Hawaii Family Reunion

Our family reunion in Hawaii was really great. We spent half of the time in Kauai and the other half on Maui. There was a good mix of adventure (kayaking, hiking, swimming in a waterfall, snorkeling with big green sea turtles, SUP, and riding in a helicopter) and relaxing by the pool or on the beach, and having a glass of wine in the evening with cousins. We ate out, surprisingly, only a handful of times during the trip. One of our best meals was fresh-caught tuna from my cousins who went deep sea fishing. 

The actual family reunion weekend was full of gorgeous weather, lots of good food, and some traditional Philippino party activities. Michael was happy to hangout with my cousin's 18-year-old son, who wanted to surf and boogie board as much as he did while everyone else chose to relax more. Penelope enjoyed all the wind chickens and roosters EVERYWHERE on Kauai, dipping her feet into the water over the edge of the kayak, munching on corn-on-the-cob, running around in the shallow end of the resort pool, and seeing all the cousins and learning their names. It was really nice that we could all be together, since it was the first time I have ever been with that many of my cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. in one place. 

Apparently, we weren't the only ones on vacation. The actor who plays Howard on The Big Bang Theory was coincidentally staying at our resort. I would have never recognized him or paid any attention, except a few cousins are fans of the show and they fangirled a little bit. He seemed pretty normal and was just hanging out with a group of friends or family members and sipping a drink by the pool for most of the afternoon one day. I guess if we can vacation similarly to someone who makes bank from being on a popular TV show, we have nothing to complain about.. 

Now that this two-years-in-planning trip has come and gone, the next big thing for us will be moving back to the US towards the end of the year. It's a little bit hard to believe, and setting up all the logistics won't be easy.