DAY 5
Umm, hello cutest pigtails ever! =) Karis is such a fun way to start a day! Adorable.
Wednesday Miguel and I headed to the beach while the rest of the family went snorkeling. We enjoyed some alone time splashing in the water, reading, and playing frisbee on the beach.
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| Beach with the Four Seasons to the left. |
Our family met up with us a little later in the day. Umm, mom? ;)
I had a blast watching Jared play with Karis in the waves. Daddy with his daughter... Heart melted. It was a handful to keep up with Karis on the beach though. She really wanted to be in the water, chasing some waves!
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| Oh my gosh, I just loved the colors of the water! |
After we got some good beach time in, we headed up the road a little ways past the main touristy resorts for a casual lunch. We all ordered fish and chips, besides Miguel who ordered a seafood platter. We were all satisfied and full when we left.
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| G-Daddy Love! (Look at Karis's little belly! Ohh emmm geee!) |
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| Hmmm, I guess Jared ordered fish tacos! |
We had lots to celebrate the week we stayed in Hawaii! Mothers Day, my parent's anniversary, Miguel and my anniversary (which we share with my parents!), and my sister's 30th birthday!! We decided to all go to a luau Thursday night to celebrate. Yay! Since the luau fell on our actual anniversary date though, Miguel and I decided to go to dinner Wednesday night to celebrate just the two of us.
Miguel and I made reservations at Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (say that three times fast say that once!) Humuhumunukunukapua'a is the Hawaiian state fish if you were curious. The restaurant is open air with a Polynesian, thatch roof situated next a beautiful saltwater lagoon filled with tropical fish. It is romantic and exotic - perfect for an anniversary date! We had early reservations (5:30) so that we could watch the sun set (the sun sets around 6:00-6:30 in Hawaii!)
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| Humuhumunukunukuapua'a |
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| Our dinner view before the sun set |
Miguel and I both ordered tropical drinks and mine came in a coconut! How Hawaiian is that?! Our food was super yummy! (I think I need to find a different adjective than "yummy" to describe a meal I like... pretty sure I have said that in each blog post so far). I ordered fish and Miguel ordered some sushi. We finished off our meal with some desert cocktails and some cheesecake. The cheesecake came out deconstructed and was the only kinda disappointing part of the meal. If you ask my opinion, Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, you should state that fact on your menu!
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| "cheesecake" |
Though the cheesecake was "eh" our sunset was amazing! The picture I took of it turned out to be one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip! It just looks so ideal and Hawaiian to me!
After we ate we walked around The Grand Wailea. So pretty. I'm a lucky girl to have married Miguel. The past three years have definitely had some challenges, but all the wonderful moments in between - the moments where I look at Miguel and our life and think to myself that I am the happiest and luckiest girl in the world - make it all worth all the struggles!
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| ugh! We didn't get any decent pictures of us from the night. This is the only semi-decent one and I look as pale as a ghost and Miguel looks oddly splotchy when he isn't! Bummer! |
DAY 6
Thursday my dad treated the ladies to massages! A massage therapist came to our house and set up the table in my parent's master suite with the views that look out over the ocean... heavenly! I happened to be the one who answered the door when she got there. I offered to help her carry her things in the house since she had the table, a large bag, and some personal stuff. When we were setting her things down in the space she turned to me and asked, "Are you the help? The nanny?". Hahaha! I guess people don't usually help her with her things unless they are staff? Kinda sad, but I thought it was a funny comment! Our massages were a little bit of heaven. Thanks sooo much, Dad!
While we were in massage induced hazes, the men headed out to play some golf. I'm glad they enjoy playing together. I can appreciate golf, but I'm done after about 4 holes, so it's nice that they have each other!
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| The only photo "of Jared" playing golf. |
Like I previously mentioned, my parents decided to take us to a luau Thursday night to celebrate all our special occasions. We headed across the street to the Grand Wailea to check in for the event. After we checked in, we had some time to kill so we walked around the resort and ended up sitting down for some pre-luau drinks and snacks to take a break from the sun (is this a run-on sentence?)!
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| This looks like a postcard photo, but it's not. My brother-in-law took this. Isn't the resort just picturesque? |
Sarah and I really enjoyed our refreshing drinks! In all seriousness though, the mango mojito drink I ordered is probably my all-time favorite drink I've ever had.
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| Sisters <3 |
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| G-Daddy is so funny! |
Snaps to the Grand Wailea staff! They gave Karis a stuffed turtle to play with and keep. Karis loved it!
Before the luau started, Sarah, Jared, Miguel and I ran down to the beach for some pictures.
Actually, Miguel and I went down to the beach to write our anniversary in the sand. Miguel had done this on our honeymoon and we wanted to recreate the moment! So sweet!
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| Anniversary date in Hawaiian sand |
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| Wedding date in St. Thomas sand |
I keep repeating that Maui was so perfect and pretty. I know I sound like a broken record, but it just really was that gorgeous. This was our view from the luau. The mound in the center is the pig cooking (poor pig).
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| What? That's not how you're supposed to wear a lei? I may have enjoyed my mango mojito a little too much ;) |
The luau kinda started when Polynesian men dug up the pig. This is when it really started to feel like a luau, with the traditional dress, the pig, and the flower leis!
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| sniff. |
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| I let Miguel take all the pictures of the pig. I stood back and sipped on some wine instead. |
Dinner was served buffet style and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of vegetarian options!
The entertainment started while we were eating dinner. I really enjoyed watching the dancers. Pretty, but not too special or anything. I mean, how hard is it to wiggle your hips and slowly move your arms back and forth?
HA! Joke's on me! After dinner was wrapping up, they invited us up on stage to try some hula moves for ourselves... At one point Sarah and I both turned to each other and said at the same time, "This is like trying to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time!". Sisters moment! But seriously, that was hard! There was a male dancer demonstrating the men's moves and I kept imitating him instead of the girl! oops!
After we thoroughly embarrassed ourselves having a great time "hulaing" we sat down and the real show started. Amazing. The show started with a pumped up, fast paced number that was one of my favorites! The show, Honua'ula, tells the story of the Polynesians discovering the land of Hawaii through traditional chant and hula. They did an excellent job!
One of the most exciting parts of the show was the fire dancers! The main performer is a 3 time World Champion Fire Dancer! Pretty amazing stuff! Look how HOT the torch looks!
The evening was perfect! I love my family and I love sharing fun experiences with them! This was seriously such a special night and I had a blast! Going to a luau in Hawaii was definitely on my bucket list and now I can cross that off.
The night was made even more special when Miguel and Jared both held Karis's hands on the walk back to the house. How precious is that?!?
The only sad part about the night ending was that it really started to feel like our trip was coming to a close. Only one more blog post and I'll be done blogging about Hawaii!
