Aloha & mahalo....

That's right, everybody! I'm going to Hawaii! Well, not until September, but still, I'm going! With all the adoption expenses still to come, I'm definitely panicking a little about the expense involved in a Hawaii trip, but I think it's just the right thing to take my mind off the ever-increasing wait for a referral. This whole Hawaiian odyssey started almost 5 years ago, with a notice from my best friend (who happens to live in Australia) to start saving my pennies, because we were all going to go to Hawaii to celebrate her (well, our) 40th birthday! We're flying into Honolulu and then boarding a ship 2 days later to cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. Lots of her friends & family are coming along, and Andrew & I, and it'll be the first time in 4 years that I've seen any of them, and the very first time I'll be meeting her son (born 2 years ago in May)! I booked the cruise & paid our deposit last July, and I booked our flights (& bought comprehensive travel insurance that yes, does contain an adoption clause for cancellations) a couple of days ago. So now, instead of obsessing about a referral, I'm checking travel sites every day or so to check if the pre-cruise hotel pricing has dropped at all! Andrew & I haven't travelled anywhere "significant" (cross border shopping doesn't count) for over 2 years, so we are really, really, really looking forward to this. Putting your life on hold for an adoption, for what "might happen", is rough. It's time we did something fun! Only 174 more sleeps to go!