Maui Part 3: Moses turns 4 and whale watching

We knew that with going on a trip in March it would probably fall on one of our 3 March children's birthday's and it did on Moses's birthday. He turned 4 while we were in Maui. 

His birthday was supposed to start with a whale watching trip, but we went to the wrong location, realized it, rushed and ran to the actual location as fast as we could, and got there just as the boat was pulling away from the dock. It was very disappointing but the company was very nice and let us reschedule for the next morning for no extra charge. And let it be a lesson to always double check the location! There are two Boss Frog Snorkel Shops in the island which was how we went to the wrong one. 

So instead we came back, had a leisurely brunch and a swim in the pool and then  had Moses' birthday cake. He choose a unicorn cake from the grocery store.

My sweet big 4 year old! 

After that we made the kids go to sleep for their mandatory nap each day. 

The girls didn't nap but did art on the patio while everyone else did. What a pretty place to paint! 

My brother Adam had recently been to Maui and told us about Big Beach, so we went and checked in out in the afternoon after the kids woke up. It was an amazing beach! The sand was very fine and sticky and felt like kinetic sand. The kids loved playing in it! 

The water was turquoise! It was so beautiful I couldn't stop taking pictures. 

I think it is called Big Beach because the waves were HUGE! They would come crashing onto the beach and knock all the kids down, pushing them up the beach and often going over all of their heads. The kids cried quite a few times but they kept going back out for more. The little ones would have been totally pummeled and could only stay where it was really shallow, but even then sometimes a big wave would come and knock them down too. I think the waves change a lot with the weather so this just happened to be a big wave day at this particular beach. 

The huge waves kept bringing up lots of shells and corals and we collected it all in the stroller. 

A kind stranger passed by and insisted on taking our picture. He told us he had 3 sons and wished he could have had 6 like us. 

After the beach Sorrel was so exhausted she fell asleep right on the floor of our condo. Our kids are RARELY the fall asleep anywhere types but jet lag exhaustion is next level. 

The next day we made it on to our much awaited whale watching tour. 

It was quite underhelming! We saw humpback mama's and babies but they weren't jumping into the air like you see on tv. They were floating near the surface so you could see them a little bit, and we saw a few tails, but the kids couldn't see much of anything and got bored 30 minutes into the 2 hour excursion. 

They did have free drinks so the kids all loved that. 

I spent most the time holding the little kids like this to keep them from running all over the boat. 

The picture they took when we boarded and wanted us to pay $40 for. 

It was fun and pretty but not worth the cost with so many little kids. This was the one activity we paid for in Hawaii and the rest of the things we did were free. The kids did get to fulfill their wishes to go on a boat in the ocean though. 

And I'll end this part with this beautiful perfect avocado I got. All the produce even from the grocery store was amazing.