Our Hawaii Bucket List

Oahu might only be 44 miles long, but we’ve already realized there are almost endless things to do here. The boys and I sat down to create our official Hawaii Bucket List. My plan is to blog about each adventure so we can keep track of everything we accomplish. We got three years to get it done…. here we go!

Hikes/Adventures

Makapu’u Point Lighthouse
Watch the whales (Feb- March)
Swim with turtles
Snorkel
Watch the surfers at the North Shore
SUP
Maunawaii Falls - waterfall hike
Island Magic Catamaran - swim with turtles
Hanauma Bay
See the seals at Turtle Bay
Pillbox hike
Hālona Blowhole
The Spitting Caves
Dimond Head
Sunrise at the beach
Sea Life Park

Food

Matsumoto’s Shave Ice
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck
Sunrise Shack (North Shore)
Kono’s
Leonard’s Bakery (Malasadas)
Cinnamons
Helana Hawaiian Food
Uncle Clay’s Shave Ice

Entertainment/Tours

Luau with fire dancers
The Macadamia Nut Farm Tour
Dinner at Aulani
Staycation at Aulani
Dole Plantation
Ford Island Tour
Polynesian Cultural Center
Kualou Ranch
Fireworks at Hilton Hawaiian Village
Waimea Valley Botanical Gardens and Waterfall
Bishop Museum

Travel

Disneyland California
Disneyland Tokyo

What did we miss? Do you know of something we must do before we leave Oahu?

Happy Halloween from Hawaii

Our first Halloween in Hawaii was a ton of fun. We had one slight parenting fail, but it was a fun night with friends! The boys were super excited about their makeup. Landon requested a green bottle for next year. This bottle will make his beard grow because it's called "Beard" - love the innocence.

Our Charleston Home

Buying a house in Charleston in 2016 was an experience. The market moved so fast, you couldn’t keep up. Seriously. Trip and I (and Landon) were living in Washington at the time and planned a trip out to house hunt. As we sat in the airport we found two houses that we loved. One in Carolina Bay and one in Bolton’s Landing. As soon as we landed, we checked the MLS and the Carolina Bay house was already gone. We were upset but we still had the other house we liked. The next day, we headed straight to Bolton’s Landing only to find out it was no longer available. We were so bummed. However, a second home in Carolina Bay had come onto the market and we decided to quickly go over to look at it. I remember my first thought was, “well, it’s blue.” Not really sure how I felt about that, I walked inside to my dream white kitchen and eating area. I was sold. We put in an offer that night and the house was ours!

We had the interior of the house painted before we arrived in Charleston which was a little scary - picking paint colors for a house you’ve only seen twice… yikes! What was more scary was my first night at the house. I drove down from Columbia (where my in-laws live) to clean the house before the moving truck arrived. After I finally figured out which house was ours (a detached garage behind the house without a number at night time was really confusing) I realized the backdoor was open. 20 minutes later the police cleared the house (with guns drawn) and we decided the painters probably didn’t pull the door closed. Yeah, I didn’t sleep that night.

It was smooth sailing after that and we enjoyed getting to upgrade the house. We put tile in the bathrooms, switched all of the light fixtures, added a screened in porch and added the planter boxes ( a present from Trip). We loved this house and will miss it dearly.

Shop some of my favorite home products

Have your cake and eat it too! | Charleston Cake Smash Photographer

You guys… possibly my best cake smash ever! Considering she had never had cake before, she sure knew the best way to eat it.

Newborn Mini Session | Charleston Newborn Photographer

My last Charleston Newborn Session

I had all sorts of feelings coming into this session - my last newborn session in Charleston. I love this family and I've worked with them for over two years now. This little peanut is the second newborn I've photographed for this family... and when she flashed that smile I knew I finished in the best way.

Red, White and Blue family session | Charleston Family Photographer

I love getting to work with families multiple times because the sessions are so relaxed and the kids loosen up. I hope our paths cross again because getting to photograph this family is such a gift.

Happy Birthday! | West Ashley Family Photographer

I adore this little red head. It's been a year full of amazing sessions watching this little boy grow up into such a handsome big boy!