Hawaii!

Dave's company has a manager's retreat at the end of every year. Last year he went to Mexico and I stayed home with the kids. Boo, right? Well this year the wives were invited to tag along on the Hawaii adventure. Dave left a few days earlier to attend meetings and such and then I got to travel with the lovely Harmony, who makes traveling quite easy because she did everything. I just tagged along on my free Hawaii adventure.

We stayed at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore in Oahu. It was so beautiful. I loved every second of it... the heat, the humidity, the sound of the waves crashing. I loved that we could go to the local farms, sit on a bench and eat fresh food that they had grown and prepared. (Highlights: coconut shrimp, veggie panini, salads with grilled pineapple, fried banana bread covered in coconut cream sauce...) My favorite adventure was snorkeling (even though I was a bit awkward at it) and getting to swim with a gigantic sea turtle. I also really enjoyed the walk through the botanical gardens to the waterfall where they filmed some scene from Lost.  My journey lasted five days and I know everyone thinks I am crazy but it was too long. I missed my boys and really wished they had come with me. I can't wait to return to Hawaii someday but with my little adventurers in tow! (Although sleeping in, enjoying adult dinners, and not changing any diapers or dealing with any tantrums was quite nice!) Thank you to my friends and family who took such great care of my kids. I really appreciated it and it felt great knowing they were in loving and capable hands!

View from our room

My mornings began with sunrise, coffee, and my Kindle

Waterfall from Lost

The sand at Lanikai is like a smooth white powder!

I miss this

Best spot to lie in the sun and read!

My absolute favorite moment

Since it was the rainy season, the sky would open up, dump a few buckets of rain, then stop and the sun would start shining again. It was so odd and so different than the weather we are used to here.