It’s been one heck of a month. On Oct 23, I hopped on a plane to Boston for work. Back home on Oct 26, then on Oct 27 back on a plane to Hawaii for a family trip! On Nov 11 I was back on a plane to London for a week, then back home again. 4 time zones in 3.5 weeks, and let me tell you, that’s rough. I don’t know how people travel for a living?!

But this blog is not about me. Let’s focus on the fun stuff: HAWAII!

We stayed at our company’s Hawaii House (which is awesome) with my sister, her husband, their two beautiful children (Sophia & Spencer) and my mom. Zoe was over the moon to spend time with her cousins, and it was a cousin-filled event. We had a blast!

Here are some highlights:

• Hanauma Bay: Snorkeling and sand castle building on a lovely bay! Though as much as she loved the beach, she did NOT love salt water in her eyes (no, she did not snorkel)… We literally had to take her out of the ocean to rinse her eyes out with water and stop the crying.
• North Shore: 3-hour roundtrip drive (maybe that wasn’t the highlight) to see the “big waves”, as pictured above.  What that picture does NOT capture is me 50 feet away taking pictures of the “DANGEROUS SHOREBREAK: When in doubt, don’t go out” sign that the rest of the family completely ignored. I held my breath and videoed the event, so that when the daring Coast Guard rescue of our daughter happened, my husband could watch and apologize later.
• Pearl Harbor: This event was all about the cousins for Zoe. Thankfully, she had no idea what it was all about (though she did watch the video), and her favorite part was the ferry ride to the USS Missouri.
• Halloween! Zoe’s first trick or treating EVER happened in a shopping center in Hawaii in broad daylight where all the shops gave out candy (and pencils?) and all the kids got to see one another’s costumes, which was a real bonus. Oh, and our whole family dressed up as “The Spectaculars” with homemade costumes provided (and created!) by my sister and my niece. It was a memorable wedding anniversary – oh, and my mother is a TROOPER! As a followup to THIS POST, I got my picture of Clawdeen in her wig, followed by “I want to be a superhero (Spectacular)”, but hey, a picture’s worth 1,000 whines.
• Germaine’s Luau: The high point of the luau was when the host invited the women on stage, and our daughter literally RAN away from us to get on stage. I jumped up to go after her, afraid for her to go alone (she would have been fine without me…), while my sweet sweet (sane & trusting) husband sat front and center videoing us both. Thanks, Dad. Her best dancing was round two, when I DID NOT go on stage: CLICK FOR VIDEO

And those are just the highlights. Other INCREDIBLE BENEFITS of travel:

• POTTY! Thanks to her cousins, Zoe decided she was a big girl and was going to POOP in the potty (and she did), which she is STILL doing today! We.Are.Potty.Trained! Thanks, Hawaii (and Sophia & Spencer)!
• SWIMMING! Zoe “swam” for the first time! Well, dog-paddled across the pool “all by herself” (with a life vest on): CLICK FOR  VIDEO This swimming got her excited about swim lessons, which started last week!

As though things couldn’t possibly get better, while I was in London, Zoe decided she could get dressed all by herself, too. We’re pretty much unnecessary at this point. Actually, we need to move the step stool into the closet so she can reach her shirts, but other than that, she’s (almost) self-sufficient.

ALOHA!