Aloha!!

Yep, we're officially crazy....but we did it!

We managed to fly to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, spend a week full of sun, sand, water and a lot of wind on the beautiful island of Maui with Maggie!

She did great, we did great, we all LOVED it!

My brother invited the family to join him in a condo that he worked out and so all we had to take care of was getting there, so we jumped at the opportunity. There was of course many times that we thought, "what are we doing?!", but we reminded ourselves that we wouldn't let SMA hold us back or our children back. We have to live life. So after months of waiting and trying to be extra, extra careful not to let Maggie get sick...Hawaii time came!

The flight was the most nerve-wracking part. It was a 6 1/2 hour flight to Honolulu and then another 30 min flight to Maui. We were spoiled on the way there because we were moved to right behind first class which had more room and then the seat next to us was never booked, so Maggie didn't have to lay on our laps the whole time. We did keep her mask on and the Trilogy going the whole time. That was a blessing to have! I think she would have been fine to not wear it, but we thought it would protect her a little bit more from the airplane air and germs. One thing we didn't take into account is that she breaths different when she's awake and therefore uses more battery power, so we almost ran out of battery life. Again it was a blessing that we did have a connecting flight and that that flight was delayed because we were able to find an outlet and charge the Trilogy.   

We ended up taking Maggie's 'baby' stroller instead of her stroller/wheelchair for a couple of reasons. It was the right move. With the wind, we were able to create a little cove for her to stay protected from the sand. If you laid there long enough you just might of turned into a sand dune. Also it was much more protection from the sun as well. An umbrella on her other stroller would have never made it out alive. Plus we were so afraid of the airline breaking it and because she can still tolerate it we took the easier way. 

It was really, really windy except the final day, of course. Our condo had a cloud that stayed right over it and misted almost the entire time. Good thing there were many other beaches to go to with sun!

 Maggie looks super excited doesn't she...

then she was super thrilled when the water came. Not quite what we were expecting.

But after a nap she was a little happier.

 

 Little stinker though...she was not wanting to smile in paradise. 

Her new favorite thing is chewing on straws. They are easy enough for her to bend and wont break off.    

 While the rest of the family took the all day drive to Hana, we opted to stay back and visit the Maui Ocean Center. On our drive there Maggie fell asleep without her mask on. So cute, but when we woke her up to get in the stroller her shirt was completely soaked! Our thought is that even though she was sleeping fine, her tummy breathing was just forceful enough to make her food leak out of her g-tube site. Lucky girl got a new t-shirt and we saved a whale in the process. Best t-shirt we could find.

 

 She loved this sea urchin, but would NOT touch the starfish, weird.

In awe of the water and all the cool creatures swimming around. It looked a lot like Ariel's world. :)

 

 Luckily by the time we got home, the mist cloud moved and we enjoyed the neat pool at our condo. We didn't need to drive all the way to Hana to see some waterfalls!

 

 Maggie found a little leaf while swimming and would not let go.

That's just our first two days! It only got better!