Tuesday, April 19, 2011

home sweet away from home.


My family currently lives on the island of Kauai. The house is a run down fixer-upper, bursting with charm and potential. It's on a golf course overlooking a small blue strip of the sea on the horizon.

We call it the Kamehameha House.

Let's just say there are a lot of sea breezes at the Kamehameha House.

My little sister turned 18 on the 27th of March and my dad turned *ahem* on the 3rd of April.
It just so happened that my spring break this year fell beautifully over both of those birthdays.
Before I knew it, my mom rang announcing that she bought both my dad and I island-bound tickets.

So with only a few days notice, I informed my boss and a few professors that I'd be missing some classes (woops) for an urgent trip to celebrate some birthdays in Hawaii. ;)

...

Every trip to Kauai is unique and special.

Naturally, there's always a lot of catching up to do.
Naturally, it's always an emotional roller coaster with four women under one roof.
Naturally, my mom and sisters and I grow closer every time we're reunited.

But this time it was even more than that. With Tessa (little sis) now an adult, my family seemed really grown up! We're all doing different things and going different places and learning how to function as a grown up family. It feels like we grew up over night and no one saw it coming.

And another thing.

I still find it a little weird to call Kauai 'home.' 

I've always thought of home as a place where I have my roots and nostalgic memories but I was virtually uninvolved with Kamehameha move. My parents bought the house while I was in October of freshman year at UC Davis, a.k.a. the land with no sea breezes.

By the time I returned home to Orange County for December break, all of our belongings were boxed and packed into a giant cargo container for their 2 week passage to the islands. It wasn't until June that I got to meet Kamehameha, my new home sweet away from home.  

And already, we're making nostalgic memories together. 


With over 500 photos and no idea where to begin, I've decided to start with this.


10 things that make Kauai my home sweet away from home.





1. Borrowing my little sister's clothes ...and hats... and purses...
2. My mom's late-night baking habit.
3. That silly laughter that you can only really experience with family because it actually is that embarrassing.
4. After dinner tea and always something sweet.
5. Promenading. 
6. Family breakfasts.
7. Talking/laughing/venting/listening/picnicking with my older sister and best friend. And Ollie, too!
8. Good old-fashioned birthdays.
9. Seeing my mom and dad together and realizing how much I take that for granted.
10. Spending whatever time I could get with my favorite women in the whole wide world.












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