Hi friends! I’ve missed you! This is the longest I’ve been away from blogging for a long time, but I’m back now and excited to chat with you. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that those of my parent friends with kids heading back to school have an amazing week.

We’re back from Hawaii and I have so much to say. It was our first time in Oahu, and it was seriously the most magical, beautiful, relaxing trip. I feel so refreshed and my heart is very happy after a week away. It’s been a whirlwind couple of months (Vegas, staycation, dance competitions, family in town, and then our entire family got sick) and this was the perfect way to cap off an awesome summer.

I’m excited to share a recap from our trip, some of the adventures we enjoyed, and some of the food we ate!

The FOOD. It was everything.. and I’m still having malasada withdrawals….

(These are the malasadas from Duke’s Market, which we had a few times. They’re made from rice flour, slightly crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. The purple ube one was my fave, followed by the haupia filled one. Haupia is a gorgeous coconut custard. #2 on the list of best donuts in my life)

One of the best parts is that my mom was able to join us! The Pilot had to work some of the days we were there, so we asked if we could fly her out to join us. We were all so pumped that she was able to make it and we had the best time with her there.

Our Waikiki Recap (+ what to do and where to stay)

Waikiki adventures:

Beach days

I knew that the kids would be happier just going to the beach than planning excursions with lots of travel time, and that was exactly correct. Also, for many of the snorkeling or sea turtle adventures, you need