Epcot, Italy Pavilion

This isn’t a great picture of the Italy Pavilion, but for some reason it’s the only one I had.

Thanks again, Lindsey, for taking the time to share this amazing new resort with us.  Looking forward to a time when we might be in the same state again!  :)

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E komo mai Disney ohana! Once again Disney has exceeded expectations with their newest DVC timeshare and hotel located in the Ko Olina resort on Oahu’s west side. Disney’s new resort, Aulani, not only brought hundreds of jobs to Oahu residents and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local charities, it has brought the magic of Disney thousands of miles across the ocean to our little island. We have all been anxiously awaiting its opening, the few cell phone pictures sent to me by friends working inside Aulani only made me more anxious to see it! Finally, on August 29, the front doors to Aulani were opened!

I am fortunate enough to live in Ko Olina and have watched the progression of Aulani from the beginning. It was finally time for me to see inside! As I walked up the sidewalk toward the front entrance I noticed the rows of taro growing front and center in stair stepping rows, the beautiful tikis, and how perfectly the landscaping represented Hawaii. Disney’s attention to detail and authenticity clearly extended out to every inch of the property. I passed through the front doors and was in awe of what was in front of me. Massive vaulted ceilings, wrap around color mural, incredible light fixtures, water fountains, and beautiful stone floors.

Inside Disney's Aulani Resort

All the sliding doors and windows were pushed open and the trade winds were gently blowing through the building. I had to pause for a minute to take it all in. After spending a few seconds taking in the interior of Aulani my gaze moved past the inside of the lobby and saw the top of the volcano peeking over the end of the lanai. I walked onto the lanai and up to the railing, the view over the inside of Aulani was spectacular! Flanked by the two towers of Aulani, this central area is called Waikolohe Valley. The volcano is amazing, surrounded by the sparkling pools, lazy river, palm trees, and ample lounge chairs. The backdrop to all this magnificence is the sparkling Pacific Ocean.

Waikolohe Valley at Aulani

I backtracked into the lobby, turned and walked down the hallway toward the stairs that lead to Waikolohe Valley but was “forced” to take a detour. A shop. Full of Disney and Aulani magic, I. Must. Go. In! Aulani trading pins, Menehune Vinylmation, Aulani beach towels, Hawaiian baked goodies, and of course Disney plush characters. I picked one up and it had the classic “Disneyland/Disneyworld” tag that you see on all authentic park merchandise… I love it, makes me smile. The piece de resistance of this shop though was an authentic vintage shave ice machine that had been turned into a light fixture. It is fantastic! I am sure many guests walk by wondering what the significance of the blue and red snowballs, but I recognized it immediately. After all pina colada shave ice with mochi balls is one of my favorite Hawaiian treats! Okay, enough of the shop, I will return later and do my part in boosting the economy then.

Shave Ice Machine Light Fixture

At the bottom of the stairs is a buffet restaurant with a beautiful bar, outdoor and indoor seating, live music in the evenings and Waikolohe Valley for its backdrop. Makahiki has come highly recommended to me from the friends of mine working at Aulani, we will definitely give it a try some time soon, but not today. I continued on in my walk through Waikolohe Valley and came across some familiar faces: Stitch, Minnie, and Mickey were decked out in their Aloha wear and posing for pictures with guests. I watched for a moment, I always love the way kids get so excited to see the characters and give them hugs! Aulani requires guests to wear a wristband in order to swim in the pools, take pictures with characters, and partake of some of the other activities around the hotel. There are many smiling cast members around to make sure there are no crashers! (Hawaii has a significant problem with hotel crashers)

I wrapped my way around the walkway and found Ama Ama, the restaurant I was going to be dining at later with my family and friends. It is incredibly gorgeous, located next to the lagoon. Beyond Aulani is Lagoon 1 here in Ko Olina. The Aulani shares this lagoon with the JW Marriott. Guests can paddle board, snorkel, or rent a kayak to go out exploring.

Ama Ama

I will fast forward to dinner that evening at Ama Ama… Ama Ama is AMA-azing!! The food was fantastic! I had seared Ahi and shrimp, au gratin asparagus, and shared a decedent chocolate dessert with my husband. The kids’ menu has great options as well. Our son had chicken lettuce wraps for an appetizer and Hawaiian pizza for his entrée. Several people at our table ordered steak that was cooked perfectly and served with melt in your mouth soufflé potatoes. Everyone was very happy with their food and drink. The service was also very good and the two live musicians played and sang beautifully. We enjoyed a spectacular sunset and sat around chatting about how “lucky we are to live Hawaii” and about how fantastic it is that Disney has finally made a home here.

Aulani is the most amazing hotel in Hawaii. Not only because it is Disney, but because like anything else Disney it is done to the highest standards. The grounds are amazing, the staff is fantastic, Aulani is simply beautiful!! (and I can’t wait to stay there when we move off the island next year!)

Lindsey and her husband at Ama Ama at Aulani

I just made the very long drive from Missouri to Texas to visit family and attend the Homeschool Convention while here. My first workshop is tonight. I’m excited and nervous all at the same time, but am very fortunate to have tons of support. We will return home in a couple of weeks ready to get started. I’ll update as I get a chance, but I need a few weeks to get everything figured out. I hope you all enjoy the last few weeks of summer! Take care, everyone.

Happy Birthday, sweet man.  You make everyday an adventure.  We love you so much!

To read more about the party preparations, click here and here.

So, I got my area all prepped and ready to start a few nights ago.  I bought the Wilton gumpaste mix.  All you have to do it add 1/4 cup of water and you have gumpaste!  While mixing, I noticed it was a little sticky, so I relied on Google for advice.  Everyone kept saying put cornstarch on your work area so it wouldn’t stick.  So I did, and my gumpaste got harder and harder to work with.  I did end up making a pretty good looking Pooh, although there were some cracks.

The next day, I painted his features on and it all started going down hill.  If I could ever learn to stop when something looks good, then I would be alright, but I have to keep going until it looks perfect, and that usually leads to disaster. The painting didn’t work out too well, and Pooh was cracking terribly.  I found out this is from too much cornstarch.  Thanks, Google!  I added more gumpaste to cover the paint blotches, and he ended up looking like he had some sort of pox.

 I texted my husband a picture, and he asked why Pooh was eating brains.  At that point, Pooh was destroyed and I started anew.

Last night, I started over.  I bought shortening to add to my gumpaste to make it smoother and hoped for fewer cracks.  I gotta say, he does look better, but I’m not completely happy with him.  I think I got the likeness of Pooh better the first time, but he’ll have to do.  I’m NOT making another.  He is starting to crack a little.  I’m praying he makes it until Saturday!  Maybe it won’t be that noticeable once he’s on the cake — unless that ends up being as much of mess as Pooh, which is always a definite possibility.  I’m also making bumble bee cake pops — another new project I’ve never tried before.  Look for party pictures Monday, unless it’s all too horrible and I’ll just say that my camera battery died.  Now you know why I haven’t posted much this week.  Stay tuned for more mess on Monday!

Kaylee really wanted to see the fairies as this was soon after the first Tinkerbell movie had come out.  So we waited an hour to visit the fairies, but it was worth every minute.  I think this was everyone’s favorite part of the trip.  Wyatt fell in love with the fairies!  He would practically leap out of my husband’s arms to get to the closest fairy.  The problem was that they were not allowed to hold him.  Tinkerbell was especially fond of Wyatt and played with him for the longest time.  He even ended up with a Tinkerbell lipstick imprint on his cheek!  Even as we were leaving, she left the family she was with (I felt a little guilty about this) to come say good-bye to Wyatt and take another picture with him. She was really sweet.  In all the pictures, you can see the joy in my little man’s eyes.  He was full of awe and amazement.  You can also see much joy in my husband’s eyes as all the fairies surrounded him to get to Wyatt.  He felt quite the man!

In honor of the Fourth, I thought I would post pictures from the flag retreat ceremony at Walt Disney World.  Kaylee and I were leaving the Magic Kingdom to meet the rest of our group and happened upon the flag retreat.  I always forget about the ceremony, so it was fun that we happened by.  The ceremony starts at 5:00pm at the square at the entrance of Main Street and lasts 10 minutes.  I love the fact that the Disney is so patriotic and supports our troops.  If you haven’t heard, the Disney Armed Forces Salute has been extended through 2012, and it is an awesome discount!

Hope you all have a great holiday!

“Actually, if you could see close in my eyes, there’s an American Flag waving in both of them.” - Walt Disney