Rarotonga is a magical place for me. When I was 20 this was my first stop on the way to New Zealand. It was on this dreamy island that I met my husband’s family, who I adopted as my own before we made it legal. This trip was my third time to the island. Our family gathered here with a lot to celebrate in the year 2014. Big Dave (Ya-ya) turns 70, Rob, Sarah and Jenny turn 40, Steve and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary, Tom and Lesley are celebrating their 50th anniversary, and more. The point being that there was much to honor on this trip. I dream of this place. In my dreams I am always on a quest to be snorkeling so my goal was to do this at least once a day while we were there. I didn’t quite reach this goal but I did have moments of floating face down in turquoise, bath-like water, looking at tropical fish with nothing attached to me. I am so grateful for those moments and the other memories made with our kiddos. Most days we feasted on topical fruit, avocados the size of Asher’s head and fresh tuna that we seared on the group BBQ. My advice to those traveling to tropical locations with kids: Take lavender oil it helps keep away mosquitoes and find a room with a fan!
