Lucky 13

I want to start off by apologizing for not finishing days 4-7 from our BIg Island trip. The pictures are great and the writing is equally as entertaining but when I went to post wayyy back at the end of October Google told me I was out of space! I know I know, you were all sitting with angst this entire winter. Well do not fret, Richard bought me a website for all the photos and stories I can fill your screen with on our family. Soon you will be receiving new email updates from the site: http://thisquietplaceofmine.com/

On another note at the end of our 2012 we happily made the decision that just shy of two years we will be flip flopping Atlanta back to our primary residence and Haleiwa to our secondary one. We oh so love North Shore but we know for our family we needed to be close to the ones we love and the experiences we can provide to our children. So for all you friends who are back on the mainland, East Coasters and fellow Atlantans the Lees will be seeing you soon!

I believe 2013 will bring you far more than mere luck, it can bring you devine plans. Happy 2013 everyone! With love, Courtney

Big Island: Days 1-3

Day 1: While we played at the hotel pool the guys went golfing. Spotted many training triathletes for IronMan, then drove to SoKo Farm-our home for the week.

Day 2: We explored Kona and had lunch with a view. Went to an amazing playground that was designed, constructed and kept up by volunteers. Then ended with Gelato!

Day 3: Stayed close to home and went to the beach. The lava was beautiful to see along with the beginning remnants of the green sand beach. We saw a library in the first fishing community (the wood building by the ocean)Of course we went to that playground.

His Eyes

Our son loves taking pictures. These are the pictures he's been making into memories for all of us on this trip to the Big Island. He has a beautiful eye.

The last of September

He is number 6 in orange. He was so close to getting a goal!

We were lucky to have the tiger keeper standing next to us and talk to Chrissie the Tiger.

This is when is normally gets candid, hence my facial expression. 

Jumping with Syssa. 

First day of fall campfires, early morning soccer games, going to the zoo and a birthday party of a friend to finish it off. That's how our September ended.

House Swap: Island to Island

Last month I emailed an acquaintance in regards to house swapping. I met her and her husband back in 2010 when stopping in to their store. Jennifer was so engaging and serene and Brian, enthusiastically informative of many things about their life on Big Island. At the time we were looking to move to the North Shore and  it was great having a good conversation with an enjoyable couple.

Remembering them, I thought of how great it would be to stay on a organic coffee and green tea farm and explore the island that is known for its four seasons year round. Big Island has Mauna Loa the largest active volcano in the world, as well as green and black sand beaches, lush jungle, dessert and snow on mountain tops. Needless to say, we wanted to explore our neighbor island.  To our luck they were down with the idea.  We have successfully organized, packed, cleaned the house and left for Big Island. I look forward to what we find and share through our travels. More to come! Have a great week.

A little push.

Richard turned a corner last week with only 3 years until he's thirty. We've been discussing how to make our last years in our twenties count. Isn't funny that we become such the cliche when we feel crunched for time only when we realize we have little time left. Ahh, and this is why we can all relate to cliches. We really look forward to planning to explore more with the kids. It's good to feel a little push to plan, sometimes it's a jumping off point simply to do what you've been doing but in a different approach. For us it has encouraged us do more should to shoulder. 

What great picture to display my view. Thanks Alyssa for taking these.