Mama On The Move

I was walking along, minding my own business when I was viciously attacked by a rogue nail. Thank goodness I didn't have thinner shoes on, (or no shoes, this is Hawaii after all) because that thing went all the way through my shoe and poked me in the foot.  I had to use a pair of pliers to get the thing out!

Well, at least the dogs are enjoying the lack of furniture. 

There is a dog in our neighborhood who is "in heat".  I know this, because Rigger suddenly can not contain his adoration.  He thinks Ringo smells really, really nice.  He follows Ringo everywhere with his nose pressed to Ringo's body.  When Ringo stops, Rigger just stands over him, drooling.  Ringo's fur is wet from his head to his tail.  His fur stands up all over his body in spikey, drool covered clumps.  Ringo gets tired of this treatment every so often, and barks at Rigger to leave him alone.  Then he goes and hides in a closet where Rigger can't find him. Then Rigger just stands in the middle of the dining room with a glazed expression and pants, loudly, and breathes hot doggy breath all over us.  It's rather like having a warm, moist choo choo train with bad breath standing next to you.  The temperature of the room goes up about five degrees. We'll all be glad when this is over.  But I must say, I'm glad Rigger's aff...

As a last Hawaiian hoorah, we had some family photos made at Ali'i Beach on the North Shore. Duck Face - a common Facebook pose for teen girls The Glamorous Ones We're going to miss Hawaii!!

Because our room was free, I decided to reserve the character breakfast for Emily's birthday. We got to meet Mickey Mouse, all dressed up Hawaiian style! It's funny that I'm still excited about seeing the characters.   I'm all like, "It's Chip and Dale!  It's Chip and Dale!" The kids thought it was fun, but not the way they did when they were little. The characters came around to the table while we ate. Goofy stopped by to wish Emily a happy birthday.  She was unimpressed. "Aunty" stopped by to sing Happy Birthday.  And Emily was given another birthday treat.  The little sign was edible.  The breakfast was a buffet, which was HUGE.  There was every type of breakfast food imaginable.  This is what a $201.00 breakfast looks like. Better enjoy that picture, because you will never see a meal that expensive in front of me again.

Another great thing about Aulani is that Emily's aunt and uncle were able to call and have a gift delivered to her as well as a little birthday dessert tray.  I never knew such a thing was possible, but boy  was it cool! Unfortunately, she couldn't eat parts of it because of her allergies, but Kerry helped her out! Then Ben picked the chocolate letters off the plate.....  And licked the platter clean!

 In the evening they handed out mats and had a showing of The Lion King on a big screen outdoors. Initially, Katie was the only one who was really excited about this.  We've all seen TLK enough times to not be thrilled about seeing it again. However, there is something really fun about seeing it on a big theater screen at full volume that just makes it better.  Watching it on your TV at home just isn't the same. Plus they had a waitress walking around and we were able to order hot chocolate from her! All movie nights should be like this!

We were fortunate enough to be on the 11th floor.  When we went out on the balcony and looked to the left, we could see the lobby.  When we looked to the right, we could see the ocean and the pool. The pool was amazing.  There is a play area just for younger kids.  There is a snorkeling area stocked with fish.  We really intended to try this, but ran out of time.  There is a mountain with two water slides in it.  You use a tube to slide down one, and just your body to slide down the other.  The one with no tube was pitch black inside, and lots of fun!  The lines were never very long either. There were also hot tubs, which we never got to try out either!  There just wasn't enough time to do everything!

Most fabulous room ever.  We didn't even know we would have a kitchen!  Two bathrooms!  Well, sort of.  One bathroom had a toilet and a sink.  The other bathroom had a shower and a sink.  It was a great set-up.  Usually in a hotel room, we have one bathroom and there is always someone dancing around outside needing to get in while someone else is showering.  King sized bed for Kerry and me! The couch folded out into a bed for the girls.  And the entertainment center folded out into a bed for Ben! And we had two separate balconies, but I forgot to take a picture of those, so here is another picture of the bed. Dining room. Non-abrasive cleansers. Our bathroom was glamorous!

This past week we were gifted with a free night's stay at the new Disney hotel here on Oahu.  We could never have afforded to stay there, so we were thrilled to be given this gift from our brother and sister in law. From the minute you drive up and give your name, the cast members are on top of their game.  A lovely lady popped up with a necklace for Katie..... ...a birthday button for Emily..... ...and leis for all of us. They treated us like family who were coming home to visit.   Our guide took us on a tour of the lobby and pointed out all of the interesting details. Even the lobby was phenomenal. Many, many items are hand carved and hand printed. Just beautiful! The check-in desk. Photos by locals form a rainbow behind the desk.