Maui Day #2

The Maui Revealed book has led us to some of the most gorgeous spots on the island.  Today, we stopped at some of our favorites.

 The hike to Nakalele Blowhole is always a windy, but beautiful trek.

 After a short hike down the lava rock

 we reached the blowhole which was spewing pretty good today.

 Our extended Maui family!

 Somethings never change and this is one of our favorite photo ops.

The girls were so excited to recreate their photo from 2011…Wow!  What a difference 5 years makes!

 Then it was off to the Olivine Pools.  Last time we were here with the Lebitski's, it was pouring so we didn't get to swim much.  This year was perfect!  

We jumped, we swam and spent quite a bit of time taking in the amazing scenery. 

 So much fun!

 Some of the big kids…including Matt, jumped from the highest rock.  Too scary for me, but made for great pics!

 The next stop was Honolua Bay.  The snorkel cruises frequent this spot too, but we get to go for free!

 We love the hike down to the water!  So much unique vegetation and lots of chickens!

 Poppy enjoyed feeding the birds from his little perch in the shade, while the rest of us snorkeled.

 Some of the girls saw their first turtle today!

Allison found other treasures too

and Matt ventured out as well.

Our last stop for the day was Kapalua Bay.  This is probably our favorite spot!

 We did some more snorkeling and the girls made this cute turtle in the sand.

We cleaned up for our first dinner at Aloha Mixed Plate. Easily our favorite place to eat and I knew we would be frequenting it over the next few weeks.

The girls enjoyed virgin lava flows

 and another beautiful sunset!

 Although exhausted by now, we made time for a quick trip to Lahaina for shave ice at Local Boyz!  The big girls settled for gelato since it was a shorter walk and I finally found Lappert's. Everyone enjoyed their treats!

Maui Day #1

After months of anticipation, our 2 weeks in Maui finally became a reality! We were out the door at 3:00am for our 6:00 flight to LA and then on to Kahului.  It was fun having everyone on the same flight and all went well. I can't describe the feeling of instant relaxation I feel when we land in Maui.  It's my happy place!

 After picking up our minivan and loading up at Costco, we checked into Kahana Beach and admired our view for the next 2 weeks.

 The girls didn't wait long to get in the water

 and enjoy their time together.

 We cooked up some lasagna, salad and bread at Leslie's condo and watched our first sunset, while planning the weeks itinerary.

 Scoops has always been our favorite ice cream shop on the island so we headed there after dinner.  Unfortunately, Scoops went cheap and changed their ice cream from Lappert's to Roselani…no more Scoops for us!

But still a lovely night along Front St. in Lahaina to end our first day!

33rd Annual SDSI Course

 Our view from the 29th floor as our week in San Diego got underway today.  

 This view never gets old and I so look forward to working this event each year.  There were quite a few changes to the calendar and our registration set up due to the upcoming All-Star game at Petco Park, but we were actually quite impressed with our new set up.  We spent much of Monday prepping course bags and faculty gifts

 before heading out to a delicious dinner at Searsucker with Larky and Dr. Esch.

 Dr. Esch got married last weekend so we all signed a card and got him a nice bottle of Chilean wine.

Dinner was amazing!  I started with a Sucker Punch cocktail and we all shared brie with strawberry jam, duck fat fries, shrimp and grits and crab cakes for appetizers.  I loved my steak w/ potatoes and broccolini and even liked Leslie's ono!  We sampled lemon cheesecake, S'mores cake, brown butter cake and nutella donuts for dessert.  Yum!

 It is now tradition to share a B&B with Dr. Esch to honor his dad, but this year he added grand marnier and drambuie…not a fan of any of them!

It was a fantastic night and we are excited for a great week!

 Allison went to babysit Sarah's kids in La Jolla tonight and the rest of the girls went to dinner with Poppy to Burger Lounge.

Leslie, Darian, Wendy and I were up early to walk the boardwalk to Seaport Village and tackle the convention center stairs Tuesday morning before work.

 It was brutal,  but I sure wish I had access to this more often!

The girls had a fun day shopping at Horton Plaza while we finished up registration prep.

We all met up for dinner at Lolita's and dessert at Chocolat and Ghiradelli!

 Registration opened at 6:30 this morning.  It was fun having the girls all help this year!  The littles were only needed for about an hour, but the bigs worked 3 long days with us and did a great job!

Darian replaced Marci this year and we loved having her!  We had over 370 registrants representing 29 countries and 46 states. I'm always amazed by that and appreciate how kind they are to us!

Lectures, break-out sessions and labs were scheduled throughout the week.

 The cadaver lab fascinates me and I think the big girls grew more and more interested in the medical field after being exposed to all of it.

 Wednesday night was the Chairmen's Reception.  We couldn't attend because we went out to celebrate Reanna's birthday, but we ran in to pose for a few quick pics first.  I love these ladies!

 Then it was off to Buca Di Beppo to celebrate Reanna turning 14.  The littles spent the day taking the ferry to Coronado and renting a surry and hanging out at the beach with Poppy.  It was nice that we could all do dinner together!

 Thursday morning Darian and I drove to pick up our online pre-order of 2 dozen donuts from the Donut Bar…so good!  After work, Larky treated all of us to massages again.  I didn't get any pictures, but it was wonderful and we felt so spoiled!  We decided to just eat dinner by the pool and relax tonight.

 Today, one of the faculty performed a latarjet procedure on a cadaver.  The bigs got to watch from this angle and the registrants watched it from the next room live streamed on a large screen.  This procedure is approved in Europe and Australia, but is in the clinical trials stage here in the US. It was fascinating to watch!

It was our last night here.  Poppy treated this crew to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack while we attended the faculty dinner.

 So grateful for these wonderful friends!

 Matt came down for the evening too which was really nice.  I wish he got to participate in more of the week's activities, but work and the dog always seem to get in the way.

 Dr. Esch has now retired from his practice, but continues to be a very active part of this event.  We are so thankful to be a part of it.

 Cosmos all around!

 Shots of tequila too!  We ate delicious food as always…sushi, shrimp/chicken/steak skewers, banh mi sandwiches and sliders and finished with fruit gelato. 

 Dr. Esch and Larky were all smiles after a very successful week!  There were quite a few "bumps in the road", but we handled them all with a smile (maybe a few grumblings behind the scenes) and made the best of it.  I believe all of the registrants left very pleased and we hope to see them again next year!