Aloha (The Great Escape)

To celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary, my 30th birthday and more generally, a year with somewhat less craziness that its predecessor, Brian and I headed for the big island of Hawai'i. Having planned this trip back in the winter, we went back and forth and back again on whether or not to tote our toddler along.  We hadn't found our last tropical vacation particularly relaxing, what with recovering from c-sections and heart attacks, though it was nice to get away. So this year, we left Cameron to the wolves (the wolves being two sets of loving, spoiling, over-indulging grandparents who could barely contain themselves at the prospect of having him for stretches of days). As it drew closer and closer to our departure, I worried about leaving him here.  I worried that he'd miss us and that he'd be lonely. I worried that something tragic and terrible would happen and I'd be so far away. Logically (of course), I knew he'd be safe and sound.  Still, I couldn't help but wonder if we were terrible abandoners.

And then, when I boarded our first flight, destined for Salt Lake City, a switch flipped. As I snuggled into my airplane blanket, skimming the first few pages of my smutty vacation read, Fifty Shades of Grey, I realized how excited I was to have a week away, a week alone with the love of my life. A week of uninterrupted sleep. Where the only bottles were of beer and wine.  Where I could wear cute dresses and jewelry and my hair down without fear of the little destroyer wreaking havoc on my ensemble. Where we could be in car together without singing toddler tune. Sometimes, it's nice to take the mommy hat off and shrug back into the different kind of joy that is being a young and carefree newlywed.  Cameron would be just fine. And so would we. My, how the week flew by.

I tried to wear flowers every day we were there - you could wear a flower in an STL summer for about 5 minutes before it would wilt and shrivel in the humid heat.

Lucky me. A post-dinner foot rub!

 

We shared the most delightful meals and I found a number of

heart healthy options on the island.

The resort had about 20 pools.  This was our favorite - it was tucked away from 

the crowds with stunning view of the Pacific. We spent most of my birthday day here.

 

Contrary to my belief, there are not people who stand around with leis waiting to flower you.  While I napped, Brian snuck out and found this beautiful lei for me! 

Treated to an AMAZING sunset for my 30th

 

Everyone kept asking us if we were on our honeymoon.  

This made us feel young!

We drove a few hours to Volcanoes National Park and stopped off at a winery.

On our last day, a rainbow sent us off to the airport. How perfect!

We spent two of our evenings snuggled up on a lounger overlooking the ocean at the edge of our resort. We laughed alot and debated the plausibility of moving to Hawai'i (We could send for Cam! Our house is already sold! We both have the flexibility to work from home! Friends and family would love to visit!) As our vacation neared its end, we started to miss a few things about home, especially our little boy and little dog. It turns out that alot can happen in a week - Cameron had completely transitioned from crawling to walking (perhaps more to explore at grandma's?), added "car", "bottle", "kitty" to his vocabulary, and was in DESPERATE need of a haircut. When we finally arrived on my parents doorstep to retrieve him, I saw what a happy, well-adjusted boy we'd left behind. He broke into a toothy grin and I scooped him away from Brian to make sure he still smelled like my baby and not like a dirty little puppy dog tail. Admittedly, he wasn't too thrilled to leave grandma's and grandma wasn't especially happy to give him up, but the two parties were able to separate with the promise they'd see each other in just a few days.

We've only been home a few days and already, are knee-deep in our "regular life".  With about a week left in this house, Brian and I have started to pack this life up in preparation for our move.  I'm so glad that even with the busy-ness that life present, we were still able to prioritize time away.  While in Hawai'i, Brian started to plan our next major getaway, which he's hypothetically sandwiched in between settling in our new house (yet to be identified) and starting the adoption process.  Presently, I am happy to still be sporting a rosy vacation glow and know that when the time comes, Cameron will one day, have a blast on vacation with us.

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow."  ~Lin Yutang

“We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly, but let us never lost sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.” -Unknown