New Year's // Maui 

First post of 2020! One of my goals is to post more often. First up: we rang in the New Year in Hawaii. 

In my previous Hawaii post, I mentioned that Sam took his mom to Hawaii, and when he mentioned going again, I made sure he took me. This time, his third time to Maui, he took both of us. Ha! We're both addicted to the sun so it works well. 

Hawaii is always a special experience, but this trip was extra special and honestly, very emotional. Like Sam, this was my third visit to the islands. My first trip was when my cousin, Jeremy, was working on the Big Island. My mom convinced Aunt DeDe that we needed to visit him. Mimi joined us on this tropical trip, which was 15 years ago.

Over the holidays, our DeDe went home to Heaven. Our hearts still ache. We just weren't ready to say goodbye. 

Hours after DeDe got her angel wings, Jeremy told me that DeDe really wanted to go back to Hawaii and encouraged me to go for her. If I left for my trip as planned, I would miss her funeral, which I struggled with. I felt so much guilt for leaving my family in the midst of our heartbreak, but just like my mom convinced DeDe to go to Hawaii, she convinced me too. 

I've felt it for a long time, but this proved that I truly have the most supportive, loving and close-knit family. And my mom. Even through her sorrow, she was giving me pep talks and kept digging for the positive. She is our family's #1 cheerleader. 

I feel blessed to have celebrated DeDe with my future family under the palms. While in Hawaii, I felt such a peace over me. I just can't help but think that the Lord shielded my heart from the hurt while I was there. We talked about DeDe and looked at old pictures every day. 

One of my favorite things about DeDe was that she lovingly told us how much she cared about us. In notes, she wrote that she was proud to be my aunt. In texts, she sent pictures, and told me I was pretty and smart. I learned a lot from DeDe, but my favorite might be to tell your people that you love them and tell them why. And when you think of someone or have a kind comment, share it.

DeDe's birthday was our last day in Hawaii. The sun was shining strong and the rainbows were magical. It was the perfect beach birthday for our angel. 

Been There Done That: 

See + Do

PGA Tour of Champions: Sam ironically booked our trip while there was a tournament at his favorite course, Kapalua. We walked miles and miles uphill, chasing players from tee to tee. Virginia especially loved getting so close to the golfers. 

D.T. Fleming Park: this is the beach at the Ritz Carlton so obviously highly recommended. It's definitely Sam's fave. Pro Tip: park here for free and walk to Kapalua. 

Old Dominion: two Texas residents had to go all the way to Hawaii to go to a country concert together. We digressed from our itinerary after hearing an ad on the radio. Definitely one of the highlights from the trip! The show was outside, and of course, it rained. The ponchos were two for $5, and to me, they were worth $500. Pro Tips: bring towels to dry your chairs, wear ponchos, eat and drink before you go because they use a ticket system, and it's a nightmare. And our next nightmare was trying to Uber home. Trust us, and just drive there. 

Lahaina: we made fun of "resort-ville", but there's lots of shoreline to soak up the sun. 

Paia: quaint surf town where we stayed last time. We ate our last Hawaiian meal and spent our last few hours on the beach here. The water is tropical blue! 

Eat

Paia Fish Market: hands down our favorite. We ate here three times on our last visit and twice this visit. I would be perfectly happy eating every meal here. They have three handy locations. On this trip, we ate in Kihei and at the original in Paia. There's a location in Lahaina too. 

Gerard's: a plantation home with a French twist on Hawaiian food. It's probably not worth the drive or money, but we enjoyed our romantic dinner in the garden. 

Stay 

Kihei: we stayed at Sunny Maui Vacations. The condo was stocked with everything from cookware for breakfast to the chairs and boogie boards. Each morning, we enjoyed coffee and chatting on the balcony. 

Shout out to Sam for buying the perfect amount of food on our grocery run. ;) Virginia and I agree that he's the greatest tour guide! He's also been my peace and comfort. When I would have an emotional breakdown mid-way into packing a suitcase, he would stop and cry with me. When I couldn't read my texts because my eyes were too fuzzy from the tears, he would read them to me. When all I wanted to do was talk about how much I loved DeDe, he sat and looked at pictures of her my phone over and over. When I needed something to smile about, he would remind me how much we laughed on our pizza date with her, and say something like, "she always looked at us over her readers". 

She was our special aunt, and I know she would have loved these pictures.