Last night, I was looking through my pictures and found one I took of Claire in Cozumel, which is one of my favorites:

I love the color of her eyes in this photo, so I decided to play around with it and see if I could make it into an interesting background photo on my phone.  I zoomed in, and I was shocked to discover something that I’d previously missed!

Not only had I captured her beautiful smile, freckles, and sun-kissed locks, I’d inadvertently captured the view of the ocean and coastal buildings in her eyes.

Eye Sea The View!

I see the view, and I love it!

Everyone got out their phones, and one person even had a “real” camera.  We stood still, whispering, mesmerized, trying to capture the vibrancy of the colors with the click of a button.

The above photo hasn’t been altered in any way.
It was even more magnificent in person.

It’s nights like this when there’s no doubt we live in Colorful Colorado.

But, when Reality presents you with the option to totally enjoy the moment, I’m quick to choose that, too.

Plus, there isn’t a beach in sight, and we’ll get our chance to frolic in less than a month.

The weather people have been predicting a Snowmaggedon of sorts for us today.  Yes, it was 80 degrees on Monday!  But, this is Colorado, the epitome of the Wild West.  Who knew they were referring to the weather when they said that?

Sure enough, it snowed.  It snowed enough that everyone got all flustered, but my new car was made for this weather, and we didn’t slip or slide once.  The trickiest part about this storm was the fact that the Fall Colors have yet to actually FALL, so the wet snow has wreaked havoc on the large, mature, leaf-laden trees.  On my route to school, I noticed some downed limbs.  Oddly enough, on my way back home along the same route, I saw MORE downed limbs!  I’m just glad they waited for me to pass before crashing to earth.

So, what’s a beach lover to do when faced with snow?  Embrace it.  Play in it.  Take cool pictures of it as the light played with it on the trees.

Yay! Snow!

Hard at play

I played outside with Claire for a while. Then, Daddy took a turn. They built a snow ET!

Crisp and Clean

Copper and Snow Lines

Of course, the fact that it will be near 60-degrees by the weekend makes it pretty easy to enjoy now.

My husband was leveling off an area when his shovel hit something.  Because of all the rain we’ve had, we weren’t surprised to see the tippy top of a root.  Thinking we’d just shave it off, he got to work.  Then, upon further investigation, we realized it was a bigger problem than that.  If left to regrow, we’d be right back where we started, only it would be harder to fix the path.

So, we decided to remove the root entirely.  I mean, how big could it be?  Almost two hours later…

Click photo to enlarge...if you dare.

The fact that he put on his best redneck mechanic voice and said, “Well, THAT’s yer problem!” made it all worthwhile.

A grand time was had by all.

My husband and I didn’t want to leave Hawaii. We looked at each other and said, “Let’s just send for Claire and the kitties and just stay!” We weren’t kidding.

But, like good little travelers, we showed up at the airport on the last day of our trip and used our return tickets home.

This trip was magnificent. Hawaii truly is a paradise, and I can’t wait to go back.

Today, I got word that there is some exciting volcanic activity at Volcano National Park, and it’s prompted me to share some of our own adventures.

One of the most exhilarating experiences we had was the day trip to The Big Island to see the volcano.

We used an outfitter, and they couldn’t guarantee that we’d see lava flow. It’s worse than predicting the weather, and they didn’t want to get our expectations out of whack.

We knew we’d be able to hike in the lava fields.  We did!

Can you see me hiking with the plume from the lava flowing into the ocean in the distance?

Shadow portraits! The sun kept hiding behind the plumes, so it was challenging, but we got a shot!

We knew we’d be able to see a volcano (and hoped we could get relatively close).  We did!

Mauna Loa, The World's Largest Active Volcano

Scientific Instruments! Cool! We totally dig this kind of thing!

Would we be able to see lava flowing? Would one of the main reasons we traveled to the Big Island come to fruition? Time would tell. With our fingers crossed, the sun slipped farther and farther to the west, and Pele smiled upon us! We got to see lava flow! We got to get right up close! (Well, roughly 35 feet) We could feel the heat, and the sight of new earth being created right in front of us changed us forever.

You can tell things are exciting when all the tour guides are ecstatic. They were saying that they hadn’t seen such a wonderful display in over 6 months.

It was all we could have dreamed it could be.

This photo doesn't do it justice, but it warms my heart and makes it real all over again.

I can’t really describe the feeling of that moment and how it will forever be a part of me. We witnessed pure power. We witnessed raw creation. Experiencing it first hand was overwhelming and more exciting than we could have ever imagined.

And I can’t wait to go back.

In the meantime, I thought I’d post the photos of our progress. I LOVE the kitchen. LOVE it. I am so happy and amazed by the changes!

It’s amazing what a little paint can do!

And this is where I admit that “a little paint” wasn’t. It wasn’t just a little paint. It was a lot of paint…and blood…and sweat…and tears… I know you’re not supposed to say “never,” but the thought of painting cabinets ever, ever, ever again makes us sick to our stomachs. If we ever move, and the new house “needs a little paint,” I may burst into tears.

They make it look so easy on those HGTV shows. Time-lapse photography and an army of workers gets it done in a flash. That’s just not the case. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we just didn’t really grasp how horrible it would actually be.

We looked at the cost of ripping out the old, gross cabinets and just replacing them and thought it was too expensive. We’ve done so much on this house, what’s one more project? It was terrible. Refinishing them instead of painting them would have been just as bad. Mid-project, we looked at each other and said, “It’s just money.  Let’s rip them out!” …but by then it was too late. We’d invested way too much to give up. We powered through, and I’m so glad we did.

I’m so glad it’s done, and I LOVE IT.

Before:

(This was taken in 2008 when we replaced the stove.)

After:

The walls are still Montpelier Olive.  We used Baked Brie on the cabinets.  The countertops look new, but aren’t!  Bonus!

I would have posted photos sooner, but my husband was busy adding little extras to the cabinets for me.  I wanted to post pictures all at once, so there they are!  He does such good work:

Spice Rack!

Hand-made silverware drawer divider! (As with everything else in this house, the drawers are not standard, so none of the dividers on the market actually fit properly.)

Trash and recycling center!

Pull-out drawer for pans and a slidy-drawer for the lids!

This is now a pantry!

Even Fred was happy about the changes, but he wanted to wear a disguise for the photos. Silly Garden Gnome.

Along with the kitchen remodel came a total rearrangement of every item in the cabinets. For almost 10 years, we’ve tried to find the best place to house things. Our cabinets were just awkward.  We were forced to put things where they fit, rather than where they “should” go. We did the best we could, but I’ve never really liked it. After 10 years, I knew where things were, but it never made sense to anyone else.

With the remodel came restructuring, and now things fit in a manageable flow. Things make sense. I still walk across the kitchen to where the trash used to be, but I have yet to throw it in on our food. (The trash wouldn’t fit under the sink, like in a normal house. So, we had it in the tall cabinet. We added shelves, and that is now a pantry, and we added the trash/recycling unit to the cabinet next to the sink. See photos above.)

When we were painting the cupboard doors, they were all off, exposing the items inside. I actually grew fond of this look. Our things looked pretty, and it did wonders in learning where things were. Now that the doors are back on, I’ve remembered where things are. There have only been a couple times I’ve reached for something where it used to be.

Next up will be the installation of a hardwood floor in the kitchen. It’s not a top priority, as we’re just basking in the glory that is a fresh new kitchen. I’ve convinced the other half of my work team that someone else needs to be paid money to install the floor. (We can demo to save that part of the budget, but the installation needs to be someone else’s responsibility.)  He agreed.

In fact, this time, he didn’t even hesitate.

Balancing a party hat on the Party Girl's head. Click for more detail.

I couldn’t resist!  I just can’t believe how much she’s grown between this photo (above) and the one we took today (below).

Happy New Year!

After a constant stream of parties and house guests over the last few months (year, really), we’re chilling at home this New Year’s Eve.

It’s not quite Hawaii-level Relaxation, but it will be perfect.

2010, you’ve been so good to us. Welcome, 2011!

Click the photo to see more detail.
I think it turned out great, if I do say so myself!
You can even make out some of the stars if you squint!

Earlier this morning (at 12:41 am, Mountain Time, to be exact), we witnessed a total Lunar Eclipse.  (Truth be told, we practiced taking photos with the full moon a couple hours before that.  I did set an alarm for 12:30, in the off chance I’d fall asleep and miss it.  I’m a Night Owl, but I also like to be prepared.  Luckily, we had the perfect vantage point from the deck in our back yard!)

Although eclipses are always really cool to see, the fact that it coincided with the Solstice made it just that much more special.

The night was perfect:  Crisp, clear, and we got to see stars we never see from our vantage point in the city, what with the bright glow from that pesky moon obscured by something large and lumbering, it’s shadow getting in the way.

The reddish glow was mesmerizing.  Watching the sliver of silver disappearing was breathtaking.

We took so many photos, played with tons of different settings, and I’m glad we had the tripod set up to capture this without the wiggle of human hands in the cold night air.

Here’s one we took while playing with the exposures &
fancy-schmancy camera settings.
Just like the one above, click to see more detail.

What a beautiful night for a Lunar Eclipse.  What a beautiful beginning to the Solstice.

Happy Solstice, everyone!

Click photo for more detail.

This is one of my favorite photos from Hawaii. Yes, I say that with almost every photo. I can’t help it!

Why does this one look weird? Well, when we were in Kauai, we were fortunate to have a blazingly bright full moon. We decided to play around with our new camera on the beach, and we set the exposure really long and used the moonlight to take our photo.

I haven’t edited this photo at all. This is the power of a fancy camera, creativity, and moonlight.

I love how the waves appear to wash right through us, softened and morphed together as time goes on. Little movements we made while standing still for so long appear blurry and soft.

When I saw this photo, it reminded me of our relationship. For almost 14 years, we’ve stood by each other as waves have crashed around us, sometimes soothing, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes frightening, always exciting. Time has softened it all. Little movements we’ve made together or separate appear blurry now, but when held long enough, our image is strong.

Today, 10 years ago, we made this bond public and official.

Here’s to many more years of magic and moonlight, softness and strength, love and excitement.

Happy Anniversary!
I love you, babe.