Heidenberg Ohana in Hawaii - Make a Wish

"You cannot stop the waves but you can learn to surf" It was this Hawaiian proverb we chose to print on our Make a Wish shirts and have as our theme for the trip. I will admit that at one point in that very long plane ride there with three littles bouncing off the cabin walls I thought to myself that we must be crazy to do this but then we got off the plane. Fresh clean air, leias, the Aloha greeting...this family was made for island living!

The people were amazing, the resort was nothing short of heaven, the food was delicious and the

views were breath taking. As amazing as our surroundings were on this trip I could not take my eyes off the three smiling faces of our children, especially Emma. This last year was rough and it just seemed to get worse and worse. There were many many tears but on this trip all I saw was smiles and all I heard were giggles. Pool time, beach time, character meetings, luau...they loved it all. Honestly, I have never had this much fun in my entire life. It even topped our honeymoon and vacations we took before children.

We planned each day only a few hours in advance reading the children and what they wanted to do. We managed to pack in a spa day for Emma, she had her nails and make up done. Also a day in the beach cabana, a night at a luau and lots of time in the splash zone. Disney may have it's faults and anyone that knows me well has heard my rant on Disney princesses and why they are not allowed in our home. However, this resort they did right. Everything was easy with kids. The pools were all slanted like a beach instead of a stair entry so it made it easy for us to sit in the shallow end and play. The girls loved the splash zone and we did too because there was only a few inches of water on the ground so we could actually relax and let the girls have fun with out worrying too much about them getting in over their heads.

I could go on and on about how much we loved everything but this blog post would turn into a novel! Instead I will just tell you Emma's favorites. Emma loved meeting up with her Mouse friends Mickey and Minnie. One of the days we found Stitch! She made space goo with him. She loved that the pancakes and waffles were Mickey faces, now I have to find a Mouse waffle iron! Funny enough she hated the sand. This little princess does not like to get "dirty" and apparently sand counts as dirt...who knew?! She was okay with us carrying her to the water and she loved sitting on this floating board they had in the water with her Daddy.

The Heidenberg Ohana would like to extend Mahalo to Make a Wish from the bottom of our hearts. This vacation was just what we needed. One day, hopefully soon in the next couple years, we hope to go back! Until then the spirit of Aloha lives in our hearts. I am trying to figure out a way to be involved with Make a Wish and help other families have an amazing trip like we did, every cancer warrior should have a wonderful time like our Emma! Thank you to all the staff at Aulani that made things easier for the family and special for Emma. Every single person was so sweet and caring and attentive.

Here are some highlights!