Aloooooha!

Since I wanted to keep my posts in chronological order, I had to postpone my Hawaii trip blog until now. With the sheer amount of pictures I had to upload and sift through (1000+), I wasn't exactly thrilled to tackle this post right after our wonderful, fabulous, relaxing, lovely vacation back home to Hawaii. We crammed in a much quality time with friends and family we could within a ten day period, but it wasn't nearly as much time as we wanted. Thankfully, we got to see almost everyone and spend some good times together. We created a chock full of wonderful memories on this trip alone that I could probably write a CHAPTER on it. But, I don't think I'm interesting enough to keep everyone's attention for that long, so I'll let the photos and captions do the talking.

Off to Hawaii!

Ava got her wings!

Talented - I can breastfeed and eat at the same time

Ava playing with Peyton's toys - thanks Shellie!

Ava and Great Grandma Tomei

First annual Tomei Family Picnic at Ala Moana Beach Park

Ava and NanaMo

Hawaii is so beautiful...

Kent and the giant skateboard

Getting ready to Stand Up Paddle with Uncle Dale

Ava taking a nap with Great Grandpa Tomei

Uncle Paul getting the hibachi ready

The Tomei women

Peyton with Chad and Derek

Peyton hamming it for the camera!

Hello!

Our little surfer girl

Playing water balloon toss

Masta water balloon catcher, Shellie!

SUP with Uncle Dale

Ava debuting her bikini bod

S'more factory

Ava and Great Grandma Morimatsu

I LOVE breakfast in Hawaii!

Start of our drive to North Shore - so beautiful & Ava slept the ENTIRE time!

Hello!

Sunset Beach

Waimea Bay

Old school mail truck - only in Hawaii...

Visit to Temple Valley

This is where I was bitten by the mother load of mosquitos!

Ava's new favorite thing - jumping!

I was looking out for Dog the Bounty Hunter...

Ava with Aunty Koren and the tanned Hawaiian Hello Kitty

We had to get one!

Kenneth and Nikki's wedding

Cool shadows on our walk back to the hotel

Halekulani Orchid Pool

Good Luck Pu Dog

Cooling off with Peyton

On our way home back to Portland - Kent's the homeless looking guy on the ledge

Bye!

And a BIG thank you to:

-Kent's Grandma/Grandpa Tomei for letting us take over the house. Literally. There was baby stuff strewn everywhere, from the living room floors to the beams of the kitchen (which, I might add, was definitely the highlight of Ava's trip since she discovered what it was to JUMP!). I also want to thank them for the welcome/goodbye celebratory Togan soup (delish as always); learning to make jam from scratch with special Safeway members only pineapple ;) and backyard papaya; funny stories of ripe apricots, a hotel in California, and the wonders of going #2 in a crowded bathroom; Kent's grandpa carrying Ava until she started to fuss and buck like a crazed wild animal; for washing the laundry and drying it in the dryer so everything wasn't stiff as a board; and especially the joy of finding humor in the most unexpected places and spaces ("Chad, you're hair is soooo shiny. What kind of shampoo do you use?").

- nanamo for letting us sleep on your bed, use your car, and basically take over your life for ten days! Sorry for all the hair on the ground (I think I'm balding!) and for watching Ava on our first overnighter...it was FABULOUS. So fabulous that I may have over indulged and taken advantage of our hotel stay by blasting the AC on high and catching a cold! I miss falling asleep to the melodic chatter of the Filipinio neighbors and the warm evening breeze that's actually the old Filipino man blowing into your window and NOT the Kona winds... ;).

-Shellie/Peyton for hauling over the crib, toys, tub, and playmat for Ava to use. It was a Godsend. We really would have had to put Ava in the laundry basket to sleep if you didn't bring everything over! AND we felt so spoiled that everything had batteries already in it...how very luxiourious of us. Thank you also for organizing the 1st ever Tomei family picnic. It went so smoothly that I thought you guys were secretly doing these get-togethers without us every weekend. The musubi's were superb - I think you officially made it to the next level of Mommydom!

- Claude for the always interesting and enlightening talks. I wish we had more time (at least before midnight...!). Thank you also for chauffering around nanamo, the broke da mouth char siu, icy yogurtland treats, and to-die-for pumpkin crunch and tiramisu. Kent and I are still discussing the latter...I say the tiramisu was THE BEST hands down.

Uncle Dale - for lugging out the paddle/long board and teaching us to be real "Hawaiians" that "surf". The lamb was fab and Kent will hunt you down if you don't email him the recipe asap. Thank you also for the delicious Jamba Juice, especially the white gummy bear flavor one.

Grandma Mo & Jeri - for giving Ava a spot on the 'baby wall', rainbow jello, and all the other yummy local snacks and treats we got to bring back to Oregon with us.

Koren - for ZIPPY's, your flexibility, protecting Ava and endangering your own body from the crazy ass Japanese lady in the Ala Moana bathroom, and the laughs (which is at EVERYTHING...! The Jade bracelet really was 90% off...haha! ), and for picking/dropping me off so Ava and I didn't have to ride The Bus.

Trisha - for the Blvd saimen and for putting up with Ava crying her eyes out in the car...really, she's okay...hah! I had fun hanging out at Pearlridge and acting like I was in HS again with the Orange Julius and the small cookie corner cookies.

The Ikedas - for organizing dinner and coming together on such short notice. Thank you for all the thoughtful gifts for Ava...we had to sit on our suitcase to make it all fit!