|  So we leave in less than a week! Seems so unbelieveable that after 2 years of dreaming and saving and planning that we are finally down to that few days! Now we have all the last minute paperwork to gather and print and pack, that long list of items not to forget to pack and the dreaded problem....what are we going to do on the plane and at the airport to keep 4 teenagers from getting bored!! Oh ya because we will have no technology....bad parents are not springing for everyone to have wifi on the plane. LOL. Back to basics of reading, board games and conversation with your family! We have all been talking about what we want to do first, what we can't wait to do see and try that I'm not sure where we will start. I guess unpacking and checking out the resort and pool since we get to Hawaii so late at night. I think we are all most excited to see the Waimea Canyon. It looks just breathtaking in all the photos. Although going to the Luau is high on all our lists too! I'm not sure I will get to write again before we leave, but hopefully I will get to while we are there to document all our fun. Or maybe we will be to busy having fun for me to write! :-) I do want to thank you all for being with us on this journey and being part of our big day and vacation. It means alot to us to have all your support! Aloha! P.S. Photo is of the Waimea Canyon!
 So here we are 36 days....yes...36 days away from our big day and my so easy plan for the last year of having all our kids wear the same color (other than Alex who is our best man and wearing his own color - along side my sister who is wearing a floral dress as our maid of honor) has come to an end I believe. I have finally conceeded to the coral color gods out there and come to the realization that men and boys are not meant to wear the same color polo shirt. Ever. SO . . . . . plan B . . . Easter eggs it is!!! So here it is - My sister is wearing a floral dress with coral, green, purple and blue so I have many color options. Alli has a dress already in Coral (which is why I was searching for coral) and Alex has a purple polo shirt. SO - I have Austin who is a size Med in Boys and Billy who is a size Med in Mens and let me tell you .....those 2 departments at stores NEVER have shirts the same color! Grrrrrrrr! So I think that they will have to be different colors and therefore my wedding party will look like a box of Easter Eggs!!! I know you can't post here on this site but if you will please message me or post on my facebook - what do you think? I see a few different options: 1) Have each kid in a different color and thus making no kid look or feel special (Like I would like Alex to feel special being the best man) 2) Have Alli and Billy match since I can get him a Coral shirt and Austin and Alex have 2 other others. That brings my easter eggs down to 3 colors with Coral, purple and ? 3) Find a different boys and mens color shirt that I could match like purple or blue for Austin and Billy and get Alli a new dress to match them and then have Alex wear Coral to stand out I really don't want to spend a ton of money and it is Hawaii so could we just go with the Easter egg look? Decision.....decisions....
 Each time I write in this blog I cannot believe how fast the time is really going! To think we have been anticipating this wedding...this trip for 2 years! And finally we are less than 2 months (58 days to be exact) away! So much we can finally do and finalize that I think it's time for me to get my pad and pen out and start making that list! Or, I know I will forget something. Especially with not just myself to remember everything for but for the wedding itself and 4 kids and a husband who we all know won't remember everything. ;-) So my shoes arrived just fine and fit perfect! I'm taking my dress in to the tailor this weekend to see what she can do to make it 4 sizes smaller! Yikes! I still have the sand ceremony items to purchase, all the boys their matching polo shirts, Matt's white shirt and want to take my ring in to get all polished and pretty! I have to say though that with all the "To Do's" and all the things we are planning to do when we are there and all the excitement building....the one thing I am most looking forward to is the weather and scenery! Flowers....green trees....beautiful beaches....80, 90, 100 degree weather!!! I just can't wait to put my toes in the water and my ass in the sand for 12 whole days! The perfect MN winter year to plan a trip to Hawaii in May! There is still time for you all to come with us! I know you want too! :-)  So really....who would have thought that finding and ordering shoes would be the thorn in my side out of all my wedding planning?? Well----at least right now! ;-) I'm so excited that I finally found the perfect pair of shoes for the dress and Hawaii AND they are on sale AND have free shipping AND under $50! I'm thinking wa hoo!!! What an awesome thing!! Until---- I get the email that they don't have them in stock even though they had my size (7) as a choice when ordering. :-( So I think, oh well, I will just find them somewhere else right??!! NOT!!! The few other places I found the shoes, have no size 7!! Aparantly everyone who wants these shoes wears a size 7! So I figure I have to either go 6-1/2 or 7-1/2 and measure my foot. Turns out I should really get a 7-1/2 anyway so yeah for them being out of stock!!! So now I'm waiting for the credit from the out of stock shoes to go back on my gift card I was using for the shoes so I can order the correct size of 7-1/2. So moving on to see how the next step goes! So far it's been an adventure in shoes!! 87 days left and counting!! :-)  So many things going on since my last post! I got the last contract from the hair stylist whom I am finding out is not very organized and it was completely wrong! I'm thinking was she really in on the phone conversation with had when we talked about the plan??? Geez! Good thing it's well in advance! Got that straightened out and final deposit sent! Now I'm working on finding shoes for myself so I can get to the tailors and get my dress altered. Originally was just the length as it fit perfect! But now, with my healthy living and weight loss, it's going to need to be taken in also. Good and bad problem to have at the same time! So I'm thinking I need to bring it in sooner than later just in case it's not modifiable! I can't believe it's finally so close and with the winter we have been having...it can't be soon enough for me!  So now that Christmas is behind us and all we have to focus on is the wedding, I feel the time crunch and the things left to do. Although the main items are planned and deposits set and secured, there are all the little things left to do like pick out my shoes, shirts for the boys, sand ceremony items.... and of course my dress alteration! I also am starting the stressful thinking of what if's and wondering how the trup will go, how will the kids do on the plane, what if the hotel is not like we thought... al those things you wonder and stress about. I tell myself however that it is Hawaii after all and how can you really go wrong there right? Thats's my hope! Have a great New Year's everyone!  We hit the 6th month mark and I thought I better get the wedding planning going! We had the airfare, accomodations and car already booked a few months ago - thanks to our wonderful travel agen Sarah Jane - but I thought it seemed early to contact the wedding coordinator so I thought I would wait till November. Well.....good thing I didn't wait any longer! Turns out that there was already a wedding booked on the same day! Who would have thought! May 10, 2014 in Hawaii, on Kuai at the Hanalei Bay Resort....there would already be a wedding booked!! After speaking with Deb, we decided on a morning wedding as the other wedding that day was a sunset wedding, which really didn't interest me that much, so morning was perfect! I have to say, I was really nervous about planning a wedding in Hawaii from Minnesota. My initial online surfing was so overwhelming and not knowing who was really a legitimate company and who I could trust was really starting to be concerning. But after Sarah Jane put me in touch with Deb and Deb pointed me in the right directions and was a sounding board for me - it has been so fun and exciting! I have the wedding site, officiant, photographer, flowers, hair stylist and luncheon all planned and ready to go! I can't say enough how exciting and real this is starting to become! |