I just got back from our trip to Maui, the 2021 Stampin’ Up! Incentive Trip. This time I took my husband and our two boys. This was the third incentive trip that Nick and Luke have been on with us, and we all had such an amazing time.

*Disclaimer: Earning the incentive trip is something less than 1% of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators achieve.

With the pandemic came many aspects that made this trip a very unique one. The COVID testing requirements before coming into Hawaii made many of us travelers nervous. There were many achievers who cashed out of the trip instead of attending because of the uncertainties AND because of travel restrictions. And it was sad not to see so many of my friends that I love and miss so much. But it was good to catch up with the many that DID end up coming. And it was so wonderful to be able to share this vacation with my family. 

Here we are at the airport. Nick on the left is now 15-1/2. And Luke on the right is 14-1/4 (It’s amazing how much they’ve grown since I started blogging in 2013!). We left the morning of the 15th and arrived in Maui in the late afternoon. And with the five hour time difference, it felt more like 10 o’clock at night for us when it was only 5 PM. So we had quite a few nights of early to bed and early to rise.

Here we are after arriving, checking out our stunning view and beautiful room. Stampin’ Up! really makes sure we are pampered.

(Oh! Be sure to CLICK HERE to see photos of the gifts, goodies, prizes and swaps I received and shared in my Wednesday, May 26th post. Looking through all those photos will REALLY give you a good idea of how well we were treated. I’ve been on many trips, but I’m blown away each and every time.) And yes, that bathroom was incredible!

I think I woke by 4 AM on Sunday the 16th which really wasn’t bad when you consider it was 9 AM in Minnesota. Hahaha! Because we were awake early, we explored the resort a bit. This photo was taken in the lobby area of the resort.

This was where we sat the night before enjoying a whole bunch of food from Stampin’ Up!’s Grab n Go Dinner.

And this was the beautiful beach!

Then we attended the Welcome Brunch hosted by SU and were fed well! If I remember correctly, I had an omelet and some fresh tropical fruit. We were seated with Hattie Nelson and her husband Steve, and Janet Wakeland and her husband Doug. I love these ladies!

I also met up and chatted with so many others. Here I am with the sweet Jan Farring.

And in this photo I’m with Lexi Carlson, Sandy Carlson, and my upline Susan Campfield (the gal I purchased the Starter Kit through 21-1/2 years ago).

SU gifted all achievers and their one guest a spa treatment of their choice. So Tim and I went off to get massages in the early afternoon. Our kids spent time at the pool during this time and had enough sun by the time we were done, so I took in some pool time – hung out with Natalie & John Travis and Lorri & Dan Heiling, and then took over Natalie’s chair when she had to leave.

My guys and I ended that day by going over to explore the Shops at Wailea (just a short walk from the resort), getting dinner and eating it outside the stores, and walking back only to fall asleep early again.

Tuesday began with our first of two Stampin’ Up! gifted excursions. This one was the Raft & Snorkel Excursion. We rode across some impressive waves, snorkeled in the Molokini Crater and another beach area, and saw colorful fish, beautiful coral, and swam up close and personal with a large Sea Turtle!

That evening we went to dinner with Elaine and Adam Schader at Nalu’s South Shore Grill in Kihei. The food was wonderful! And the company was even better. 

Tuesday the 18th brought more achieving demonstrators (those who either earned one of the two year’s worth of trips or cashed out of one if they earned both). So we took it easy that day and hung out by the pool. Many others did the same thing, and it was such a fun and social day. (You can see Monika, her hubby Braton, Kay, her hubby Steve, Natalie right next to me, and Elaine (who was excited because her kids were flying in that day to join them).

In the late afternoon I met up with my new friend Faith who was also was vacationing in Maui that week. She came to our resort lobby! Too fun. I also hung out in the lobby afterwards a bit to say hello to Cheryl Hamilton (a fellow demonstrator from Hawaii) and several on her team who came bearing gifts (I shared the ones I got on May 26th)! What a fun surprise!

And then that evening we gathered outdoors for the Aloha Carnival to socialize and taste some fun foods.

We took to the beach at 7 AM Wednesday morning to get a good spot in the front row. We stayed there for the most of the early part of the day because the weather and water was wonderful! Tim and Nick did some paddle boarding and Nick practiced his flipping. 

Later that day I visited the Hospitality Room to spin for a prize and take photos of sample cards.

And then that evening we went to eat dinner at the Pint & Cork at the Shops at Wailea.

Thursday morning we went on our 2nd of two excursions. This one was the Waterfalls and Rainforest Hike in East Maui. We were struggling in the morning with what shoes to wear, and I’m glad the guide told my boys to NOT wear their nice tennis shoes and put on their water shoes instead, because we got VERY muddy, wet and dirty. But oh, was it fun! I’m glad we invested in those waterproof cellphone pouches, too. I didn’t bring my phone into the water during the snorkeling like my boys did, but I definitely made use of this phone holder on THIS rainy excursion. Look at how lush everything is! And what was even more fun is it was just the Schader family and ours in our group.

See that sign? Yep…we crossed it on foot by aiming our toes into the flow.

The colors of the flowers and vegetation were so bright. Thankfully my husband took some great flower photos, because I failed in that area.

This was the first waterfall we came to. And guess what? Many of us jumped in including me! I’m so proud of myself. I came up coughing because water went up my nose, but this 52-year-old did it! LOL

And this was the second waterfall. For this one, we all just waded in and swam! It was amazing. And our guide got us to every waterfall faster than the other groups. So we got to experience most of this fun adventure with very few extra people around.

That evening my husband Tim was pretty worn out because he pulled some muscles in his rib area (we are thinking during the snorkeling excursion). So he relaxed in the room a lot when we got back. And Nick, Luke and I went exploring through the resort shops. We ended up getting our dinner at one of them and ate it next to the beach so we could catch the sunset (which we had kept missing all the other nights).

What a fantastic ending to a fun day.

By the way, though he didn’t feel good for several days, Tim had it checked out with the doctor when we cam home and is fine now. 

Friday started out with an early spot at the beach again. But the wind picked up and it got a bit cloudy. So we didn’t stay there long. Susan Campfield took this photo of my hubby and me before she took off for her spa appointment.

After leaving the windy beach, I spent some time checking out all the swaps on display in the hospitality room and grabbed my swapped out cards after spinning the wheel for a prize (we got to do this five different days). Click here to see gifts and prizes AND the swap cards I got and all of them on display. 

Susan came to our room so she and I could do a Facebook Live with our team members. It was so fun to connect and share all our swaps and goodies.

And then Tim and I joined Scott Nielsen (“finance guy” at Stampin’ Up! as he puts it), his wife Pamela, Bonnie O’Neill (fellow demonstrator), and her husband Brian for dinner that evening at Tommy Bahamas. We had lots of fun and the food was excellent! 

Our last full day was one more chance to catch the sun. So we got a decent spot poolside by the volleyball net and spent a good part of the day there, going down the slides and snorkeling near the beach where we saw even more colorful fish and another huge turtle that swam right under us!

We couldn’t agree on lunch. So Nick and I dined in the restaurant overlooking the pool. And Tim and Luke had food delivered to them down at the pool. We didn’t sit together, but we could see each other and waved a few times.

The last event before needing to pack and head out the next day was the Luau. The theme was “white out” which means everyone was to wear white. Before heading in, a bunch of us current and former members of the Paper Pumpkin Advisor group gathered to chat and take a group photo.

And then we joined all the others for a magnificent evening. I was so relaxed by the end of my vacation that I didn’t take many photos. But it was wonderful and so much fun. (Tim took this photo of Susan and me before the sun went down.)

We got flowers added to our hair if we wanted. We were served a multi-course dinner. And we were entertained by talented dancers, musicians, story-tellers, and fire-dancers.

Sunday gave us one last opportunity to connect during breakfast.

Above I’m with Marissa Alvarez. And below I’m with Natalie Travis and April Lopez.

This trip was so healing in so many ways and it really filled my heart. I needed it. And my family needed it. Thanks to all of you who support me in my Stampin’ Up! business…team members, customers, friends, fellow demos, SU employees and staff, subscribers, viewers, and my dear friends and family members. I’m so grateful.

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