Hawaii says hello

Seth and I just got back from our trip with the Knights of Columbus to Hawaii (the big island). It was our first time together away from both kids for longer than one night, and it was wonderful. Of course I missed the kids - especially when we saw something they would have really enjoyed, like all the places to swim at the resort. However, I'm not going to deny that I loved having a week to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted without much interruption - I especially enjoyed the slow, lazy mornings.

The kids also had a blast staying with all of their grandmas and grandpas. Elena put it well the night before we left. I told her, "I'm really going to miss you while I'm gone, and I hope you have fun." To which she replied, "Well...I'm not going to miss you. And you'll have less fun than me." It probably sounds terrible written out, but she wasn't being snotty - just very honest :) She was absolutely thrilled to have an entire week of grandparents. (I hope that they were able to enjoy it a little as well).

Sam's biggest worry while we were gone was apparently that we would get too close to a volcano. The first time we called home, he asked if we would see hot lava. I said I didn't know, but that we had seen lots of cold lava. He then said, in a very concerned voice, "If you see the hot lava, will you be sure to stay far away so it doesn't burn you?" I figured I would be the one worrying about the kids on this trip - I wasn't expecting it to be the other way around!

We did see a volcano, but we were not able to get close enough to see the hot lava...

One of the highlights of the trip was when we went snorkeling in the lagoon pictured below. We came across a large sea turtle and were able to swim along side it for about 5 minutes. We were close enough that we could have laid our hand on its back (but they are an endangered species so we're not supposed to touch them).

While we had a wonderful time, it is always good to be home. And we have been fortunate to return to weather almost as nice as it was in Hawaii. I would dare say this afternoon was nicer than what we had in Hawaii - although it might just seem that way because I'm comparing it to what we've had in previous years at this time. I love the warm weather, but I think I love it so much because of the winter. There are not many things sweeter than watching everything come to life outside after a long winter.