Maui - Day 3 - Vow Renewal

Our Wedding Day !!

We started with a delicious early lunch at Leilani's before heading over to Mikey & Honey's hotel, The Grand Wailea, to get ready for our ceremony. That hotel was amazing, and the bar there makes the most delicious Lava Flows on the planet! (For those who don't know, a LAVA FLOW is a tasty adult beverage... specifically just a Pina Colada with strawberry puree. YUM.)

I got my makeup applied and dress on, just in time for our incredible photographer (Honey) to take some pictures of us on the grounds of the hotel and in front of the waterfall there. I can't fully express how wonderful it is to have an amazing professional photographer in the family, much less one who was going to be in Hawaii anyway for Mikey's company trip! It was so great having Mikey and Honey there with us, it made it even more perfect being able to share it with them!

We arrived at our ceremony site a bit early, which was good since we had to put on tennis shoes and trek down some gnarly rocks to get to the secluded Poolenalena Beach. We were a little worried, since the wind on the climb down was furious... but then we reached a tiny cove, and that fierce wind dwindled to a gentle breeze. It was directly under the cliff side home of Hollywood actress Sharon Stone, and adjacent to the home of Clint Eastwood. Pretty cool. Our officiant, Rev. Kevin, opened the ceremony with a Fozzy Bear-esque guttural "singing" to the Four Winds. During which, we all found it quite difficult to hold it together without laughing at the poor man.

The rest of the ceremony was sweet and romantic. We acknowleged all that we've been through these past 10 years as a couple,and now as a family of 4. We renewed the Vows we made to each other 10 years ago, and promised once again to love each other for the rest of our lives. It was dreamy, and so romantic. It was the wedding I had always wanted. Thank you Joey, for making it your goal in life to make all my dreams come true. I'll have to dream up some more, since you've checked off almost everything on my list! You're more than I ever dreamed of, when I dreamt of the man I would spend my forever with. You are truly a prince among frogs. ;)
I love you with all my heart, and I thank God for blessing me with the gift of you.

***** Photography courtesy of Kristina Fanelli - Koi Images and Events. www.kristinafanelli.com

Maui - Day 2

Our second day was really fun! Like the first, it began like a dream. Waking up to bright sunshine streaming in through the thin curtains that were blowing in the most fragrant breeze imaginable. We began all our days with a run, which was invigorating. It was so much easier to wake up early in Hawaii, we didn't want to waste any time sleeping!

So in order to avoid sunburn for one more day, we decided to have some mostly indoor fun. We ventured to the Maui Ocean Center Aquarium to study the things we would be seeing while snorkeling later in the week! It was really interesting, and comforting. We learned that there aren't really any sharks to worry about while snorkeling and swimming around Maui!!! Of course I would pay attention to that stuff... I've had many a nightmare thanks to JAWS.

We had lunch at one of the restaurants in the Aquarium, the Seascape. Joey had an amazing Teriyaki Pineapple Cheeseburger and I had a salad. His was amazing, mine was... a salad. ;)

The best part of the Aquarium was the giant tank filled with sharks (who can actually sleep) huge fish, and the adorable baby turtles! It was a great day, and we learned a lot.

Then, we strolled around the outdoor mall and stumbled upon a Yogurtland. It was my first such experience, other than say a TCBY. And I must say, I am now a shameless addict! Healthy, Delicious, and practically guilt-free = Awesome.

We were very excited to get to the Sunset Luau that evening! And talk about perfect, when we looked out from our balcony there was a rainbow!!! Seriously!?? This place is unreal.

I had always wanted to go to a Luau! This one was truly authentic, not at all cheesy. They even roasted a pig in an imu. (an underground smoke pit) And I must say, he was incredibly delicious. Here's a tip, when in Hawaii, if ever there is Kalua Pork on a menu.... ORDER IT !! It is amazing! And free adult beverages made it even better!!! We saw one of the male performers husk a coconut with a crude spear-like tool, in about 20 seconds. Joey bought me my first real flower lei, made by one of the artisans there. The flowers were soft and beautiful, and the fragrance was absolutely intoxicating. The food was incredible, and the sunset was breathtaking. Weather was perfection. Literally. We wondered where all the mosquitos were!

We made fast friends with the people at our table, some Newlyweds and some married for much longer than us. The show was my favorite part of the evening! The best part being the emcee asking for all the couples celebrating Anniversaries to stand, and then had the ladies sit down. Then he asked those men to come up to the stage and follow along in a special hula dance for their lady. It was one of the brightest moments I can remember! Watching Joey up there, so embarassed, yet having so much fun made me absolutely giddy! I can still see him up there so vividly, it brings joy to my heart. Then there was the fire-juggler, which was super cool ! Completely crazy and dangerous, but definitely cool!

After the luau, we strolled along the beach hand in hand. Like we did each and EVERY night. It was a little chilly, but so so wonderful. And we couldn't get over how few people were there! Our hotel seemed full, along with the other hotels along the beach, but the beach itself was never really all that crowded- even in the middle of the day!

We just soaked up that gorgeous moonlit, starry night. It was the most romantic setting we could ever imagine! It was the perfect prelude to our Day 3... our WEDDING DAY!!! Stay tuned!

Maui - Day 1

The day was finally here... Joey and I were headed for Maui! I had been dreaming of this for as long as I could remember !!! It was so difficult though, to get on a plane and leave my babies 3 thousand miles away for 7 days. So, I'm sort of conflicted to report that we had the time of our lives!!! The absolute best time we ever had! Really, this vacation had everything... Romance, intrigue, adventure, comedy, excitement, and even a little danger.

Our plane took off around noon, and after a quick layover in Phoenix, we arrived in Paradise that evening. Picking up the rental car took a while, so it was dark when we got to our hotel. (Well, condo actually. It was recommended to us by our travel agent who just happens to be a Maui expert!) We stayed at The Whaler on Kaanapali Beach, which was absolutely perfect. Perfect location as well. Right on the beach, and just a short walk from fantastic restaurants and an outdoor mall!!!

We were amazed when we got to the hotel and breezed into the open-air lobby. We could NOT wipe the smiles off our faces!!! We got all settled into our ocean-view room and enjoyed the complimentary pineapple. Then we decided to hit the grocery store we saw on our way in, since it was too dark to see anything anyway. It was shocking how much groceries cost in Hawaii- especially the cereal! But, thankfully, the pineapples were cheap!!!

We couldn't wait to get to sleep that first night- so we could see the sunrise and the beach in the morning!!! We slept with the sliding glass doors open, and the waves lulled us to sleep in no time.

The view that morning was almost more than we could handle!! We couldn't believe it was real, and couldn't wait to get down to the beach and put our toes in that sand! Which was such a fine, perfect golden powder. Oh yes indeed, there was frolicking. It really is every bit as perfect as you imagine it would be. We just wanted to camp out there all day long, (since we couldn't manage to take enough pictures!!) but we didn't want to mistakenly get a sunburn before our Vow Renewal Ceremony that was 2 days away. So, we decided to walk over to the outdoor mall for some souvenir shopping and lunch.

Then we hopped in our zippy little rental car and explored the island a little. Don't know why I found it so strange to see an Old Navy and Krispy Kreme there... probably because it just feels like an entirely different planet.

Then we changed into our swimsuits, and headed down to the Hula Grill for some Happy Hour Mai Tais. We also tried a tropical fruit sampler, which included bananas, pineapple, mango, papaya, lychee, lillikoi, strawberries & watermelon. It had this amazing pina colada dipping sauce that was out of this world. It was a truly Hawaiian experience!

Then we hit the beach for just a little while that evening, again trying to avoid those dreaded tanlines/sunburns! The water was pretty cold at first, but once we were fully immersed, it was just exhilerating and completely refreshing.

Then we headed into Lahaina Town for some dinner, and stumbled upon the best meal of our entire lives- at Aloha Mixed Plate. Sure, they serve the food on compostable paper plates, plastic forks and cups. (But to quote the New York Times, "Paper plate meets million dollar view".) The entire restaurant was completely open-air and our view for that first Hawaiian sunset was nothing short of spectacular. The thing that astounded us the most was, there were NO mosquitos. None. AND we were sitting OUTSIDE in August without breaking out into a sweat. It made me realize that, although I love Texas, temperately speaking... it is an armpit.

We began our dinner experience with a yummy Pina Colada, and Coconut Prawns with Pineapple Chutney. AMAZING! We knew then that we were in for something special. Joey ordered the Kalbi Ribs (Grilled Korean-style sesame teriyaki short ribs)and I had the Shoyu Chicken (oven baked chicken in a soy sauce marinade) both were served with white rice and macaroni salad. Sounds simple, but this food was to die for! We shared a dessert that rocked our world, the name of it was so not appetizing: Cheesecake Lumpia, but we were so glad we ventured to try it. It was a cinnamon-sugary caramel fried cheesecake. It was truly the best.meal.ever.

Our first full day was incredible, and we relished the fact that we had 6 more to go!

Summer's Last Hurrah

For our last day home with Reilly before his school career began, we took the kids to Going Bonkers for some crazy climbing, sliding fun! (It's like a Chick-fil-A playground on steroids, for those who aren't in the know.) Reilly had never seen anything like it, his eyes were HUGE... so we knew we scored!! We love making our children feel like there's magic in the world... we believe that's actually part of our job as parents. :)

It was actually there that I felt something I didn't expect. It was the very first time I felt like we were a 4-pack... instead of three and a baby. Because we let Avery climb with the three of us, up to the top of that crazy playground... and she was a pro! She stayed right with us, climbing and sliding like she'd done it a million times! There was chasing, racing, red-faced sweating, and giggling... most of all giggling. It was the most fun we've ever had as a family of 4. I just know I'll remember it forever, as the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our family.

After we closed down Going Bonkers, we hit one of Reilly's favorites for dinner... Panda Express! Followed by a perfect snow cone from Bahama Buck's. (Joey's absolute favorite.) Joey introduced us to the ring game there, which like everything else- he is annoyingly great at. I think Reilly got the hang of it too, but Avery was just too busy enjoying the snow cones to bother with more than one try at it.

It was such a great day, the perfect summer send-off for the kiddos!