Wow, have I ever been negligent with this blog!  It's been on the back of my mind for weeks but I keep finding much more important things to do (like playing Words With Friends).  Ha!  Okay, maybe it was just writers block, or the fact that I was trying very hard not to focus too much on a trip that still seemed far away.  But, this morning I was just helping a friend look for rental apartments in Paris and it made me all antsy and excited for our impending trip which is now just over 3 months away.

During my weeks of blog neglect my family traveled to the Big Island of Hawai'i.  One word - beautiful.  Or maybe it should be perfection.  Or paradise.  In any case we loved it; volcanoes and beaches, arid lava fields and rainforests... we will definitely be going back some day.  For now I'll dream of the waves and soft air, and be placated with a faraway dream-like Eiffel Tower that is floating in the back of my mind.  It beckons to me and in just over 3 months I can see it again for myself.  Happiness!