Two-Week Countdown

We leave for our trip to Hawaii in two weeks. Two weeks from today. Not next Saturday, but the following Saturday. Oh, I am so excited. We have had snow here for over a month. It's cold. It's gloomy most of the time. Winter lasts forever here. Pretty much October to April, at least. Last year was the first time Ben and I endured a northern winter in many years. We both grew up in the midwest, in snowy, cold states. But we also lived in sunny North Carolina for 5 years before moving here. Where winter is a about a second long and rarely gets colder than about 40 degrees. I was 8 months pregnant at this time last year, so we didn't take a trip to anyplace sunny to get out of the cold. But we vowed that starting this year, we would leave the cold and go somewhere warm, sunny, and tropical every winter from here on out.

This year we chose Hawaii, the island of Kauai. We have rented a condo and will spend the week exploring, relaxing, and frolicking on the beach. Yes, I said "frolicking." We will build sandcastles with Miss and dunk her little toes in the ocean and play in the waterfalls I have heard are present at some of the beaches. I am so excited to see the beauty of the island and explore the culture. Neither Ben nor I have ever been to Hawaii. This will be the 12th state Miss has traveled to or through. She is a good traveler, but I'm still a bit nervous about such a long flight and a major time change. I know it will be worth it though. Just two weeks away!