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Sunday, December 14, 2014

Aloha

On Thanksgiving day, Ace and I bid farewell to our 5 little ones and boarded a plane to Hawaii.  We planned the trip with his parents back in the spring.  I'd been having all kinds of anxiety about going, because I HATE leaving my kids.  Especially overnight.  I don't know why.  Plus, I was dreaming up all kinds of things that may or may not to us or to our kids while we were apart.  I hardly slept a wink the night before we left because I was bawling my eyes out after I told my children good-bye.  I'm not going to lie.  The ONLY hard part about this trip was getting out the front door.  

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OK...not the ONLY thing.  Virtually watching ourselves fly over nothing but a big fat ocean was panic worthy.  I was relieved to peek out the window to see only clouds.  That would be a much softer landing, if any of my made up scenarios were to take place.

 

I started to relax a little after my own two feet were touching the Earth…and I got a lei.

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We started our vacation in Oahu, and loved, loved, LOVED the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Laie Temple grounds.  We have a much better understanding of the solemn spirit that surrounds Pearl Harbor.  I was also able to visit a good friend who actually LIVES in Hawaii.  She’s so lucky. ;)

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The view from room at the resort, where we stayed was breathtaking.  We could have just stayed right there the whole time, I would have been happy.  It was beautiful!  The running path along the beach was gorgeous and I finally decided that if I lived in Hawaii, I’d be in the best shape of my life.  I’d never miss a run.  Ever.

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While in Oahu, we took a boat out into the deep ocean, hopped off, and snorkeled.  I did a lot of praying.  From where we were bobbing, there was no shallow end in sight.  Even though it felt like I drank half the ocean, it didn’t seem to damper the amazing things I saw with my eyes, both above and beneath the water.

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Every beach we saw was post card perfect.  I couldn’t get enough!

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After a few days, we ventured over to Kauai to soak in the sights and sounds of that island.  We did more snorkeling—saw turtles, dolphins eels, whales, and even a shark (after we were back on the boat)-- a luau, and golfed at one of the most beautiful golf courses that I’ve ever witnessed. If there’s golfing (complete with GPS on the golf cart) in heaven, I’ve been there. 

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For experiment purposes only, I spent plenty of time in the sand at the golf course.  I was just comparing the sand on the beaches with the sand on the course, and I came to the conclusion, that they are very similar. ;)IMAG1639 DSC_0344 DSC_0357 DSC_0373 DSC_0422  

We were surrounded with beauty everywhere. 

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After running one day, instead of going inside, I went down by the pool and laid in a hammock.  This was my view for the next 20 minutes: IMAG1627

 

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As the sun set on our last day in Hawaii, I felt such gratitude for the opportunity to have spent 10 straight days with my very best friend.

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On the flight home, I felt like a child on Christmas morning—excitement drowning exhaustion.  I was so eager to see my little tribe. 

We all survived without each other, but we’re much happier together!


1 comment:

Happy Days said...

What an awesome trip. So happy for you. Love your blog and the way you write. We all need a break once in a while. Glad you are back as a family.