and then there were none...

(...days left to hawaii: 0)

guess what tomorrow is? (well, technically, today, since it's already past midnight...)

can't guess? let me help: it's zero days until vacation starts. zero days until our flight takes off from denver, to los angeles, then to hilo, ha. why. eee. zero days until i start a nine day adventure vacation with my best friend to an island paradise.

in case you can't tell, it's pretty exciting around here. but don't worry, it's not all fun and games. with a beachy vacation in the middle of snowy october, there comes preparation. i've been busy working out, spray tanning, saying no to candy, and getting pedicures. you know, all the important things that have to be taken care of before leaving.

i've also been busy trying to get a private practice off the ground, keep up at my other, (almost) full time job, and trying to nurse a sick dog back to gastrointestinal health. and did i mention im lead a women's small group bible study with the best women out there? it's true. and it's also busy.

vacation is a foreign, yet oh so welcome, word in my vocabulary right now. i don't remember the last true, get away on a plane vacation i've been on. of course, the last few years have been sprinkled with visits here, road trips there, quick weekends away... all of which were fun and AMAZING. but really, the last time i packed only sundresses, flip flops and sunscreen and put on an extended absence greeting on my voicemail? it's been so long i can't remember.

i am looking forward to all the adventures we have brainstormed: hiking a trail to catch the sunrise in waipio valley, horseback riding, snorkeling, spelunking through underground lava tubes, night hikes to see flowing lava, and a blow hole in maui. and three days of resort-y, beachy, relaxing time. and, since we'll be there on halloween, and mark is obsessed with zombies, i even packed surprise zombie costumes for us to wear as we catch our flight from hawaii to maui and drive down the coast on the hana highway (don't worry, hawaiian zombie pictures to come!)


the best part, though, of this whole vacation, is my travel partner, and that we are actually doing this. in reality, we planned this trip about six months ago, when we were just still getting to really know each other. we optimistically made plans for this big trip, promising each other that we wouldn't let the trip keep us together if we started going our separate ways. the amazing thing is, in these last six months, i've almost forgotten we had planned this trip because i was too busy falling in love with him to think about it. now, it's six months later, i'm more in love than ever, and it almost feels like a surprise, like a giant gift for us to go away and spend nine days with just each other... and adventure!

oh, and my hawaiian painted toes and my spray tanned self.

i cannot wait! pics and updates to come!

aloha!!




ps i hope, above many of my other hopes, that once i return from vacation, i will be a more regular blogger. i miss it mucho.