like they're having the best time! Can't wait to see the rest of the pics!!! 🙂

  4. Kacey says

    Looks like you had an amazing vacation!! My family and I traveled to Maui this past summer and stayed at the Grand Wailea. Such a beautiful and peaceful place ! Hope you ate your weight in banana bread 🙂 (the islands pretty famous for it) Can't wait to read about the rest of your vacation!

  5. Shelby says

    This vacay looks so amazing!!! And I TOTALLY agree abou the trip vs vacay!! It looked sooo dreamy!! We did a Disney Cruise in March, but I would say that definitely a trip! I loved every second, but we are due for a vacation next…& this destination looks quite fitting!! You all look adorable! I loved seeing all the pictures!!

  7. Blue-Eyed Bride says

    Amazing!!! Looks so stinking fun! We spent 10 days at the Grand Wailea on our honeymoon and we are always talking about going back and taking the kids. I'm so excited everyone had so much fun!! Xoxo

  8. Jen says

    SO FUN! I love vacations {yes, you're right, there is a BIG difference in a vacation and a trip}! My hubby and I honeymooned at the Grand Wailea! Absolute perfection! Can't wait to see the rest of your pics! Beautiful family!

  10. Liz/ says

    Sounds like the most Amazing vacation and I love your definition of vacations and trips, a vacation is my sort of thing! That picture of Smith and Papa Jay…cutest ever!!! Can't wait to see more pics!!!

  11. Kim D. says

    Great pictures! And welcome back! Where did you get Smith's orange water/boat shoes? And how about Kensington's blue/teal ones? Thanks!

  13. Traci says

    I was wondering if you sleep in while on vacation or if you're up with the birds. What a nice trip you had and glad you were able to get caught up on sleep, you must feel like a million bucks after all that rest.

  15. Lana says

    Great pictures! We love Maui too. I agree with everyone else about your gorgeous hair. My hair never looks good in Hawaii! My family loves to take trips, but every year we also rent a house on the beach in Oregon for a week long vacation. Everyone loves it & it's so relaxing. Welcome home!

  17. Tiffany R. says

    How fun!! My husband proposed to me during the Lover's Dance at the Old Lahaina Luau! It was such a special moment and place. I keep telling my husband I want to go back for our 5th Anniversary. 🙂

  18. Amye says

    Would love for you to do another post on vacation clothes. Love everything you are wearing in these pics! The green top is so cute!

  19. Narci says

    I love that you guys took a VACATION! The Dreffs only take vacations so maybe it is time for us to take a TRIP! I had never thought of the difference between the two! LOVE!

  20. Hannah, Here! says

    As someone who plans to go to Hawaii sometime in the near future, I'm just curious why you chose Wailea this time since you mentioned you usually stay elsewhere?

  21. Kate says

    My husband and I will be going to Hawaii soon, and I was curious as to why you chose to stay in wailea this time around instead of Maui? And why you chose that hotel spefically? We are still trying to choose where to stay!

  23. Anonymous says

    Glad you guys had fun! Love all the clothes you all are wearing. Hope you do a "what we wore" post on your vacation outfits. 🙂

  25. Chasity Munn says

    Fun, fun! I love Maui! Your vacay sounds sooo relaxing! I'd love to chat about the differences in Kaanapali and Wailea and how you guys decided on Wailea instead this time. Would you be able to help out with my travel plans since you're an agent? Thanks!!!

  27. Angie says

    We are heading to the beach in July and I'm hoping for a vacation this year as opposed to a trip. We need the downtime. I'm so jealous, I've always wanted to visit Hawaii. I can't wait to see the other posts 🙂

  28. Heidi says

    Your family met my friend Amanda at that luau dinner! She mentioned she had a teacher friend who just loves reading your blog…that is ME! 🙂 She enjoyed every bit of that vacation, so I'm sure your family did too!

  29. Hayley Chandler says

    Wow!!! Can I say I am jealous? The real reason I am jealous is because I know from personal experience just how amazing the Grand Wailea is. My hubby and I went there for our honeymoon. He planned the whole thing, so I had no idea where we were staying until we got there. When we got back and were telling everyone about how off the charts great it was, my mom had just seen a show on Oprah how she took her whole staff for vacation there. You know if Oprah stays there it's the best there is. All that being said it looks like you had the best time!!! I can't wait to hear about the rest. I am intrigued by Lanai. I am really looking forward to hearing more about that.

  32. Karen I. :) says

    Shay, your pictures are amazing!! And the picture quality/colors are amazing!! Were these taken with a phone on a camera – or a nicer camera? Looks great. Glad you had FUN!

  33. {Hi Sugarplum!} says

    You are so good about getting these posts out!! I've only done my second of our trip from march, and do you know, I never finished our Italy trip LAST APRIL! Everything is gorgeous…including you and those stripes!

  34. Jaren says

    What a fun vacation destination! We love the beach…it's our vacation every year. One day I'd love to go to Maui…didn't I see that hotel on an episode of Jon and Kate plus 8??

  35. Anonymous says

    Love seeing all the pics! Gotta know where you got that navy and white stripe shirt (day one recap).

  37. Anonymous says

    I've been debating whether or not to shell out the money on the J Crew shorts that you love so much…is there any difference between the regular ones and the factory ones?

  38. Mix and Match Mama says

    I have a pair of the Factory shorts too and while they're a cute color, they're made of a thinner material that doesn't wash and wear as well. I also think the material is so thin that it shows my undie line. I would invest in the regular J Crew shorts…I have several pair that are 3 and 4 years old and still look brand new.

  39. Aubrey says

    GORGEOUS! So glad you guys enjoyed your hard-earned beach break to the max.

    Naturally, I LOVE your distinct definition of TRIPS and VACATIONS. I've been on trips for the last seven years. I need a Hawaiian vacation!