Hawaiian Horizon!

So…the BEST thing about Mother’s Day Weekend is getting to use it as collateral to make your kiddos dress up and participate in hilarious, impromptu, prop-laden phot shoots in order to share your vacation news. ;)

Muahahahaha (evil, I-love-extorting-this-holiday laugh). 

For several weeks, I’ve been alluding to a fun family trip we have on the horizon, and I’m happy to share on this FRIYAY that our destination is…Kauai!

This trip is such a very long time coming (in our brains and pocketbooks, ha). And an official celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary this year. Woohoo! (And also, I’m crying a bit inside over the fact that we’re old enough to be celebrating TWENTY DANG YEARS of marriage.)

And just look at the three yahoos we have to show for it. ;)



Long and short:

We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon (as infants). Oahu, that time. And, of course, it was amazing.

Then we had grand plans of returning (to a different Hawaiian island) for our 10th wedding anniversary. But…Chica was a wee tiny infant of just a few months at the time, and it’s comical we ever thought we could leave her and fly that far. Oh, the naïveté.

Needless to say, in the last decade, we’ve thought many times about trying to jumpstart some Hawaiian plans again, but we were never able to work through the logistics of going as a couple versus going as a family. And eventually, the decision was made for us when the kiddos heard us brainstorming about it and assumed they would absolutely, most certainly be coming along when plans came to fruition, ha.

So. We held on to our patience and eyed our 20th anniversary, knowing all three crazies would be old enough to survive such a long flight by then. 

And here we are, making it HAPPEN!

We originally envisioned a winter trip, but with COVID cases relatively tame at the moment, and no impending home disasters (you KNOW we’ve had our share) to drain our pocketbooks, we decided to BOOK IT without delay or derailment and let it be some major fun to kick off our summer!

So now we’re three weeks and counting, and we could NOT be more excited. :)

Logistically speaking, such a major trip has required quite a bit of thought, packing-wise. And considering this is coming less than 36 hours after the final school bell rings, I want to be as PREPARED possible.

We’ve always packed as a family in two giant suitcase for our excursions, but that’s getting more and more difficult these days.

For one, those two giant suitcases are tipping the scales over 40 pounds, and that’s just a lot o’ baggage to haul, and often causes redistribution challenges when we’re over the weight limit at baggage check. Not cool.

For another, the kiddos have been begging to have their own rolling luggage for ages, so I finally decided it was the perfect time to make it happen in celebration of this vacay. :)

They arrived today and I staged the fun reveal…



For the record, after I zoned in on this particular type of suitcase, I sorted through the 21 color options and nailed THE ONE each of my three kiddos would select. And I was right with all three selections, hehe. My crazies are nothing, if not predictable in their color preferences, ha.





This is exactly the type of suitcase behavior I DON’T want to see (squashing, cracking, using it as furniture), so we’ll see how long these last. 







They’re officially carry-on size, which is what we plan to do for these three, to avoid extra luggage fees. But if we have to bite the bullet and pay for all our bags, so be it—this time only, ha. This is a Go Big Or Go Home trip. ;)



The hubby and I are both pretty impressed with the practicality of the interior—and the fun colors. And I think this will help us stay far more organized for our departure. And will definitely help to keep our loot more manageable while we’re away.













I really am so grateful we have this amazing vacation on the horizon. And what better way to celebrate this 20th anniversary milestone???

In so many large and small ways, God has confirmed for us that it was the right thing to stay home for Spring Break this year, as we’ve had to divert those funds to expensive car and home repairs (seriously, it’s always something: today involved a dismantling of our pool fountain for repairs, oye).

So we’re taking the mental outlook of Don’t Let Anything Spoil Thus Fun, now. And we’re really hoping we can enjoy some amazing family time and memories in an exciting way.





So…here’s to Hawaii on the horizon, and a really lively summer to follow. I have a feeling it’s going to be a GREAT one, and we are soooo ready!

Happy FRIYAY, peeps!

Over and out.