the perfect trip

Tomorrow is our last day in Hawaii and I can't even describe the sadness inside me as I write that.

Usually by the end of a vacation I'm ready. Living out of a suitcase and hotel room gets old and I miss my home and regular life. Our trip isn't even over yet and I'm already sulking around. Matt laughed at me yesterday and teased me about it but I told him he should take it as a compliment and sign of how amazingly amazing this trip has been! I really am not ready to leave yet. I'm not ready to leave this paradise. So we made a list of things we want to take back with us, a little of the island livin', and then I felt a little better. But I wanted to make a list of a few of my favorite things about this trip. Just a few of the moments that have made my heart swell with joy and gratitude for all my many blessings.

Things I never want to forget:
1. The deliciousness of the shaved ice cones. It's more than just sugary syrup. It tastes like actual pineapple, mango, banana, coconut etc.. juice. I could eat it every. day.
2. The busyness of Kalakaua Avenue. We'd step outside our hotel at any time, day or night, and were swept away by life. Fire throwers, child singers, acting parrots, artists, we saw a family of performers and the little girls trick was pole dancing! Seriously, the possibilities of what we might encounter are endless.
3. All the Japanese bride's and grooms in our hotel. We probably see 10 different brides a day. It's fun to see how happy and excited they are :) At one point, after passing a bride and groom, Matt spun me around and planted the biggest kiss on me. He said every time he saw a groom and how happy he looked it reminded him of how stoked and ecstatic he felt on our wedding day. And then I swooned.
4. The endless "Aloha's" and "Mahalo's."
5. All the super fresh pineapple. I've been eating a pineapple a night before bed and I don't know if I can stop.
6. The way the ocean looks like glass it's so clear and sparkly. Not to mention its warm! I have a hard time getting into heated swimming pools, so the fact I can run and jump into the water without hesitation says something.
7. The banana cream cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. I know this isn't specific to Hawaii but it is specific to how we celebrated on our anniversary and let me tell you...if I have to eat something every day for the rest of my life, it would be that banana cream cheesecake. Orgasmic.
8. The way Matt would scoop me up in his arms and carry me around in the water, saving me from waves, coral, hardcore surfers, and rocks. How he'd teach me to body board :) (even though I already know how.) And just the constant playing and laughing together.
9. Jungle hikes to find waterfalls. Even if we got just a few mosquito bites, it was worth it. (If you ask Matt he might say if you don't have bug repellant it isn't though, haha.)
10. Staying up until 1AM icing Matt's mosquito bites and helping him stay comfortable enough to sleep. He got eaten alive :( But even still, taking care of the man I love allows me to show my affection, devotedness, admiration, humility, and how much I really cherish that man.
11. Swimming with the dolphins! Or in our case dolphin and whalphin! (Yup! A whale and dolphin baby! And the only one in the world.) I may have cried with happiness afterward. It was more than amazing being able to touch and look at them. Their intelligent, beautiful and amazing animals!
12. Visiting the dole plantation. First of all I had no idea pineapple grew from bushes and second their pineapple icecream? Gooooooooood.
13. Going to the temple. Unfortunately we weren't able to do a session because it was closed :( But just walking around, feeling the spirit and love of the Lord is worth making the drive to the North Shore. There is such peace found at the temple.
14. Ditching the luau and doing our own thing. Yup. Even though the Polynesian Cultural Center is supposed to be the best luau ever. After the dinner we decided to be break free, skip the show, and go eat again at Puka Dogs. And guess what? It was totally worth it.
15. Matt getting me a pandora charm for our anniversary. It was a gold seahorse and I died.
16. Having my husband all to myself! He didn't do more than 15 minutes of work a day the entire time. I don't know how I'm going to transition back to real life :(
17. Going to the ABC store multiple times a day to get sodas, floaties for the ocean, macadamia cookies, waterproof cameras and any other random thing you can think of.

Basically I could go on and on. I wish there was a way I could record and relive every second of this last week. It was the perfect vacation. But I guess, for now, I just have to look forward to all the vacations the future holds. But I will say this, if this trip is a precedent... well then. I am pretty freaking excited for what the future holds.