Aulani Trip 2017 - Day 5

I finally had to stop and take a picture of the adorable wall paper in the halls of Aulani.  So cute.

I only managed to snap a few photos this day, but after breakfast (at Island Vintage Coffee of course) the entire morning was spent at the pool going round and round through the lazy river!

We got an early treat for Ben before waiting in line to meet Mickey and Minnie!

 

 

 

As the week went on, Ben wanted to spend more and more time at Aunty's Beach House.  I had mixed feelings about it because HELLO it's so nice to have him entertained and happily playing with the friends he met there, but I also missed having him with us some of those times.  But don't worry - I didn't dwell on it too hard because Greg and I were able to have lots of fun!

This was the evening he was signed up for Surf's Up with Chip and Dale!

From Aulani:   

Surf's Up With Chip and Dale
Chip and Dale are excited to share their love of surfing and the beach with everyone! During this surf-themed party, kids can:

• Decorate their own wooden mini-surfboard
• Dine with new friends
• Dance with Chip and Dale
• Enjoy a themed dinner
• Receive a special cinch bag and decorated mini-surfboard

While he was having the time of his life, Greg and I headed back to Longhi's for dinner!

 

 

This was also when I took the time to call the Luau company that we had purchased our non-refundable, not-cheap tickets ahead of time from and wouldn't get off the phone until they agreed to refund them.  You see, we had been told that this was the best Luau on the island and I wanted to secure us seats, however, then we remembered that while WE love the food, Ben was unlikely to eat any of it - and he was also very likely to not be interested in the entire show.  When I emailed to ask them for a refund they denied me.  Greg encouraged me to call and I cannot tell you how satisfied I was when they agreed to give us our money back!!

We celebrated with a guilt-free round of drinks back at the hotel and listened to some life music :) 

 

Another day, another beautiful sunset.

Aulani Trip 2017 - Day 4

Day 4!  Greg and I took turns in the morning with Ben and each went for a run along the beach.  It gave us the opportunity to enjoy this amazing view, and also check out the menus from the neighboring hotels!  This day in particular we knew that Ben would be making Space Goo with Stitch in the afternoon and we planned to pop over and grab lunch at one of the other restaurants. (From Aulani: The Professor has learned how to make Stitch's super-secret, super-messy space goo and he's showing kids how to make it too.  AND Stitch even joined them at the party)!

 

After our workouts, we walked across the street to what would become our favorite breakfast and coffee spot for the rest of the trip: Island Vintage Coffee.  I am still CRAVING their iced Kona coffee and they also had the best bagel breakfast sandwiches.

We spent the morning at the pool, eating snacks, relaxing and applying so, SO much sun screen.

 

 

Cute photo op by the surf shack :)

 

When Ben headed to meet up with Stitch, we ventured down to the Marriott to grab HH.  It was just less than a mile down the beach.

The faces of parents in Hawaii + all inclusive child care:

 

We landed at Longhi's and loved it so. much.  Just check out that scenery!

 

 

If we look relaxed and oh so happy, it's because we ARE!

 

That evening concluded with playing catch, drinking beers and watching the sun set on the beach.  Perfection. 

 

Aulani Trip 2017 - Day 3 (The day we had a rental car) :)

After we had booked our trip to Aulani last summer, Disney released some package specials.  It allowed us to get 30% off our room, upgrade our room to get a pool view (vs. a parking lot view), gave us $350 in resort credit (HELLO POOL COCKTAILS), and get a free rental car for a day!  Pretty awesome!  I had hoped to rent on anyway because I really wanted to drive up to the Northshore and visit Turtle Bay (where we stayed last year).

Here is a pic of Ben by a really cool fountain while Greg waited in line to pick up our car.

 

We stopped at Koa Pancake House for breakfast.  I was craving some macadamia nut pancakes, Ben wanted some bacon, and we loved the value of this breakfast (vs what is offered at most of the places at Aulani) :)

 

Next up we made our way up to the North Shore.  Ben took a mini-nap on the way.

 

The first order of business was to get a cherry coke and a bacon basil bloody mary.  The best I've EVER HAD.

 

 

In all honesty, once we walked around a little bit, we were all ready to just go swimming back at our hotel.  We stopped by a beach on the North Shore, Mokule'ia Beach, that I read is one of the filming locations for LOST (primarily Season 1 and in the Pilot - the beach/mountains were pretty recognizable to me).

 

 

 

It was very windy!

 

Next we ran some errands: grocery store, lunch, and then headed straight back to the pool to hit the lazy river (which was honestly the BEST feature at Aulani and we had SO MUCH FUN here every day)!!

 

 

We also enjoyed some poolside cocktails, courtesy of the vodka we brought with us, the pog juice we bought at the store, and the bartender I married. :)

After several hours at the pool, we showered, explored the grounds a bit more (and found the under water windows of Rainbow Reef), and then Ben wanted to participate in the Coconut Kings and Queens of Comedy at Aunty's Beach House.  (From Aulani: Kids who want to dress up in crazy outfits, dance around like silly people and discover the secret to telling a good joke will love this course where they can learn to “make 'em laugh!").

So Greg and I grabbed some Happy Hour food and wine at The Olelo Room.

 

 

Then we just wandered around waiting for Ben's activity to be over and enjoyed the scenery :)

Aulani Trip 2017 - Day 2 (Mother's Day)

I've somehow managed to schedule our beach vacations 4 years in a row to land ON Mother's Day, which I highly recommend.  Hawaii is a fantastic place to spend the day, plus Greg (at my insistence) gets away with not buying me anything but a poolside cocktail to mark the occasion!  Although Ben did give me this GEM before we left which is more than enough for me:

Our plan was to do nothing all day but have fun in the sun!  We were up early (Seattle time) so we got up, found some coffee and milk and walked around the pool areas before they were open.

 

Ben found this heart-shaped leaf and gave it to me "because he loves me so much".  Ugh, the sweetest.

 

I went for a run along the beach and past the neighboring hotels before the day got too warm and it was perfect.

 Then I met the boys at the pool for my Mother's Day Bloody Mary! :)

Later in the day when we needed a break from the pool/sun, we checked out an iPad to do the Menehune Adventure Trail - which was one of our favorite activities they had to offer at Aulani!  It's essentially a digital scavenger hunt that takes you all around the hotel and as you find each item, it comes to life in the most magical, most DISNEY way.  It was a blast! 

There are also 300+ Menehune's hidden around the resort.  The legend of the Menehune is that they are little men that come alive when everyone is asleep and get work done around the hotel.  (Something like that).  Upon check in, they gave Ben a Menehune necklace so that if he ever ran into a Menehune, they would know he was a friend.  Really cute.

 

That evening, we went across the street to Monkeypod Kitchen - a restaurant that had been recommended to us by many and we were happy to have a reservation for (because the wait was 1.5+ hours if you didn't).  The food was pretty good, but because they were seemingly out of everything we ordered, they brought us a complimentary Banana Cream Pie (their specialty), which was my favorite part of the meal!

Being a weirdo - a cute one.

That evening we went to the Fire Pit Storytelling.  It was pretty cute, but Greg got like 30+ mosquito bites and Ben fell asleep almost immediately.  I enjoyed wine in my sippy cup and had the best time of all :)