After a big ONE day back at work on Thursday (and my attorney holiday dinner that night), I woke up with a raging sore throat, aches, fatigue, and a headache on Friday morning. (And I didn't even drink at the party!) I guess that cold I'd been fighting off for over a week finally got the better of me. So I called in sick, slept for another three hours, and then spent the rest of the day rehydrating and taking it easy. As a result of feeling sub-par, I haven't accomplished nearly as much as I'd hoped to in the days that I've been home. . . but I have unpacked, done laundry, grocery-shopped, and done some housework.
AND. . . I finally got around to uploading and editing the photos from our trips!
Although our visit was a short one, it was great to see my sister V and her family in Vegas the weekend before Thanksgiving. My nephew Rowan is as cute as ever and is talking up a storm now! He amazes me with the number of words he knows and the sentences he can utter, to say nothing of his ability to parrot the words he hears (I almost had him saying "President Obama" in two days. Obama was easy; "president" was a bit tougher.) I took loads and loads of photos of him, but will include just a few here:
AND. . . I finally got around to uploading and editing the photos from our trips!
Although our visit was a short one, it was great to see my sister V and her family in Vegas the weekend before Thanksgiving. My nephew Rowan is as cute as ever and is talking up a storm now! He amazes me with the number of words he knows and the sentences he can utter, to say nothing of his ability to parrot the words he hears (I almost had him saying "President Obama" in two days. Obama was easy; "president" was a bit tougher.) I took loads and loads of photos of him, but will include just a few here:
We took Rowan on the gondola ride at the Venetian. (It was one activity that none of us adults had done before, despite having been to Vegas numerous times since the hotel was built.) The second photo of the little guy shows the expression on his face as he watched the gondolier singing "Volare" in Italian. (And I swear I heard Rowan say "Volare" himself the next day!)
MM came very near to missing the Maui Invitational Tournament altogether: he flew home a day before me from Vegas so that he and his parents could fly out on Sunday morning. . . but picked up a raging case of (what was later diagnosed as) staph food poisoning at the Vegas airport. After awakening at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday with horrible vomiting, diarrhea, etc., he was in no shape to take a 6+-hour flight to Hawaii. Instead, he spent a few hours at an urgent care clinic receiving 3 liters of IV fluids and a shot in the butt for nausea. Poor lamb! When I arrived home a little before 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, he was huddling in a blanket on the couch, beet-red and shivering, with a fever of 101.6!
Luckily, between the care he got at the clinic and the TLC and Tylenol he got from his fiancee, MM was recovered enough on Monday morning to board my flight with me, though he was still far from 100%. He probably wasn't fully himself again until after we'd been in Maui for about 24 hours.
What can I say about Maui? Everything you read and hear about the island is true: it's an absolutely beautiful place. The resort where we stayed--the Hyatt Regency--was gorgeous, truly someone's vision of an island paradise. The grounds, the artwork, the beach promenade, the shops: everything was perfect. My photos don't even do it justice, so I won't post them here (the hotel's website has photos that put mine to shame). The resort even had swans, flamingos, and tropical penguins living on-site, as well as three talking parrots and a koi pond in the lobby.
We were lucky enough to get upgraded to an ocean-view room for our entire stay, rather than just for the three days after our wedding, as we'd anticipated. I could hear the waves crashing on the shore, even with our balcony door closed. . . what a wonderful sound to hear first thing each morning and last thing each night! The view from our balcony looked like this (the island visible in the distance is Lanai):
MM came very near to missing the Maui Invitational Tournament altogether: he flew home a day before me from Vegas so that he and his parents could fly out on Sunday morning. . . but picked up a raging case of (what was later diagnosed as) staph food poisoning at the Vegas airport. After awakening at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday with horrible vomiting, diarrhea, etc., he was in no shape to take a 6+-hour flight to Hawaii. Instead, he spent a few hours at an urgent care clinic receiving 3 liters of IV fluids and a shot in the butt for nausea. Poor lamb! When I arrived home a little before 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, he was huddling in a blanket on the couch, beet-red and shivering, with a fever of 101.6!
Luckily, between the care he got at the clinic and the TLC and Tylenol he got from his fiancee, MM was recovered enough on Monday morning to board my flight with me, though he was still far from 100%. He probably wasn't fully himself again until after we'd been in Maui for about 24 hours.
What can I say about Maui? Everything you read and hear about the island is true: it's an absolutely beautiful place. The resort where we stayed--the Hyatt Regency--was gorgeous, truly someone's vision of an island paradise. The grounds, the artwork, the beach promenade, the shops: everything was perfect. My photos don't even do it justice, so I won't post them here (the hotel's website has photos that put mine to shame). The resort even had swans, flamingos, and tropical penguins living on-site, as well as three talking parrots and a koi pond in the lobby.
We were lucky enough to get upgraded to an ocean-view room for our entire stay, rather than just for the three days after our wedding, as we'd anticipated. I could hear the waves crashing on the shore, even with our balcony door closed. . . what a wonderful sound to hear first thing each morning and last thing each night! The view from our balcony looked like this (the island visible in the distance is Lanai):
I spent several early mornings and evenings sitting on our balcony reading and enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the ocean. (On a side note, I also read four complete novels during our trip! What bliss! I rarely got so much time to read in my usual daily life.)
We didn't do many of the typical tourist things that are recommended for first-time visitors to Maui--like driving the road to Hana or visiting Haleakala crater--in favor of enjoying the beauty of west Maui, on and near the resort. MM is not a big fan of road trips at any time, so he didn't want to spend lots of time in the car, and I acquiesced. (Marriage is about compromise, right?) We did go snorkeling at Molokini, as well as off Ka'anapali Beach near the hotel; went parasailing; took a sunset cruise up the coast of western Maui; and shopped in Lahaina.
And oh yeah, we got married!! ;-)
Our wedding was wonderful and exceeded our expectations. Everything went off without a hitch. The ceremony was a simple one, performed by a Hawaiian minister on the beach at D.T. Fleming Beach Park (just up the coast from Kapalua), complete with exchange of leis, a traditional Hawaiian blessing, a conch shell, and a ukulele. We couldn't have been happier with the way things turned out!
I obviously have no photos of my own of our wedding ceremony (pretty hard to shoot pictures when you're the bride!), but will ask my mother-in-law to email me some soon to post on here. I do have this photo of my bouquet to share:
We didn't do many of the typical tourist things that are recommended for first-time visitors to Maui--like driving the road to Hana or visiting Haleakala crater--in favor of enjoying the beauty of west Maui, on and near the resort. MM is not a big fan of road trips at any time, so he didn't want to spend lots of time in the car, and I acquiesced. (Marriage is about compromise, right?) We did go snorkeling at Molokini, as well as off Ka'anapali Beach near the hotel; went parasailing; took a sunset cruise up the coast of western Maui; and shopped in Lahaina.
And oh yeah, we got married!! ;-)
Our wedding was wonderful and exceeded our expectations. Everything went off without a hitch. The ceremony was a simple one, performed by a Hawaiian minister on the beach at D.T. Fleming Beach Park (just up the coast from Kapalua), complete with exchange of leis, a traditional Hawaiian blessing, a conch shell, and a ukulele. We couldn't have been happier with the way things turned out!
I obviously have no photos of my own of our wedding ceremony (pretty hard to shoot pictures when you're the bride!), but will ask my mother-in-law to email me some soon to post on here. I do have this photo of my bouquet to share:
Didn't it turn out well? (Bear in mind that I shot this photo the morning after the wedding, so a little wilt is visible.) My only requests were that it be primarily white (with only a small amount of pink, if necessary) and that it be composed entirely of flowers native to Hawaii.
After our wedding ceremony, we celebrated with a delicious dinner at Merriman's Kapalua, which is located right on Kapalua Bay. Eating at Merriman's was a very sweet gift to me from MM: he normally eschews any type of "foodie" eating establishments and is by no means an epicure, unless one considers Red Lobster and Outback Steakhouse "fine dining." LOL
Really, that pretty much sums up our trips. The only things I forgot to mention: MM attended (and enjoyed) some--though not all--of the tournament's games on Tuesday and Wednesday (duh!); and I did some shopping and unscheduled exploring of Maui's northwest shore with my mother-in-law on Tuesday. (The "unscheduled exploring" came as a result of my driving past the turnoff for Fleming Beach when I went to scout the location. When we saw the breathtaking scenery, we didn't want to turn back! And I haven't seen so many shades of green since Ireland!)
I had a tranquil and relaxing week and would go back to Maui in a heartbeat. . . even though flying over 6 hours there and back--not including delays--is no picnic.
So now I'm an old married lady. (And no, I don't feel any different.)
After our wedding ceremony, we celebrated with a delicious dinner at Merriman's Kapalua, which is located right on Kapalua Bay. Eating at Merriman's was a very sweet gift to me from MM: he normally eschews any type of "foodie" eating establishments and is by no means an epicure, unless one considers Red Lobster and Outback Steakhouse "fine dining." LOL
Really, that pretty much sums up our trips. The only things I forgot to mention: MM attended (and enjoyed) some--though not all--of the tournament's games on Tuesday and Wednesday (duh!); and I did some shopping and unscheduled exploring of Maui's northwest shore with my mother-in-law on Tuesday. (The "unscheduled exploring" came as a result of my driving past the turnoff for Fleming Beach when I went to scout the location. When we saw the breathtaking scenery, we didn't want to turn back! And I haven't seen so many shades of green since Ireland!)
I had a tranquil and relaxing week and would go back to Maui in a heartbeat. . . even though flying over 6 hours there and back--not including delays--is no picnic.
So now I'm an old married lady. (And no, I don't feel any different.)
6 comments:
Holy smokes - poor MM! I'm glad he recuperated, though, to enjoy Maui AND your wedding!! As for Maui, it sounds - and looks - absolutely beautiful. And Rowan - what a cutie :)
I'm so happy for you. :)
Wow, your bouquet is beautiful! So sorry to hear about MM being sick, but I'm glad he made it :) Can't wait to see more pictures.
Holy moley! Can't believe MM was SOOOO sick so close to your wedding. I'm so glad he got better in time. How horrible!
Your wedding and honeymoon sound DREAMY! Can't wait to see more pictures.
oh the memories... :)
Matt was kind of confused when he got the wedding announcement... he was like, " hasn't this date already passed?" I had to explain to him about the annoucement vs invitation thingy... :)
congratulations!!!!
I'm so happy for both of you and I can't wait to see more pictures! I felt so bad for MM when I heard about the food poisoning - thank God it didn't do more harm than it did!
Congratulations honey!
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