aloha!

my family and i spent the week after christmas 

in kona, hawaii. we swam, explored different beaches, 

ate deliciously fresh fish, and greatly enjoyed the sunshine together!

^^^ pu'uhonua o honaunau national historic park -

while my dad and brother snorkeled here, mom and i read and

walked around the tide pools on the lava. ^^^

^^^ on our way to the beach one afternoon, 

we were all craving a treat. we made a stop at this adorable

antique shop after seeing the sign 'antiques + ice cream.' 

i can't even tell you how often i ate coffee ice cream while on vacation;

coffee ice cream is prevalent in hawaii ^^^

^^^ cheers to 2016! we rang in the new year from the beach. 

we enjoyed dinner at the restaurant, lava lava beach club. 

the view could not have been more perfect! ^^^

^^^ and this guy - always on the hunt for geckos (mostly

as a means of tormenting me). brother + sister love, i suppose? ^^^

'do you wanna build a snowman?'

^^^ for our last night, we said goodbye to kona and drove up to kamuela.

we checked into our favorite place, the hapuna beach prince hotel.

the hotel (particularly the pool area) is stunning and 

sits above our favorite beach, hapuna! ^^^

the waves, white sand, and warm sunshine was just what 

this girl needed to recharge for the new year. 

i feel incredibly grateful to have spent the week relaxing with my family.

now, can i go back?! 

xoxo.