Just an Idea...

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. Well we should not forget Thanksgiving because we all have a lot to be thankful for. But since December starts on Monday I wanted to share an idea you may or may not like. So here is our new advent calendar that I scored big time on last year after Christmas. So I have been really excited to use it all year long.
Counting down for Christmas is so fun for everyone. So this year were counting down with activities everyday. I have put a cute piece of paper behind every door indicating what we are going to do that day. Romney is in charge of planning 12 days and I am in charge of planning 12 days.

Some of mine consist of :

making dinner together

watch a movie with the fire going

deliver goodies to the neighbors

go to the movies

Those are just some of my very easy anyone could do ideas (I don't want to spoil the rest...Rom reads the blog) But we can't peek ahead. So December is going to be fun for us.

If you are a mom there are lots of things to do(make snowflakes, bake, decorate, wrap presents, wear matching PJ's and watch a movie, go look at Christmas lights etc..). Look ahead on the calendar and use family and ward parties and things that are already planned as the activity of the day. Be creative. I don't know... it's just an idea...

we call it home

ThE dReAdEd BaThRoOm!!!! But it is our dreaded bathroom!! This is the master bathroom that we have never used in the year we've owned this place that we call home. When the house was inspected we were told the existing shower floor was "spongy" and that we'd "probably be okay to use it". To add to the sponge the tile floor was disgusting and the toilet was filthy. MMMmmm, doesn't that sound delightful?

So to fix the problem we threw out the spongy shower, the filthy toilet and the gross tile. Rather than replace the shower, we bought a bathtub!(super excited) To go along with a new tub, you need new tile and with that, you need a clean new toilet...this is beginning to sound like If you give a mouse a cookie... Even though Romney is home I haven't seen him. This is why.

The tile is drying waiting to be grouted.

Thank you Romney!

I LOVE FIREMEN!

Yay for firemen!! I love them especially for the last couple of days with California burning !! Yay for my fireman who I haven't seen since Wednesday night. (frowny face)

Romney is not out on the fires personally. They did not send his rig out. But because they have sent out 5 or 6 rigs from his department he has to hold over. I think every firefighter is working right now. And we love them for it!!!!

ONE YEAR!!!

HaPpY OnE YeAr!! We bought our house one year ago. Time seriously flies, so does our money. We are no where near to being done around here but we have cleaned up some.

Here is our living room one year ago:

One year later here we are. Granted there are no pictures up and were still playing with pots by the couch etc... but were getting there.

Paradise Part 2

The whole time we were in Kona I kept saying to Romney "I heart Kona!!" The big Island may not be as "tropical" but it was AWESOME. Because it is less touristy we felt the Island Buzz that every local loves. When people say Hawaii is the Lava/black rock island they were not kidding. It's everywhere. We loved it though. We became big time snorkeling lovers. We kept our snorkeling gear in the trunk the whole week in case we saw a great opportunity and we found lots of those. We were in the water everyday. I couldn't get over how clear that water really is. We just had a great time and we can't wait to go back.

Our first day was a total blast. We thought it would be wise to go out to the local beach and practice some snorkeling. Everyone snorkels its so great. It turns out anyone can snorkel, its super easy. And so fun. I couldn't believe on our first day all the things we saw. I felt like Sebastian from Little Mermaid "under the Sea"! Hours go by before you realize the sun went down. We rushed back to get ready for our Luau. Come on, were in Hawaii you better believe we went to the Luau. There was some interesting food there. I tried it all because it is their culture. But I am not a fan of Poi (poy). But the Hawaiian people love it. After the feast Romney was chosen(totally choseable) to go up and dance with one hula girl and then all of them circled around him to hula. So funny to see!!

Our snorkeling tour was an absolute blast and worth every dollar!!! We were taken out to Kealakekua Bay (K-al-cuh-koo-uh bay). Anyone who goes to Kona needs to go here. It is FANTASTIC. The snorkeling was Phenomenal. We saw so many different kinds of fish, eels, sea turtles. The coral was unreal. You seriously can't describe it. On our way back we stopped and learned about different lava tubes and legends. We had a great time. Got a little sun burned on our way back but that's okay.

Oh what a frustrating day! WE decided to go to the Volcano National Park! We drove from Kona to Hilo which was a couple hours drive. WE drove in the pouring rain and knew the whole way there we weren't going to see anything. So we made several stops along the way. We stopped at the most delicious bakery. We picked up some lunch and decided that we better take some goodies too. We had some Lilikoi. It was the most amazing thing EVER. Had we known how amazing- we would of bought it by the dozen. We also stopped at the black sand beach. The sand was a different texture. It felt like sea salt but it didn't hurt. It was pretty cool to see that. Once we finally got to the Volcanoes the Sulfur Dioxide was too high so we couldn't go in. We were so bummed. SO we drove another hour to see the "active volcano" run into the ocean....another bummer. They don't let anyone get out to see. So here we are looking at the steam from the lava. However the drive was beautiful!




We went to the Place of Refuge one afternoon which ended up being one of our highlights. These grounds were sacred for men during war and a place of punishment. Two very extreme differences. They still don't let people swim in the bay area because that was the kings arrival spot. After we toured the grounds and walked way out onto the lava and started playing with the white coral and the timer on the camera. We got some fun shots. WE then decided to go snorkeling right off that sacred bay that afternoon and swam with 14 dolphins. IT was so amazing how they swim so gracefully in such perfectly straight lines. The snorkeling was so great. I'd put it up there with our snorkel tour. I was actually pretty scared but I'm glad we got to experience nature in its finest.

... always fun to flirt, especially in Hawaii...

Here is our amazing trip. It doesnt matter how many pictures you take they still don't do it justice.