Day 5 and 6 —Oahu 2019

We woke up slowly this morning. and then took a nice long walk to the shops behind the resorts. We cut through the Disney Aulani hotel, which was amazing, of course. We caught a glimpse of Mickey, so we snapped a picture and sent it home for Lance to see. We ate at Eggs N Stuff and had a good little meal. We walked back along the beach. It was a breathtaking morning. We hurried to get our suits on and get back down to the beach. We swam and played and planned to come back with the kids in March. My dad used to always plan his next Hawai’i trip while in Hawai’i. I remember him telling me that. It was the only way he was able to face the thought of leaving the islands. We felt the same way! So we booked flights for March and spent a good deal of the morning talking and planning. I finished another book: Turtles All the Way Down. I liked this one. It was written by the same author who wrote A Fault in our Stars, so it was full of deep-thinking teenagers. It was interesting. We ordered drinks by the pool, and we even got to watch Julia’s basketball game in Vegas. We shared AirPods and watched in on Greg’s phone. We kept cheering and high-fiving each other and laughing at all the good parts. It was so much fun. And they won! We lingered by the pool, not wanting those last day to end, but eventually we went up to get showered for dinner. After much debate, we finally decided just to hit up Longboards again! 😂 We ate a delicious dinner as the sun set out over the ocean and a local musician played his guitar and sang. It was so romantic. And the perfect way to end our day. We walked slowly across the resort in the dark back to our room. What an amazing day to be alive!

Our final day in Hawaii! We woke up early, grabbed our stuff and headed out. We were a little late getting out the door because I woke up with such a.backache! I slipped quickly into the hot bathtub one more time (I had taken a lot of hot baths! This tub was amazing and filled up in like thirty seconds!). Then I quickly got dressed and we hustled out the door. We put the top down on the convertible and drove to the airport. It has been such a fun car. I just soaked in the fresh air and the island sights. The airport was crowded and hectic. We got into four different lines before we finally found the right one. 😂 Then we rushed to our gate. I waited in line at Starbucks to try to grab us a quick snack while Greg stayed at the gate, making sure I wouldn’t miss the flight. We got some croissants and I got a slice of banana nut bread, my favorite! The flight went by quickly enough. It was so much better flying during the day. Greg says we are just too tall to sleep in our seats. And because we were so uncomfortable on the way there, we were so excited to get to sit together on the way home! I insisted that our flights with the kids in March were daytime flights. I think it’ll be the first time ever we don’t take the red-eye home. I also insisted we pay extra and choose our own seats so we are all together. I did some reading, writing, thinking, and a little napping on Greg, and before we knew it, we were landing in Vegas. I drove home so that Greg could watch another of Julia’s games. He gave me the play by play the whole way home. And she won again!! In fact, they went undefeated and won the championship! It was so awesome!

It was so good to get home and to see the kids. I am refreshed and recharged and ready for Christmas. My mom did an absolutely fabulous job managing our life here at home. And I am so very grateful for her!! I am so lucky and blessed. And so very grateful for such a wonderful week with Greg! Until
next time, ALOHA!!