Hawaii...Whale Watching

We went on the Hawaii Ocean Project Whale Watch out of the Lahaina Harbor.  We saw many humpback whales spouting water, surfacing the water, and diving into the ocean.  We wished they came closer to us to get a closer look, but we all enjoyed seeing the whales frolicking in the ocean waters here in Hawaii.  These whales migrated from Alaska to Hawaii to give birth to their calves.  Some of the whale pods included the new calves born at about 2.5 tons!

 

Hawaii...Around the Resort

 

Today we spent the day planning our week, booking our tours and exploring the hotel grounds.  We only spent a short time at the pool due to some rain and cool winds.  At night, we went to dinner at Bubba Gumps.  Then we spent some time wandering through the stores on Front Street in Lahaina.  Tori found a wooden back scratcher that she would "love to have."  Mike asked her if she had an money...Tori replied, "No, I don't even have any pockets!"  Priceless.  A $1.30 back scratcher made Tori so happy.

 

 

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning began around 7:30 when the kids came down to see what surprises Santa brought.  Tori was in awe at all the presents Santa brought our family.  She held out her hands in awe and her expression was simply priceless. 

 

 

 

Celebrating Christmas Eve

 

We spent Christmas Eve day in Charlotte and then on our way home we tracked where Santa was using the Ipad.  It was fun following the different countries around the world that Santa was visiting on his way to our house.  Once we got back home we started our celebration of Christmas Eve.  We open our gifts to eachother, leave out cookies and milk for Santa, and read Twas the Night Before Christmas just before bedtime.  Tori also said goodbye to Razzle Dazzle, our elf on the shelf.  She was so sad that Razzle Dazzle was leaving us and would not be back until next year.  Her goodbye even made Ashley and I a bit teary.