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A quiet Easter for our first year in Yulee, Florida, but it was exactly what we needed.
The boys and I headed on base to return our leis to the ocean. They've collected on our porch for years. Legends say that if you throw your lei into the ocean and it returns to shore, that you are destined to return to the islands.
As the sun set, tears welled up in my eyes. This spot is full of memories. All of the miles I've run on this path. All of the times we've waved goodbye to Trip. All of the times we've stood there bubbling with excitement welcoming him home. All of the times the boys have yelled, "honk the horn!" to the sub (she usually could muster one). All of the sunsets we've watched. All of the turtles we've searched for. It's hard to leave somewhere you love so much. As I told Landon, it's okay to be sad because it means we did it right.
Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo
One fond embrace,
A hoʻi aʻe au
Until we meet again
I've wanted a drone since we moved here, and it finally happened thanks to a good deal at Costco. We went over to Kualoa Regional Park with no expectations. There was never any doubt that Hawaii was beautiful, but from the air... it's stunning! I can't wait to capture more of Hawaii from the air!
I am dipping my toes in the mirrorless camera game… and maybe breaking up with Nikon? I decided to go with the Canon R6 because I’ve always loved Canon’s creamy colors. I was scared, but decided to make a small investment and see how it goes. We were heading up to the North Shore so I decided to bring the new camera + a 50mm prime lens along. First off, I can actually bring the camera with me without feeling like I’m lugging a ton of bricks! I am very encouraged and can see myself jumping fulling in by the end of the year.
This certainly isn't what my Friday evenings looked like growing up. Hawaii is such a magical place to be a kid.
Hindsight is 20/20 right? When a deal popped up for an Aulani staycation in March, we decided to only do one night since we planned to do another staycation in the summer. Well, our staycation weekend and the arrival of COVID 19 lined up perfectly. Looking back, we are so thankful we could take this trip, but man I wish we would have stayed longer. We've been in lockdown pretty much ever since.
Aulani is what I call "fake Hawaii", but that doesn't make it any less amazing! It's Hawaii with Disney magic. We had so much fun playing in the pools. We didn't even do much exploring of the resort or even stick our toes in the sand because, well, you know... we thought we were coming back shortly. I cannot wait to go back soon!
The boys and I hiked Tripler Ridge. It was going great - the boys were handling the incline and we got a call from dad on the submarine. We had made it off the paved trail and were working our way to the swing. Deep in the mountain, we ran into a pack of hunters with a ton of dogs and a HUGE pig they had killed. It scared me so I grabbed the boys and we basically ran back down the mountain. It was an adventure to say the least.
Kolekole is such a great trail for kids. It's about a mile around trip, pretty easy and has a great view at the top. The boys had fun and it was the perfect way to spend the morning.
Every once in a while, I think back to 3.5 years ago when my OB called to let us know we had some unfavorable, scary genetic test results. This kid has kept us busy from that moment on, but I can’t imagine our family without this wild thing. Rhett is so excited about his birthday this year. He requested the beach, “McDonalds in my mouth” and ice cream with candles. Happy 3rd birthday, big boy!
