a little bit of this. and a little bit of that.

just came across a few oldies but goodies that i had to post. 

these pics captured the coolest thing that we did in hawaii 

& by far the most incredible experience of my life—

the manta ray night dive!

so this is how it works: 

plankton are attracted to light. manta rays eat plankton.

so, with flashlights in-hand, we dove down 30 feet and pointed our lights up towards the surface.

before we knew it, twelve huge manta rays, each 12-14 ft. in length,

were swooping and diving all around us.

they were so close, that we'd feel their wings graze our hair while swimming by.

for 50 minutes we experienced this. 

absolutely, A-MA-ZING!!!

it's all in the details.

 a little peek into the botanical gardens.

beautiful ain't it??

turtles on the beach.

four-wheeling.

all week we've been planning to go four-wheeling, and today was the day!

after traveling about an hour to the little town of hawi,

we mounted our atvs and took off for a 3 hour ride.

we drove through forests, meadows, and orchards,

and took a break down by the ocean,

where we captured spinner dolphins, well, spinning,

and another at a waterfall for a little dip. 

although the water was freezing(!) it was hard to care too much. 

the fall was just magnificent—so lush and green.

and although we're still sneezing out dust...

{literally. it's disgusting}

the ride was just incredible and a definite must!

tide pools

i love visiting tide pools.

whether it's in california or cancun or hawaii, 

they're all spectacular. 

the ocean and all its little creatures are just so intriguing to me.

we're planning on a night dive this week,

and i can't wait!

although, i'm not going to lie. the ocean critters that come out

at night are a bit more daunting—just asked todd.

i once cried because a lobster was blocking my path.

let's just say that was a low point in my life...

sunsets and shadows.

being a lucero, jumping pics are required on any beach.

and we just so happened to have this one

all to ourselves!

welcome paradise.

Aloha, all!

it's 7am here, but due to the time change, 

i'm having a hard time falling back to sleep, so i've instead

decided to blog my 1st day adventures on the big island.

after a grueling 13 hour flight, ryan and i landed

on the beautiful {and surprisingly humid} big island.

after meeting up with the family,

we quickly headed to the beach, wasting no time!

kekaha kai is the perfect beach—

not too big and not too many people. 

the sand is fine as powder and the water crystal blue.

and im certain this whole island smells

of pineapples and plumeria.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!

conundrum.

so here's the deal...

come august, I'm going here:

 but unfortunately, i've been doing a lot of this...

so in order to look like this...

i need to be doing a lot more of this....

 oh boy, keep me in your prayers.