Lounging at Home

Snoopy Season Pass

dad asked ariana "did you have a good time?" she replied, "NO - i had a BLAST!!" we all started out at the waterpark (wading pool, lazy river, wave pool, etc) for most of the afternoon. temperatures probably reached over 90 deg. changed the kids and rolled up the towels around 5:00, then headed out to the park. again, ariana is NOT a ride person. she went on the flying swings, bumper cars.

Braces for Mama

i went to my orthodontist to get xrays for my upcoming appt on august 10th. my dentist said he had time if i wanted them put on today. i gave the okay, and made sure ariana was ok waiting for me. but now I'm thinking I should've waited just so i could eat ALL my favorite things. they are on for less than year. hopefully off by Josh's wedding next year.

Great America

we got season passes to go with friends during the summer. unfortunately we haven't had a chance to go til now. we're all planning to go this week on wednesday. ariana and i went to pickup our passes today, that way we'll be all set up. we walked around the park to see what's there and had everything from shaved ice to funnel cake & ice cream. nothing really caught ariana's eye as she's NOT into rides, except the boomerang water part. guess it's nothing compared to going to disneyworld every summer. this was my local Disneyland when I was growing up. i don't remember if they offered season passes back then. i know we got it for Josh a couple times. funny the year we don't go to Disneyworld, is when ariana takes pictures with characters. go figure??

Minions Movie

coordinated with bff family to see the "minions" movie. we made it to the first showing 10:15 to catch early bird special pricing. we are still on hawaiian time - going to bed at midnight and waking up by 10:00. i guess it takes to go someplace with friends to get us up in the morning. now we know how the minions came about from Despicable Me. I put ariana in a pair of gap overalls nwt. I had planned on taking one with the display, but they took it down when we came out. Good thing I took a pic of it when we saw inside out. 

Flamingo Summer

six month dental cleaning appt this morning at 11:00. we are still on hawaii time 3 hours behind. ariana usually goes to bed past midnight, and didn't get up til 10:00. i pulled this Gymboree paradise palm dress from her closet, she had since 2013. it's  a size 8 and fits more like a tunic. our heatwave is gone and it's getting cooler with some wind. funny how we call this earthquake weather - a 4.0 hit in the middle of night with the epicenter nearby in fremont niles area.

Mani Pedi

i had promised ariana to get nails done before vacation, but with all the swimming shes going to do - its not worth it. i thought about getting her hair conditioned from all the chlorine in the pool. the salon lady doesnt work on tuesdays. we headed to the nail salon instead and got the works - manicure & pedicure. dad was like "is it really necessary?" come on - shes not even 10. ariana explained it to him that her feet got dry on vacation and needed some pampering. plus she saved him money by not getting a mani before we left. dad is finally realizing that ariana is "high maintenance" to take care of. i try to do my part when i can, but sometimes you just gotta pay to get it done. shes wearing a crochet neck dress from hanna anderson, it was part of the $19 dress sale. ariana is not a flip-flop person, she prefers sandals with a strap/buckle. i rarely buy them. perfect timing as her bff gave her a pair from old navy - size 3/4.

Seaside Stroll

finally went to go see "inside out" at the movie theater. this movie came out june 19th. all of her friends went to go watch it already, so we will all try to see Minions together. it's about 90 degs outside and we never got the expected thunderstorms. ariana is wearing the starfish tank from gymboree seaside stroll line, shorts & jelly sandals are from gap. 

Tea Time Ten

every year the 2 bff's are out of town for the july birthday friends party. we tried not to miss it this year, but then we added Aulani to our vacation. when everybody came back, the birthday bff picked a tea party at a local tea house. the girls all planned to wear a "tea collection" dress - either buy these online or available at nordstrom. additionally they coordinated their accessories - crown headband, bff locket and pink princess bracelet. we all got the "memo". ariana gave a SF giants hello kitty, AG isabelle book and an apron from hawaii. goodie bag souvenirs from trips were exchanged amongst them. every time we go someplace, ariana goes shopping for the girls. they even have bff colors: Ariana is pink, C is blue, N is purple. these girls are so lucky to have this special friendship amongst them. can i join? one of the dads teases them and wants to be the E - making it BFFE Best Friends Forever & Ever. hmm, maybe they'll let him be the and/ ampersand &?

The Friendly Skies

good thing i packed last night. byron had to leave once he finished eating. hes always the last one to pack and get ready. hoping to make the checkout time at 11:00 am and to catch the 2:30 flight. i really wanted the red-eye 9:00 pm, giving us more time at the resort. aulani has a lounge for guests having a late flight. the flight was wide open and we got first class in a 757. jade fit perfectly on the center console. ariana watched Tinkerbell Neverbeast, Byron chose the Avengers, and i did the sudoku puzzles in the magazines as the flight attendants kept refreshing my wine glass. i picked up some sushi california rolls at the airport, knowingly ariana is not keen on airline food. although she did eat the steam rice and passed on the salad. i know the best part of first class is the food & drinks - plus the fact the food is served on real china plates & silverware. no plastic behind the curtains. i usually put ariana in matilda jane (rip denise demarchis) for plane rides, but sad to say shes grown out of the knot-dress phase. i found these bohemian gaucho pants via zulily hoping she'll be sitting comfortable for the 5-hour flight home. paired with a gap top size 12. awww - the only way to fly.

Breakfast with Mickey

we had character breakfast 8:30 reservation. for some reason i thought it was at Aunty's Beach house. it turned out to be a good mistake, as we were able to see Stitch. headed back to the right restaurant and took our picture with mickey first. then we were put in the que, doesnt matter what time your seating is for. we ate breakfast (buffet) where goofy and minnie came to the table to take a picture. we didnt have them sign the autograph book, as we saw them the other night. Ariana is wearing a gymboree  dress from aloha sunshine line in 2012.

AmaAma Aulani

after a fun day in the water, we all washed up and got dressed for dinner. ariana is wearing a tank/skirt outfit from tcp. she specifically picked this out for our hawaiian vacation. reservations tonight is at AmaAma -  contemporary island cooking 6:30. we got a great table overlooking the ocean and watched the beautiful sunset. went across the street afterwards to walk off the delicious meal, plus to pick up last minute souvenirs at the abc store.

Rainbow Reef

we hit the beach again at first. aulani has a private snorkeling lagoon for their guests. we told our little swimmer girl that this is the place to learn how to snorkel - than out in the ocean. you will never go under because of the vest, and all you do is stick your face in the water and breath thru the mouthpiece. she was shaking at first and i thought it was nerves, come to find out that the water is cold. ariana eventually made it out to the deeper water and saw alot of fishes. most kids are searching for the all the hidden menehune statues throughout the resort. i'm so proud of her trying all these new things - it must be part of turning 10.

Disney in Hawaii

ariana had this thing about posing with a costumed-masked character. she only liked to take pictures with the princesses. we have been going to disneyworld for the past 8 years where we avoid mickey mouse and all his friends. before coming to aulani, i had warned her that characters will be there and walk around. i was like "whats the use going to disney aulani and not take a picture with mickey." well this is a first - we saw mickey by the pool and ariana didnt give me any problems whatsoever. last night the hula show was cancelled, so they brought out the characters every 30 minutes one by one. where you would meet one, take picture and get autograph - then start another line for the next one. we never saw chip & dale, nor donald duck. i asked about Lilo - a castmember told me that shes away at surfing school in kauai. Maholo Mickey & Friends.

Waikiki Waves

we ventured out to waikiki to show ariana where most people go when they come to hawaii. we hit the beach access behind the pink hotel (royal hawaiian). ariana ended up in the water playing in the waves as they came ashore. ariana tank/skort from tcp got wet. thats how she ended up with a new dress from a nearby abc store. we walked all the way to the banyan tree and back. unfortunately the international market is gone, so we picked up souvenirs on dukes street. all waikiki is the beach, hotels and shopping. we used to come here often, but then we got hooked on going to maui instead.

Makahiki

the one thing i know about going to disney is to make reservations ahead of time. i made them way back in january. saturday dinner reservation is at Makahiki - the bounty of the islands. this was buffet style. i put this up there with the bellagio or wicked spoon buffets in las vegas. one thing i don't have to worry about is having food that ariana wont eat. she is eating pretty much everything she likes - rice, edamame, sushi, mac n cheese, etc. we showered and washed up from the beach, and got ready for dinner. ariana is wearing a tropical bandana dress from zulily. my beautiful local island princess.

Pool or da Beach?

we started the day going down the lazy river on a tire tube. i walked along to steer the tube away from waterfalls. there are several pools along with splash zone play area and waterslides. ariana wanted to hit the beach afterwards, bypassing all the other pools. she loved waiting for a swell to build up and carry her towards the shore. who would've ever thought ariana would love the beach vs the pool?? guess swimming lessons paid off and more. we were suppose to get out to have a snack and she kept saying 5 more minutes trying something new to do. ariana loved to sit and wait for the wave to come crashing in and roll tip her over. ended up with sand in her hair - where we stayed in longer to wash it off .ariana is wearing a dvf bikini from gap. everyday they give out a different color wristband for guests. ariana was so happy to come on a "pink" day. visitors are allowed on the grounds and dine at the restaurants, can't go in the pools. the beach is open to the public though.