Life of Larisa or LOL

In the words of Greenday, "Welcome to paradise." That's what I thought making my way up the rocky trail that ends at the western most tip of Oahu. How could I not think of paradise with green mountains on one side and blue sky and ocean on the other? Last weekend we did a hike with forest views (it was okay...we are super spoiled) and also the opposite side of the mountain from where we hiked today. That's right, there are two (kinda) Ka'ena Point hiking trails. One trail starts past Mokuleia (considered Northshore) and the other (today's adventure) starts past Makaha (considered the Westside). As I'm sure you have figured out, the two trails meet. Since we usually roll with a 4 and 12 year old, we decided to break up the trail---one portion last week and the other, more beautiful portion this week! Both Ka'ena trails are family friendly, good for novice hikers, hot, and in winter, perfect for whale viewing. But, the coastlines are quite different. Tod

Similar to my tardy Happy New Year wishing efforts, my goal to "get moving" in January...is...well, late. But, the saying isn't a cliche for nothin'! Better late than never. So, this past weekend we walked/hiked/swam every. single. day. Three days. Active lifestyle posers for three days. Three days with three boys.  Our first athletic jaunt was a 3 mile evening walk to Times Supermarket. Bet you didn't see that one coming. My boys who are 4, 12, and recently turned 38 (the hubby), LOVE their fruit. As a treat for walking, instead of lounging on the couch watching bad T.V., they can pick out any fruit their hearts desire. It's a winning trifecta. Walking, fruit picking, distracting them from becoming one with the couch. Who knew my weekend nights would someday involve walking to get fruit. That was Friday. Saturday morning we woke up ready to hike! We descended upon Moanalua Valley armed with water bottles, snacks, and our hiking shoes. It was a perfect morning

Gone are the days of on time well wishing. On time anything actually. Here I am, twenty days into the new year, wishing you, the reader, a very happy 2016.  My excuses for tardiness range from "we were on Maui" to "just couldn't look away from Making a Murderer" to "reading the Revenant" to "oh yeah, I have two boys, ages 12 and 4 to tend to".      (Gabe photo bombing the sun.) But seriously, I hadn't realized until this very moment, that my New Years resolution will be tending to my neglected  blog. Which probably looks something like neglecting Instagram in order to update the blog. It's a trade off.  Welcome 2016. You definitely started off well. We were NOT suffering from the Flu. We were NOT cruising Kapiolani Hospital. We were NOT scared out of our minds over the health of our children. Hashtag winning. We DID, however, ring in the start of my 40th year on planet earth, with fireworks on the beach, two mini road trips, waterfall