Aloha!

Following our ridiculously crazy month of October, we were very excited to make our way to Kauai for a little pre-baby vacation time together.  Following an amazingly easy flight out of the local Carlsbad airport and an exceptionally good veggie sandwich for lunch, I think we had made it as far as LA when I stated that this was 'already the best trip we've ever been on.' Luckily it didn't peak at the LAX food court and just got better from there as we lucked out with a ground floor condo just steps from the water in Poipu on the south side of the island. Mark's been to the island a number of times and you can just tell this is his 'happy place.'

Carlsbad Airport

Hawaiian Sun + our front porch + surf = Happy Sponge!

We started each day with a run or walk past the local attraction the Spouting Horn and cruised over to Waimea Canyon on our first day with some other trips up north to hike the Napali Coast and to see the Wailua waterfall. We got in our fair share of snorkeling too, which has an added degree of difficulty when you're unaware of the actual size of your growing belly and need to be sure not to get it caught on the coral (to be clear, I speak for myself here, not Mark).

The Spouting Horn

24 weeks and nice and swollen from the plane 

Napali Coast

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nostalgic about this being our last trip together for awhile as we've spent the last 8+ years in our little world of just the two of us. This closing of a chapter is a very separate emotion from the excitement I feel from welcoming this little girl into our crazy world. It's kind of like graduating high school where you feel so sentimental about that part of your life ending, but once you graduate you can't imagine ever going back (not to mention it seems so small now, right?).  We do like to joke about what she'll be like being around the two of us and what kind of traits and qualities she'll pick up. Physically there's a good chance she'll be on the shorter side, have big eyes, lots of hair and hang on to her baby fat well passed her baby years (Mark lost his in junior high, me sometime around 2007).

Hiking the Napali Coast