Hawaii 2011

Kyle and I were lucky enough to get to travel with the softball team to HAWAII!! At first we thought that Kyle was going to be going without me because the team was originally renting houses and they did not have space for me...but their plans changed and Kyle would have his own hotel room! So all we had to pay for was my plane ticket...and we figured when would we ever get to go to Hawaii for that cheep?! So immediately I called my Uncle Tom (who lived in Hawaii for many years). He was AMAZING! He gave us all sorts of advice and set up a wonderful evening on the town (more to come) and had his friends watching out for us once we got there. (I had 4 different people call just to check up on us!)

So we started out on a bus leaving Cedar at about 2:00 a.m.!! (Please note that I went to bed at like 11 the night before because I was so excited I couldn't sleep!) I wasn't able to sleep on the bus sadly enough...and when we reached CA our flight had a 5 hour delay!! So we got there much later than we thought. I have come to conclude that I don't like traveling much. I love the excitement before and the fun once you get there but not the process in between!

Fun things we did: The first night Kyle and I just wandered around Waikiki, we found a good Korean restaurant and people watched.We visited the Zoo after a long walk down the beach...the best part was the apes and the hippos!
We watched a lot of softball...I didn't think that I would go to so many of the games but I felt like I needed to support the girls.

I did take one day off from the games and did nothing but lay on the beach! I LOVED IT! I took a Mary Higgins Clark book (which I finished), played in the ocean, napped a bit and people watched. The only bad thing about me going to the beach by myself was that I couldn't quite reach all of my back to put sunscreen on, so I ended up with a bright red sunburn on my back!! It really hurt...but I didn't feel comfortable enough to ask a stranger. Kyle said I should have found myself a cute beach boy...
We took a night-time stroll along the beach... I got in a fight with the ocean (again) and got pretty wet. We then stopped at cheesecake factory to get a slice to go.Uncle Tom surprised us with dinner at the Pacific Club. We got all gussied up and headed to the club...they were expecting us and gave us the royal treatment because of Uncle Tom! The food was DELICIOUS! I had fresh mahi-mahi, caught that morning, with mushrooms, beans and a pastry. Kyle had steak. I am hungry just remembering it. And then Jimmy made us banana fosters...and did the whole light them on fire right next to our table! They were so good. I really wanted to take more pictures of the club, but didn't feel it was appropriate. Thankfully Jimmy brought out his camera and asked for a picture...I then felt like it was ok to ask him to take a few of us.
We visited Hanauma bay on our last day there and went to the beach and snorkeling...Kyle finally had a day off and we had a car! Snorkeling was so much fun! It was so beautiful! Kyle had a little malfunction with his snorkel but after that we were good to go! It was funny trying to signal each other to see something cool...We visited Pearl Harbor...


I shopped a bit at the swap meet, (so much stuff there for so cheep!) and took a drive to north shore.

All-in-all it was a great trip! We now know that you have to have a car when you go, and Kyle wanted more time to play. We are planning to go back for our 10 year anniversary so we get to see the things that we didn't get to this time (like the temple and the PCC). Everytime the weather gets cold Kyle says that he just wants to live in Hawaii...I keep telling him sure, but we would have to live in a tent on the beach because that is all we can afford! :)

Random facts about me...

Today I just had a bunch of random thoughts...I guess it all comes from blog hopping and someone else did this, so here they are!

I love old movies. Love them! My favorite actress is Audrey Hepburn and my favorite actor is Bing Cosby. I love the simplicity of the story lines and the lack of everything that ruins movies now-a-days.

I love the smell of new school supplies. Wierd, I know.

I hate change. I like to be rooted in one spot. If I believed in it, I think in another life I would like to be one of those huge redwood trees.

I like to bake. BUT I only really like to bake when I can take the fruits of my labor somewhere and share them...cause if not I just feel really guilty about eating all of it. Also, I know this is vain and it is a fault of mine, but I like others telling me that they like it...

I like to make things and be crafty...I guess I just like to have my hands busy :) I love the feeling of accomplishment after I am done.

I love my curly hair.

People tell me that I am just too perky/happy for my own good. Sometimes I agree.

I can read all day and see no problem with it.

I really like my handwriting.

I am a holiday fanatic. I love everything about them. The food, the decorations, the traditions and the celebrations.

I drink more water than anyone I know except my dad.

I love cardigan sweaters. I wish I had more of them. Also I love socks. Kyle will often find them in the bottom of the bed after I kick them off in the middle of the night.

I love making lists. I make them for just about everything.

I think I am a bit OCD about cleaning.

I don't watch very much TV at all...but I am addicted to three shows: NCIS, So You Think You Can Dance and The Amazing Race.

I think that is all the ramblings that I have for today :)

Not Me Friday

I realized that I haven't posted on of these random thoughts of Meaghan lately...so here they are!

I do not think that skinny jeans look awful on most people...they either make you look more large than you really are, your rear end look twice as big or on the other end of the spectrum make you look like you have bird legs. I own one pair and I love them. As I am writing this I have to admit that in my head I am thinking...wow Megs...I hope that you don't look horrible in them!

I have not been craving salad from Chili's...that might just have to be dinner tonight.

I do not hate the tests given from one of my French teachers. You just never know what to expect. And honestly, why is it important for me to know the name of the first French food critic?!

I am not very excited to go to Hawaii. Seriously almost as excited as going to France. Almost. The countdown is officially 11 days. And my Uncle Tom has been WONDERFUL!! He gave us a whole list of things to do and places to see!

I am not already ready for this semester to be over. Is that bad?

I am not already having anxiety over passing the Praxis content area...I hate tests...Boo. And this one will determine if I can teach. Boo again.

I am not enjoying getting to watch NCIS on Tuesday nights. I miss my YW but it is kinda nice.

Crafts over Christmas break!

This winter break was full of craft projects...honestly I am a bit surprised with myself that I got them all done. I think that I watched probably 20 movies and did nothing but quilt or crochet. Here is the fruit of my labor!

This is the quilt that I made for my sister Amy...I always try to do homemade Christmas gifts, why I'm not sure, but that is just me.
Here is a close up of the fabric:I also had Sonnett and Levi for Christmas on the Cottam side. As soon as Sonnett found out that I had her name she requested an afghan. I started this right before Christmas and finished it right before New Years. It turned out so soft!
While searching for Amy's quilt fabric I found baby flannel that I just could not pass up! First of all I loved the fabric...and then I saw that it was on sale from $7.99 to $2.49 a yard and I had a 10% off my total. Yeah. It was awesome! Here are some photos:

I loved the word pattern... :)

Christmas 2010

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"...and for me it really is. I start singing Christmas carols after the first snowfall. Following the normal "Cottam Christmas tradition" we had our own Christmas a few weeks before the real date. It was nice, quiet and just the two of us! The Christmas book this year was "The Night Before Christmas," the family game was "Guillotine" and this year's ornament was made from a key chain I brought back from Paris. The big family gift was a Kinect for the X-box...which may or may not have been opened a few weeks early too! Here are some photos from this year!

The new tree sent down from WY from Grandpa and Grandma! It was great! We put our old one in the upstairs window so it could be seen from outside.



"Santa" gave Kyle raspberry bismarks in his stocking...isn't he loved?

Kyle always does such a great job with my stocking...slippers, mike n' ikes, socks, Mentholatum, and orange cream sodas! Totally awesome!