Home again

What an amazing summer we had. It was worth all the saving, all the planning and all the organizing to make this trip happen. I realized some things this summer:

1. We have too much stuff! We just spent 2 months with no more than we could fit in a carry-on, and we didn't miss anything!

2. I love 80 degree weather. The whole time we were there it was between 80-90 degrees, night and day.

3. I love 80 degree water even more! I swam more than I ever have in the ocean! In fact, a few times I just about outlasted the kids in the water!

4. I have great kids! They were such troopers about everything we did. I have to give a special shout out to my oldest. Not many 14 year olds would be such great sports about leaving their friends for 2 months, and being stuck with her family! Never once did she complain, and was always a good sport about playing with her younger cousins, brothers and sisters, and doing things that the younger kids enjoyed.

5. I have a great husband! He worked so hard to make this trip possible, then he had to still work while we were there. He's provided a great summer for us, and one we'll never forget. He is so great at giving the kids these experiences. He lives and breathes for his kids, and they are so lucky to have him as their Dad!

6. I am so grateful for time spent with our family. Even though we still had our computers, and phones, and TV, we still spent a great deal of time together. We got to see our cousins who came to spend their vacation with us, and it was so great to be together. Our time with our kids is going so quickly! Time with family and most especially time with your teenagers is priceless.

7. I'm very grateful for all of our health and strength. This was by far the most active vacation we've ever done. We hiked, somedays it had to have been at least 7 miles. We climbed lava rocks, dropped down into caves, scrambled around boulders, and climbed steep cliffs. We swam and swam and swam, even in some pretty rough waves. Many of us, including me took a few pretty big tumbles in the waves! We kayaked, we snorkeled, some of us paddle surfed. We slipped down muddy paths that led to slippery rocks on top of the waterfalls. We explored everywhere we could. We jumped off rocks into the water, swung on rope swings and walked miles through deep sand.

8. Traveling with older kids is SO much better than with younger kids! No car seats, no diapers, no naps. The kids could do almost everything we wanted, and they are so much fun to be around!

9. We discovered that although it's great to pay for guided tours, we had SO much more fun doing things on our own! We got to spend as much time as we wanted, explore further than the tours allow, jump into the water when we saw dolphins, swim next to sea turtles, stand on top of water falls, climb up to a steam vent in a volcano, walk 1,000 feet in a pitch dark lava cave, kayak whenever and wherever we wanted to and at times be the only ones there! And best of all, 99% of our activities on the island were all free!

10. Of the 3 Hawaiin islands we've been too, I love the Big Island the best. The beaches were the prettiest and the water was as crystal clear as the water in the Caribbean. I can close my eyes now and picture the bright turquoise color of the water, or the deep blue depending on how deep the water was. The black sand beaches were a feast for the eyes, with stark contrasts of jet black, white capped waves, green palm trees and cerulean colored water. The white sand beaches look like they are painted backdrops! The hiking was serenely beautiful, the water falls were breathtaking and there is nothing like standing on an active volcano!

11. I could move to Hawaii. However, it is good to be home, and see friends, and we're especially loving the cost of food and gas here compared with Hawaii! Now, on to another school year!