A few weeks ago, my friend Tammy said, “I knew you must have been sick because I kept checking your blog and there was nothing new.”

Yep. I had kidney problems again.  It was almost exactly a year ago that I had to have kidney surgery.  This time it wasn’t quite as bad and I was only down for a few weeks.  The day I was told I needed surgery I told my doctor, “You have 19 days to get me better because we’re going to Hawaii.” 

The hotel was booked, airline tickets purchased, and the kids and grandmas were practically packed. I absolutely HAD to get better quickly.  I probably went back to work too soon, but just a few days before my trip, I was still in pain and completely exhausted.  Fast forward to the day before the trip… hmmm…I was finally starting to feel better!  Now, it’s never a good thing to “start” feeling better the day before a long vacation, but I was hopeful.

The sunsets were beautiful and I suddenly found myself forgetting all about kidneys and focusing on more important things.

 

Sunsets also imply that there was plenty of sunshine.  Oh, how we all loved the sunshine and HEAT!  My daughter (and my mom) could have spent all day, every day at the pool.   My son and hubby spent most of their time at the beach.  My mother in law took the Road to Hana tour and spent hours happily reading her book on the deck.  I bounced around from the beach to the pool, going wherever the kids wanted to go.  As long as there was water and sunshine, I was as good as gold.  I took almost 800 pictures in Hawaii, so you know photography kept me quite busy.

 

 

 It was so amazing to see lush tropical plants and flowers, pineapples growing, and gorgeous hibiscus flowers everywhere.

 

We ate way too much (shaved ice every day), had very sore muscles from boogie boarding, and loved every minute of the Aloha State.

Now that I’m home, healthy, and rested, hopefully my blog won’t be quite so quiet.

Aloha, Friends!