Hanauma Bay Natural Preserve

Last week, we went to Hawaii to visit my brother and his family. I hadn't seen him in a couple years. He and his wife have had two kids since then and this was the only time due to his and my hubby's work schedules. The next chance would be perhaps a year away. I had saved up all my earned miles and cashed them in for us to go. Since the kids were in school, my younger daughter took care of them (she still lives at home and knows everything about them.) About fifteen years ago, my hubby and I were together away from the kids for a night and this would be the first time that we would be away longer from out kids without one of us being home. It was kinda stressful but I knew that she could handle it. My older brother and his son live two houses away and they were great "plan b's" in case something happened.

We enjoyed visiting with them and loved hanging out after their daughters went to bed. I helped rear my brother after my parents died and to be able to have an adult relationship with him now is awesome! He's been in the Navy after leaving home over a decade or so ago. I loved seeing him being a dad. His wife is so much like I am. It's hard to believe that she's younger than my older daughter. That was the best part of our trip. The extra adventurous and scenic stuff was just lagniappe.

While we were there, on one day, we went to a bay and snorkeled for hours. I could have done it all day long! I didn't realize how cold the water was though as I'm used to the brown warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It was brrrr...cold at first! Being able to look down and see something in the water was awesome! Of course, we can't see anything below in our waters either. Seeing fish and the fact that they were colorful was mesmorizing. I just floated on top of the water looking down enjoying the wonderful sights of coral, fish and other sealife. I felt like a dog. You know how a dog sniffs something and then follows it a while and then continues not paying attention to where he started or finishes...that's what I did. I did snorkel with someone and would lift my head to make sure they were close as we meandered through the water. My hubby or my sister-in-law stayed close or vice-versa as we ventured out further and further. One time, a huge wave broke near my hubby and the (really salty) saltwater practically drowned him. After that, he was done, lol! We watched our nieces as my brother and SIL snorked for a while. Then my SIL and I went back out. Such a great day! I loved it!! My SIL (who lives at the bay/farm) gave me an underwater camera last Christmas and it came in very very handy!!!

This is the bay from the top of the mountain.


I saw one turtle...such a graceful swimmer!


Me.










Hubby from a distance.




One thing I didn't realize is that as you snorkel, the waves make the water move and therefore you move along with them. So as I was watching the fish, a wave would push me forward toward the fish and at the same time, the fish would also be moving with the waves. It was a rocking kind of action as you floated/swam.

Rain at the Farm

I've been away from home the last couple of weeks or so. My family and I went to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's farm for several days and then my hubby and I went to Hawaii (which I'll post about very soon.) We always enjoy spending time with them (they are the ones who also have a place at the bay where we visit a lot as well.) We just love spending time with them wherever they are. The fact that my brother-in-law loves to work outside and has a tractor, RTV, and a giant ZTR mower is just part of my kiddo's reason to go there. I love my sister-in-law's cooking (I always come back heavier than when I left) along with catching up on their lives and the great family gossip. My hubby loves to dove hunt there as well as work cutting down trees and hanging out with them as well. I wish they lived closer because the four and half hour trip one way sometimes seems so long (especially on the way back.)

When we recently visited, the area (and part of the state of Texas) was in the midst of many wildfires. This particular area had only had rain once back in June and the time before that was um....they can't remember...months. We go walking each morning to walk the dogs and check out the area.




The cracks in the ground were huge!


The second day we were there, while we (I mean, 'they') were resting after having worked many hours, it started to rain! We were all really happy! The kids loved playing outside!! The pic of my older son shows his big smile as he lost his other front tooth on the way there!




Of course, the rain had to bring others 'out of the woodwork' as well! Apparently, the scorpions were enjoying the cool rain as well...ugh!


We celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday while we were there! He's one of those guys who have everything so it's difficult buying for him. We got him a large fishing net this year. I think he liked it. As we were leaving, I stopped and took a picture of the cotton field down the road from where they live. It looked so much better before being drenched by the rain...but I love seeing fields of stuff growing. It has those things along the sides to catch boll weevils (or to make sure there are none in the area, rather.) 'Boll weevils feed on and reproduce in cotton. In fact, cotton is the only cultivated host in which reproduction is known to occur. Both the feeding and reproduction processes damage bolls on the cotton plant ultimately reducing quality and the amount of cotton lint available for harvest.'

My guys -

A couple weeks ago, my hubby and sons were outside mowing grass, trimming bushes and tree limbs and working all day! It was really hot too! In fact, they drank the first two glasses of water immediately so I just brought out a whole pitcher of ice water for them! Seeing them taking a break on the porch made me smile! And, I was happy that I was doing 'inside' things instead of being outside sweating and working, lol!

A little remodeling...

I live in the house I grew up in. I initially moved into it around 40 years ago, moved out a little over a decade later and then moved back in a couple years ago. Before it was used as a house, it was an old store. In the last decade, it had been leveled a couple times so the sheetrock had been broken or cracked in many places. We finally decided to get it all fixed a few weeks ago. After all the work was finished (repairing cracks and then texturing many walls,) we needed to repaint as well. It had been exciting and stressful at the same time because of having to move all the furniture and have kids sleep in different places! But, now that everything is done, I love it!!

I forgot to take the 'before' pictures but had some as the cracks/damaged areas were 'cleaned out' and before they were repaired. Here are some areas:

living room












kitchen






bathroom



The other rooms that were done weren't extraordinary so I didn't even bother with the pics. We hired a contractor to come do all the sheetrock work and my brother painted most of the rooms afterwards. We did a little here and there as well. We caulked a lot first as well. My daughter picked out the blue color for the bathroom and painted it herself. Interestingly enough, my first grader turned out to be a great caulker...so we had him do a whole lot!! Actually, he begged to do it and, of course, we couldn't say no! He had this little tool and did excellent work! This last picture also shows the texturing before it was repainted. The guy textured most of the rooms he worked on too.