22 Comments
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Fay Gordon's avatar

I love this series SO much!! The Oahu photos are stunning. Love the travel spreadsheet! Another +1 for down time on vacations. I feel toddler schedules work well on vacations: breakfast, big outing outside, lunch, nap and chill, something calm and outside, sleeeeeep.

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Laura Rennie's avatar

Thanks for reading, friend! I am also all for having some downtime on vacations. Too funny about the toddler schedule! It’s true!

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Kendra Kruckenberg's avatar

Yes! We also follow a toddler schedule on vacation, even though we don't really need to anymore. It's the perfect balance, and super helpful if your family involves both "go getter" and "go with the flow" vacation types.

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Stacy Bronec's avatar

Again, such a fun series! I loved this! I've been to Hawaii once (The Big Island) for our honeymoon. I would love to go again, but the thought of taking all the kids feels a bit overwhelming (and super expensive). We, sadly, do not have any military connections there, so that's a bummer. ;) I always feel the same about resting when traveling, like it's a waste of vacation time, but in reality, it's a necessity. At the beginning of this month, my parents kept our kids for a full week (7 days/7 nights), so that was basically my summer vacation. And I read "It's a Love Story" -- so good!

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Laura Rennie's avatar

Thanks for reading, Stacy! I think I officially prefer Annabel Monaghan to Emily Henry. I'm pretty sure they're the only two contemporary romance authors I've read more than two books by. Have you read Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes? I like that one.

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Stacy Bronec's avatar

Yes! I think I agree. I’ve loved all of Annabel’s books! I haven’t read that other one you mentioned. I’ll have to look for it!

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Amber Kennedy's avatar

I am very pro “leave room for downtime or spontaneity” after years of overscheduling and stress. Some of my favorite memories are catching random movies on TV in home rentals and watching them as a family.

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Laura Rennie's avatar

Yes!!

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Laura Bass's avatar

Love this! I went to Hawaii in my early 20s and have been dying to go back ever since—this was a fun way to live vicariously through Maggie’s trip! Also LOVE the idea of making vacation videos—brilliant!!

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Erin Mount's avatar

I want to go to Hawaii so badly! This is just the best idea for a series. I wish I had gone somewhere cool enough to be featured, haha.

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Laura Rennie's avatar

Ahh thank you, Erin! What's at the top of your travel bucket list?

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Erin Mount's avatar

Greece, but I don’t know if I can convince my husband to go overseas. So Hawaii then. 😊

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Joy Netanya Thompson's avatar

That spreadsheet is blowing my mind! Also, I've never heard of the Clips app but definitely going to look it up. Last great book I read on vacation: The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. I hope to go to Hawaii with my family someday...it's easier to get there from California, so a lot of people vacation there. Starting when Zadie was about 5 years old, she's been incredulous that we haven't taken her yet!

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Laura Rennie's avatar

You know, I really thought I read that book, but I don’t see it on my book list! Guess I need to get it from the library!

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Ashlee Gadd's avatar

Currently reading this *in* Hawaii (on the big island)! And absolutely co-sign building down time into any trip, but especially a place like this. ❤️ I’m still on my first book here but currently reading Tilt by Emma Pattee and I can’t say it’s got vacation vibes (it’s actually making me quite anxious about earthquakes, which I never think about 😵‍💫) but the writing is strong and I can see why so many people are talking about it. Next up is It’s a Love Story, which I specifically bought to read at the pool 😜 love this series! And as someone who has a few “fellow obsessive” friends, I love meeting one of yours!

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Laura Rennie's avatar

So perfect that you're reading this in Hawaii!

I finished Tilt a few days ago! LOVED the writing, loved the structure of it happening all in one day, didn't love the panic it caused me over the impending Cascadia earthquake.

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Seton's avatar

Maggie’s sister here — I can confirm that we were, in fact, sad when they left! It was such a special visit, and reading this brought back so many happy memories :)

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Laura Rennie's avatar

Aww I’m glad, Seton!

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Megan Hogg's avatar

Was excited to see another installment of this series pop up in my inbox! Hawaii is my dreeeeeam vacation so this was especially fun to read. And I too have learned the hard way to schedule a grocery order for the day you arrive back home! Last great book I read on vaca was Long Bright River :)

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Laura Rennie's avatar

I hope you are able to make your Hawaii dream a reality someday soon! I’ve been to the Big Island and would love to go back/explore more. I had trouble getting into Long Bright River. Maybe I’ll give it another try!

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Joy Nicholas's avatar

So fun! This post brought back such happy memories of when we lived in Hawaii, and yes, the military has access to the best beaches! We went to Bellows almost every weekend. It’s the first beach my youngest daughter ever went to, and she is now beach-obsessed.

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Laura Rennie's avatar

Aw I’m glad it brought back happy memories! I had no clue about the military having access to the best beaches.

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