Tiny Treasures: Here Today, Gone to Maui: Day 4. Aquariums, Sunsets, & Calories!

I know in my blogging world the days have crawled by, but when we were in Maui, the days flew. Somehow we were already to Wednesday!

Early that morning, Dax & Randy (Papa Nieders) were up before activities to get the ribs on the grill. They continued to cook for the next 8 hours until dinner. Yeah, you've got it, they were GOOD. (Mike's been practicing this same recipe since we've been home from Maui, and I am not complaining ;) ).

Then we split in to big kids + some adults and little kids + some adults.

I went with the little kids, obviously, so that's the Wednesday perspective you'll get. We ate breakfast at 'THE' cinnamon roll place in Maui on the way to the Aquarium. Carson thinks they are only good with icing and macadamia nuts. Kid has pretty good taste. Unfortunately this time around, the 2000 calories of cinnamon roll didn't really agree with me. I'll try to remember that next time ;)

Off we went to the aquarium. It's right in the corner of the Maalaea Bay. The same place you leave to whale watch (in the winter months). So I guess Maalaea is a definite must for adventures in Maui.

I adore this shot of the giddy littles ready for their fishy adventure.

Amelia walked around the aquarium saying, 'blop, blop, blop'. That's her sound for fish. She must have said it 1000 times!

Allllllmost tall enough to see the fish that changes from female to male when the (one) male of the school dies. So I guess women rule that roost.

Baby SEA Turtles. I will forever be in awe of these magnificent creatures. I hate that they're endangered, and I hate that so so so so many of them die before they reach adult hood. But at least the aquarium is helping! Here's an interesting tidbit- the gender of the turtle is unknown until they reach sexual maturity in their teenage years.

Mima Wade & her littlest girls!

Next we went to a shark feeding and scuba diver/ocean naturalist lesson. The kids were just as enthralled as I was. They sat on the floor and watched and listened.. and most of the time even without snacks!

The size of these rays?! I don't think I've ever before seen an aquarium tank this big. I was fascinated and had to keep my jaw off the floor.

The scuba diver taught about the animals as they swam by him. A unique lesson indeed!

After naps brought a little swimming. O loved the pool but A was lukewarm. I was surprised by this because she seemed to enjoy her swim lessons so well last winter. She kept saying 'cold,cold,cold,cold'. Until next time, Millie!

After our delicious rib & fixins' dinner, we went down to the park across the street to watch the sunset. I love this shot of A running with the sunbeam shining on her!

Now that's just sweetsie!

Gaga Nieders came prepped with a box of ice cream bars. Dax's parents are truly servers. They fed all 15 of us allll week long. The food was overflowing. They amazed me.

Now this is what he calls 'Bacation!'.

Ah, Joy! Vacation!

Oh Ava. I think she was pouting because her ice cream was gone. I just couldn't resist this pic; it's such a classic Ava pose! Dax says, "If you're going to be good at pouting, you have to practice a lot".

There was more than one occasion that these two were asked if they were sisters. Becky always responds, 'Yes, but I'm younger'. (Not true). Wish they got along better!