Links in bold are affiliate links, so I may receive a commission if you click and/or purchase.

Hi Reader, and happy Friday!

Long time, no talk!

If you’re reading this right now, we are waking up in paradise (sorry to make you jealous). We left Charlotte at an ungodly hour yesterday morning to fly to visit my sister in Hawaii, and we will be exploring and enjoying our time in the tropics for the next 10 days.

This is our second visit to Hawaii with the kids, and they were such troopers on the flight! (Thank god for tablets and snacks, right?) I thought I’d share a few flight essentials from all of us:

Chrissie (age 39)

I started this just a few days ago but finished Yesteryear on our flight, which I think I’ll be thinking about for a long time. It’s written by Caro Claire Burke (who also hosts one of my favorite podcasts) and it is full of cutting commentary on feminism and traditional family values, dark satire, and eloquent passages. I absolutely loved it and would recommend to anyone looking for a twisty, entertaining novel that they can’t put down.

On the lighter side, Hopelessly Yours is the book I finished right before I started Yesteryear and also loved! This is the second book in a series (you could read as a standalone but I would also recommend the first book, Royally Yours, which I describe as the best elder-millennial fever-dream mix of The Bachelor and Princess Diaries set in a storybook, snowy setting) and I laughed, I cried, and loved it. Pick this one up if you are looking for a little love story escape; it was totally dreamy, but also tackled real life really well. PS: My friends are hosting a Kickstarter to get Royally Yours made into an audiobook and you should check it out, they have some really amazing incentives for donating your support!

I’ve been listening to Ina Garten’s memoir on audiobook, which feels like sitting down with a very wise, very well-fed friend. I love it when authors read their own memoirs. If you want to know what else I’ve been reading, you can follow along on Storygraph!

Obviously I also downloaded several episodes of the Real Housewives, Summer House, and Top Chef to watch (thanks to my favorite noise-cancelling headphones) in hopes my kids would sleep a little on the plane. I wore my favorite plane outfit, and brought snacks (my current favorite protein bars) for myself!

AJ (age 39)

AJ is a very last-minute packer, so he brought his essentials on the flight: headphones, his Nintendo switch, and a book. He recently finished The Three-Body Problem and 11/22/63 (which IMO is Stephen King at his most gripping) and is working his way through the Dune universe. Don’t ask me what that means, because I am never going to venture into the Dune universe, but if you like fantasy, science fiction and thriller books, AJ’s reading list is for you.

Dylan (age 4)

Dylan’s highlight of his flight was getting to play video games with his dad, they played Mario Party and Pokemon. He had his Nightmare Before Christmas backpack packed two days before the flight with his tablet (Spiderman and Bluey downloaded!) and his Toniebox with his current faves (Spiderman, Curious George, Moana and the Grinch…it’s Christmas all year around in our house!). Bonus points for kids’ headphones that have animals on them.

Joey (age 2)

Joey brought the essentials: snacks and spinners. We love fidget spinners that suction cup to windows and table trays, and then we also love a snack spinner to give both of our kids endless snacks and entertainment. She also loves a good sticker book and Crayola Color Wonder coloring book (I love it too, because the markers only show up on special paper which means zero marks elsewhere). She also came with her tablet and Toniebox in tow (big Ms. Rachel and Elmo fan) and headphones that have panda bears on them. We couldn’t get through the airport with her without her travel stroller, so we always bring that on all of our flights even if she wants to walk some!

Also coming in clutch was my family beach packing list, which helped me stay organized and honestly made packing a breeze (well, as much of a breeze as it can be when flying with two toddlers on a trans-Pacific flight).

We are spending the weekend at Aulani (a Disney resort on the leeward side of Oahu), and then next week will be a mix of adventures and slow mornings. AJ and I are lucky enough that we get to escape for a couple of days in the middle of the week to explore Kauai. Last year when we visited, we island hopped to the Big Island for a few days and explored Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (read all about our visit there and we were lucky enough to experience Kilauea erupting!), so we are excited to get to experience the magic of another island. If you want to follow along with our adventures, make sure you check out my Instagram!

Mahalo for reading!

-Chrissie