Lovely Little Lana'i

Lana'i -- A weekend away!

Our little family hasn't been off the island since October. We were aching for some colder weather, open fields, and giant trees! Probably even more than that we just wanted to slow our pace way down.

We figured Lana'i would be just the place!

Simple, quaint, and quiet. We were in outer-island heaven.

While there are pretty much just two options for lodging, we opted out of dining at the resort in favor of as many local eateries as possible. Each was unique, local, and delicious!

We loved the lawn bowling and croquet!

I tried to soak in some of the history.

• In 1922 Jim Dole bought Lana'i for $1.1 million and converted it to pineapple fields. Wow...I'm sure $1.1 million was crazy money in the 20s, but I'm sort of floored that the entire (or perhaps most of it) island was bought for just that. I mean there are plenty of modest homes on the West side of Oahu that cost more than $1 million today. 

• Supposedly, at one time Lana'i supplied 75% of all the world's pineapple. That's a heck of a lot of pineapple from a pretty small island!

• Along the way I read that Lana'i was once (much earlier) inhabited by evil spirits until Maui Chief Kakaalaneo exiled his mischievous son, Kaululaau to Lana'i. 

Exploring Lana'i City was my favorite part, but I also loved the time the three of us spent indoors. Turns out that Blakely's not half bad at Chess and I pretty much stink at pool! ;)

Feeding the fish and horses were easily Blakely's highlights!

My pool girl xoxo

My handsome hubby! I'm pretty sure he forgot that he was wearing Blakely's bracelet to keep it safe for her. He's a good daddy.

Both my girls. :)

I also found out that there is not an OBGYN or mid-wife on the island. Good thing baby girl stayed put for our little getaway. I hear that expecting mamas who live on Lana'i have to relocate to Oahu or Maui a month before their due dates. After delivering baby, they can come back home.

It's a very sweet island and I hope we can visit again. If you ever get the chance, I highly suggest some time on Lana'i.

Chi Town

Chi-Town!

I loved it. The chill. The skyscrapers. The art. The beautiful coats and scarves. The ocean like lake. And of course, the pizza.

Tim had work meetings in Chicago, so I taught online while he did whatever he did! We played every night. At least half of our dinners included deep dish pizza! And while we loved Geno's East and Jordano's, we made it official that Zachary's in good ol' California is still da best!

Have you been to Chicago? Do you love it? I hear it's a lot hotter in the summer and crazy cold in the winter. I'm pretty sure September was an awesome month for our travels.

From the Ledge to my Home

I'm hooooome!

Man, it feels good to be home.

Are you like me? Do you try to deep clean your whole house, empty the dishwasher, put away the last load of laundry, and leave yourself a treat (for later) in the fridge--all on the day you leave town?

p.s. -- I blame (and truthfully, thank) my mother for this type A habit that this type B girl could never shake. ;)

I love to leave just like that. There's nothing better than knowing the freshness and peacefulness that awaits me when I step off the plane to come home.

Unfortunately, that was not my reality this time! Work and life were slammed up until the end and we left our little hale a wreck. I pushed it all out of my mind until the moment my garage door lifted. Yikes! It was the middle of the afternoon and our bodies told us it was crash time (NY is six hours later than we are here in Hawaii).

I painfully started the clean up/un pack process for maybe 10 minutes before Tim bossed me to stop and sit. Tim doesn't offer many directives, so when he does, I usually oblige... ;). Best decision ever. Blakely napped and we sat. Literally.

The next day, we jammed out our house work and slid back into our jobs/life. Now, a few days later, I've carved out quiet time to sip my Tazo Orange Spice Tea and catch up on my blogs!

Dear friends have had babies (welcome Halle Kate and Quinn Lily)
My nephew turned one (happy birthday, Sawyer)
Olivia is growing and changing (thanks for the blog updates, Luciena)
My dear Yasi just blogged my sweet girl on her photography blog today: ykvision.com

It's fun to play catch up and bask in such lovely photos!

We were in NY and Chicago for the last two weeks. We left B with her grandparents (all four of them). It was a blessed trip all the way around. I'll admit, it was killer to be away from my little one, but everyone won!

I'll share more soon. For now, here's a fun photo of me and my taller love on the ledge at Sears Tower.