Aloha from Aulani

Aloha Aunties, Uncles, and Cousins! 

I hope everyone is happy and safe in their homes! For the past month, I have been up north with my family. It’s nice to be back, because last year I was unable to visit Pennsylvania while working full time with my internship at Disney World. It has been a blessing that we can all be together. Even though there have been changes and trials, I believe there are a lot of things to be grateful for during this time if we take time to look for them ♡ The biggest blessing we have been given is time. Here are a few ways we have been staying busy at home...

• Practicing hobbies and trying new ones
• Completing puzzles (mystery ones are extra fun!)
• Reading books
• Movie nights 
• Cooking and baking 
• Catching up on TV shows
• Writing letters
• Cleaning 
• Bike riding
• Personal study
• Playing video games (Switch, Nancy Drew computer games)
• Going on walks around the neighborhood 

Along with these activities and projects, I have been working on weeding through the pictures I have taken with my phone. This may be a simple task for some, but I take A LOT of pictures. I’m not exaggerating when I say I had more then 20,000 photos on my phone! As I have been going through them, I realized there are many that I haven’t shared with my friends and family, especially of my time working in Florida. I decided this would be a great opportunity to share some happy memories ♡ 

To start off, let’s fly to the beautiful Hawaiian islands! Did you know Disney has a resort on Oahu? Just like any Disney hotel, this one is truly magical. I love the theming and detail they added throughout the location. 

(For my cast member friends, the ‘Show Key’ is well executed here. Comment some examples you see!)

 

Walking in the front doors, you immediately feel like you are in Hawaiian hale. There are carvings and paintings all around the front hall. We were greeted with “Aloha!” by the friendly cast members who make you feel right at home.

These pictures were taken when I was visiting Hawaii with my cousin Gatlin in October of 2018. I invited my friend Hannah (who was still attending BYU-Hawaii) and my future Disney College Program roommate, Katie, to join us at Aulani as I knew they both loved Disney. This trip was the first time I met Katie and it was such a blessing to live with her last year. What a small world that we met in Hawaii and ended up working at the Polynesian Resort together. 

Also, another fun connection, Gatlin and Hannah are now married! Disney truly brings families together ♡ 

One of my favorite parts of this resort are the snacks! I love that they took famous Hawaiian treats and added some Disney magic. Near the pools they have a few quick service food options. 

Little ‘Opihi’s

Here the options are chips, fresh fruit, ice cream and pineapple soft-serve (That’s right, Dole whips!) as well as sandwiches, rolls, and salads, it you want something a little more healthy. 

Mama’s Snack Shop

The fish and chips here are delicious! They also have chicken nuggets, coconut shrimp, and the Ono sandwich. For dessert they offer a macadamia nut and pineapple cupcake. However, I saved my sweet treat for the next booth...

Papalua Shave Ice

Can’t go to Hawaii without enjoying some shave ice! They have plenty of tropical flavors to choose from and if you pay a little extra they will add Mickey ears to your creation!

Ulu Cafe

This little shop offers an assortment of grab-and-go options such as cookies and chips. The snack I was most looking forward to trying was the Mickey musubi. (On previous visits they has all been sold out for the day) It is a rice ball with Spam and seaweed. Not something I would have tried before living in Hawaii, but during my time there it became one of my favorite snacks. They sold them in the grocery store and I also had talented friends who learned hoe to make them! Aulani did not disappoint with satisfying my cravings.

The beach at Aulani is absolutely beautiful. The resort is located in a quieter part of the island so it is very relaxing to sit on the beach and look out at the ocean. We had fun swimming before it was time for our dinner reservation. 

Makahiki is one of my favorite Disney buffets I have been to. The food is delicious. There were so many options to choose from. As you go down the line, your plate fills up quick! Throughout the dinner a few of Mickey’s friends stopped by to say Aloha! At check-in we met Donald and at out table we talked to Chip, Dale, and Stitch. Their Hawaiian outfits were too cute! 

We had a magical moment at the end of our meal! When we first arrived at the resort Katie and I got “I’m Celebrating” pins to announce that we can been accepted into the Disney College program. When the characters saw them they gave us lots of hugs! Our waitress also noticed and as we finished dinner she gave us pumpkin Mickey’s cakes and a picture autographed by the characters! It was truly a sweet surprise ♡ 

Aulani has special merchandise that can only be found on the island. It was fun to go through the gift shops. Our visit was just before Halloween so they had their holiday collection out. And if you know who Duffy is, I’d like to introduce you to ‘Olu! Like Duffy, he is also a friend of Mickey. His name means turtle in Hawaiian. He is such a cutie. 

All too soon it was time to go home. I look forward to visiting this beautiful resort again in the future. 

To better show the wonder of this Hawaiian paradise I have made a video with highlights of our day. I hope you enjoy! (I have to say I am very proud of how the video comes full circle with the intro and ending)

Thank you for reading and watching! Leave a comment and let me know what you have been doing to stay busy while at home. Learn a new hobby? Try a new recipe? I’d love to hear about it. Keep smiling ♡ 

Aloha ‘Oe! 

Disney Dishes

Hi friends!

I am very excited to finally be putting this post together to share it with all of you! Disney Dishes came from an idea I had back in 2012. I was preparing to go off to college and my parents started to teach me how to make simple meals like pasta and meatloaf. 

I had the idea we could make a dinner themed around a Disney movie and then watch the show together as a family. Sometimes we would use food shown in the movie and other times the dishes would be related to the characters or scenes. Thus Disney Dishes was born! Because as Mary Poppins says, "in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun!" 

Here are the meals we made before I started my schooling at BYU-Hawaii:



I enjoyed combining two things that make me happy, cooking and Disney!

Fast forward to the present...

I have been home with my family preparing to start my internship at Disney World (!!!) Since I've been back, mom has begun to once again teach me her recipes and have me practice with her. It's been fun to learn her tips and tricks! We both started thinking back on Disney Dishes and we decided we had to do more movies before I left! 

These past few weeks we have been able to watch Legend of Sleepy Hallow, Lilo and Stitch, Incredibles, Three Musketeers, Hercules, and Tarzan (my all time favorite!). I will share their correlating dishes in a future post as there are many photos to share!

However, before I sign off I will add one treat here. Walt once said "it all started with a mouse" and that is how I would like to introduce our new Disney Dishes!

This week mom made her famous sugar cookies with me. They are so soft and delicious! Thankfully she loves Disney as much as I do and was happy to use her Mickey Mouse cookie cutter. A trick she taught me while were frosting is, if you want to use black, start with chocolate frosting instead of vanilla. Then you don't have to use as much dye and it is easier to get the right color! 

I could not have brought Disney Dishes to life without my parents who are both talented cooks. I have learned so much from them! Thank you Mama and Papa! I am so grateful to my family for being supportive of my ideas. I look forward to making more treats and memories with them :)

Ta ta for now,

Karissa  

NYE in NYC

Happy New Year!

I know this is about two weeks late, but the year is young enough that I feel like we can still celebrate!

I am grateful that I was able to be with my family to welcome in 2019. When I was in college, for several years I had to fly back to Hawaii on New Year's Eve because classes started soon afterward (and due to the time difference I would be awake for 24 hours to make it to midnight island time!) This year we all stayed up together. It was even more special because we went to New York City for the celebrations!

There is so much to do in the Big Apple and each trip brings new adventures. I complied our pictures to share a few of the activities we did!

Breakfast at our hotel. It was held in a HUGE ballroom. The lighting made us look extraterrestrial, but the food was delicious! 

New York City Temple

We traveled on the subway to get here, which made it all the more fun. It was amazing to go inside a building that is peaceful and quiet even in the heart of the city that never sleeps. 

Outside the temple we stopped by the Giving Machine to donate. Some of you may have heard of these, the main one being set up near Temple Square in Salt Lake City. These red devices allow you to make donations to people around the world. The items range from school lunches to clean water to even chickens and goats! The one in New York is one of five that were placed around the world during the Christmas season in 2018. 

Big Bus Tour

If you are traveling, I HIGHLY recommend looking into the Big Bus Tours! They can be found in so many destinations. We have taken these buses in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Toronto, and even London. They consist of a double decker bus (we always try to sit on top!) and a tour guide who shares the history of the city as you drive. The pink headphones we were wearing helped us to hear our guide. It is a fun way to explore a new place or learn more about one you are already familiar with. For instance, did you know a troop of elephants walked across the Brooklyn Bridge? In 1884, P.T. Barnum marched his animals across to prove that the bridge was safe! Good thing he was right, huh? 

We also learned Time's Square is the most visited tourist attraction in the world! There is a requirement that every building in that area must have lights on it. Interestingly enough one of them is actually empty inside! There is a Walgreens on the bottom floor, but the rest of building is vacant. The building is able to pay for itself simply by displaying ads on the outside. 

Patzeria Family & Friends

When you're in New York, you have to eat pizza! I helped Kenson eat that giant pepperoni dish you see above. Kevin and Kenneth enjoyed calzones as big as their heads (and they finished the whole thing!) 

Papa was kind enough to get me and mom hot chocolate so we could warm up after being on top of the tour bus all morning. 

Line Store

This was one of the stores I was most excited see when I heard we were going to NYC. As some of you may know, Line is an app that allows you to chat with your friends. It is known for having really cute characters that you can use as stickers or emojis in your chat. 

Recently, my favorite Korean group, BTS, partnered with Line and made their own characters that were added to the app. And they are just too cute! (I mean, look at Chimmy!) I had to stop myself from buying everything in the store, but I did leave with some necessary purchases. 

Disney Store 

Who would I be if I didn't visit the Disney Store on Time's Square? (Not Karissa, that's for sure) It is magical and believe it or not, the store is two stories tall! There was so much to see inside. And even though it was crowded,  I felt much calmer there than I did outside. The cast members were kind and there was a happy atmosphere throughout the store. That's the real Disney magic, the ability to make people smile. I cannot wait to begin my internship down at Disney World! 

 

Aladdin on Broadway

This production was absolutely phenomenal! Thank you to Papa for getting us tickets. I have seen the Disney movie several times, but this play brings a whole new perspective to the story. There are songs that are not in the original soundtrack (look up "Proud of Your Boy") The cast was amazing and the Genie was perfect. He had us laughing every time he was onstage!

Rockefeller Center 

Ice skating at Rockefeller Center is one of the items on Mom's bucket list and I'm so grateful we were able to do it together!

Nintendo StoreI met my heroes Link and Donkey Kong!  

Souvlaki GRWe found a place that had delicious Greek food! The staff members were Greek themselves so it was fun to hear Papa talk to them. We enjoyed souvlaki, htapothi sti skhara (grilled octopus), spanakopita, tiropita, and loukoumades (honey donuts). 

Time's SquareThere is so much to see on every corner! 

Marriott 

We celebrated New Year's Eve in our hotel room. We had fun playing board games together.

Over the last few weeks I have read many posts from people wanting to better themselves in the coming year. While I believe we should not be overly hard on ourselves, I do think it is important to reflect from time to time on how we can improve. What has been coming to my mind is a quote by C.S. Lewis that has stayed with me for many years. He said: 

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

How amazing is that? I couldn't have said it better myself. 

I'm looking forward to this new year and all the things it will teach me. I hope you do too. 

TTFN,

Karissa