Hawaii 2016- Grand Wailea Resort Vacation Photos

“if you shut your eyes and are a lucky one, you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colours suspended in the darkness; then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape, and the colours become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire. But just before they go on fire you see the lagoon. This is the nearest you ever get to it on the mainland, just one heavenly moment; if there could be two moments you might see the surf and hear the mermaids singing.”
-j.m. barrie, peter panGrand_Wailea_Resort_Photos01sigh… is it too soon to jump on a plane and go back?! we kicked off 2016 in the best way possible, with a family trip to maui! my parents have been there several times, but this time they generously brought the whole family for a week. there was spa days, boat rides, so many whales (!!!), fruity drinks, gorgeous beaches, 57th wedding anniversary celebrations, stunning sun sets, and good gosh SO much food. what more do you need?! i honestly didn’t take TOO many photos on this trip (that’s what happens when your family hates having their pictures taken!) but in a way it was nice to be able to truly relax and not worry about carrying my heavy camera everywhere. enjoy some favorite photos from our week at the Grand Wailea Resort, this post is a mix of both big camera and iPhone images, and tomorrow i’ll share some of the more formal family portraits we took while we’re there! but for now, grab a fruity drink and enjoy some lovely maui scenery! Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos03how adorable are my grandparents?! they celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary while we were there!Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos78Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos79since we had dinners booked every night at 6:00, this was typically what was left of the sunset by the time we got there. but that cotton candy pink sky was still to die for! Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos87one afternoon we jumped on a sailboat and headed out to find some whales! this time of year there are tons of whales in maui, and we saw so many. you could see them all day long from the balcony of our house, but this day we were able to get a little more up close and personal. we also did a little bit of snorkeling and made friends with a few sea turtles :) Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos90you see that little rainbow? i was hoping to see a couple over the week! where we were staying, it didn’t rain on us ONCE (which i was thankful for!) but that also meant the rainbows were few and far between. so this little one we saw out on the boat made my day!Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos91a few more iPhone photos from the week… the guys rented that little sporty car for the afternoon and had a blast. I think it was a replica of a 1957 porsche? either way, it was pretty cool! Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos92Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos94bGrand_Wailea_Resort_Photos95Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos98Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos99Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos102Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos108Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos109any of my wonderful couples want to have their wedding in this adorable chapel?! all week long i kept imaging how incredible it would be to photograph a wedding right here! so charming! Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos110Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos111Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos115one night i bailed on dinner with everyone and went on a hunt for the best spot to watch the sun set, and it was incredible. i found a bench just far enough away from the business of the resort, turned some worship music on and planted myself here for the evening. i had done some research before the trip and the main thing everyone said was “never miss a sunset!” and after watching it, i can say they were absolutely correct. it was breathtaking! Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos119Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos121Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos126whew. maui, i think you have ruined me for other sunsets to come. i’m not sure how it gets better than this :)Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos127one night we went to the luau, and everyone loved it! the dancing was so so lovely and I enjoyed hearing about all of the history and different stories. Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos131Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos132Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos133Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos135Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos142you see all of those stars?! so incredible. you don’t see ANYthing like that where i live. Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos143Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos143bkevin’s super adorable girlfriend joelle came with us and i’m so glad she did! she was the sweetest, most welcome presence on this trip and it was so fun to get to know her! Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos144umm, hellooooo?! over here, you two!! sheesh. Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos145Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos148Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos149Grand_Wailea_Resort_Photos150maui, i miss you already! mahalo, until we meet again! :)

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  1. […] order, starting with our trip to maui this past january! you can go back and see highlights of part 1 and part 2 of that trip on the blog. maui was nothing short of spectacular, and i can’t wait […]

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