Aloha

What’s a vacation without my detailed blog posts?  This vacation I did a little bit more video documenting and am happy to share that I started a YouTube channel.  I wouldn’t call it a vlog because I don’t know if I’m really about that life yet.  I just know that Anelia loves watching vlogs of other random children so why not let her view our families memories?  It’s also a great way to document.  One of my most favorite things to watch are old family videos.  I figure my girls will enjoy watching their YouTube videos one day.  Besides, nowadays not everyone likes to read a boring blog.  So if you’re interested in watching our vacation.  Head over to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr3H4JOPAzbEvkdGaZ1Q1hg

 

I currently only have a few videos up but will slowly upload the other day's events. I’m not professional vlogger, I didn’t cover everything we did.  I still try to enjoy and live in the moment without doing too much picture and video taking so my blog covers all the things I didn’t record or capture.

 

Hawaii was amazing, relaxing, incredible, much needed, etc.  I'm missing it all so much already.  Who am I kidding?  I was missing it before we even left.  I love Hawaii and if it didn't cost an arm and a leg to live there, I would, in a heartbeat.  I love that there is always something to do with your family.  There's always something to see.  That's not the case here in Vegas, at all. 

 

Preparing for our trip was hectic and overwhelming but it was all so worth it.  On our way to the airport Anelia kept saying how excited she was to go to the beach.  Which is funny considering the last time we visited Aulani she wanted nothing to do with the water.  When we’d ask her about riding on an airplane she’d get quiet and say she was scared.  She’s such a gem.  We took a red eye flight on Monday night and I was so anxious for the flight.  Tai is unpredictable when it comes to sleep so I was literally dreading the thought of her not doing well and waking up the entire plane.  Just like always, I over worried and both of the girls slept the entire flight.  I was so thankful! 

 We arrived in Hawaii around 6:00 a.m. and the humidity was ridiculous.  Coming from Vegas where there is dry heat, the humidity was definitely something new to us all.  Aside from that, the weather was perfect.  Sage's family always talked about how good Boots & Kimo’s is so I was excited to give it a try.  With us arriving so early we were able to beat the crowds and give their amazing macadamia nut pancakes a try.  It was so yummy!  If you ever find yourself in Hawaii, put Boots and Kimo's on your "Must Eat" list. 

 

 After breakfast we wandered the island a bit then made our way to Disney's Aulani Resort.  I can't even put into words how truly spectacular Aulani is.  I feel like all families with children should at least experience Aulani once in their lifetime.  Yes, it is expensive, which is typical for Disney... However, every penny spent was well worth the memories that we made.  The amount of amenities and activities that they offer are unreal and each is so unique and fun.  We definitely will be making Aulani a must when we visit Hawaii again.  Hopefully that is sooner rather than later.  

 

 

Upon arrival we were greeted by one of the cast members and were "Lei'd."  I was given an orchid lei and Sage was given a kukui nut lei.  They even gave both of the girls cute little menehune necklaces.  Aulani truly makes you feel like a VIP as soon as you step foot on their property.  We checked into our room which happened to have a gorgeous ocean view and was on the top floor.  

 

After settling in, we went swimming in the lagoon for a bit.  Then took the girls to the splash pad area and ate some lunch.  Later, we got showered and ready for dinner.  We walked across the street to a nearby Mexican restaurant.  I know, who eats Mexican food while in Hawaii?  We do.  We eat Polynesian food year around lol. 

 

 

 After dinner we realized it was sunset and I really didn’t want to miss it.  I've never been able to witness in person the sun setting on the ocean so we hurried to the lagoon in hopes to catch it.  When we initially got to the lagoon the sun was further west and I thought we had missed it.  After a bit of searching though, we found it on the other side of a nearby hotel that was under construction.  I'm a sucker for sunsets but experiencing a sunset on the beach with my little family was something I will never forget.  After watching the sunset we went back to the lagoon and decided to take a few more pictures and just relax.  That's the beauty of Hawaii, just relaxing and sitting back is fun. 

I decided to get a little creative and placed our selfie stick in the sand to hold our camera for us while we took some family pictures.  A small wave came and down went the selfie stick that was holding my phone!  Luckily, I don't know how... but my phone survived the water and sand and I was able to capture our incredible trip.  Thank goodness! … If you watch our videos this is recorded.

 Our second day at Aulani we got up early in hopes to get into the Character Breakfast.  Both of our girls love all of the Disney characters so we wanted to give it a try.  Unfortunately, all reservations were booked and the soonest available was over an hour wait.  We decided to have breakfast at 'Ama'Ama's which was right off of the beach.  We all loved it, the food was delicious and the view was priceless.

 

 

After breakfast we decided to take advantage of the amenities and let Anelia have some independent fun at Aunty's Beach House.  Sage and I have never left Anelia with anyone other than family.  We're extremely attached to our girls so leaving her there was a challenge but also something we knew she'd love and enjoy.  The amount of activities they have available at Aunty's are limitless.  When checking in they give your child a bracelet to track their whereabouts.  As they were putting on her bracelet she was so excited and I had an emotional mommy moment and fought myself to hold back tears.  If you haven't noticed already, I'm extremely emotional and sentimental.  The smallest things set me off, especially when it comes to Sage or my girls.  We checked her in and as soon as we entered the play area she took off without even wanting to say "see you later" to Sage or I.  I was like "Uh, hello!  Give me a kiss!"  She gave us both kisses and said bye and went on her way.  We both walked out with tears in our eyes, dramatic! Sage's mom chuckled and told the staff we were very new to this lol!  Our Tai Moana wasn't old enough to join Anelia so her little chunky-self kept us company. 

We visited the gift shops and then made our way to the lagoon.  Sage and I have always wanted to try paddle boarding so we decided to rent two boards and give it a try.  I'm so thrilled to say I was so much better at it than him.  He's always so good and beats me in practically everything.  For the first time ever, I was the better one and I milked it like crazy!  Sage lost his paddle, couldn't stand more than a minute or two... It was exhilarating for me to witness and it's something I will rub in his face for the rest of our lives.  I loved paddle boarding.  It was so peaceful being out on the ocean.  I wish I was able to do it more often.  It's not only a great little workout but it's so much fun!  If I had to choose paddle boarding or snowboarding, paddle boarding is definitely my new favorite.

After checking our boards back in we decided after nearly two and half hours that it was time to get Ane.  When I picked her up she ran to me in excitement wearing a cute little princess dress and screamed "Mommy!  You found me!"  She then said "Mommy, I was crying... you left me."  As much as it broke my heart she cried, I was so happy that she was excited to see us and come enjoy the rest of the day with us.  Aunty's Beach House is extremely convenient and hopefully next time Tai will be old enough to join her sister next time we visit. 

We enjoyed lunch next to the pool.  Anelia wanted to go down to the Lagoon so she and Sage did that.  Heavenly and I lounged by the pool as Tai napped in the stroller.  It was raining on and off throughout the day and pools were closed for a bit due to lightning.  The rain was warm and it was still so relaxing.  After the pools reopened Anelia swam while Sage and I went and gave the slides a try.  We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool with the girls and as the rain picked up we decided to call the day quits. We were so sad to leave Aulani but I was actually a bit glad we didn't stay there for our entire trip because we would have never left and missed out on the rest of the island.   

Our third day was spent mostly at the beach.  We got the girls up and ate breakfast at McDonald's.  Unless you've had Hawaii's McDonald's breakfast then you wouldn't understand.  Their breakfast is so different from the mainland.  One thing they had that I enjoyed throughout the rest of our trip was their taro pies.  Instead of the typical apple pies they had taro pies.  Just the thought of them if making me want to jump on a plane to get just one... mmm.  *sigh*  Before heading to the beach we had to stop by and pay our respects to Sage's grandparents and loved ones.  See my previous blog post on more of that.  We then went to Kailua beach and Sage & Ane swam while Tai & I enjoyed some yummy poke and musubis in the shade on the beach. 

 

 

The main reason we had even booked our trip was because the football team Sage's dad, Nua, coaches was scheduled to play Saint Louis a team in Hawaii.  After the beach we got showered and met up with Nua and the team at their hotel.  We spent the rest of our evening there then headed back to Hawaii Kai where we stayed for the rest of our trip.  Sage's uncle lives in a gorgeous home in Hawaii Kai with a pool, boat and access to the ocean.  We were so thankful to spend the rest of our trip there. 

The fourth day was probably my favorite day because we got to see so much of the island.  We first stopped by the grocery store and I was so thrilled to find that their bakery sold Butter Mochi.  If you haven’t had butter mochi, find some!  It’s so yummy and luckily, my mother-in-law knows how to make it and is going to teach me.  Anyways, enough of food… Some of our stops included Giovanni's shrimp truck, Matsumoto's shave ice, and our favorite beach, Lanikai.  When Sage lived in Hawaii we visited Lanikai often. It was so nice to come back with our girls. 

We then met up with some of the football coaches and players at Kaiona beach.  They had a large paddle boat and were taking that out.  It was dinner time so we packed the girls up, got ready, and enjoyed dinner at Kim Chee's.  Sage used to eat here as kid so it was a little trip down memory lane for him.  The customer service they have in Hawaii is sometimes hit or miss but at Kim Chee's they were so sweet to our girls.  Our waitress offered to show them their large fish tank and carried them over after .  Upon our decent they gave Ane a packed of bubbles.  Their small gestures of kindness really stuck with me.  

 

 

 

 

 

Our last full day there was game day!  We first started it by going to watch Sage's cousin, Shayla's high school volleyball game.  She's a beast and is extremely talented.  Watching her and her team made me so excited for when our girls begin to play sports.  I pray that they grow to love athletics the same way Sage and I did growing up.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Later we met up with Sage's brother and hit up the wonderful swamp meet.  The humidity level was nearly at 100% our entire trip so the swamp meet was fun but extremely hot and the girls didn't like it at all.  We headed home, got showered and ready and it was game time.  The outcome of the game wasn't what we had hoped for... at all.  However, the whole experience was amusing to witness.  Win or lose, I'm sure those boys will remember this trip for the rest of their lives.  While at the game we ran into so much family.  I saw a few of my second cousins and their kids.  Sage's first cousins were all there and after the game we all went to Zippy's and enjoyed dinner together.  Our kids are around the same age as Sage's cousin, Rory's kids so Ane had so much fun with them all.  I love Sage's family and appreciate the good conversation and company when they’re around.

Our last and final day there we were pretty worn out and didn't do anything.  We spent most of our morning sleeping then the rest of our afternoon we packed and then headed to the airport.  We were fortunate enough to get six seats altogether on our flight home.  Anelia did great on the flight but Tai was a different story.  She wasn't terrible but she got bored and fussed most of the time.  I was so afraid of how she would do on a red eye and now I know to book her for those flights from now on so she can just sleep throughout the flight.  

 

I'm so thankful that we got to experience this trip.  It was much needed and in Sage's case, it was very much deserved.  He works incredibly hard to provide the girls and I with the best and he went above and beyond in doing that for us this trip.  I'm grateful for him for all that he does and all that he is.  I have to admit, we make a great team and we strive to work together to give our girls adventures full of memories that they may treasure forever.

Aloha,

 

Ang