American Samoa is probably one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Not even probably…definitely. I may be biased since I was privileged to live there for a year and take in the full cultural experience and witness tropical beauty on a daily basis…..buuut you’d be crazy to agree that it’s not gorgeous, right?? Here you can see Pola Island, a great natural nesting area for sea birds. It lies across Vatia Bay, where the snorkeling was always on point with something exciting to see. We had friends who always saw rays, while I always seemed to miss them, darn! It’s hit or miss with the snorkeling….you never know…

Wow. There have been a loooooot of life happenings since I’ve last updated this little corner of the internet. And usually I ruminate and stress over the most *perfect* way to start anew when I’ve missed several months of blogging, but just to make it easy, I’m going to be nice and straightforward. Hi. My name is Hope…I think my blog profile mentions that somewhere….yep, okay–check. Next: I have a wonderful husband, 2 darling (but not always angelic) little girls, ages 4 and almost-2. We lived in Portland, OR for 3 years while my husband completed his residency after medical school and NOW…the greatest news as of late…we are living…