Hawaii - enjoying Aulani

Our first stop of the trip was Aulani, Disney's resort on Oahu, for 6 nights. We booked a 1-bedroom ocean view villa and loved our room. We had a fabulous view and plenty of room to spread out.

We were able to check in early and the girls & I spent the afternoon at the pool/beach while J went on a long-run. 

We spent most of our time at Aulani enjoying the hotel, the pools, the beach, the characters, and the overall beauty.  

Some of the highlights included: 

- exploring the beautiful hotel from Stitch to the Hawaii design elements to recreating our family photo. We also participated in Covid-friendly pin trading and enjoyed many shave ices through our trip.

- character interactions - we enjoyed the character breakfast and were lucky to have a table where we could see Goofy and Pluto the whole time. We also loved 'seeing' the main Disney characters plus Duffy and his friends.

- so much pool and beach time - highlights were the lazy river, the slides, and playing at the beach. 

- professional family photos - we had a beautiful sunset during the time we had booked and got many gorgeous photos.

J ventured offsite for some trail running - his first time he used an Uber and the second time booked a Hui, a short-term car rental.

We also had to take a break away one day for Covid tests to travel to Maui and rented a short-term rental to head to an urgent care for those tests. Thankfully it was relatively easy and we received our test results within a few hours.

All in all, we loved Aulani this time around. We aren't sure we will return in 5 years simply because we might want to see another island on our next trip to Hawaii but are so grateful for our time in Aulani this visit.

Hawaii - Planning and Travel

We have recently returned from an amazing trip from Hawaii and I am going to start my blogging with a recap of some of the planning and also our travel there. We had been planning to go to Hawaii this year ever since our last visit in 2016 and thankfully Covid has calmed down enough for us to be able to keep this trip.

We decided to start our trip at Aulani, Disney's hotel in Hawaii, for 6 nights and then finish at the Grand Wailea on Maui for 5 nights. I booked these hotels in January when we really didn't know if travel would be possible or not. We also thankfully booked our Maui rental car then as there is a big rental car shortage.

We originally had booked flights for Saturday with one stop in LAX and then an all-day return on a Wednesday but flight changes adjusted both of those. Delta gave us the option to get to LAX on Friday evening and fly to Hawaii Saturday morning (earlier arrival - yay!) or have 8.5 hour layover in LAX on Saturday - we chose to leave Friday and stayed overnight at a hotel in LAX (more on that later). Our flights home changed to red eye from Hawaii but again gave us more time in Hawaii so no big deal!

The other thing was our Covid testing:

- everyone traveling to Hawaii needed a Covid test within 72 hours of travel - we were able to do these tests at a local Walgreen's and had results within 3 hours.

- everyone had to complete a health questionnaire within 24 hours of travel.

- those two things let you get a QR code to avoid quarantine in Hawaii. Thankfully we did everything correctly and were able to get on to our vacation easily.

So with our plans booked, J and I stopped working at around noon on Friday June 4th and we left for the airport around 2pm - we had Bruegger's and headed to Atlanta. Unfortunately the ATL airport is not yet back to fully functioning so we grabbed McD's for dinner and then got on our plane to LAX. Delta provided nice snack boxes and I had plenty of snacks as well. I read a book, C slept, and J & S watched some movies/TV for the flight to LA. Once we arrived we hopped on a shuttle to the Courtyard Marriott for the night.

Next morning we woke up and got ready for our flight to Honolulu - we had the same nice snack boxes from Delta and arrived early to Honolulu. The Covid screening was easy and we found our shuttle and were on way to Aulani!

S's 11th Birthday Survey

 Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Food: Subway sandwich

Favorite Restaurant: Subway

Favorite Song: You Belong with me - Taylor Swift

Favorite thing to watch: K.C. Undercover

Favorite memory from being 10: winning my cheer competition

Best Friends: Naomi, Eva, Kate

When she grows up, she wants to own a zoo.

2020 - some highlights

 2020 was a year unlike any other and unlike anything we expected as we wrapped up 2019. There are a few things that helped make 2020 a bit easier and more manageable that I figured were worth noting for future memory.

DoorDash - sure, I ordered pizza delivery and the rare carryout before 2020; however, it was difficult for many restaurants and I have become a DoorDash convert. During a very busy work day for J and I while the girls were on virtual school, we didn't have great lunch food - on a short meeting break, I ordered our lunch, S grabbed it from the porch, and we all had a great lunch - I was in love.

OutSchool- when the pandemic hit, many of the girls' extracurricular activities needed to close or pause. I still wanted the girls to have a chance to explore their interests and OutSchool filled this void - the Zoom classes have a huge range of offerings and the price is very manageable. S has loved learning more about horses and having a social group to play Animal Crossing with while C has done a huge range of classes and especially loves the art ones.

Zwift -  all the scheduled changes with the pandemic meant many miles on the treadmill for me. J bought me a footpod and set me up on Zwift for a more gameified, community set up. I absolutely love it! Plus, S has a kids account and enjoys the occasional walk in the game. 

Cute Masks - I found a great local mask seamstress with so many different patterns - the girls and I have loved choosing new masks each season.

Zoom- My work life is basically Zoom but it's helped me onboard to a new company and meet my new coworkers without missing a beat. I never imagined letting my new colleagues see my entire house.

Shipt - I have never used Target local delivery before, but this year I decided to try it and it's been a great time-saver when needed, plus I feel good supporting the shoppers.

Home Gym- We have always had a treadmill, but when the pandemic hit, J quickly purchased a home gym, which has also been an amazing time saver and the girls have found a love of pull ups.

There were so many challenges, a lot of sadness, and so much disappointment in 2020 but the things above helped making them a bit more manageable. Cheers to a new start in 2021

Park City Getaway

 We kept our vacation (5th year in a row!) to Park City for our winter break - we knew things would be different than past years, but we also thought it would still be worth it to go and we were right!

This was the girls' first flight since last year's trip to Park City - the longest either one of them has ever gone in their lives without a flight and we were all excited for some fun. 

Our flight to Salt Lake City was uneventful - everyone wore masks, we were handed individualized bags of snacks to enjoy, and our bags arrived quickly after landing. We went straight to Park City (no Penny Ann's this year) and checked into the hotel - our room wasn't quite ready so J found a lunch spot and we went to a restaurant for the first time since March. Twisted Fern was delicious and felt safe and clean. Our room was ready by the time we were done so we were able to get settled for the week - grocery run, ski pick up for S, and general organizing the room. Our view was much better this year (you cannot choose a view - you get what you get) and otherwise our room was as expected with all of the cooking things we could need for a week.

We had 5 full days in Park City, which included:

- J and S skiing together and S totally rocking blues. She did do two days of ski school (with a lunch break with us due to Covid) and graduated to Consistent Blue Level.

- C and I swam under the ski lifts every day - it got increasingly colder through the week and therefore more painful to leave the warm water when we were done. C mastered the back stroke and treading water this trip.

- Lots of crafts in the room - the hotel family room and kids club were closed due to Covid but you could order activities to your room - each girl made a new stuffy and candy sushi while C painted a piggy bank and made some bracelets. 

- Dinners in the hotel - we did a mix of mostly cooking in the room and delivery one night to avoid being out and about too much - this worked well.

- Running - J ran early every morning including conquering a mountain on one morning and I ran outside most days but did jump on treadmill at gym a few days. 

Our trip home was easy and I introduced the rest of my family to the delight that is Shake Shack (thank you SLC airport) before flying home. The girls chose to sit together so J and I got to enjoy an easy flight home before getting back to normal - one more week to enjoy at home before back to school and work. 

Hocking Hills Getaway

A few weeks ago, after another summer activity was cancelled, S had had enough and really wanted something to look forward to - so we hopped on AirBnB and she found a cabin in Hocking Hills that looked great to rent - there were a few dates we needed to avoid due to work commitments but found a 3-night stretch that worked well and booked the cabin. My parents were available those days too so they joined us for part of the trip.

The drive to Hocking Hills was easy - we brought a lot of food so we could mostly be in the cabin and checked in just after 4pm. The first evening was dinner at the cabin, settling in (great toys and kid activities were provided), and s'mores + hot tub.

On our first full day, we headed to Lake Logan for a short hike and drive in the morning before a nice lunch with J's aunt and uncle at their home - aunt has an amazing craft room so the girls enjoyed that too before we went back to cabin to meet up with my parents.

All of us except my dad headed to Rock House for a hike (J ran the trail a few loops while we hiked) - there were other people around but I never felt like we were too close to others to be unsafe.

My mom brought everything for pasta dinner so we enjoyed that for dinner before more s'mores, hot tub, and board games.

On our last full day, we headed to Lake Hope - there was a nice trail that we hiked while J ran - the girls did a mostly great job on the hike before we headed back to the cabin for a late lunch and some quiet time. C did an adventure walk with my mom to look at the plants while J and I went for a run and my dad and S played.

A storm rolled in but we were safe under the covered porch for J to grill out, more s'mores, and hot tub time before getting to sleep.

The last morning was quick clean up before heading out. This wasn't the 17-night trip we had planned but it was a great weekend nonetheless and will likely do a few more trips like this if covid stays around much longer.

Hocking Hills was perfect for this - it's a short enough drive that we can pack all the food we need with a simple cooler for cold items, the trails are separated enough that you don't get too close to others, and the AirBnB cleaning standards were great. 

My first 1,000 miles of 2020

To say the first half of 2020 is not what anyone expected would be an understatement. So many of the things I said we were looking forward to were cancelled (Spring Break in NYC, all of the end of 4th grade and preschool celebrations, J's spring marathon, and our amazing summer vacation with my parents, etc), but one of the things that couldn't be 'cancelled' is a personal goal I set for myself - to run 2,020 miles in 2020. That equates to an average of 5.5 miles per day and I am happily on track (in fact, slightly ahead of schedule).

Here's a look back at what I've appreciated about these first 1,000 miles.

Before quarantine, I had what would be my last business trip to Geneva for the foreseeable future in early February. The weather was nice enough for a few morning runs from the hotel along the lake and up to my old neighborhood - I was pretty sure I would making a job change soon, so I truly enjoyed those runs and letting myself have some nostalgia for our amazing expat assignment.

So many miles alone gives you clarity of thought and when that new career opportunity presented itself, those miles alone let me process the options and decide to make a leap. I had been at the same top company in the world since I graduated college and was ready for a change, but I always talked myself out of it. Running and processing made me realize this new opportunity was exactly what I was looking for.

All those miles were the foundation for a virtual PR by quite a bit in mid-March - a pace of 8:27 per mile.

C has wanted to accompany me on many rides in the stroller - at 5.5 years old, she's pushing my strength having me push her but I love her chatter and company. Sometimes (not as often as I would like if I am honest), S joins me on her bike - I also love those conversations, but I know my running speed slows S down on her bike.

Lastly, J bought me a food pod and hooked up Zwift. I have to admit I thought it was a little odd at first but now I love my virtual world runs, especially at 5:45am - there are people running and biking from all over the world together. At a time when we are all stuck at home, I like the comraderie feeling it gives.

When I let myself look forward to the rest of the year, I hope that I keep these miles up and can accomplish the goal. I also hope that things are safe/healthy enough for the following:

• Celebrating J's Grandpa's 90th birthday together
• My mom's side family reunion
• School to start like normal for the girls (both at new schools this year - S to middle school and C to elementary)
• J's Fall Marathon
• My Disney Wine and Dine - 10K and Half Marathon
• S's Fall Cheer Season
• Some warm weather getaway
• Ski over Christmas