Aloha!

from Maui!!
What a relaxing amazing vacation/some work for Mike, we have had!!
We are still here, just relaxing in our room till our bags are picked up. This truly is living and the way to vacation. We have been completely spoiled. AXA really cares about their employees and treats them like gold.
The flight was rough on my body but well worth it!
So to begin we had an 1 1/2 delay in Phx on the plane for two mechanical issues. Cleared them up confidentally and we were on our way. Because of our delay in PHX we had a brief layover in Honolulu which was perfect. We had a porter that met us at our gate, carried our carry ons and took us to our next gate! It was here that we realized the supreme service we were about to endure.
A hop skip and a jump on our plane and we were in Maui. So beautiful!
Another porter met us at the gate, we tagged our luggage, jumped on a shuttle and we were on our way to the resort.
We had a beautiful room that was very serene and quaint and away from the main hotel next to their Chapel where the have over 40 weddings a month. We were ground floor and our lanai pad was on the Koi Pond with turtles! We also had a little view of the ocean. (pics to follow soon)
My feet and ankles at this point were so swollen I could hardly walk, and I had drank 1 1/2 liters of water on the plane. So we decided to stay in till dinner, which was in front of our room that evening. By the time dinner came, I couldn't fit into any fun shoes and was a bit grouchy and so very tired. But I changed my 'tude, we walked over and met Mike's associates and many more fun, FUNNY, and interesting people. The weather was beautiful, humid, but we had the beach breeze. We stayed for a few hours and when we got in our room, we were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.
Our agenda for the next day was breakfast, Mike had sessions for work and I hit the pool, with my new friend Stephanie, who is due with her second in late December. She and I just hit it off, her and her hubby live in SoCal, southern California ;-). She has a daughter, Brayden who is 7 and they left her at home for the first time for this trip with her mom. So she had heart pains like me and we bonded!! The guys got out early, Mike was supposed to golf but some mean ugly clouds were coming in. I had an appointment at the spa with the Therme hydrotherapy baths and a massage. Mike cancelled his golf and stayed at the pool till the rain came in. He then watched the tube in our room and was quite content to do that. My spa bathes were amazing. There is nothing like them apparently in the world. They scrub you down with loofahs and then there were 5 mineral bathes, two different kinds of hot tubs, a cold plunge, a sauna, a steam room, a shower that rinsed you in between each bath that got you in every nook and cranny and the best was a cascading waterfall bath.. it was so cool!
My massage that day was okay, I had a guy, which caught me offguard because no one asked me if that was okay, he had no clue how to work the pregnancy pillow, and almost used oil instead of the always cocoa butter. He had a nice touch, but didn't touch my feet, which I know has trigger spots, but you just avoid them. So I wasn't impressed and after a few hours called and made sure that my appt the next day for my SECOND massage was a better experience. I was also getting a much needed facial.
That night we had reservations at Sarento's on the Beach, per a recommendation from our waiter at the Ocean Club. And man oh man was he just one we were singing praises to! All open aired, fine dining, romantic restrauant on the beach literally, with a great view of the sunset. The food was fabulous, we had a photographer take our picture at sunset, enjoyed a nice bottle of Siduri!! our favorite, and dessert! It was very hot at first, but once that sun went down it was just perfect.
Back to the hotel we went to join the others that were having a luau dinner. Because of the rain, the luau was inside. The hula dancers were so great! At the end of the show, the came outside and did their fire routine. We saw it and then bolted to our beds calling our name again. My swelling, which had ALL gone down from the mineral bathes, was coming back.
Friday morning, breakfast again, Mike a session, me and Steph to the pool. After the pool I had my spa day again, and this time it was heavenly, amazing, and everything I expected and more! We had a 'free night' from AXA so Mike's division were all going to dinner at Seawatch, which again highly recommended by our waiter back home. THe best sunset spot on Maui and they were right. We made it just in time to see it set and get some more pictures. Dinner was amazing again, but it took over 3 hours! Another group was there and the one upping's and drinking competitions began. It was quite the site to see some of these guys in a different element. Mike's group, the West Coast (boo hoo we are no longer East Coast which was a wake up for me that night) is just great. The chemistry we all had with each other was warming and it was if we ALL wives included had been friends for years. It was because of them that dinner was just that more amazing. By the end, the drinkers went to an Irish pub, yes Irish!, and the prego's went home. Our hubby's were actually praising us for being pregnant so they could go home ;-)
Saturday morning, we woke up hit breakfast and then picked up our car for the day, a convertible Mustang. We drove around the North part of the island and went to Lahaina, where the biggest Banyan Tree in the world is located, so neat and amazing! We did a little site seeing here, but every shop was pretty much the same so we went on up to Ka'napahli to Whaler's village. It had some high end retail shopping and some local things as well. We had lunch at Leilani's on the Beach. This whole time we have been hot and humid, the trade winds weren't blowing since a volcano somewhere on another island was really spewing some lava so it created a layer of stuff. So every little breeze we did feel we relished it. A lot of the dining is outside... I felt like I was in a sauna all the time LOL.
We headed back to the hotel and quickly changed to hit the pool. We stayed for a couple of hours and then came back to change for our last night here on Maui with AXA. We had a Jazz Under the Stars night with picnic baskets, blankets, and lawn chairs. The food wasn't that good, but we got some great group shots with his division. Some dancing began with those feeling it, and my legs were getting literally restless. So Mike and I headed to our room where he helped my legs calm down.
This morning we did room service and packed. It's another humid day with no breeze, but it has just been incredible vacation.
I miss my children desperately. My sister Jennifer gave us a gift that is priceless and we are so grateful for her!! The boys were always happy and singing their praises about her when we talked to her. It was so nice to not have a single worry abou ttheir care and just miss them. She got on her plane this morning for home and Aunt Amy and Uncle John have them now. Which when we talked to them it was like a party they were having so much fun. We get in tonite at midnight and we promised Caden we'd wake him up. Not sure if he's going to school tomorrow, but I have a feeling no matter how tired he is, he'll want to go...
We got some great souveniers for the zoo, and just so excited to wrap our arms around them! Porter is coming soon to get our luggage and then we leave in about an hour for the airport! Mahalo Maui!! and Ahoha!