adventures of the miebs family: aloha

oh, i've been dreading this post. well, no actually, i was dreading this last day. unlike our previous trip, ben and i were ready to get back to "normal." well no, i lied again, we were probably more ready for our kiddos to be back to their normal. it's hard vacationing with the littles. they miss their toys, their beds, their home, their bulldog...

i guess i'm finally happy to be home now, but man, i could have stayed for another month. or three. i wasn't ready to come back to the cold and snow. i should add that the sunshine until after 8 pm is quite nice. jackie finally is grasping that it's light out in the summertime and the sunshine doesn't sleep like in winter. i love his little mind.

our last day. {tear} we had a later flight which meant we were able to squeeze in some last minute sightseeing. dylan and i started our day with another morning romp around the greens; chasing birdies, admiring the clouds turning shades of orangey-pink, and me admiring my almost-2-year-old that is orangey-pink too!

goodbye, moon...

heavenly hibiscus

after breakfast, we made our rounds, saying goodbye to family. so, not only was i incredibly sad to leave the islands, but also, saying goodbye to family that is spread all over. gosh, it's so hard to say those goodbyes! the jenkins' to cali, the carlilie's & corey's to oregon, betzold's & flanagan's to mn, and thank goodness, we had family coming back to ak with us - i can only take so much! but oh - how blessed were we to have our group of 30 there with us to celebrate such a special time?! i feel so lucky. truly.

our plan for the afternoon was to drive on up to the north shore and hike twin falls in haiku. we did this hike last time as a family, and i so wanted to have some comparison shots. but, between all our goodbyes, packing and lunch, we just ran out of time. so, we decided to cut our drive short and stop in paia town. we pulled off the hana highway and spent some time watching the serious surfers and windsurfers. you can't be anything but blown away by the array of colors in the ocean. just gorgeous! and, if i close my eyes real tight, i can almost feel the warmth of the sun that day. can you tell i'm feigning for summer?!