Recap: Mini Vacation to O'ahu

 

Last week Friday through Monday, I went on a mini vacation to O'ahu with my boyfriend Jason and my son Lansen for 4 days and 3 nights. We visit O'ahu quite often, about 1-2 times a year. It's just an island away and a very short plane ride, I'd say a little under half an hour. We stayed at the  Hyatt in Waikiki... Our room was on the 17th floor, we had mostly a "City View with a partial Ocean View". I think I enjoyed the city view A LOT more than the ocean view. I live on Kauai, so I see the ocean every day... but I don't get to see the city lights very often. During the evenings during my trip, I enjoyed relaxing on the balcony and admired the view of the Honolulu City Lights. 

While in O'ahu, we had a couple of fun things planned. We visited the Bishop Museum on Saturday and spent our afternoon looking through all of the different exhibits that the museum had to offer. Lansen really enjoyed the X-treme Bugs Exhibit at the Science Adventure Center! We also went to the Planetarium, the Hawaiian Hall (my favorite!) & the Castle Memorial. 

On Sunday, we visited Sea Life Park- it's very similar to Sea World, but much smaller. We spent the afternoon looking through all of the fun attractions- my favorite was the Sea Lion Feeding Pool, Lansen really enjoyed Dolphin Cove.  I haven't been to Sea Life Park for many years. The last time I visited was when I was in the 7th or 8th grade... so it was pretty nostalgic being back there. I was sad to see that they didn't have a Killer Whale at the park anymore, but we still enjoyed our time there very much!

Aside from visiting the Bishop Museum and Sea Life Park, we spent our time taking advantage of the dining and shopping in O'ahu. They have so much more variety than Kauai!  We also spent the evenings walking around Waikiki- it's always fun seeing many people from different walks of life and being able to catch a glimpse of the different conversations people are having. While walking throughWaikiki we ran into Elmo- of course Lansen and I had to take a picture with him!

All in all, we had a wonderful (much needed) mini vacation! The only downside was that it went by too fast, as most vacations do! The exciting news is that we are one week closer to our vacation to Maui in May! Let the vacation planning begin!

Here are a few highlights from our trip:

Cindi & Lansen

Bishop Museum: X-treme Bugs Exhibit

Jason & Lansen

Bishop Museum: X-treme Bugs Exhibit

Jason & Lansen

Sea Life Park: Shark Tank

Cindi & Lansen

Sea Life Park: Hawaiian Monk Seal Exhibit

(You can see Easter Island in the background!)

Sea Life Park: Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle Lagoon

Sea Life Park: Dolphin Cove

Sea Life Park: Sea Lion Feeding Pool

Waikiki: Cindi, Elmo & Lansen

Decorating Envelopes

Who says receiving letters in the mail shouldn't be fun?! 

For those of you that don't know me, one of my favorite things of all time is Snail Mail- I loooove sending & receiving letters! My love for writing letters started back in the 4th grade when our class was assigned pen pals! I was partnered with a girl my age named Erin who lived in Austin, Texas! I instantly fell in love with the art of letter writing! A lot of my classmates, wrote to their partners once or twice throughout the school year, but Erin & I, we wrote religiously! I remember receiving letters & postcards from her once a week, sometimes twice a week! Fast forward 17 years later & we still keep in touch. We don't write as much anymore, but we do keep in touch through email & text message! My love for letters have stuck with me throughout the years!

Lately, I have really been into decorating envelopes! I think it's a fun way to be crafty & creative... Also, it makes receiving letters all the more fun! Here are a few ways that I enjoy decorating my letters! 

What I used: "Brown Bag" Envelopes by Paper Accents, Washi Tape, Bear Memo Sheets, Double Sided Tape, Scissors & Sharpie Pen

What I used: "Brown Bag" Envelopes by Paper Accents, Paper Lace Doilies, Double Sided Tape & Washi Tape

What I used: Plain White Envelopes, Washi Tape & Scissors

Do you enjoy sending &  receiving mail? 

If so, when did your love of mail begin?!

I'd love to hear your story!

A Paper Lovers Dream...

Can we all agree that the February "It's Paper, Dear!" box is too cute for words?

I can't even tell you how much I'm loving this months box-- I am so in love with the color scheme & the florals- just looking at it puts a smile on my face! Zie did such a great job with this box and I'm already dying to know what next months box will include... I am officially hooked!

If you aren't familiar with "It's Paper, Dear!", it is a monthly subscription box filled with paper goods- from notecards to pencils and everything in between. This box is truly every paper lovers dream one true! If you are a paper junkie like me, I suggest you grab your box now! I promise you won't be disappointed! 

Here are the goodies that I received in my February Box: 

My box included: 

Scrapbook Paper, Die Cut, Paper Flowers, Notecards w/ Envelopes, Playing Cards, Stickers, Ribbon/Trimming, Stickers, Pencil, Paper Straw & a Fudgesicle Eraser! 

You'd be surprised to see all that fits in such a small box! 

Be sure to check out "It's Paper, Dear!"! 

If you are a paper lover, this is definitely your kind of subscription box! 

Nine.

My little boy turns 9 today. I can't help but ask myself, 

"Where did these last nine years go?"

It feels like it was just yesterday that I brought my 6 lbs. 14 oz. baby boy home from the hospital. My son thinks he's a "big boy", a grown up... Yet I look at home and still see a little boy. I think as a mother, I'll always think of him as "my baby", no matter how old he gets! 

Lansen is excited about turning nine today. 

Me? Not so much. 

I think it's this very number, that puts things in perspective for me & makes me realize that my little boy is GROWING UP-- This is his last year in the single digits. On his next birthday he'll be ten... TEN! That's double digits! That's a big deal in the world of parenthood, when you first realize that you are now the parent of a child who's in his double digits! Adios single numbers. 

The thing that really gets me, is that with Lansen turning 9, he'll be halfway to being an adult... This very thought saddens me. If these last 9 years flew by, who's to say the next 9 years won't fly by as well?! It's times like these that I wish I could do the impossible and slow down time.

I'm aware that I can't slow down time, I just have to embrace it every moment- 
Embrace every milestone, every hug, every smile, every "I love you", every kiss... I just need to embrace it all. 

To my son, Lansen,

Happy Birthday! 

I'm so proud of all you are & all you'll become...

I love you to the moon & back!

Love,

Mom

Valentine's Day Mug Swap

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Today I am linking up with Sew Caroline & Rags to Stitches for the 2nd Annual #VDAYMUGSWAP! 

Last month I decided to participate in the Valentine's Day Mug Swap that Sew Caroline & Rags to Stitches were co-hosting! I am a huge fan of both Caroline & Alissa's blogs and read them religiously! I love all the DIY Posts that Caroline shares with us & I enjoy Alissa's Coffee Dates very much! If you aren't familiar with Caroline & Alissa, I suggest that you start following their blogs because you are missing out on a lot of fun posts! You won't be disappointed! 

I was partnered with Katherine from Confessions of an Art Major! Be sure check out Katherine's blog and show her some love! 

Katherine was such a sweetheart and sent me a mug that was made & signed by a local artist from Mississippi- how cool is that?! I'm so happy to be adding this mug to my collection! 

Aside from the mug, Katherine also sent me hair elastics (pictured) & some candy in an assortment of flavors (not pictured). Isn't the red elastic so cute? I love all the glittery goodness and plan on wearing it for Valentine's Day! 

Side Note: I don't have a picture of the candy that Katherine sent, because my son Lansen ended up eating them before I could take pictures of it! If you're a parent, you know how that goes... On the bright side, Lansen really enjoyed the sweets! 

Katherine, thank you so much for the goodies that you sent me! I loved everything so much & Lansen really enjoyed the candy! I look forward to reading future blog posts and I hope that you have a fabulous Valentine's Day! xoxo

I'm linking up with Alissa & Caroline for the #VDAYMUGSWAP Link Up! 

If you would like to see what I sent Katherine, click here.