I knew that it was going to be worth it to go to Hawaii and that it would be so nice to get away and take some time to really focus on on each other, but I didn’t know how much I really needed it or what it was really worth. It was the day that we went to a random beach that we hadn’t been to yet, that I realized why I needed this trip.

We had set our things down, carefully laid out towels, lathered on the sunscreen, and taken a few customary selfies and iPhone pictures, before I asked if you wanted to walk down the beach with me. As you reached over for my hand, interlaced your fingers with mine and pulled me in close, my heart felt whole. There wasn’t any where to be, any deadlines pressing down on us. This moment was just us, hand in hand, walking along the waters edge. As we walked, we talked about our next adventure, our next big dreams, and our future. Being at home, I had begun to feel insecure in my dreams, hopes, and goals. I had been weighed down with a list of to-dos and calendar full of too many things. I had ideas and things I wanted to accomplish. But after looking at my every growing to do list and ongoing piles of laundry, they were things that seemed to big for me to take on. But while I walked with you and shared my refreshed and new ideas, I could see the confidence you had in me, right there in your bright blue eyes. These moments walking along that beach, I found the courage to dream big, all because of the way you took my hand, looked me in the eyes, and gave my hand those little squeezes that you do when you want me to know that you love me and the crazy ideas that come along with me. At that beach, I took away a swimsuit filled with sand and new hope and ambitions to reach for what I wanted.

I can’t thank you enough Logan, for always reassuring me as we drove to Utah that everything would be alright while we were gone, for letting me buy ice cream to eat during the week we there, and for those hand squeezes that give me hope. You will always be my favorite adventure!