A throwback to an undeniably gorgeous day in Tutuila. My new yellow LifeProof FRĒ case arrived in the mail and it was the perfect day to break it out for an outdoor ocean adventure. I packed my snorkel and mask in our wet bag, along with some bevvies and my pole spear, and got on my Starboard stand up paddle board. Ian and Creighton were my buddies for the day. We paddled over to the tidepools on the other side of the airport peninsula near our village. We jumped in to clear warm water and were immediately greeted by schools of needlefish. Spearfishing was a relatively new interest, so I didn’t take it very seriously, aiming and shooting a couple of times when I saw big enough fish, but ultimately letting the fish live another day, as they should. I could blame our pup Yodi, who came too, for announcing my presence and scaring them away, but nah. It was a great day. I saw a stingray with bumps on its back filter feeding in a cloud of sand. I snapped video clips on my LifeProof protected phone to compile for my LifeProof Ambassador program IG reel. After, I hung out on the beach with the guys and ‘hydrated’ ourselves. We floated around in the shady lagoon before paddling back home, and hanging out at the beach with friends.
Missing days like these in the tropics…
as I write and reflect at 39 weeks + 1 day pregnant (!!!) in wintertime Arizona…
My best friend gifted me with some of the best memories as a soon to be mama.
I’ll always look back at these photos and remember all the weekly bumpdates you made me do when I wasn’t feeling it, all the apple waters you fetched for me when I was at my most potato-y, the trip we took to Manu’a, and all the hours we spent huddled over our laptops editing late nights at my office.
Thank you for being there for me at every trimester.
After an eventful first few days in Samoa for our combined girls trip, Ian and I were in full-on baby moon mode.
We settled in to our cozy AirBnB beach fale at Maninoa and planned a couple activities to take advantage of our time on the south side of the island.
We ventured off to check out Return to Paradise Resort, where my 2020 wedding was supposed to take place, but has been postponed for the umpteenth time lol… it’s okay, we’re not salty about it! It was a great excuse to go back and meet with the lovely team who we’ve been emailing with, and have lunch there.
By the time we were done with our adventures, it was dinnertime. We ordered off the menu at the little surf shack style beach resto, Ocean Club Maninoa. We ordered the chicken adobo and crispy pork, both were amazinggg. And for drinks, Ian couldn’t say no to an ice cold local Vailima brew and I indulged in the fresh sasalapa smoothie.
Inspired by the warmth of the waning sunset light and the feeling of raw and natural happiness in my heart, I sat on the beach and took photos to remember these moments.
Ian rented a paddle board to catch a sunset surf in the reef break off in the distance. I paddled around for a bit with my 28 week baby bump, and we hugged and kissed and cocooned in bed back in our beach fale for the night. I love the feeling of magic that Samoa gives us…
