Before I can post anything about this trip, I have to say that I will never be able to capture all the magic and experiences we had in a blog post. It's not possible. But I'll try my best to share a tiny glimpse into the most epic trip I have ever experienced.
So let's begin.
Dan and I knew we wanted to do something big for our 10 year anniversary. Something that we would always remember and not just let another year slip by. We planned for a while and looked at so many different places to visit. We debated Europe but quickly decided we wanted lazy beach days and not feel like we had to rush everyday to see things. We thought about Central America, but decided that it needed to be out of the surrounding continents.
Then came the idea of crossing that international dateline and going into Fiji. The trip went into planning mode from there. It was kind of hard to officially pull the trigger and buy tickets. Actually book something. But once we did we knew it was going to be unforgettable.
We flew my parents in the day before we left
Waiting for them at the airport.
We got settled and showed them around the new house since they had never been here before. We then went to our little downtown and had dinner. Dan came home from work, we put the kids to bed and then discussed all that would be happening the week that we were gone. 10 days is nothing to joke about with three little ones.
The next day we got June to school and then my parents were actually the "mystery readers" for June's class. It was super cute and the kids LOVED my dad. Not surprised at all. My dad totally rocks with little kids.
We spent the morning prepping and getting last minute things before leaving. June came home from school and then it was time for us to leave pretty much as soon as June got home.
Dan and I said our goodbyes and started our traveling to Fiji.
Our first flight was to LAX and we had a three hour layover. We changed clothes, freshened up and got ready for the 11 hour flight to Nadi.
The flight was over night so we slept somewhat on the plane. We both felt like we slept somewhat and were feeling pretty good.
We got freshened up the next morning and was served breakfast on the plane. Normally Dan doesn't eat eggs but I think we were both so hungry that we both pounded our breakfast. It was so warm and good!
I've never been on a flight for that long but it wasn't all that bad!
We crossed the international dateline and completely skipped a day. The sun rising was so beautiful out the window. This picture doesn't do it justice.
We arrived in Nadi but our resort, where we were staying, was on a different island. So we got to fly in a helicopter over to our resort. It was magical.
We arrived at the Torkoriki Resort with HUGE HUGE HUGE welcoming and opened arms. These people were AMAZING!! Through out the week, we became such good friends with them. They were incredible!!
They sang us a welcome song, some some guava juice and helped us plan our entire stay. I couldn't get over how inviting and loving they were!
We instantly got into our swimming suits and knew it was going to be such a needed and relaxing trip. We made it and it was a big sigh of relief.
We had our own private villa. All the doors open up in full swing so its like they aren't even there and it's so open to the outside.
We had an amazing shower outside. There was one inside too, but I don't think I ever showered in it once. I think Dan did the first day we were there but then we used the outside one for the rest of our stay. It was too amazing to not use.
Our villa had this outside bed where we spent many of our days reading and sleeping.
We were ready for a life of sun and swimsuits all day for the next week!
We had a private access to the beach and they highly encourage other's to stay off the beach in front of the Villas so we had the beach to ourselves all the time.
After playing at the beach for a while we were starting to feel the jet lag in our bodies and headed back to our Villa to "rest" a little bit. We ended up falling asleep for the next 5 hours. We slept until dinner. It was incredible!
After dinner we came back to our Villa and called it a night.
The next morning our bodies were still feeling pretty out of it so we both woke up around 4:30am-5am. We just laid in bed, talked and then when the sun started to creep up we got dressed and headed down to the beach.
Of course I had to do yoga! IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!
We came back to the villa, got dressed and headed down to get breakfast.
Let me say that this resort is literally the only thing on the island. We solely survived on what the resort provided. We had no stores. BUT The food ALL FOOD was incredible! We could never decide what was our favorite! Well except for me who devoured the Sandy Ice-cream for lunch and dinner everyday. Don't worry I only gained a solid five pounds from this trip!
We had plans that morning to go to the island where they go to school and where some of the resort workers actually live.
We face timed my parents to see how everything was going. All was great so we relaxed a little more and then headed out.
I have never seen water so blue. It was an aqua blue so clear that you could see down forever! It was beautiful!
We arrived at the village and had a little briefing of what to expect, guidelines to follow and just different things to show respect. The people of Fiji are very modest and conservative.
In order to be welcomed into the village, we had to go through a welcoming ceremony. We did this whole chant thing and drank some stuff?! Not really sure what but it was very bitter. We then were welcomed into their village. It was crazy.
We then shopped a little for souvenirs made by locals and then walked around. It was so humbling being there. These people have very little but are so incredibly happy. They were so welcoming and inviting. I loved it. All the little kids were running around bare foot just loving life. It made me want to ease up on my kids and live a little more care free. And with A LOT less.
Their main school yard. It's so dry there. They said there hasn't been much rain.
The kids there were so beyond cute. I couldn't get enough of them.
Taking a break from school. Some were out brushing their teeth, or playing games, singing songs. It was all too much for my heart to handle.
We went into their little school and the kids played with us and sang us songs. They started singing "The Wise Man and Foolish Man', so of course Dan and I started singing with them. The kids got so wide eyed and excited that we knew that song too! It was so fun.
We introduced ourselves and what we do. The kids went ballistic when they found out Dan was a Geologist. One boy in particular was beside himself, ran and got his text book and couldn't get enough of Dan and showing him what they were learning in school.
I brought little toys for the school kids to give as a thank you gift. I had packed them in my bag from the States and was so excited to give them these little trinkets. They were so excited too!
We eventually had to say goodbye and head back to our Island.
There we got an official picture with our Resort logo.
We got back to our Villa, jumped in the pool, splashed around for a while and then had lunch followed by naps!
Yoga on the beach followed.
Later that day we went and had dinner. And then star gazed forever that night. Pure magic. I've never seen a sky like that before and I'm from the North where we get a lot of stars. Nothing could compare.
The next morning we woke up closer to 6am this time. I think our bodies were slowly starting to adjust. We read and enjoyed our morning and then slowly made our way down to breakfast.
We walked the beach after breakfast and just enjoyed until we our next event.
If you know Dan, you know he has such a tender heart when it comes to saving animals. So of course when we saw some sea creature stuck, Dan jumped to the rescue.
Later that morning we hopped on a boat and headed out from some of shore snorkeling.
So our first stop was amazing! I was deep diving down feeling all good and under control. I had this whole snorkeling thing down, but I think I over did it because all of the sudden I became super nauseous. I came back to the boat and laid down for a bit. Of course being on a rocking boat didn't help and also having a stomach full of super sweet french toast wasn't helping either.
We stopped again to do another round of snorkeling and I stayed on the boat and laid down some more. Dan told me that our instructor dove down in an inhuman amount to get a sea turtle to come out. He said was insane. I was sad I missed it but I couldn't even stand. The guy on the boat was really nice and kept offering my water and making sure I was ok. Once we were back on the boat they waited for me because at that point I was leaning over the boat about to lose my breakfast. Thankfully I didn't and made it back to the Island. I slept it off for a bit and was just fine.
Part of our Fiji stay, we knew we wanted to be pampered to no end. Limitless massages was the way to go! We spent many of our hours at the Spa.
It was so serene and just peaceful all around. The sound of waterfalls were actually natural waterfalls and everything smelled so fresh. I never wanted to leave!!
After a good afternoon at the spa we soaked up more time in our pool, read, played, yogi'ed and spent our time truly relaxing. I'm sure we fell asleep at some point in the day.
After a relaxing afternoon we decided to hike up to the top of the Island. The trail was incredibly steep and we were a bit huffy and puffy after not moving for so many days already. It was great.
The view was no doubt breath taking. Pictures truly do it no justice.
Our Villa Number
The Sunsets were surreal. Doesn't seem real.
Some headstands on the beach
Headstands on the Island. Funny story that goes along with this picture but I just can't share it on the blog.
We were still waking up pretty early on mornings so we had a lot of time before breakfast. We decided to do another hike.
We headed down to breakfast for our Ocean view table. It's kind of funny because all the tables were pretty much Ocean View this one was just right on the beach. It was cool.
We then got ready to head out for our next excursion.
I think this was my most favorite day. They loaded Dan and I on a boat with a cooler and some pillows. Then took us to a private beach and left us with a ghetto Nokia cell phone for emergencies and a random looking first aid kit in a kitchen container. IT WAS PERFECT! I've never felt more content and relaxed in my entire life.
Yes... more yoga on the beach. Dan is so good to put up with it all.
We tried to do that picture where you can't tell if its your knees or your fingers?! Know that one? haha we had fun trying.
We found massive sea shells all along the beach. They were so cool. Way to big to bring home but I was tempted.
We left our mark.
We spent the day snorkeling, walking all around the beach, finding the most awesome sea life and shore creatures and just hanging out. I loved every minute of it.
The boat came and picked us up, we had dinner and spent the night star gazing. I literally have never had such a perfect day.
The next day we actually slept in until 7am! We were so surprised! We swam, ate, read our books, slept and just purely existed all morning long.
Later that day we went and did a crab hunt. So random but it was so cool. Not what I was expecting at all! We just went and dug around for these little crabs. They do a crab race with them. Don't worry. I'll get to that later!
After crab hunting we went back to our Villa and got ready for our dinner. We had a special dinner that night. They had a small hibachi grill for eight people and we were one of those eight. We had an excellent dinner with excellent company. We all got along so well and seriously had a blast.
All of us then headed over to the crab race. By this point of the night everyone from the dinner was pretty drunk (Not Dan and I obviously) but it was so funny watching everyone. People were hammered! But VERY friendly!
So they number these little crabs that we found and they have a race with the little guys. But first they auction off the crabs. We totally got caught up in the moment and bought on of those little crabs. But to our surprise we ended up winning!! We won some cash that actually just went to our Villa bill at the end of our stay. It was awesome.
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More yoga on the beach
We knew going into Fiji that the whole trip was going to be our Anniversary, so on our actual anniversary (The 10th) We just continued at our normal slow pace. We really just enjoyed our day. We prepped ourselves for our night down by the beach.
We had an amazing evening full of our most favorite foods and dinner out close to the water.
We had a special menu printed for us and then at the end of the night they wrapped it up and gave it to us.
This was my ALL TIME FAVORITE DESSERT at the resort! I seriously could not get enough of it!
Later that evening we were brought this Anniversary plate and they serenaded us with their incredible music. It was off the charts a perfect anniversary.
My favorite picture. The crew was so fantastic with taking pictures. Whenever they saw a moment they grabbed our phones and took a picture. It was amazing! That sunset was unreal that night!
Back at the home front my parents kept the little ones on schedule. I obviously don't have all the details but everyone stayed healthy and happy the entire time we were away. I know there were lots of games, treats and lots and lots of play!
Movie night
The kids were even spoiled enough for Chuck E. Cheese.
Getting June from the bus.
Kate got plenty of snuggles with Nana and Papa
While we were gone, June had her Thanksgiving feast at school. My parents wrangled both Owen and Kate and went to June's special lunch day!
Back in our Island life we continued on with naps, eating, naps, massages, eating, reading, yoga, naps and maybe a little walking around. It was a solid rest vacation and EXACTLY what we wanted!
Our days finally came to a close and we had to say goodbye. The people there were so incredible that I had tears in my eyes saying goodbye to them. With so many kisses on our cheeks and big hugs and the fact that they knew our names and our story made it even more amazing. I loved them all.
Our helicopter came and picked us up and just like that it was over.
We arrived back in Nadi and started our long long long journey home. We had three connecting flights and they were no hop skip and jump.
Our first flight was to New Zealand, which was pretty cool. It was about a 3.5 hour flight. Not crazy long comparing to our next flight. We chilled in the airport and readied ourselves for our 12 hour flight back to The States.
It was an overnighter too. We didn't sleep as restfully as we did going to Fiji but we slept well enough to get past a handful of hours on the plane.
We had some crazy weird breakfast and then landed back in The United States. We flew from Oakland, California to Dallas in about three hours. We were anxious to get home and see the kids. My heart and arms ached to hold Kate!
Then it was all over. All the planning and prepping was completely worth it.
My parents flew out of Dallas the next morning and then Dan and I pretty much just slept the rest of the day. I mean we did parent our children but with very minimal effort. We were pretty jet lagged.
The next week that followed hit us pretty hard with back to normal life and early wake up calls. Back to a schedule. But it was all so worth it.
There are things I am sure I missed and somethings that are just meant for Dan and I to remember, but just know that we had the time of our lives.
*Note- I will never be able to thank my parents enough for coming and taking care of the kids. They are incredible human beings, parents and grandparents. I love them dearly. Thank you again Mom and Dad!
