Paradise Pt. 1

Finally, after 3 days of peace and quiet, my parents and I flew to Oahu to meet up with the prodigal children. I can't even tell you how amazing it was to be with my whole family again! Bless the sweet people who willingly chose to marry into this family. I am sure they had no idea what they were getting themselves in to. We are all equally crazy in our own unique ways. But in a fun way. Well, I think so, at least. 

We stay at the Marriott Ko Olina. This is the view from our hotel room. Isn't that breath taking? My family loves to just sit on the balcony and eat our breakfast while watching the ocean. 

I always get a fresh coconut to drink when I'm there. Wanna know where I got this? It's called the swap meet! If you go to Oahu and you've never been to the swap meet, you are doing something wrong! It's a big flea market with all the souvenirs, jewelry, purses, food, and clothes you could ever want! Plus more! Here's there website for times and location: http://www.alohastadiumswapmeet.net/

Another Oahu tip for visitors: GO TO LEONARD'S MALASADA'S. 

Malasadas are Portugese donuts. You can get them with different fillings and coatings, but we always get ours with chocolate custard inside with cinnamon sugar on the outside. They are divine! If you are thinking, what's so great about those they don't sound that good, stop. Just trust me. They are worth the drive no matter where you are staying. 

My sister in law Katie photographed my while I had my first one of the trip (yes, that means we meant multiple times and we are not ashamed). They made me a little crazy, as you can tell. They are really that good.

It's probably weird that I'm posting a picture of my feet... but I just had to show off my adorable pedicure. Aren't the daisies so cute? My Saltwater's are pretty cute, too. 

Maggie's first time to the beach!

Sisters.

Beautiful Hawaiin sunset. 

If you want to have a little fun while grocery shopping, go to Don Quijote. It is a regular grocery store plus Asian goods. They have really funn and weird stuff. It is quite an adventure, let me tell you. My dad loves it because he served his mission in Japan.

We went to church at the Honolulu Tabernacle! It is so beautiful. 

There is a giant Banyan tree to the side of it!

Which I promptly swung from like the mature seventeen year old I am. That's keeping the Sabbath day holy.. right? 

We went out on a boat to snorkel while my dad and brother scuba dived! I have lots of cool videos from that which I will be posting soon! 

My crazy almost- twin sister being her crazy self.

She and her husband tried to take a cute underwater picture. Sadly, this was the best they could do...

Keep an eye out for Paradise Pt. 2 and my video from the whole trip! Pt. 2 will be more entertaining because I took a lot more pictures. It's all worth viewing, I promise. 

Maui Maniacs

Let me start this off by telling you a little story:

Once upon a time, a handsome man named Wade married a beautiful woman named Elizabeth. They decided to start their family and have children. The plan was going alright, but not great. They had 3 children who were all good, but not the best. Each child had their own flaws. Wade and Elizabeth decided they would keep having children until they had the perfect one. Finally, it happened. The couple was blessed with an angelic, beautiful, perfect little girl named Hannah. They had finally had the perfect child, so they didn't need anymore kids. 

Whenever my older siblings complain about how spoiled and privilged I am, I simply remind them of this story. It's not my fault they aren't perfect children and I am. Sorry but the truth hurts.

My family just got back from our trip to Hawaii! This was the first time our whole family has been together since Cliff and Katie's wedding in 2011. (I think that's what year it was but honestly I have no idea...) My parents and I went up to Maui for 3 days before the prodigal children joined us in Oahu for a week. That's the reason I shared the little tale of our family with you. I love all my siblings and my parents love us all equally, I promise. I just like to tease them like they tease me ;)

BEAACCHH. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton. It was magnificant! 

That's the view from the lobby of the Ritz. Amazing, right? The staff and service was incredible. If you're looking to go to Maui, I recommend staying there! It wasn't very crowded at all because it's away from where most of the other hotels are. And it's really close to the best snorkeling spots on the island! 

The ocean view from our room. 

Breakfast food is my favorite food, in case you were wondering. 

If any of you watch Parks and Recreation, you'll understand this. I am Leslie Knope. I seriously am. Cliff would always joke that I'm just like her but I never really got it until recently. Just look at my waffle. She would approve. 

People in Hawaii are obsessed with Spam. You can get Spam pancakes, Spam macadamia nuts, Spam anything if you want it. But I definitely didn't want it. 

This was taken at Kapalua Bay. The snorkeling was awesome here, but there were definitely better places! 

I'm so glad I have a GoPro camera :) 

If I didn't have it, I wouldn't have been able to take this selfie with a sea turtle. And wouldn't that be tragic? Here is an example of a better place to snorkel! Napili Bay! This wasn't the main beach; we walked over a ways to a hidden little cove. You had to climb in some rocks to get in the water but it was really easy! And totally worth it! Because there were like 5 sea turtles there! And it was much less crowded! Altough, I did have a little spill on the rocks coming out of the water. I landed on my knees and elbows and got HUGE bruises and cuts. But that's just because I'm a clutz.

Pesto mozzarella flatbread from the Terrace in the Ritz. YUM. 

The most amazing creme brulee I've ever had. We were seriously tempted to lick the bowl.

DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SKY.

Coolest thing I did in Maui? Zipline. YESSS. I wish I had pictures or videos, but I went at night so it was pitch black! It was incredible at night, though! I saw more stars than I have ever seen before in my life. And it was such  rush because you couldn't see where you were going or how high you were or when you were going to stop. The place was called Kapalua Ziplines. There are a few other zipline places in Maui, but I suggest you go to this one! It was so fun and the people were super awesome!! Our guide picked us guava and passion fruit, and then let us pick our own pineapple! Peter, you were the coolest. 

I loved my pineapples. They were the sweetest, yummiest pineapples I've ever had! 

This is Napili Bay. It has a great beach if that'ts what you want, you just won't see the turtles. 

I have gotten a lot of  compliments on this swimsuit! Here is the link to it if you're interested!

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/red-navy-stripe-HIGH-WAISTED-Bikini-Set-RETRO-Swimsuits-Suits-Swimwear-Vintage-Bandeau-M-L-XL/1402920719.html

I was a little hesitant to order from this site, but it completely came through! And the quality of the suit is great!

I think I'm buff. I'm not gonna brag or anything but.. I do yoga. 

Beautiful sunset. 

Shrimp Scampi in poor lighting. We went to eat at this little restaraunt called Cuatro. I was a little skeptical of this place when we pulled up because it was supposedly a nice restaraunt and it was located in a strip mall. But HOLY COW was I wrong. It was my best meal of the whole trip! I mean this place was incredible! If you are in Maui, you absolutely HAVE to go here. It was so so so so so amazing. 

Hawaiin rocky road with macadamia nuts. Best ice cream sundae I've ever had. 

The bombest waiter in all of Maui, Tyler. Also, check out his rad mustache. He was a cool guy.

So that sums up my 3 days in Maui! Soon I'll post the happenings on Oahu ft. the 3 non-perfect children of Wade and Elizabeth. 

Oklahoma Video

Here's a short little video I made on our getaway to Broken Bow. It's nothing too exciting but I like it. :) 

Broken Bow from Hannah Solomon on Vimeo.

Cabin in the Woods

We took a little three day getaway to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. I have to be honest, it took a little convincing for me to go. Texas and Oklahoma have an unspoken (well actually it's spoken a lot) rivaly. Us Texans like to refer to Oklahoma as "Crappy Texas". I'm not gonna say anything too crazy and take that title back, but I had a wonderful time up there! It was greener and cooler than my Dallas home. Like a true Texan, I adore Texas, but despise Texas summers. Even though God blessed Texas, I think the devil gets to take over for a little while in July and August. But it's okay, we still love you, Texas. 

The view from the deck of our cabin. YASSSS. I sat out on the rocking chair and read every night. 

Yeah... nature... 

We went to a cool store called Janet's Treasure Chest. It was a mixture of a boutique and an antique store. 

NOT AGAIN. Remember the first time that happened? Well here it is if you don't. 

http://hannaroundtheworldblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/warwick-and-oxford.html

I mustache you a question... How do I look?

Y'ALL. Y'ALL. Y'ALL. My prize from the trip. We went to another antique store. I found this genuine turquoise and sterling silver ring..... FOR $10. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THIS IS REAL LIFE.

Another one of those moments when I cried inside for not having a good camera. 

We went to a pizza parlor called Grateful Head. Holy cow, y'all. It was delicious. Amazing. Fantastic. I can't list enough words of praise to do it justice. 

They even had a gift shop. I got me this fine lookin key chain. If you don't know, I'm obsessed with VW buses. Like... really really obsessed. My phone case is one. It's my dream car. I will have one someday. 

My hippie heart was so happy. 

I mean..... yeah. 

We found a stick bug! 

He was a cool guy. 

Love this view. Love my Birkenstocks. 

We swam in the Kiamichi River. Paradise! Video to come soon ;)

Wadey is a true mountain man. 

If you are interested in staying in the cabin we were in, here is the link:

http://www.brokenbowvacationcabins.com/2012/08/bear-bluff/

Seriously y'all, I highly recommend it! Five stars! Two thumbs up! It was such a perfect retreat!