A day in the life of Leigha: Hawaiian Vacation Part 1- Big Island

Hi All,

It's been a few months since I have posted a blog. I have had a crazy busy summer at work and just haven't had the time. Currently we are in Hawaii on a true blue vacation. I have waited all summer for this trip and we are finally here. My hope is to blog once a day while we are here. I want to write down all of our adventures so we don't forget! So let's begin!

July 20, 2012
We woke up bright and early to leave for DFW. At the time I booked the flights, they were cheaper from Dallas. In the morning we had to drop my sweet Elizabeth Taylor off at Camp Bow Wow for boarding for the weekend. I was in tears. I love her so much and she isn't going to have anyone to cuddle with her for a few days! Her Aunt Kaytie is picking her up on Sunday and will watch her the rest of the week. That puppy is spoiled and I don't care!

Anyways, the flight to Hilo was great! We had a row to ourselves and I had a yummy mimosa. I'm not going to lie I was extremely cranky when we landed. It was 8pm here in Hilo and 2 am in Oklahoma. I needed some sleep!

We made it to the house and hit the hay!

Our House!

It's huge and awesome! But no air conditioning...

July 21, 2012

Let the adventures begin! We started the day at Hilo's Farmers Market. I have never seen such beautiful flowers and they were so cheap! It was crazy. We bought some fruit and tried a variety of local items. I also drank coconut milk out of a cold coconut!! If we had more time we could have bought a ton of stuff.

Once we found a WalMart and KFC we headed to the Pancho Family Reunion! The whole reason we are here in Hawaii!

Here is the story of their family:

TJ's Grandma Marci, never saw her parents again, but she managed to build a life filled with a wonderful family here on the Big Island. There is so much more to her story. Trials and tribulations would follow her, but in the end we are here at this reunion because of her.

I met all of TJ's aunts, uncles, and cousins today. Let me tell you, they are the most wonderful people. I enjoyed this day so much. TJ's Aunt Chris hugged me like I was her long lost niece. All of his family called me their niece and made me a part of their family. I have never met a family that had so much love for each other. You could tell just being around them that they care deeply for one another. Today we celebrated Aunt Chris and Uncle Eddie's 60th wedding anniversary. It was so beautiful. They danced together as their son sang a song in honor of them, they had a blessing placed over them, and they looked at each other with such love and devotion. Their kids were all there and you could tell that they loved and respected their parents with all of their hearts. This family is not afraid to dance, laugh, and sing! Literally! They were dancing in the pavilion where our reunion was and then some of the family even sang.I want them to have more family reunions so I can come back and see them all again! One of TJ's aunts before I left told me that next time we come we had better bring babies! I told her that we will for sure! :)

We had a pot luck for lunch and there was poi, sushi, rice, all kinds of interesting foods and then there was our KFC! LOL!

I told TJ when we have kids I want to them know and learn about their heritage and this part of their family. I want them to know what a great and interesting history they have. I look forward to letting them know someday!

Here are a few pictures from today: