Mary Open Doors Dinner

Oh, the benefit.  So, last Monday Night, the girls got news that their flight had been cancelled.  This was sad for Carly, but exciting for Heather.  Heather got to stay an extra week so that she could go to the Mary Open Door benefit dinner that she organized. It worked out incredibly well!  I felt like it was a tender mercy. 

The beginning of the night... before we were super exhausted.

Friday was a bit stressful as we found out that Anna Silva wasn't going to be able to attend the dinner, but Carmen came totally prepared!  We were trying to pull all the last minute details together and it was very difficult.  I am happy to announce that Sarah "the smoozer' and Heather "the actuary"  pulled it off wonderfully!  The kitchen staff at the hotel was at max capacity.  We had a lot of fun getting ready and I had to laugh when one of the newer participants came in and said, "Wow, I'm proud of you girls.  You all look nice."  Sarah decided against the white sequin dress and opted instead for a Moomoo with a belt (and rocked it!).  We had some of the girls sing and play the ukulele.  They sounded wonderful! And it was the perfect touch to the night.  The Ka'ana resort was absolutely beautiful. 

First Course... lamb ravioli

We did, however, learn a few lessons:

(1)  Have a longer cocktail hour that starts earlier. 

(2) Make the presentation during the dinner.

(3) Take a nap. 

Despite the new lessons to be learned, we had a lot of fun.  They ran out of room in the dining room, so four of us ate at the bar and became best friends with the bar tender.  We asked him what type of drinks he could make for us with our favorite flavors without alcohol.  I wanted something with coconut.  It was wonderful.  Sarah's was totally different and had some strange fruit juice from Jamaica.  He liked the challenge, and said that it was ironic that the girls who don't drink were the ones sitting at the bar. 

At the end of the night, we were absolutely exhausted.  I had gotten up at 6:00 to do Insanity, read, and do my laundry.  It was a glorious morning, but I was tired at 8:30, and we didn't get home until 11. To make it more fun, our trusted Taxi decided to go to bed and turn off his phone.  The resort was nice enough to give us a ride back in the shuttle.  We were calculating the cost of staying at the resort, and it would have been over $300 split between 8 of us.  Not worth it if we are all sharing a room, and most of us are on the ground.  We were so so so so so grateful for the ride back to our house. 

We tried getting a picture of the view from one of the tables. 

This morning, Heather's flight was canceled...again.  We decided that it's because she's not done actualizing.  We still have to finish up the finances of the trip.

On a side note, I added a bid from my dad on a 3 night stay at a resort in San Padro, and he won!  I also got to talk to the Ka'ana resort about what they do with guests who are allergic.  She said that they get it all the time and could totally accommodate the allergies.  I am now excited to take my mom there!  I think that she'll love it.