Evergreen (cont'd)

Just a few more shots from Evergreen from Andy's camera...

 

 

Evergreen

Sometimes I wonder why I commit myself to big projects like posting all about Hawaii. I am never going to finish that! I will try here and there, but before we know it a year will have passed and everyone will be wondering why am I still living in the past (unless you have been to Hawaii - then you will know why!). Plus it makes my procrastination so visible! Jeesh. I have to stop doing that...

At any rate, pause on the Hawaii posts and let's take a peek into this fantastic little Saturday outing we took this weekend to Evergreen...

Every time we come up over the hill at this point in the mountain drive, it just takes my breath away... it's such a beautiful sight and so majestic!

 

We had a great little picnic together before walking around the lake. The girls are very into picnics right now, so we are doing as many as we possibly can! Mommy & Daddy got grinders from a new favorite restaurant in Arvada (Goombas ... yum!) and we brought our lunch out to the lawn to enjoy on a BEAUTIFUL afternoon.

 Then we set up for our hike around the lake...

This is the last picture of Amberlin with her favorite little Disneyland sunhat. Just after this picture was taken a certain brilliant mommy let her wear it into the porta-potty. Let's just say we came out without it. It took a few minutes to calm her sobbing in between statements of "I forgive you, Mommy... it was a terrible accident!" Ugh. Bummer mom moment. I sure hope Disneyland is still selling those...

I don't think I have ever seen a mountain lake that I didn't think was beautiful and this one is no exception. It's so close to us that I was thinking it wouldn't be much to get excited about - but it was really beautiful and one of these days we'll be able to rent some of the pedal-boats without having to worry about our toddler falling into the water. For the purpose of this trip, a hike did just fine.

 Play time in the stream! The girls were so excited to get their shoes off and get in the water!

Amberlin was a hoot on these bridges... it freaked her out that she could see in between the wood planks and she thought the bridge was going to fall apart. At one point a plank that I was stepping on moved and her eyes got as big as saucers, her mouth dropped and she yelled "It's MOVING!" Lol... the humor may not translate into writing but take it from me... it was hilarious.

The puppet show theater they have for kids to play at in the Lake House was really cute. This kept Amberlin entertained for quite a while. I would show you pictures of the puppets, but she kept them all turned toward her during her show. :)

Then we just took our shoes off and played in the water for a little while. We threw rocks, ran from ducks, watched the pedal boats and  paddle-boarders. It was the perfect lazy Saturday!

 

 

  

 

 

 

It was an early-to-bed evening after all of the fun, so Andy and I ended up getting some quiet time together sitting on the front porch after the kids were down. What an awesome view on that evening! The perfect ending to the perfect family day (Well, except the whole dropping the expensive hat in the porta-potty thing.).

God has blessed us so much with so many wonderful family memories - this is just another one to add to the list!

LOST

Andy and I were huge LOST fans. From the time the show concept was announced, we were excited to watch and we attended an ABC preview weekend at Disney's California Adventure that included a parade, panel discussion and previews of the show before it came out. We didn't even know who the characters were, but we were stoked to see them up close in the parade.

{If you didn't watch the show, you can probably stop here. You are not likely to care about these photos!}

With that said, a small scream may or may not have escaped from the passenger seat when we came across this scene on a North Shore drive. The DHARMA CAMP!!

 

It's actually a YMCA camp for kids. There are signs everywhere that they don't tolerate trespassing and since there were kids there, we didn't want to interfere with anything. We just marveled from outside the camp. How fun!

This is what we were actually searching for on that day... the beach they filmed the plane crash on. It was beautiful and there were only a few locals there - no tourists (except us). The surf was pretty rough, though, since it was on the North Shore.

 

This was another beach we found along the way while we were searching for the plane crash beach. It was beautiful and empty! We had the great idea to walk along the shore until we found the right place, but your feet would sink about a foot into the sand with each step! It was a killer workout! We ended up heading back to the car to continue... :)

Aulani - Part I

  I'm going to post about Hawaii in a few different posts because there is SO MUCH to say! First I wanted to start with Aulani. There are no words to describe the joy, relaxation and contentment we felt staying at this resort, so I will try to combine it with pictures and see if we can come close!

  We weren't sure what to expect walking into Aulani the first evening. I mean, it's a Disney hotel in Hawaii... could it possibly live up to the amazingness that this combination suggests? We knew immediately when we arrived: Yes, it can!

  We received a flower and kukui nut lei greeting as the hosts who took our bags handed us off to the greeter waiting in the front lobby. Although it was dark when we arrived, the view of the lobby was breathtaking as we took in all of the beautiful Hawaiian art and enjoyed the relaxing music. If you have been there, you know... even just breathing the air is enjoyable! The humid, comfortable temperatures and the smell of plumeria. Heaven.

  These are photos of the lobby taken throughout our stay...

The view from the entry way

The beautiful glass work over the entry

 The view down one of the wings

Some of the art work on the walls 

 Beautiful engraved hallways - they spared no detail on this hotel!

  The greeter talked with and welcomed us as we made our way over to the check-in counter and she handed us over to the employee there.

This was one of our favorite pieces - all photographs taken by school children from the island.

(All under age 10. There was some beautiful art in this collage!)

  When we made our way to the room the bell hop was waiting for us as we exited the elevator on our floor and he gave us a tour of our room and some tips on what not to miss at the resort. Every detail of the room was carefully thought out, from the space built under the bed for suitcases to the beautiful view. We ate breakfast on our balcony every morning because (even in one of the "value" rooms), this was our view.

  I have to admit I was initially nervous about spending six days here without a car. I even asked Andy on the first morning "What are we going to do for six days?? We're going to get bored." I have to chuckle now as I look back on that statement. We weren't bored for a moment. In fact, we were bummed when we had to leave six days later for Waikiki and wondering why we didn't book the whole stay there.

  The first morning we were there we decided to watch the sunrise, so we were up and out of our room by 6:30 a.m. We made our way out to the beach to enjoy the show.... but as we headed out, it dawned on us that the sun rises in the EAST. We were on the West side of the island. Bummer. So instead we just enjoyed the unique lighting of the early morning and eventually watched  the sun rise over the buildings & mountains. :)

  We walked around a bit and enjoyed the view of the different inlets and a few neighboring hotels. None even came close to the beauty of Aulani, though (in terms of hotels).

  One of the many things Aulani offered that we really enjoyed were the evening shows. There were multiple options every night. You could sit around a campfire and listen to "Uncle" tell stories, attend the Hawaiian show that they put on several times per week...

(I'm sure you can tell I'm happy!)

   Listen to live Hawaiian music at each of the restaurants or on the lawn...

  ...even sit out and watch movies under the stars. All family friendly Disney flicks, ofcourse! We watched Brave. Well, Andy watched. I caught glimpses while I snoozed on the lawn under the stars... it was fabulous! Great movie, I was just exhausted from all the fun in the sun...

  We made sure to spend time on the beach every day. It was so great to have the whole day to do a little bit of everything. Snorkeling, sunbathing, waterslides, walks, lazy river, hot tub, shows, special events... we didn't get bored once! We even did a scavenger hunt that they have set up where you go all over the hotel looking for these hidden jewels. It's themed around the Menehune, a Hawaiian legend about these little men...

  It's a great theme for kids as they are one part devious and one part helper. There is a huge kids water area/play bridge called Menehune Bridge that I can't wait to let the kids play on one of these days! They had endless entertainment for children, most of which we did not take advantage since we were without the kiddo's this time around. I'm sure our next trip will be quite different since we definitely plan on bringing our little ones back here! Character breakfasts, character picture opportunities, photo pass people around the resort taking photos of your family fun, lei making, weaving, all kinds of learning opportunities... the list goes on.

  The best kids feature is Aunty's Beach House where the children have an abundance of activities to choose from and they receive very personalized attention! Most of the kids we saw did not want to leave - even if the parents were taking them to dinner or to the beach. One little girl we overheard summed it up - when asked what her favorite part of their Hawaiian vacation was she responded "Everything about today at Aunty's beach house!" So cute.

  I should note here that the prices for this hotel are very high, but when you figure in the price for up to 14 hours per day (if you wanted) of childcare and child activities (even if Mom & Dad go off to explore the island), it is considerably less! Kids have to be 3 & potty trained so it will be a while for us... but we will take the kids there some day.

  Another thing that we loved was Rainbow Reef - a private snorkeling pool that they have where you can swim with tropical fish and be guaranteed an up close encounter. They let you snorkel during feeding times, which was our favorite part! The fish were even coming up to our masks to see if we had food! (We learned a trick - if you pay for the "length of stay" pass to Rainbow Reef you get your snorkel gear and life vest rentals down on the beach for your "length of stay," as well!)

Look closely, you'll see Ariel's castle in the "reef" :)





  It was an amazing experience that we will not soon forget! We very much look forward to the next visit with the kids! And maybe another one alone before then... we shall see. ;-) More to come in the next Aulani post...