Hello from Maui!

Well, hello! I've completely lost track of time again, but after more than a week here on Maui, and well over a week since returning to the U.S. of A., I thought I'd jot down a short check-in. I can't describe (and won't try to) all of the emotions of coming home, the long flight from Auckland, the feeling of seeing friends and Matt's family again, how I was moved to tears by the smell of Portland when we stepped out of the car at Matt's dad's house, and how long it took to get past the jet lag. I had thought it might be a mistake to jet off to Hawaii so soon after getting home, but it turns out that we really needed a vacation! We were exhausted and basically broke, and this trip is entirely on Matt's dad's dime, so we have the luxury of not worrying about money here; in celebration of his 70th birthday, K wanted to get the whole family together at the hotel they have always gone to here in Kahana. So here we are, on the 7th floor in a relatively luxurious condo, with temperatures never dropping below 70 F at night, palm trees and ocean and flowers everywhere you look, and we have our dark tans back! It's not the sort of vacation I would ever buy for myself, but as it is, it's exactly what we needed. In the two days between flying in from Auckland and flying out to Kahului, we re-learned driving on the right (ok, Matt did. I still haven't gotten behind the wheel yet), ate Mexican food twice, saw our new house and signed the lease on it, and saw ALL of our good friends, the new babies, and a newly bought house- all at once. It was all so incredibly good, but also incredibly overwhelming, and as good as it was to be home, it was kind of nice to escape to this tropical paradise and decompress for ten days and spend time with Matt's family!

Now that our vacation here is drawing to a close (we fly back to Portland on Sunday), I'm feeling so relaxed and happy, ready to go visit my family for the next week, and so looking forward to getting back to Portland and building a home with Matt at our sweet little house. I can't tell you how excited I am by it- it's small, but the yard and garden more than make up for it. Just for a preview,  the backyard alone sports rhubarb, two established strawberry patches, a healthy tangle of raspberries, an apple tree, and two Asian pear trees! Not to mention massive bushes of mint and rosemary, lots of rose bushes (this is Portland, after all) and so much space for so many delicious vegetables. I can't wait to get in there and get my hands in dirt again.

I have lots of ideas for my blog (you'll notice the new bright look, as I've been tooling around with the layout and design settings) that I hope to get rolling once I'm settled back in Portland in the middle of the month. Until then I'll probably be out of the loop again, enjoying a second vacation up in the woods of my childhood, catching up with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law next week. I plan to soak it up and enjoy it all as much as possible, but am very excited to set up housekeeping again once we move into our little bungalow.

Until next time, here's a few photos of our time here on Maui, where I very much hope to return someday.

 Soaking wet from the Kakalele Blowhole on the northwest coast.

Me and Jessa at the ruins of an ancient 3-acre Heiau, or temple, on the Hana Highway.

 That's me snorkeling with a massive sea turtle at Black Rock on Ka'anapali Beach!

With my sweetie at breakfast in Lahaina on our first day here.