Corndog Craziness

Corndogs in the kitchen with Ben & Wanda

As always, Harvey family and friends gathered at our house during March Madness for the happiest of holidays -- National Corndog Day!  Approximately 8 boxes of corndogs and 10 bags of tater tots were consumed, and countless beers and sodas met their match.  The kids had a blast on the sports-themed bouncy house while the grown-ups got to watch some good basketball matchups.

The Corndog Day "Cool Girls" kept us entertained all day long.

This year, we got to try an extra special treat, courtesy of our friends Ellie & Matt Guidi... the cherpumple!  A cherpumple is the dessert-variety of a turducken and is an impressive three layer cake with a pie baked into each layer of cake.  It seemed to fit in nicely with the gluttonous theme of National Corndog Day.  Thanks Ellie & Matt!

Matt displaying the cherpumple in all its glory.

The cherpumple and all its many layers of sugary goodness.

Aloha Aulani!

Not a bad view, right?

In March, our family decided to continue our travel streak and take a long weekend in Hawaii.  We had some Alaska Airlines voucher burning a hole in our pockets from a flight cancellation last summer, and when flight prices dropped to equal the value of the vouchers, it was time to take advantage of a free Hawaiian vacation!

Since Virginia is such a Disney fan and we were not going for a very long trip, we thought this was the perfect chance to experience the new Disney resort on O'ahu, Aulani.  The Aulani was very expensive, but we worked our travel magic to get a good deal during the low season.

The trip was truly magical in every way.  The resort was authentically Hawaiian, complemented with all the Disney magic and excellent service.  Virginia loved all the kids' activities and events and got the chance to hang with her favorite Disney characters.  She spent time at Aunty's Beach House (coolest kids' club ever) while mom and dad enjoyed some nice meals out and also ran herself ragged doing the waterslides at the Menehune Bridge water playground.  We also had the chance for a nice reunion with an old law school pal and his daughters one day.  The girls played wonderfully together and Virginia especially enjoyed getting to sit at a "big girls table" with them for our poolside lunch.  Ever since our return, Virginia is begging to go back again.

(For a full review of our Aulani experience, check out the review on my travel blog!)

Shave ice was a daily treat.  Virginia always made sure she got orange.

Menehune Bridge water play area is where Virginia rode water slides.  187 times to be exact.

Breakfast with Mickey!

First time on a paddle board with daddy.

Loving on Minnie Mouse.

Our little mad scientist doing experiments at Aunty's Beach House.

Happy family in Hawaii.

Virginia hams it up at comedy hour at Aunty's Beach House.

A highlight of the vacation was getting to see an old law school pal, Brett Tobin, and his girls.

Stitch and the girls (Virginia was still learning how to do the shaka!)