Aulani, A Disney Resort

When I turned 5, my parents took me to Disney World. I still have vivid memories of that magical trip (Figment! Epcot has ALWAYS been my favorite.), and I wanted to continue the tradition for F's 5th birthday. However, because of Jon's work schedule, we had already visited Disney World when Forest turned 3, and had a surprisingly wonderful time. We had discussed taking a tropical vacation with his parents sometime during the year and since October seemed to be a good chance to do this, we scratched the Disney World idea and traded it for a Disney resort- Aulani in Oahu, Hawaii. 

Aulani, together with several other luxury style resorts is located in K'Olina, a kind of mile-long cove with manmade lagoons, with perfect beaches for kiddos. 

The resort also contains a world class spray-ground, two thrilling waterslides and the most enchanting Lazy River I've ever witnessed. 

There are two nice 'need reservations' restaurants and several pool-food type eateries. Makahiki is a buffet-style restaurant with character meet and greets and some live/interactive entertainment, especially for breakfast. 

We did our first two meals here and realized quickly that f is still pretty 'meh' about characters. He was straight up rude to Minnie Mouse and non-cooperative for any and all character photo ops. 

Ama Ama is more of fancy restaurant overlooking the ocean, with beautiful sunset views. We ate dinner and breakfast there as well. 

I will say that I was a bit surprises that for a family-centric resort, they didn't provide any table-side activities for children (like coloring books, activity sheets, etc), but that's a minor complaint. It's minor, but due to F's atrocious restaurant etiquette while we were there, it would have been nice if I'd been prepared with some quiet entertainment for him to focus on rather than focusing on trying to be a class clown and make his grandparents laugh with his feral antics. 

Forest's favorite parts of the resort were the 'Crazy River' (the premise of a Lazy River is lost on him and he somehow turned each rotation into an adrenaline filled cardio workout), Aunty's Beach House (complimentary kids' club with an entire room dedicated to iPads loaded with Disney apps), and the Menehune Scavenger hunt (also iPad related). 

So obviously, this resort sounds like a total dream, and it is, but unfortunately Forest ended up sick from about the third day onward and went from excited and raring to go, to listless and not wanting to do anything but read or watch movies. 

I've rarely seen him so pitiful. And it was the strangest thing because he didn't have many symptoms- a sore throat one day, fatigue and listlessness (that didn't necessarily equal to sleepiness), an on and off low grade fever, and a terrible rash on his face. The rash end up getting infected which we've only now (2 weeks later) gotten somewhat under control (but not in time for school pictures, birthday, halloween, or birthday party). 

It was so disappointing. And of course I felt pressure to push him to do something resort-y everyday. He was usually good for one spin around the lazy river (which he still managed to make crazy, even in his weakened state) and about 45 minutes of sand play on the beach before he'd say "I want to be dry. I don't want to do anything in the water anymore." (If you've ever seen F around the water, this is a red flag if I ever heard one). 

So....what do you do at a Disney resort on the beach with not much to do but water related activities? Here are some of the things we did to have fun while staying dry:

1) Menehune Scavenger Hunt. The club room rents out tablets with clues for a Menehune scavenger hunt. Menehune are mythical early men, short in stature and very mischievous.  The clues generally lead you to hidden features of the resort which the child can then control to make really cool things happen. For instance, we found a lava rock and when F pressed the required button, the rock began to shift and move. There are probably 30 of these outside, and another hunt takes you into the resort for another 15 or so, so this was a fun way to take a break from swimming. 

2)Aunty's Beach House. Forest was only running a low fever on Day 3 and 4, both of which were days when we were doing off-site excursions. Once he was fever free, he mostly just wanted to hang out at kids club. Unfortunately, there was little regulation about what he was doing there so of course, he went straight to the iPad room. If they made him rotate with other children waiting for a turn, he'd go next door to the movie room for a bit. Aunty's beach house has tons of non-screen things to do, but given the choice, F will choose an iPad or movie over just about anything else. There were just too many kids there for them to monitor that in any way. And it's not a big deal except for the fact that he's a shy only child so we hoped kids club would be a way for him to socialize with other kids while we were there. 

3)Rent movies. The club house has an extensive Disney movie collection and you can rent up to 2 movies a day. Forest chose James and the Giant peach (which he happened to be reading while we were there), Wall-E (Of course), The Tigger Movie (of course), and Eight Below (which he's been wanting to see because he has a random love for sled dogs). 

4) Explore Oahu! This was our second trip to Oahu so we'd already done some of the 'must-see' things like Waikiki, Hanamua Bay, Diamondhead, and tons of hikes. Last time we visited, F wasn't quite 2 and Jonathan could easily pop in the backpack for more challenging hikes. Now hiking with Forest isn't quite so easy, and since he wasn't feeling well we didn't plan any. Instead we rented a car and visited Pearl Harbor and Kaolua Ranch, and did a drive around the North Shore while Forest napped. I'll do separate posts about those excursions. 

5) Shaved ice or special treats. Forest completely lost his appetite on the trip, even turning down shaved ice after a few days. But he was always good for a Mickey shaped, halloween themed rice kripsy treat. 

6) Luau. There is a fantastic luau on the Disney property which we attended. Forest enjoyed all of the pre-luau cultural activities (pounding Taro, playing the Ukulele, getting traditional tattoos). I was shocked when he actually wanted to go up to the stage when the called for keiki and he participated in the Luau dance (but he stood in the very back with me right next to him). Sadly, I forgot to grab my phone when heading up and didn't get any video. But the food and entertainment were all fantastic. 

7) Fireside storytelling, with special guest Moana. 

In summary, the Disney resort is magical and I think under normal circumstances it would have been a great family trip. But the thing about travel is, sometimes it doesn't go as expected. Sometimes the timing just stinks. This was one of those times.  

But Forest has already says that he wants to go back and not get sick this time. Ditto, dude! 

Relocating....Again.

I've gone ahead and made it facebook official, so I guess it's time to make it 'blog official'. 2019 will start the latest chapter in our nomadic adventure as we pack up and head to Bangkok, Thailand for a few years. As far as international assignments go, this is one of the most coveted (Aberdeen being pretty high up the list as well). It will be much trickier than Scotland due to more extreme language and cultural differences, but every account we've heard is that it's truly a wonderful place to live. 

We are excited to have Bangkok as a jumping off point to explore a whole new world of travel, and we are excited to rejoin the expat community. We say all the time that Aberdeen was our easiest move simply because we had such a welcoming group of people to show us the ropes. 

My expectation is that the community we will move to in Thailand will foster a similar feeling of instant belonging. We've already had several people reach out to us to see if they can answer any questions or help in any way. Ex-pat communities are the closest thing to living in Louisiana that we've seen since leaving LSU. Just people looking out for each other and banding together. 

The most emotional part is leaving behind my parents who JUST relocated to The Woodlands. It's been such a dream having them within walking distance and it's heartbreaking to give that up. Forest has such a special relationship with his grandparents and being in such close proximity has been such a blessing in all of our lives. It's hard to get pumped up about the move when I am grieving this impending loss pretty hard core. 

I oscillate between feeling excited and feeling totally panicked. But in every circumstance I try to remember that I am not the main character of this story; God is. I'm trusting that, even if it's a minor role I have to play, even if I'm just an extra in the background of his story,  this move will be an opportunity to love and serve a brand new batch of people.  As hard as moving is, I love meeting new people. I love that for such a shy and quiet person, I've had these opportunities to develop rich friendships all around the world with all sorts of people. 

That being said, it is tough to leave behind friends over and over again and start from scratch. Both times we've lived here, Houston has been the hardest place to get connected; friendships have taken longer to take root.  Still, life here has been comfortable and easy and with Jonathan being gone half the time, easy and comfortable has been just what I needed.  

There is no shortage of children and parks/events/activities to get involved in and I'm seriously obsessed with Forest's sweet preschool.  I love his Teddy Tennis, and Soccer Shots, and AWANA, and our gym, and BSF, and book club. Life works like clock work here, and I know it soon will in Bangkok too, it's just daunting to go through the process of making it so. Moving is stressful. Moving internationally is stressful Xs 30. But at least we have the excitement of a great location to spur us onward! 

It also gives me lots of new blogging material. Let's be honest, living the burbs of Houston and raising a 5 year old who has already met 95% of the exciting childhood milestones is kind of lacking for good fodder. I do plan on blogging more regularly as we explore a new country/continent/culture and I'd love to have y'all follow along as we feel our way through this next chapter. 

The next six weeks will be busy busy with move prep, including a fast and furious look-see to Bangkok to check out housing, F's new school (International School of Bangkok), and get a couple of logistical things taken care of. Stay tuned and I'll try my best to document it all! 

Forest is 5!

Forest hit the big milestone of 5 years old today. I've got lots to catch y'all up on like our trip to Aulani and an upcoming move, but while I have a quick minute, here are just a few stats about Forest on his big day:

Height: 46.25" (95%)
Weight: 46 lbs (86%)
Favorite color: Green
Favorite TV show: So many. He's a Netflix junkie. Octonauts, PJ Masks, and Robo Poli are probably top 3.   
Favorite movie: Wall-E and anything Winnie-the-Pooh
Favorite sport: Tennis 
Favorite Book: Elephant and Piggie, Magic Treehouse series, and Original Winnie-the-Pooh. 
Best friend: Henry
Wants to be a: Filmmaker 

Some milestones over the past year: He can ride an 8 speed bike, swim a recognizable freestyle and backstroke, write all of his letters (upper and lower) and spell pretty decently, Count to 100 by 1s, 5s (okay, maybe he skips from 25 to 40) and 10s, add and subtract to 10 in his head, read confidently at about a 4th grade reading level. He's a reading super star for sure but just now taking an interest in math. He's also just now taking an interest in sports. He loves to play soccer, tennis and basketball but still lags behind his peers with hand-eye coordination. 

He's blossomed socially over the past year and has many friends at preschool. He still has a little bit of social awkwardness, especially around younger kids but this may be partly attributable to his only child status. He's overcoming his painful shyness and taking a much shorter time to warm up to new people/situations. 

He loves TV and movies. He's always been like that! But it still amazes me that he can tell you if a movie is Universal, Dreamworks, Disney or Pixar. But for a kid who loves movies/tv he is SUUUUUUPER sensitive to anything remotely scary, violent, sad, or suspenseful. So we watch Wall-E and Winnie the Pooh on repeat. He's recently watched a few live action movies like Eight Below and E.T. and seemed to like them well enough but definitely had moments where he hid under the covers chanting 'This is NOT a good movie. This is NOT a good movie.' But he seems to be turning a corner where he'll push through the iffy bits,  trusting that everything turns out ok in the end. Lord help him when he sees his first non-happy ending...

Happy birthday to my dad too! Love these birthday buddies! 

Happy birthday, sweet, sweet, beautiful boy. We love you so. 

Summer Travels

Forest is back in school which means I finally have a bit of time to blog. I'm also about to get a new computer which will hopefully be capable of uploading picture and running two programs at once which will also make me more likely to blog! For now I'll just quickly summarize the traveling around we did this summer. 

Actually, not much. Due to the nature of Jonathan's job, he essentially has half the year off. Because Forest isn't in 'real' school yet we prefer to travel in the off season when we can help it. But even a light travel season for us is still pretty active! 

Forest and I started the summer with a trip out to Huntsville, AL to visit my sister's family.

I love seeing the gaggle of cousins hang out. It is such a departure from our house where it's mostly just me and Forest all the time. He adores his cousins, especially the older ones. Forest has never asked for a baby brother or sister but has asked if Lucas or Corbin could be his big brother. Poor Forest was definitely born to be the youngest (which he is, in a sense). We did lots of playing, hiking, and space center visiting. It was such a fun time.

 

The smartest kids I have ever met. Wouldn't be surprised if one ends up at NASA one day.

posing by my super cool yellow rental car.

While we were in northern Alabama, we also got to spend an afternoon with my BFF from high school and her crew. 

I'm obsessed with the fact that the 5 year old drove us around everywhere on the golf cart. These boys have a good life and great parents (and grandparents)!

Pirate faces.

I'm not sure if Talia's house or if Talia herself if my happy place but visiting with her is always so good for my soul. I've always said that about our friendship. When we spend time together, it's like quenching a thirst I didn't know I had. Maybe I should move to Alabama and have my BFF and sister nearby. Hmmmmm. 

We took a break from traveling in July but in August ramped it up and spent a week in Perdido Key/Orange Beach with our families. It was lots of boat and beach time with a few other excursions sprinkled in (Blue Angel practice, train museum, trail riding, etc). We had a great time!

Tubing with Uncle Clint. Only flew off twice. Just a small sampling of my childhood. And in Uncle Clint's defense, it was a really rough day on the water!

For labor day weekend we headed north to Montana. It was a fast and furious 72 hour trip to The Ranches at Belt Creek where we got to be outside all day long enjoying cooler weather and doing a few of our favorite things: horseback riding, ATV riding, hiking, drinking a beer on the patio without sweating through my shirt, etc. 

I'm not gonna lie, ya'll. Living in Scotland and Northern California for 4 years and then moving back to Houston is ROUGH. Growing up in Louisiana, I had no idea that it was possible to live in a place without crippling humidity and scorching summer temps. Not to mention the beautiful scenery in those two places that made our lives an outdoor paradise. Hard to feel like SE Texas isn't a major downgrade sometimes (don't tell Forest- he is Texas' #1 fan). 

Come summer time we are on the struggle bus here and Montana was a great respite.  Bring on the fireplace and hot cocoa! 

Y'all I seriously loved living in Scotland. I fell in love with colder weather while we were there and still miss living in a place where I could wear Ugg boots and drink hot chocolate basically all year round. Sigh. Fall is coming....eventually. Speaking of Fall, our travels will include Hawaii and our yearly trek to San Antonio.  Stay tuned!