Hawaii and a Free Printable

Sorry for the break in DIY’s and house updates but a year ago yesterday, we left for a 4 month adventure living in Honolulu, Hawaii and I thought I’d take a stroll down memory lane. If you don’t know us personally, I guess you can quit reading now but I promise it’s not only pictures of my adorable girls…

My hubby got asked by his work to travel there for a project for 2 weeks at a time, every other 2 weeks
for 6 months. That was going to be way too much travel for our
family so he told them thanks, but no thanks unless they wanted us all to
go. With the cost of airfare and lodging, and the chance to get the project done quicker, they took us up on his offer and we rented out our house, packed our bags and headed west. Really far west. I don’t know if you know this, but Hawaii is really far away. Small islands…8 hour flight. 6 hour time difference. Monday Night Football is really Monday Mid-afternoon Football. (Not the same ring to it)

I shared lots of pictures on my personal Instagram (it really helped me to not feel so far away from home) but I wanted to relive some stories and share some pictures here. I’ll have some cheap way to spruce up your house, again next week. Promise.

I can’t believe a whole year has passed since this picture was taken. This was our first morning. We woke up at like 4 am because of the time difference and by 8 we were headed on our first of many walks to the nearest beach.

My mom came with us to help us get settled in because as soon as the weekend was over, hubs was off to work and I had to set up our apartment and kitchen and life and navigate a new city with streets that almost all contain the letter “k”. It was a huge blessing to have her there.

My mom, who has never met a stranger, met a mom on the beach with girls close in age to mine and we ended up having lots of play dates and even trading days with all the kids for a little peace and quiet too. Erica and her family were a lifesaver and blessing to us. Thanks mom, thanks Erica!

Their first experience with Shave Ice. YUM.

The colors in the water always amazed me.

This was at the top of the Makapu’u lighthouse trail. We did it a couple times. It had beautiful scenery but the trail to see the actual lighthouse was closed. Oh well, this will do:

Every weekend we took trips to different beaches and to see different sights. This beach was Waimanalo beach and was easily one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen. Behind this picture were tall, green, lush mountains. Amazing.

The huge trees blew my mind.

This picture was taken a week after a windy day, when hubs opened the windows and unbeknownst to us, 2 baskets of tiny girl panties flew out of our 25th floor window and showered the lawns below. We slowly found almost all of the unmentionables AND the $2 basket they flew out in. Sweet victory! PS the apartment pool saved this stay at home mommas’ life.

My wonderful in-laws came to visit which was one of the highlights of our stay. Ahhhh, a piece of home.

We flew to the Big Island and stayed in a small town called Volcano in a cute little cabin in the woods that we found on Air B&B. It was cooler because of the higher elevation and so much more homey. We didn’t want to leave. Plus, volcanoes and SEA TURTLES.

See! Cooler temps. I was wearing a cardigan. If you know me, the Fall is my favorite time of year so after months of heat, this filled my soul with happiness. And hydrangeas are my favorite flower so, I was in Heaven.

Black sand beach created from lava rock. On the big island, there’s also a green sand beach but we heard it wasn’t kid friendly (and even tourist friendly for that matter) so we didn’t go.

I spy 7 sea turtles. They just hang out there. It’s amazing. We were only about 5 feet from them.

I have about 784 ‘staring into the ocean’ pictures of a combination of my three people. These pictures are my favorite. Hawaii really was a trip that constantly reminded me how small we are and how BIG God is. Not just the incredible sights but being so far away from home reminded me of this. Worshiping at a different church, hearing prayers in Japanese, not having our usual support system…There were so many times that I was reminded how small we are and I was so thankful for that reminder.

That’s Nickerbean 1 acting scared about the volcano in the background. We missed actually seeing a lava fountain coming out. It had been visible a couple months before. We went back and saw it and night. It was glowing a red, orange light. Amazing. We kept trying to explain to the girls that people don’t get to see this stuff in their whole life time, much less at 2 and 4 years old. Obviously, they didn’t grasp that. I didn’t expect them to.

My parents also came and took us (without the working man) to the Disney Resort that’s on Oahu. It was our first brush with Disney characters. The girls were nervous but did a pretty good job.

Hubs worked in Aloha Tower downtown. It was so pretty. Many moons ago, it was the tallest building in Hawaii. Tourist would come visit it and we would come visit him.

Both taken from the passenger seat or while stopped. DON’T WORRY.

This was one of the views from our apartment. We had floor to ceiling windows in every room and an amazing view from every direction. We could watch storms move across the island and at least one rainbow everyday.

We visited the beach below Diamond Head a few times. It was rough and beautiful and had lots of sea glass.

When in Hawaii…….do as the tourists do.

We were there for Halloween and trick or treated with some sweet friends we met. The girls were rainbow ballerinas. Beautiful rainbow ballerinas. PS I will make their costume for as long as I possibly can because it’s way more fun for me that way. : )

There were some tough parts and sad parts and ultimately, there’s no place like home. But it was an amazing trip full of wonderful memories and lessons. We’re so thankful for the experience and will always treasure it.

Ok, now to the part you might be more interested in. I made a free printable from one of the images I took on the trip. The verse that I included was one that I found again right when I needed it as a reminder to have joy in all circumstances. I know it sounds crazy to need that reminder in paradise but I did.

These are made to be printed on a regular letter sized sheet of paper. You could frame it in an 8×10 frame or put it on the wall with cute washi tape. Also, please PIN and share. Hope you enjoy!