The Grand Wailea Resort

Upon our late arrival, we were greeted with Leis, which I think was a nice touch.

The Grand Wailea is a beautiful marriage of lush tropical grounds, waterfalls and art work.

You are greeted with a grand entrance. Beautiful sculptures everywhere you turn.

Botero sculptures are featured throughout the lobby.

I fell in love with the delicate grace of this sculpture. I'm not sure who the artist is, but smaller versions are available in the the NaPua art gallery on the grounds.

Outside were beautiful flowers, waterfalls and the air was perfumed with plumeria growing abundantly throughout.

The beautiful little chapel was on the grounds and we saw three weddings take place in the week we were there.

On the way to the beach

There are many different pools. Waterslides, beach entry, swim up bar, kid's pool, and adult pools.

We loved this resort. The beach was amazing. I'll show you the beach tomorrow.

We're Back!

We are back from a very relaxing trip to Maui, Hawaii. It was a lot of fun, but as always, we are glad to be home. We stayed in a wonderful suite at the Grand Wailea. I'll blog more about the hotel and the grounds later. Right now, I'll just touch on some likes and dislikes from the trip:

Stunning sunsets

Loved our suite: spacious, quiet and elegant.

Loved the hotel grounds: orchids everywhere, abundant waterfalls, plumeria perfumed air as you walked the grounds.

Beach was amazing. No waves, crystal clear, plenty of space, cool and refreshing water. Great snorkeling close by.

Breath taking beauty on the Road to Hana

Disliked the narrow road with shear drops, blind corners and hairpin turns.

Disliked the speed at which every local drove. No one went over 30 mph, even in the fast lane with the road wide open in front.

Disliked being eaten by mosquitos, I had over 20 bites and they are driving me CRAZY!!!

Very expensive food and drink: $3.91 for a 12oz diet soda, $11.00 for a breakfast sandwich. This was at the hotel, off site it was a less, but still more than normal.

Thank God for Costco and K-mart.

Met up with friends and had a great time.

Disliked that the whole place closed up by 8pm, no night life - unless you like to hang out in bars, then your ok.

All in all, it was AMAZING and RELAXING.

Calling my name...

Relax

and enjoy the weekend

Shawn's Classic Baby

Our friend and neighbor, Shawn, just got his 58 Impala restored. It's beautiful and looks so classic.
Here he is with his classic baby. A 58 Impala, painted a celery green (green is his favorite color). He said the color was actually a 55 ford color, but he loved it, so he put it on the Impala.

What a beauty!

That is some vintage americana right there!

On the 4th of July, he and his family hopped in and drove off. I'm sure there were many ooh's and ahh's as they drove by.

Delaney and Emma's Graduation Party

Well, it only goes to figure, if there's a graduation, there must be a graduation party. Saturday we threw a graduation party for Delaney and Emma. One stop partying for family and friends.
I always forget to get pictures before, so these are semi-before pictures. I've put up the material on the patio cover. This really helps to bring the colors of the party into focus.
I added paper lanterns across the back yard for fun. I really liked the mixing of colors, shapes and sizes. It really gave it a party feel.
Next came the tables and chairs. Love the blue. It made the hot day just feel cooler. These colors were also happy colors. They made you feel good.

Because my yard gets intense afternoon sun. I opted for fake daisy flowers. I know, but real ones would have been wilted in a minute.

I turned my potting bench into a drink station. The buckets were filled with water and soda.

We got lemon-lime and berry jelly bellys as a party favor treat. The kids loved them. I got the little plastic containers at a party store, filled them with jelly bellys and added a bit of ribbon and pre-made flowers from Joann's.

I used this pom pom garland that I originally made and used at Alyssa's bridal shower. It is made of cupcake holders, coffee filters, pages from a book and tulle. Easy but time consuming.

Dessert was mix of cupcakes my sister-in-law, Cindy brought over from a bakery near her. They were delicious.

The cupcake stand is from a company called Setting Traditions. It is a home party business. I ordered this years ago and have really gotten a lot of use from it.

Unfortunately, after I took the first couple of pictures, I misplaced my camera. I did not find it until after the party when I went upstairs to go to bed. I left it in the upstairs bathroom. I didn't get any pictures of my family and friends enjoying themselves. Bummer!

Rite of Passage - Delaney's Graduation

There she is, I see her! Having that blond hair always helps us to identify her right away. I can't believe it, the baby, is graduating. She graduates with straight A's for the past two years, but didn't join any CSF or NHS, she just quietly brought up her grades. She completed her community service by aiding with the special needs kids and loved it.
They did something a little different this year, they called their names as they went walked up the aisle to find their seats. It took 40 minutes to call all the names.

Daddy and the baby. The hat was the first thing to come off and she would not put it back on, even for a picture.

With her 3 best friends, Jay, Allye and Jenna

Delaney and Allye. Best friends. The robe has come off and it wouldn't be put back on until her friends mother asked her to put it back on for her picture.

Delaney, Collin and Allye

Delaney and Maddy, best friends when they were little.

Delaney and Brandon, her best friend that is a guy.

I had to show you a picture of this girl, Rebecca, who had so many leis that she couldn't see and had to be guided by the guy behind her. So funny!