For a long time I associated Kualoa Beach Park with the blazing heat and a steady stream of tourists – get off bus, walk to water, take picture, walk back to bus … One day I was walking along the beach and ran into a nice shady area with picnic tables. I actually though it was Kualoa Ranch’s secret “island”. Turns out, it’s an extension of the park – the group camping site. No groups are allowed on week days though, so you can have the place to yourself. Bathrooms, showers, nice shade trees (some good for climbing), lots of crabs, tiny shells, fabulous views and a decent amount of beach as long it’s not high tide. The only down side is that there was some glass on the beach from the campers. Watch out for little toes.

It was just us and a couple of guys fishing. Calm, clear water. The aholehole were schooling. Jumping out of the water, zooming around our feet. It would have been peaceful if Mila hadn’t been having a meltdown every 10 minutes. Emergency applesauce helped a bit (I love you apple sauce in a pouch), but I think she’s going to be in a constant state of meltdown until her molars come in. The best I can do is give her a beautiful spot to melt down in.

To get here, drive to the back of Kualoa Beach Park. When you come to a circle, there is a dirt road that veers off to the right. Take that until you get to the parking lot and you’re golden. I’m still curious about secret island though. Has anyone actually been there?

Keiki Monday has been taken over temporarily for a public service announcement. That very important announcement is : print your photos my friends! Get them off your computers and phones and into your hands. Why? Well, it serves as a backup in case technology should fail you (when technology fails you) and there is just something super gratifying about having an actual print. There are so many ways to enjoy your favorite photographs from wall art to kid’s toys. Here, i’m sharing four of my favorites.

1.  Photo Magnet Board.  Kids love to look at photos, so I wanted to put some in Micah’s room that were easy to swap out. I bought some large magnetic dry erase boards from Target and painted the frames white. Then I used some small magnets to attach a mix of 4×6 and 5×7 prints. Okay, i’ll admit it, I haven’t printed anything new since, uh … Mila was born. I’ll work on it.

2.  Photo Key Ring.  There’s an awesome company called Moo that makes business cards, postcards, stickers and these little mini cards. The really cool part is that you can put a different image on each card, so I had photographs of family, animals, and random objects printed as MiniCards turning them into custom flash cards. I punched holes in the cards, added them to 1″ ring binders (the kind you can open and close), and then linked them with a carabineer to make a photo key ring that is great for traveling. It kept Micah entertained on a very, very long flight to Holland. Mila has since inherited the photo key ring and loves to play with it in the car. I can’t believe these cards have survived 2 toddlers! If you’re new to Moo and thinking of having some cards printed yourself, let me know. I have a few 15% discount codes for your first order to give out.

3.  Photo Magnets.  I also used the Moo MiniCards to make mini magnetic calendars. I used a photo taken each month from the previous year and made a calendar template in Photoshop. Then I used a roll of magnetic tape and stuck strips of it on the back of each mini card and assembled them on a magnet board over my desk (don’t be jealous of my beautiful cinder block walls). I also turned some of the regular MiniCards into magnets for Micah to play with on the fridge or random magnetic surfaces. He destroyed those within a few months, but they were fun while they lasted.

4.  Photo Albums.  My all time favorite place to print my personal albums is Blurb. I like the quality, versatility and the fact that you can make 400 page books (which I do!). I like the free software that has decent templates and allows you to make custom layouts. I love that you can convert your book into an ebook to share with friends and family, and I love that they will keep your book on file for life. You can always have another printed if the original is destroyed. A great way to back-up your favorites.

And there you have it. Hope you’re inspired to go print some images!