The James family in Mauiii!

I am soo behind on my blog, I've been avoiding it. And then I just get more and more behind... It's a vicious cycle. That I'm stopping now! So much has been going on with trips and family and JUDE. There's a lot to be updated! I'll start with our James Family Trip to Maui! We were there for a week in May.

Our flight out was almost twenty hours of travel time. Here to LAX, LAX to Maui. It was a long journey! Jude would only sleep while nursing, in my lap. My back was very unthankful by the end of the trip! We managed to have a little fun, too. We arrived in Maui late at night before the rest of the family had arrived. We got settled in to the most beautiful home on the beach that belongs to some friends of my parents and especially enjoyed lying horizontal that night!

I call this "Exhausted Desperation for Entertainment"

Why is it that the only video I have is on the plane?! I would have 

much rather had one of Jude playing happily in the sand!

And then this finally happened and were verrry grateful.

We had arrived after the sun went down so it was a delightful surprise to wake up to a breathtaking view of the Maui coastline. We thought we might have died and gone to heaven! The first day was Mother's Day. What a wonderful way to spend the day! Dan got up with Jude and I enjoyed sleeping in. (best gift I could ever receive!) I woke up to an adorable little note from Dan and Jude and a beautiful red hibiscus. We stopped by a whole foods type store to get some food for the little guy on our way to pick the rest of the crew up from the airport. We told them Jude and I weren't coming so when they opened the trunk of the car and found us there... let's just say it was a pretty good reaction. Their joy of seeing Jude was just more than they could take! We spent the day getting settled and had a lovely little Mother's Day program that night. We exchanged gifts and then each of us shared what we loved about Mom. It was honestly one of the most special moments. Everyone's thoughts were so heartfelt and sincere. I don't think there is anything greater for my mom than to hear sweet words of love expressed from those she loves the most in this life! We are truly blessed to have a close-knit family who loves and watches out for each other. Dan shared his gratitude for me as the mother of our home and Jared and Kris even surprised me with a super cute green headband that, of course, Krissy made! I love it!!! Mom then surprised us with these adorable big purses full of fun things for our trip (sunscreen, swimsuits, magazines, snacks, clothes). It was a perfect night. :)

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It's been almost two months since I wrote the above recap, and time is getting any more free, so I'm going to have to make it more brief from here on out! We will just enjoy the pictures and not worry if they're not in chronological order! :)

Instead of going through each day, I'm just going to share my favorite memory with each person.

My favorite memory with....

My sweet daddy: Thanks to Krissy (and Jared) being sooo selfless to watch Jude for us so we could bike down Haleakala, Dan, Daddy, and I went on the twenty-three mile bike ride! Mom was sweet enough to drive along side us (and by sweet I mean aggressive enough to not care if she stopped 10 cars of traffic to protect her little girl on her bike!! ;)) Back to the subject.... My favorite memory with my sweet papa was biking down this incredible mountain. We started off at the top, 10,000 feet high and literally IN THE CLOUDS (cross that one of my bucket list) and freezing and rode our way down that incredible mountain together. We went through little farming villages, picturesque little towns, and five different climate zones until we reached the bottom. My dad was always by my side, making sure I was okay and being my tour guide. (I took this ride when I was 8 and took a nasty fall, got a big red strawberry abrasion on my tummy, and had to drive in the car the rest of the way down). I also loved sitting at the dinner table outside and hearing all my dad's amazing stories. :)

Dan was a speed demon!

This is how we found Jude when we got home...

My lovely mama: We went to Honolua Bay to snorkel and my mom and I went out to ride the waves. It was just so perfect out there. We were just laughing and being silly. We would ride over the waves and dive under. Some big huge sea turtles even came up closet to us!! We were just talking and loving it. It was definitely one of my favorite memories!

Grammy and Papa didn't mind having Jude duty while relaxing on the beach. :)

My beautiful sister: One day we went into the swimming pool where we were staying and just swam around for what felt like hours. We were out there with Jude and others would come and go but we were out there together for a long time just swimming and lounging in the water and talking. We had great talks and it was just so fun to be together. :)

My hard-working brother: I think the was on the second to last day and we went down to a nearby beach to ride the waves one evening. We coaxed Jared to join us and once he did we had the time of our lives. Mom and Dad were on the beach with Jude and we were just having the best time swimming and riding the waves, on boogie boards and just body boarding. Jared and I were just hanging out together and laughing and being silly and it was just the greatest. :)

My handsome husband: My favorite day was when we went to Honolua Bay to snorkel. We saw tons of HUGE sea turtles, I'm talking, like _____ feet long. They were breathtaking. They would swim up right by us and swim together. They even let us touch them. It was magical. It was absolutely incredible! Dan and I were sticking together and we swam all the way out into a cove. We found a little rocky beach to take a break and laid out of the rocks together and enjoyed the sun. Jude was on the beach taking a nap and we didn't have a care in the world. I remember feeling like we were on our honeymoon again as we laid there on those rocks. We would swim hand-in-hand as we snorkeled exploring and finding the sea turtles. This was one of the most unforgettable things I've ever done. :)

My incredible little child: One night we snuck into the pool at the Grand Wailea (the nicest hotel in Maui with the most INCREDIBLE pool!) We had so much fun I was just aching to go back. One night Jude and I took off, just us two, and we casually snuck into the pool again. He and I swam through all the way around the pools, through the passageways, in and out of the different pools, and were in our own little heaven. I absolutely loved just being with Jude and having our own little secret and snickering together and we swam around in that perfect water, wristband free.

Jude LOVED the shower. It was hilarious.

The boys went scuba diving at Five Caves Five Graves. The dosage instructions had wiped off the Dramamine and Dan took twice the recommended dosage.. He was completely snowed for the rest of the day!

Classic Dad.

Jude loved nothing more than driving the golf cart.

We ate at a really yummy rwstaurant on our last night. Yummm! :)

The 27 hour journey home. I'd say he earned his wings...

He slept on the ground where our feet would go for FOUR hours!!! It was miraculous.

We finally made it to the Charlotte, SC airport only to find that our luggage had been lost and our stroller had been broken. Oh well! Well worth the trip!!! :)