HOME SWEET HOME!!!!

We were so excited to be able to go home to Hawaii this past summer! Our main reason for going at that specific time (at that specific, crazy expensive time) was Kehau and Loren's wedding! YAY!! SO WORTH IT! Our tickets home cost us just over $2300 for our two tickets. Summer vacation may've contributed to that price, but flying from the East Coast all the way to the opposite side of the nation probably had more to do with it. 

Speaking of flying from the East Coast to Hawaii, if I had to use a word to describe that, I would use TORTUROUS. Granted, we only have one child, but a 16 hour total travel time with a mobile 1 year old is AWFUL. We were hoping that there would be extra seats where we could lay Uriah down next to us, but being that it was summer, all flights were packed, and we spent the majority of the time taking turns holding Uriah in our laps or trying to get him to sleep across our laps (HAHA! In retrospect, we were SOOOO funny in our optimism!). While Uriah was definitely tired, he had a hard time sleeping, or staying asleep on the flights. He was a delirious crazy man! To make matters worse, one of our seat DVD player was broken and not functional on one of our long legs (6 hour flight)! After our hell-raising flight to Hawaii, we decided we were going to change our flight home (another $200 or so, plus hotel room) so that we had an overnight layover. WORTH IT. Breaking up the flights made such a big difference!

Pre-craze.
See how calm I look? Still put together? See that smile? This was probably flight 1.

SCORE: Uriah, 1. Parents, 0.

Once we got to Hawaii, thankfully, our sour flight experience was a thing of the past! We were fortunate enough to be able to stay in my old room in Kahalu'u with Mom and Dad. We had an a/c room, Queen size bed, and our own bathroom/shower, so it was just perfect for our little family! Not only did Mom and Dad put us up, they also let us borrow Dad's nice car! We saved so much money by being able to stay with my parents. Aside from that, it was nice to be able to spend so much time with them! Every morning, Mom would take Uriah out of his room when he woke up (he was in Kehau's room in a pack-n-play) and would let me and Rob sleep in. This was SUCH A THOUGHTFUL and delicious treat for us! By the time we got up, Mom had usually fed Uriah breakfast and sometimes already had something for me and Rob to eat, too! SPOILED, I tell you! Uriah really warmed up to the house quickly, and to Mom and Dad. It was awesome to see.

Mom woke up with Uriah and gave him a bath every day (or Beth helped with baths too if not!)
It was so nice to have a little break, and we know everyone involved enjoyed it!
Dad found the way to Uriah's heart with cars and trucks! It was their special pass time.

Kehau and Loren's wedding was BEAUTIFUL! It was a beautiful day, ceremony, and reception! I was so happy to be able to witness the marriage of two of my most favorite people :) The only downside was that since it was their wedding, we didn't get to spend much time with them (absolutely understandable) what with all the running around beforehand, and the honeymoon cruise afterwards! Luckily, Kehau and Loren plan to come up to Maryland and visit us next year, so we will get all our quality time in then!

GRINDZ!!!! The food was so good.

It was so nice seeing everyone! We spent our days visiting with family and friends, EATING, and going to the beach! We were there for 18 days, but time really flew! We didn't get to see everyone that we would've liked, but that's one of the challenging with growing up on an island and coming from a big family! We hope to see those we missed on our next trip!

our first time meeting Kamuela and Roxy's baby girl, Kamamalu! She was a doll!!

Beth and Michelle met us at Ala Moana beach! Kehau just so HAPPENED to be there
with some friends, which was a fun surprise! :)

Uriah loved the water

eating all the ono food I can't get in MD:
Kimokeo local potluck, malasadas, manapua, and ahi katsu!

Kamuela invited us over for
steak and lobster tail! YUM!

Rob and I did pretty good with working out during our trip!
We worked out for free at the Pearl Harbor gym
 while Mom watched Uriah!

Took Hoku out for birthday lunch! It was YUMMY and fun!

One of our most fun days - just decided to drive, then
stopped at the beach wherever it looked nice! Fun day!

Belated anniversary overnight Koolina stay!

Sushi II for our anniversary dinner! Omakase (trust the chef/he controls the dishes) was excellent!

MASAS!

Fun in Kailua with some of our favorites - the Petersons! <3

Aija loved Uriah - and he loved her right back! BFFs!

Dinner Date with Mom and Dad - Yanagis!

The ride home was much smoother because:
1. We used mom's pro tip to take a King size pillow to help Uriah sleep. Really helped!
2. We broke up our flights and overnighted in Seattle for a few hours to shower,
stretch out our legs, and sleep!

Our trip was so fun, and it was really great to be able to spend so much time with the people we love. Going back wasn't easy, but the silver lining was getting back to our routines. We can't wait for our next trip home!