Unless you were in my office when I got off the phone with Kristin after booking her session, then you couldnt possibly know how crazy I must have looked to John when I told him we were going to the beach. I haven’t been to the beach since we left Hawaii in 2002. And that may not seem like a long time to most people but I spent 2/3 of my life there and I miss it so much. When my girls were born, they spent a great deal of their time at the beach and while my oldest remembers it pretty well, my youngest longs to visit the ocean with no real understanding as to why. Her favorite question to ask is, “Why do I love the ocean so much when I’ve never even been there?” I just smile and tell her because she used to swim in it before she could even sit up on her own. When my oldest was born we started celebrating Christmas Eve at the beach. It seems so weird saying that since I haven’t been anywhere in the last 6 years where its been 85 degrees in December. Waimea, Sandys, Mokuleia or “Moks” as we called it. We would just spend the day swimming, finding shells, and even popping the bubble of  the random Portuguese Man of War that washed on to shore. M got a kick out of that. I know it sounds bad but it was already dead :p And how sweet of K to invite our children to come along for the day as well. I’ll admit my first thought was ‘no’ since it was a school day, but a mother knows when it’s OK to bend the rules :)

I really enjoyed my time with this family. It was a tad windy out but perfect simply for the fact that we were in very good company and it wasn’t raining. J.T. was an exceptional host while his parents got his little sister ready. He offered us all of his toys to play with, and suggested some good bedtime reads. He is indeed the most gracious 6 year old boy I have ever met. Even offering to tear out pages in his coloring book for my children to color during their trip home.

and sweet Allie. She was shy and gaurded when I first met her which I think is a wonderful quality for any girl. Reminded me a little of myself in fact. She took time to quietly assess what was going on and who we all were before opening up. Once she determined the situation was safe, she allowed us to see her fun, happy, and energetic nature. She told us her nickname for her brother and when I took her aside, she sang her favorite song for me. Before I left, she overheard me mention something about her being 2 and she immediately stopped what she was doing to let me know she was in fact 3. Another fine quality every girl should have- to speak up :)

Thank you K and R for sharing a day of your vacation with us. It was an honor meeting you all :)