The older I get, the more I realize how awesome my parents are.

Case in point: our entire lives our parents made it a priority for us to travel together.  Each summer we spent a week together with our cousins in the Northwoods.  We took road trips to the Mall of America and Yellowstone.  We took vacations to Florida and Colorado, and later more distant locations like Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

Our vacations became focal points for our family – they were times that we all looked forward to each and every year.  It used to amaze me that my family got along so well that we could spend so much time traveling together.  Now I think maybe part of the reason that we do get along, is because we had our family vacations to bring us together.

At some point when I was in college, my mom declared that we would continue to travel together as a family, even after us kids started getting married.  At the time, of course, I didn’t want to see that far ahead.  She’s kept her word, though, and now our family vacations have expanded to include our latest family members – Kamran and Maggie.  Fortunately, they both have enough patience to put up with our family on our trips, and our family is better for having them.

But, this is not a post about my family, in part because we spent most of our last vacation in our swimsuits.  And well, I’m not sure anybody wants to see that many pics of me in a bathing suit. 😛

We recently had the dream-like opportunity to visit Kauai’i, a place which is as close to heaven as anything I can imagine.  It was particularly sweet for Kamran and I.  Right after Kamran and I first met, as in like 2 weeks after we went on our first date, my family took our first trip to Kauai’i.  Kamran and I talked on the phone the whole time.  My mom likes to say that that’s when she knew that Kamran was someone special.  Yep, Mom knows everything.  Don’t deny it. At any rate life went on, we dated, got married, started our own business, and traveled to other locations.  But  Kamran never forgot my awe-struck descriptions of this place.  So it was pretty special to finally visit this place with Kamran.

I finally broke down and bought the biggest sunhat I could find.  I am that girl.

This is what dreams are made of.

Dad always dreamed of taking a surfing lesson – so we all did.  And it was awesome.  And painful.  🙂

 

As we sat on the beach, we watched a shower pass through the mountains creating a beautiful show but never touching us.

Hanalei Bay.

At some moments you have to stop and say, “is this real?”

Always say yes to the helicopter ride.  Always.

Heaven

I think it must be really annoying to travel with me. 😛

When I close my eyes, this is what I see.

One more anecdote from my mom.  When they got back home and Dad went back to work, his boss, the President of his company, stopped to chat in the break room.  “I heard you went on a family vacation to Hawaii,” he said.  “We always wanted to do that, but never did.”

Thanks Mom and Dad for giving us dreams without regrets.

Ann Oleinik is a Chicago Wedding Photographer who serves Chicago, Illinois, Wisconsin, and beyond.  Check us out on our website or facebook, and Contact us to learn more about having us shoot your event.