We spent the first two weeks of December on the beautiful island of Maui. It was a wonderful, busy-but-relaxing family get-away, and was a lot of fun!
The first week was colder, and the wind picked up in the afternoons, but the kids didn’t mind at all. You see, we bought a week’s pass to the Maui Ocean Center, and the kids loved every minute we spent at the aquarium.
There is a tunnel through the shark and sting-ray tank, which is quite an experience. As I was trying (unsuccessfully) to line up the kids for a photo in the tunnel, Aaron pointed to the biggest shark of all, and said, “Tiger Shark!” I snapped the photo just in time to catch Micah’s reaction:
Micah, of course, took it upon himself to learn the names of as many fish as he could, and by the end of the week was acting as a tour guide for other visitors of the aquarium. We took the video camera along, if you care to join him for a virtual tour: (warning: video is almost 10 minutes long.)
Our second week brought warmer weather, more beach time, and lots of snorkeling.
Micah’s new-found knowledge was great while we were snorkeling, because he knew the names of most of the fish we saw! We went on one guided snorkel tour, and saw a humpback whale from the boat. We also got to snorkel with giant green sea turtles – a definite first for me! I never imagined I’d be ten feet away from a 450-lb turtle in the wild!
One of the most valuable things we brought home from the trip … and the thing which might, by itself, be worth every penny we spent … is the fact that Micah is now considering alternate career choices! Our set-in-stone Paleontologist discovered that it’s fun to learn about living creatures, and is now talking about wanting to be a Marine Biologist, or a Snorkel/Scuba Tour Guide, or a Teacher, or own his own Aquarium … while maybe doing a little digging for fossils on the side. Regardless, his parents are enjoying a much needed break from the non-stop dino and fossil talk around the house!
Oh … and Matthew spent the entire two weeks completely accident-free … plane rides, boat tours, car trips, swimming pools, exciting activities, and all … he told us “potty” when he needed to go, and that was that!
Finally took the 10 minutes to get the tour. Wow! I love how he’s so expressive! He’s not just reciting information that fascinates him, but really wants his audience to be excited too. Love it! Great work putting it together, too!