10 year Anniversary trip to Hawaii!

In October, Anthony and I had the incredible opportunity to go to Honolulu, Hawaii to celebrate...a few months early...our upcoming 10 year anniversary (in February). We stayed at Marriott's Kolina Beach Club. It was truly paradise and we just loved every minute of it. Mimi and Papa came to stay with the kids for a week. It's the longest we've ever been away from all three of them. To say that we missed them seems like an understatement. It's SO strange being without your children. BUT, it was wonderful. We needed that time away and it was wonderful to be reminded how much we really love hanging out just the two of us.


brace yourselves...you'll be seeing a lot of shots like this...we didn't have anyone to take pictures of us so we had to do it ourselves! :) surveying the beautiful grounds of the resort!



Our treat was having a convertible to drive around town! That was the BEST! We did a lot of driving too. We were able to see pretty much the entire island and didn't have to worry about boring the kids by keeping them in the car so much. :)


the Dole Pineapple plantation. smelled yummy and tasted yummy too!


had to stop off the side of the road for Anthony to get some Giovanni's Shrimp...famous you know!


we enjoyed stopping at different beaches along the North Shore to watch the surfers


I think one of the funniest things about the trip to us was how much TIME it seemed like we had. We had no schedule to keep, no children to feed, no bedtimes to keep. We loved sleeping in, eating late, and feeling like we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted. Now THAT's the life, right? :) Our first day around town we finished up all the things we had planned for the day and it was only noon. We couldn't believe how much of the day we had left. With kids...the day FLIES b/c you are just so busy. Our days were slow and peaceful and we loved it!

it was also very fun knowing that LOST is filmed here! everywhere we drove and looked it just all seemed so famliar! :) absolutely gorgeous!

i was supposed to run 10 miles but woke up feeling sick. we were up at 5:30am to try to beat the heat. determined not to miss a long run i was going to push through! ran 3 miles and thought i was going to pass out! that was the only bummer about the trip. the entire day that Sunday i was sick. i layed in bed and could hardly move. Anthony wasn't too bummed because there were some big games on that afternoon that he really wanted to watch but i felt horrible. for real. woke up feeling 100% better the next day. i was so relieved. i did not was my Hawaiian vacation with Anthony ruined by sickness! right??? :)

one morning we ate breakfast out at the beach. it was delicious but the hilarious when we realized on our way to the car that a bird had pooped on Anthony's shirt while we were eating. there were a lot of birds around! had to stop for a quick change! :)


my handsome hubby enjoying the fun car for a week!

we hiked up Diamond Head. totally worth it.






we also were able to go to Pearl Harbor. great experience and very glad we did it.






love this man!



we ate at a fun restaurant called Buzz's and Hurley has been known to be seen here. a local place but i guess a lot of "famous" folks like to eat here. too bad we didn't spot anyone!


we sat and watched the surfers at the North Shore for second time. FASCINATING!

What a wonderful time we had and I just don't take for granted the opportunity we had to go! Anthony and I are so blessed to have each other and I just love him so much! God has been so good to us these 'almost' 10 years. I am so thankful for Anthony's love for the Lord and for our family and for his unconditional love for me. I am so very blessed! I couldn't have dreamed up a better man!!!