maui day 3

tuesday morning after another delicious breakfast, all of the verizon people walked down to the "polo lawn" near the beach. it was team building day!! the winners were required to be there and guests were requested to attend. all we did was watch and enjoy the fun! the entry fee was 2 food items for the maui food drive. over 400 items gained in all!

the task of the day was to be split into groups. each groups was given two tubes and a bag full of pvc pipe. the goal: built a steady raft that could transport 3 team members around a buoy in the ocean, twice. of course, it had to be fast. this was a race of course. once the raft was built, a canvas sign had to be painted with a logo and the team had to make a "sales pitch" for selling their craft. it was hilarious!

michael noticing me with the camera as he stands watching his teammates build...

michael trying to look like he's doing something since he noticed me with the camera...

orange crush team captain keith making their sales pitch.

blue team: "verizon blue sailing for you"

the yellow team who didn't follow directions and rented kayak to help build their raft. what made it best? they tipped over and ended up getting last place in the competition. :)

michael's team was the orange team who named themselves orange crush. compared to a few of the other teams, orange seemed to just be standing around alot. they did get their raft built and ended up doing quite well in the race. in the first heat, michael was one of the rowers. for the overall scoring, orange didn't make the top three. it was still fun though.

ready...

set...

go!!

one really fun thing for me was that i didn't wear any sunscreen out that morning. we were out there a couple of hours and i had the weirdest t-shirt, shorts, flip flops tan lines. sunburn lines actually. it's the first time my feet have ever been sunburned. uh...not cool.

after team building, we were provided with a great lunch of burgers, salads, fruit and swordfish. i had the best lemonade ever! yummy!

michael and i snorkeled that afternoon in the ocean outside the resort. i couldn't really snorkel. that breathing underwater thing freaked me out a little bit. instead, i used the goggles and flippers and swam under a little. we didn't see a thing. we washed off and headed to the pool for about an hour.

then...it was luau time! we got dressed and were shuttled over to the grand wailea hotel. we had some time of mingling and talking while servers walked around with trays of mai tais. i, of course, did not have one.

the mingling...

dean (from houston) and his mother michelen (from southern france). they were wonderful to get to know!

a picture of us where you cant' really see us. the point is the amazing sunset.

the food was great. the show was great. those girls can really move! i'd be exhausted after performing like that. i mean, no wonder they can usually stay so skinny! they also did some tahitian dancing which was very similar to the hula but mostly faster. the best part was when they pulled members from the audience to dance with them. hiro from tokyo was, by far, the best!

all in all, day 3 in maui and experiencing my first luau was top notch. all except the sunburned feet anyway...

maui day 2

each morning, breakfast was served to us, buffet style, at nick's fish market in the resort. nick's is a great restaurant, half outdoors with a view of either the ocean, the pool, or the coi pond. we woke about 7:15 monday morning and ventured down to check out the menu. we were greeted with 2 omelet making chefs, fruit, granola, yogurt, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, cereal, milk, oj, pineapple juice, guava juice, water and coffee. there was also another table filled with bagels, breads and muffins with an available toaster should you choose to use one. the pancakes were small and perfect! i indulged in a couple of those with some crispy bacon, eggs and plenty of fruit. it was delicious!

after breakfast michael headed out to the golf course. he was playing the wailea golf club emerald course. not to be confused with the gold course or blue course. wow! about an hour after he got to the course, he gave me a call. their 4th guy hadn't shown up and instead, left a perfectly empty seat in michael's cart for me to ride in! i walked up to the event planners at our hotel and asked to be taken to the course. i was greeted with an immediate smile and a, "yes, mrs. kotze, we have the bus waiting for you here." after a brief word with the driver, i was put in the bus and whisked away! hank, another of the event planners, met me at the entrance to the golf club, "good morning, mrs. kotze. how are you feeling this morning after your late flight last night?" and "Let me get you to your husband. He is just beginning the 3rd hole, I believe." i gotta say, i felt a little special. :)

michael played with two guys named brett and jj. they were childhood friends and since brett's wife couldn't come because of work, he'd asked jj to accompany him for a week filled with golf. who could resist, right? well, both brett and jj were tons of fun. extremely friendly and outgoing. so nice!

from any angle on the course, i was granted a stunning, blue-ocean view. as if that, the beautiful birds and flowers weren't enough, i twice saw whales in the background spouting from their blow holes and frolicking together in the water.

after 18 holes of beautiful golf, we headed back to the resort where i went to the spa for a facial. glorious! i was aglow for hours after leaving there. jennifer, you rock!

we finished the afternoon with a couple of hours by the pool and a virgin lava flow (a pina colada mixed with frozen strawberry and banana puree). that night, we found a card and gift certificate to one of the restaurants in the resort, cafe ciao. we picked up some shrimp scampi with fettuccine and a margarita pizza. we enjoyed the dinner and the gorgeous view from our balcony.

it's easy to fall asleep to the smell of the sea and tropical flowers and the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach...

maui day 1

american airlines: a la carte airlines

michael and i arrived at the airport at around 8am sunday morning. our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:40. we checked in, went through security, had breakfast at an airport mexican restaurant called rosario's. it wasn't great. we moved over to our gate to await our flight to dfw. after about 20 minutes of sitting there, we realized that the flight before ours had been cancelled because the plane that was supposed to be coming from dfw was having "technical issues". our flight was then also delayed. by 2 hours.

we finally left san antonio at 11:20. our connecting flight direct from dfw to maui was to leave at 12:15. we beautifully missed that. we arrived just in time to catch the 1:15 flight from dfw to lax.

baby's first plane ride.

it was on this flight that we realized the full extent of our annoyance with american airlines. first, this is the 3rd trip that has been somehow messed up because of one issue or another. trip 1: several cancelled flights from san angelo to dallas which ended up cancelling our trip to lake tahoe for a friend's wedding. trip 2: a really delayed flight from vegas which lead to a really late arrival for leah's wedding. we watched from outside the sanctuary. trip 3: maui mess up.

anyway, on this flight to LA, we get hungry and discover that you have to pay for any food item. drinks...still free but even peanuts cost something. you can get a snack pack of peanuts and raisins for $4 or a sandwich for $5. we each got a sandwich and shared some chips for $15. don't worry, they take credit too.

at lax: a 3 hour layover and then a 5 hour flight to maui. the only good thing about our flight to maui is that it wasn't completely full. michael and i shared 3 seats. at one point, i got to lay over in his lap and catch a little sleep and rest from a kicking baby. i read a lot and michael watched the airline special: marley and me. towards the end, i see michael take off his headphones and start his own movie. i look up to see the saddest part of the movie. i haven't watched a single bit of it. i cannot hear what is going on. i cry anyway. like big, huge, crocodile tears kind of crying. that's a bad movie.

after landing in maui and being pleased to find that our bags had, in fact, made it on the plane, we made our way to the resort. we arrived 5 hours late as dinner was being cleaned up. the staff was super helpful and offered to get anything we needed. we ate semi-cold food, had a bottle of water and headed up to bed.

our suite had been changed from the original garden view-king size to the ocean view-double beds. we didn't argue. the view was fabulous and we didn't mind having more room to sleep. yes, i took one bed and michael took the other! :)

the double beds. nice and comfy!

the view from our room the first night. no, you can't see the ocean, but you could definitely hear it. the pool and the palm trees looked amazingly inviting that night.

we finally got to bed about 4am texas time. we were happy to finally lay down and were excited to really start our vacation in paradise.

the problem with packing

you never really know what you're gonna need until you need it. that's why i am packing a ton of clothes. and shoes. i know i don't need them all. i know i probably won't wear even half of them. but, what if i need the one thing i don't pack?!

normally when going to the beach you just need some shorts, tank tops, flip flops and a swim suit.

however, the one thing about this trip is that we'll have to attend a few functions with the other team members and we are supposed to dress "resort casual". that means no denim people. normally that wouldn't be a problem but just about every pair of maternity shorts or pants is...weird. i'm packing a few summer dresses for those times instead.

michael is an over-packer too. it should be an interesting job getting all this stuff into suitcases...


don't laugh.

nursery for nameless

if you know me at all, you know i like to have things organized. i'm a planner and a completer and i don't like to dwell over decisions for too long. for the first few months, i was okay with not having made any decisions for my son who will be here in around 3 months. the past couple of weeks have been...frustrating...to say the least. i've had numerous chats, emails and text messages with seph to try and make some decisions final. michael and i finally decided on furniture and it was, of course, discontinued.

because i had the day off yesterday and was expecting a relaxing day...someone decided to throw a kink in the plan. i started looking, once again, at nursery stuff. i almost went bonkers. in a chat with seph, she actually said, "are you frowning right now?" and i was!! after 1 million internet sites and lists of pros and cons, i think i may be really digging this bedding...

my favorite colors are blue and green. plus-just about everything in my house is either blue, green or brown. i think this bedding kind of goes with that theme...

artwork.

cute baskets for diapers, lotions, toys or whatever...

i've also found a paint idea that i like for the wall. it would look similar to this painted in the colors of the bedding. also, the letters in espresso but in all lowercase. that was seph's idea.

i like the stripes. maybe a latte colored wall with the blue, green and choclate stripes. somehow...

i also think i've decided on furniture. mom loves it and that matters. she has great taste and she's buying the crib! :) she's done that for all of her other grandkids so far and i think she really likes being the one to provide the place where they'll sleep. she's so sweet.

i haven't checked on any of this with michael. i don't know if i'm going to. i think i'll just tell him it's what i've decided on. he gets to cause enough craziness over this child's name. i think i'll just choose where he'll sleep. :) love you, baby!

sigh...

viva fiesta!

san antonio has a huge fiesta celebration each april. on one blessed day of this 2 week long event, there is the battle of flowers parade. it's a school holiday!

i'm home!


the school day yesterday consisted of a field day morning, lunch, free time and fiesta party. i was completely exhuasted by the time i said goodbye to my last student. i drove home in a daze and went straight to bed. i slept for 3 hours before michael called and woke me. i was much better after that long snooze.


nameless' dr appt was on wednesday. he seems to be growing quite well in there. i'm sure each pound i gained was only on his little body. :) his heartbeat is still sounding very nice and strong. michael even noticed that it has slowed some since the beginning. it's nice to know that he pays attention while we're there! :)


the doc made sure to make sure that i'm no longer sleeping flat on my back. uh...okay, that's how i sleep people! now, i have to have a pillow propped under one side. oh well, i'm sure i'll live.

and then...there's hawaii!!! michael was awarded the trip for doing so well at work last year. we get to spend 6 days in maui. i will be having a message and facial while i'm there. then, i plan to lay on the beach and read. i'll be totally relaxed by the time i get back! can't wait!

2 days before we leave. 2 days of nothing to do but get ready for a week of nothing to do.

viva fiesta!

bullets

• baby boy is still nameless
• he can also kick the snot out of my hand but michael has yet to feel it. it might have something to do with his inability to sit still and focus on anything for an extended period of time...
• we finally agreed on baby furniture. it's discontinued.
• i just spent an hour in the sun. it was exhilarating!
• 33 days left of school
• 8 days until we leave for hawaii!!!
• after catching up on what felt like 50 loads of laundry two weeks ago, the laundry baskets have yet to be filled again. i've shown the laundry that i am queen, well...for the time being anyway.
• spending easter sunday with ellie was so much fun. she was the cutest easter egg hunter ever.
• i'm feeling the bug at school. it's that time of year where i want to start cleaning and changing and planning for next year. i'm just in a weird place right now.
• jules has been doing well since her episode. we're just working on getting her meal times back on schedule. instead of breakfast and dinner, she's been eating everything at dinner time.
• we're planning on having michael's sister, danielle, over for a couple of weeks in the summer. i can't wait!
• totally enjoying this beautiful saturday at home!

chelle

happy birthday to you.
happy birthday to you.
happy birthday dear chelle,
happy birthday to you!

you are so old! :) love you girl!

baby boy cuteness

one stop michelle, amy and i made was gymboree. we all knew we shouldnt' go, but we did anyway. i ended up spending too much money but mostly everything i bought was on clearance. i also did well getting stuff for a few different sizes...i'm so in love with this boy! :)

first, just some casual shirts.

this cute outfit of gray pants and a striped shirt

the sweetest little outfit i've ever seen. michelle kept telling me not to buy it. she finally grabbed it from my hand and bought it herself. sweet friend! :)

my favorite. i can just see some skinny little legs hanging out of these shorts with those cutie blue shoes.

he may not have a name, but he'll be the cutest nameless boy ever!