The Merger

This is our new mattress (and comforter). In the living room. Between a sofa and loveseat. With junk piled high in the background. Don't judge me just yet!

Now that the honeymoon is over, and we're back home, the combining of two fully stocked households into ONE is going to HAVE to take priority!

Seriously........we have double of EVERYTHING! Blenders, toasters, microwaves, etc. We have THREE sets of washers and dryers! Don't ask....

One positive? Our house has two living rooms! But for the rest of the doubles (or triples), space is lacking! And when you have little space, you have little merging going on.

That's where I find myself. Sort of at a stand still.

Here is where I analyze: Why is this taking so long? Why am I not motivated?

Here is where I answer..........Some of the issues which are causing the merge to take the slow road are:

• Laziness! This IS my summer off! I have had my moments.....a nap here and there......but now I'm determined, with July looming, to kick it into high gear!

• Storage! I need a storage unit..........BADLY.........this is due to two other issues............
  

• Issue 1......I'm a pack rat! This was inherited. Dad's fault. I might NEED something at a later date, so getting rid of papers from college could potentially be dangerous! Also, I might WANT to use that lava lamp from high school in my decorating sometime down the road. Being a pack rat has it's advantages!

• Issue 2......I'm sentimental! Totally and apologetically sentimental. I'm not sure who to blame for this. Regardless, I have a whole room full of items from my childhood. Barbies, Cabbage Patch dolls, Precious Moments dolls, boxes of "notes" from middle and high school, etc. You get the picture? Oh yeah, I have boxes of those too. Pictures dating back to elementary school. Might need those for....um....blackmailing purposes? Yeah! That's it!
  

Anyway, this merge is not happening as fast as I would have liked. It MUST be finished before school starts! Thank goodness for three things:

#1 No band camp this summer!
Thus the entire month of July off
to deal with this merger.

#2 A garage sale at the end of the month
with all my girls. This will hopefully
signify the END of the merger.

#3 Getting a storage unit with Andrea!
I already have stuff prepared to go!

And hopefully soon, there will be an "after" picture of the living room with no bed as a coffee table.

Hawaiian Honeymoon

Awhile back, during spring break actually, I purchased a plane ticket to Hawaii........along with my mom and sister. A girl trip (with the exception of my little nephew). We would stay together (for free) at my sister's condo.

This was long before I knew I'd be married by then!

When we decided to get married that next weekend, we also decided to turn the Hawaiian vacation into a Hawaiian honeymoon. A ticket was booked for him. A different condo was rented for us. A honeymoon was scheduled!

Since we each had been to Hawaii on separate occasions, there were some things that we both wanted to do again: Pearl Harbor, hike to a waterfall, North Shore, hike up Diamond Head, etc.
We accomplished all that and MORE.............

We attempted to boogie board. We don't know if we
were doing it right, but our way sure was fun. He
was good at it. I was not. Too much sand in the
drawers!

Then there was a hike to Manoa Falls. I had found this particular destination online. The pictures were of a cascading waterfall. I could just picture the pool below the plunging water.

The reality was much different than what my mind had conjured up (thanks to that photo online). Although the hike was great.......and muddy...........and very rainy............the waterfall up close was more like a trickle!


Maybe it's the dry season over there? Needless to say, the waterfall was much more impressive from farther away............and online!


Despite the anticlimactic nature of that hike, we decided to go on another one. No matter what the outcome was, we were hiking in Hawaii, and the scenery and views were amazing! This hike would be up Diamond Head.


The view promised to be insane! I couldn't wait to get to the top. What I didn't know was that the closer to the top you got, the harder the hike got. One crazy set of stairs.........


And a dark, uphill tunnel through the mountain..........


And a tall, winding spiral staircase later.................


The most amazing view ever........................






Other highlights included:

• A bus trip to Pearl Harbor! The bus is a very cheap way to travel around the entire island! You just need to be prepared to put the time in, because it takes a little longer to get to your destination. But we enjoyed traveling around the city that way.

• Taking a catamaran ride out into the Pacific! It was amazing! The waves were crazy that day, so it made the ride a little more exciting.

• Going to Waikiki Beach almost daily...........to shop, eat, or swim!
  

• A couples massage........thanks to Whitney...........what a creative wedding gift! Thank you AGAIN!

• Going to the North Shore to sample Matsumoto's Shaved Ice. Sno Biz won't taste as good after going to Matsumoto's. I'm not kidding.

• Swimming at Waimea Bay on the North Shore.........and seeing DOLPHINS while we were there...........jumping and playing in the ocean just yards from where we were. Also, a HUGE sea turtle swam by........not even three feet from us!

• Spending time with mom, sis, and nephew after Kenny left. He stayed a week........I stayed a few extra days to get the girl trip in.
  

• Getting real, live leis. Gosh they smell good. And they're so pretty.
  

I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop now. This trip was the perfect way to begin the summer!

Now to just keep up my Hawaiian tan!

Whirlwind

Kenny's lease on his apartment ended this last weekend, and he didn't want to sign another yearlong lease.

Our solution?

To elope!

But after driving around that night talking about a Eureka Springs wedding, with no friends or family, we thought we might try to book a small church or something. So instead of eloping, like we had planned, we decided to plan a wedding............in a week.

That's right! Booked a venue, a judge, and a photographer............all in one day!!!!

Then even MORE scrambling began...........food, cake, decorations, moving Kenny in, invites by phone, email, texting, and facebook, ring shopping, tux renting, dress buying!

And I'm very pleased to say that we pulled it all off! With the help of some very amazing friends and family members. Thank you, thank you, thank you.........for the shower............for the help..........for the borrowing of stuff............for your time.............for the creative and generous gifts...........

About 80 folks watched as Kenny and I FINALLY got married.........after four years of patiently waiting!

And it was perfect................