Saturday, November 8, 2014

Hawaii Boondoggle

Well, I did it again.  I managed to snag a fantastic boondoggle: depositions in Hawaii!  Jesse and I have been to all of the major Hawaiian islands with the exception of the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island), so we jumped at the chance to turn my Island of Hawaii depositions into a vacation.  Jesse arrived right when my work there ended, and we relaxed the first night he was here at our hotel (Waikoloa Beach Marriott) on the sunny Kohala coast.


We spent the next couple days on the east side of the island.  Unfortunately, that trip wasn't quite as sunny.  Instead, it poured during our stop at Akaka Falls, but we had a good attitude about it!





Fortunately, it was a lot drier and sunnier by the time we made it to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.  We saw Burmese rubies,


cool vine flower things,


orchids,


waterfalls,


flowers shaped like hearts,


Hawaiian statues,


and super-creepy roots.


That night, we went to the Jaggar Museum at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see the glow from the Halema'uma'u crater. 





We stayed the night at a little B&B in Volcano, and then stopped by the crater the next morning as well.  As you can see, it just looks like steam during the day.


Our height differential makes for ah-mazing selfies!


We walked on old lava flows,


explored a lava tube,


looked at a sea arch,


and saw some pretty powerful waves crash against the cliff walls.


By far the most important thing we did at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, however, was find lava trees.  We hiked for miles and miles to find these darn things.  We went down the wrong trail (after which I swore I was going to die of exhaustion and hunger and proceeded to eat 3/4 of an entire banana loaf that we bought at the fantastic Hilo farmer's market) and then found the right one and went all the way to the end of it and then crossed some lava fields before we finally, finally, saw them.  See?


This next picture helps you see the trunk of a tree at the bottom, the top of which was entirely burnt and engulfed by lava.  Soooo worth it!  


We also explored some bigger lava tubes just outside of Hilo at Kaumana Caves Park.




After that, we drove back to the west side of the island and returned to our original hotel, where we cleaned up and enjoyed a nice dinner by the beach and a pretty sunset.



That was it for the first couple days we spent in Hawaii.  Stay tuned for pictures from the rest of our trip!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Last of Lemonade

This weekend I finished using Basic Grey's Lemonade collection by creating a layout and three cards.  For the layout, I was inspired by Swirlydoos' September 15th sketch challenge.


Given that October is card month, I wanted to make sure to create a few cards for My Scraps and More blog hop.  I created this first card for Audrey Yeager's card sketch,  


this second card was created for Tracy Feeley's card sketch,


and this final card is based on Jenessa Franco's card sketch.


Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Retreating


This month, I went to my firm's retreat at Tamaya, and then the very next week attended Faith Church's women's retreat at Glorietta.  That's a lot of retreating!  The weather at Glorietta was much more mild this year (thankfully) and it was a wonderful experience that I shared with amazing women.



During our free time, I crafted with some of the women and created this layout of Jesse's work event, and used  Paper Secret's September 15th sketch.


I used Alphas, Plaid paper, Pink paper, Lemonade collection from BG, and Embellishments (flowers) for this layout.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Lemonade Layouts

This month I dipped into another old Basic Grey collection: lemonade.  I created this first layout for Paper Secrets' September 1st challenge, and used Lemonade, Animals (ladybug), Blue (strip), October (in journaling), and Race (the title).


I created two more layouts of two concerts that we went to last year.  The layout on the left is based on the Blue Fern Studio's September sketch.  I used their layering stems, which I inked and covered with glossy accents.  The layout on the right is inspired by C'est Magnifique's September sketch challenge.


Monday, September 15, 2014

Green Flash

Jesse participated in another sprint triathlon on Saturday, and finished 32nd overall!  In his best event (swimming), he finished 6th.  Best of all, he rocked a florescent green look:  





Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Labor Day Weekend

We spent labor day weekend at the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland with Jesse's mom's family.  We hung out, ate delicious crabs (and other good food), and Jesse got in a good long open water swim.  Our primary purpose for gathering, however, was to spread Jesse's grandparents' ashes and have a little memorial service.  



We traveled home on my birthday and Jesse treated me to the best restaurant our terminal in the Dallas airport had to offer: Chili's Too! 

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Porcelain Creations

I have done a little scrapping this month, and wanted to show you my most recent projects.  I completed this two-page layout, which is inspired by Blue Fern Studio's August sketch.  I really enjoyed using their ornate frame chipboard, which I colored using distress inks and topped with crackle paint.  This layout of the museums we went to in London is the last layout from our 2012 Europe trip and the last layout that I am creating with Basic Grey's Porcelain collection.  


I used some of my scraps to create cards.  This first card is based off of Sketch-N-Scrap's card sketch #32.


This last card is the most complicated card I have ever made because of the pop-up detail inside.  It was worth it though, because it is pretty cute.



Saturday, August 9, 2014

We Love Ann Arbor

Jesse and I did not have the chance to return to Ann Arbor since we moved to Albuquerque six years ago.  I don't think I knew just how much I missed it until we went back last weekend.  It was fun for us to see all that had changed -- like the beautiful South Hall -- and everything that hasn't.


The main reason we made the trip was to see Manchester United play Real Madrid at the Big House for the Guinness International Champions Cup.


Jesse's dad attended the game with us, and it was quite the game!


We had pretty good seats and cheered Manchester United on.


There were a couple near misses, but Manchester United finished the first half with two goals to Real Madrid's one.


At halftime we were treated to a performance by the Fray, which was a cool treat.


In the second half, Manchester United scored another goal to bring the score to 3 to 1.


There were a lot of people there -- the stadium was packed!


There were 109,318 of us, to be exact, which is the largest group of people who have ever watched a soccer game in the United States.  So, basically, we helped make history!


What really got the crowd going, however, was when Real Madrid put in Cristiano Ronaldo.  It was cool seeing him play, even for just a little bit.


In the end, Manchester United won 3 to 1 (and ended up winning the entire tournament).


After the game, we relaxed and had delectable desserts at La Dolce Vita, followed by a much-anticipated dinner at the Real Seafood Company.  Rachel and Derek joined us for dessert and dinner.


On our last day in Ann Arbor, we went to New Life Church (see Jesse and his dad posing by the rock?), heard a great sermon, and saw some old friends.


We went out to Zingerman's for lunch afterwards with Chris, Olivia, Brett, Hannah, and Naomi.  Good fun and good company -- what more can you ask for?


Romance, that's what.  So we made a quick stop at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens where we got married.  Awwww.


So long Ann Arbor -- we will miss you always!