Alphabet Dating - O for Outdoor Adventure at Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk

Hello, my name is Kristy and I'm an idiot. 

Okay I'm not a complete idiot, but on Sunday I must have left my brain somewhere because this date was a littttlleeeeee idiodic.  But let me back track a little bit and start from the beginning... shall we?

Illawarra Fly has been on our to-visit list for quite some time and after a few weeks of Jesse working interstate and us not getting to spend that much time together, we decided to head off on a random adventure on Sunday morning. 

And it was the perfect thing to tick off one of the "O's" in our Alphabet Dating Book!

We hopped in the car (actually, the truck... because Jesse really is a Southern boy at heart and prefers his truck over every other car) and drove the 1 hour and 40ish minutes from our house to Knights Hill - driving through gorgeous farmland and lush green hillsides. 

Soon we were winding our way higher and higher and higher above sea level - and that's when I probably should have realised what we were in for... but we kept on driving and I was pretty glad Jesse decided to take the truck as it meant we wouldn't have to do the whole 

I think I can, I think I can, I think, I can little engine that could routine.

Next thing we knew, we were at Illawarra Fly and buying our tickets for the walk. 

The admission price is a little hefty at $25 per adult for the walk ($75 if you want to zipline as well) but it's a tourist attraction and that's kind of to be expected.

The upside is, however, they're a part of the "Merlin Annual Pass" which is $99 per adult and gives you unlimited entry to Sydney Aquarium, Wild Life Sydney, Sydney Tour Eye, Madame Tussauds and a bunch of other attractions - which would be worthwhile if you're planning on visiting a few within the year.

We stopped by Dozer's house to see if their resident wombat, Dozer, was around - but alas, native Australian animals still manage to hide from me. I've only lived in Australia my entire life and have never seen one in the wild - even though I walk through a park just about every day that has echidnas and kangaroos and whatever else wandering around in there. Womp womp!

 

Then we were at the start of the walk - and I still had not realised just how high it was. 

As I took the first photo, someone came flying by on a zip line right in my shot and Jesse was green with envy because I'd told him when we were on our way there that there was NO WAY I was ziplining because I "am afraid of heights".

We walked around the first corner and I looked down and thought "HA! I'm not scared of heights anymore, this is nothing!"

Famous last words.... because then this happened....

We walked a little bit further, onto a platform that was suspended in mid-air with no poles or supports underneath and Jesse said "oh wow, look down" (actually... he didn't say wow but we'll just pretend that's what he said).

Ummmm... okay... maybe this is getting a little bad. 

The vertigo started and I felt like I should probably hold onto the railing to steady myself (and you know, cling onto for dear life in case the grate collapses and I risk falling to my death....)

I looked out at the view and thought oh that's nice and then walked as quickly as possible I could back to "solid ground" and away from the suspended-in-mid-air-platform where I had no chance of surviving.... well... let's be honest, my "solid ground" was just the metal sheeting over the grate but hey, that's what I told myself. 

Meanwhile, what was my husband doing? LEANING OVER THE EDGE... and taking photos with his phone over the edge... 

Here I am thinking "please God don't let my wedding rings fall off or my camera strap break because there is no way I'm ever finding anything that drops ever again" and Jesse's is just trying to get the best photo to share with his friends 😜

 

And if I wasn't freaking out enough already, we reached the tower which was ON TOP of the already high walkway and Jesse said "come on, let's go!". 

Um..... this is the moment panic set in. 

My heart rate skyrocketed (my fitbit went into cardio mode 😂) and my brain decided that it would completely stop my legs from moving as I climbed the 106 steps to the top. 

By the time I got to the top (which was SWINGING IN THE BREEZE), I was in full blown panic mode and begging Jesse to get down as soon as possible. 

But being the tragic human that I am, I had to take a photo first - and then I walked as carefully and quickly as possible down those 106 stairs because the swinging and heights was surely going to see my heart call it quits. 

Jesse actually took a video and you can hear me say "I'm surely going to have a heart attack..." 

I then walked as FAST AS I POSSIBLY COULD (but slow enough that I didn't risk killing myself by breaking the grates and falling to my death) to the next "safe" bit whilst Jesse took photos and looked around. 

Jesse convinced me to not just skip to the end and instead walk out to the last lookout point... where I found almost exactly the same view and felt like I'd risked my life for nothing... 

But there was a railing and I grabbed it to steady myself when the platform shook in the wind and IT BROKE. 

Snapped clean in half. 

Jesse says it was the funniest thing in the world because I felt it snap and I screamed "NOPE!" and hightailed my butt out of there as fast as humanly possible. 

I was SO done with the whole "facing your fears" bit at this point and clinging onto this random support pole with dear life because it looked sturdy and unsnappable and Jesse thought it was hilarious. 

Luckily I could see the end at this point and knew I only had to make it just a little bit further and then I was on solid ground. 

And do you want to know what Jesse said when I had 20 metres to go? 

"I swear I just felt the metal slip down under my foot". 

DON'T EVEN.

Kristy out. 

But tell me, what are you scared of? 

And have you ever done anything that turned out to be a really ridiculously bad idea?

Even Jesse felt sick from adrenaline by the end (despite his cool as a cucumber demeanour). 

I'm scared of heights and I am terrified of birds. Beyond terrified... I cry hysterically and hyperventilate if a bird flies at me and we actually have no idea why I'm so scared, haha.

    

   

A Morning with the Mummies #LifeWithTheJoneses

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt. 

I could tell you the mummification process off by heart. 

I could list name after name of pharaohs. 

I watched every documentary I could get my hands on. 

And I even volunteered at the library at lunch time because I knew it was the only way I could convince the librarian to let me borrow the non fiction books that were reserved for the older kids.

So, naturally, when I heard that The Powerhouse Museum had a new Mummy exhibition, I needed to go.  Especially as it meant we could also tick one of the M dates off our Alphabet Dating Book! 

So let me share our Saturday adventure with you! >> 

Celebrating Three Years of Marriage!

Eight years ago today, I thought I was head over heels in love with a boy on the opposite side of the world, racking up ridiculous phone bills and constantly living with my Hiptop/Sidekick in my hand so I could talk to him through AIM. 

Seven years ago today, I knew I was definitely in love with that boy on the opposite side of the world and my heart ached knowing I wouldn't know when I'd see him again. 

Five years ago today, I was counting down the days until that boy would return to Australia once again, knowing that this Christmas was going to be the best one yet as we'd finally spend it together - and we'd finally be reunited after two and a half years apart. This was the boy I was going to marry and those plans started now. 

Four years ago today, I was still in love with that boy and once again waiting for him to return for three months. This time I had a pretty little engagement ring on my finger and was frantically sorting out visa documents so together would finally be our forever. 

Three years ago today, I had this incredible sense of peace and calm (the polar opposite of what we thought), knowing that today would be the day I would finally marry that boy I fell in love with eight and a half years ago. 

And today? Today I'm even more in love with that boy than I was in all those years gone by - and so proud to call him my husband. 

Today doesn't need fancy gifts or raucous celebration because I married the person who makes every day incredible. Someone who makes me laugh, without fail, multiple times a day, someone who "gets" me, someone who I am completely content with doing absolutely nothing with - as long as I'm by his side.

Today is another day to fall in love with that boy from the other side of the world all over again and a day I am so so thankful for. 

Happy Anniversary to my best friend and the one who makes me whole! Here's to a million more and a perfect day of just being together - whatever the weather decides we'll do!

And for those of you who may not have read our story - be sure to check our About Us Page which has everything from how we met to How We Survived Five Years in a Long Distance Relationship right through to our Wedding Recaps!

But tell me, what were you doing three years ago? 

How about eight years ago? 

    

   

How to Make Your Own Bucket List {PLUS} Our Tips for Keeping Date Nights Interesting!

Lately we've been working on a bit of a different project. It doesn't involve paint or wood or tools or anything DIY like the projects we usually work on - we're actually working on putting together a bucket list!

I mentioned in our Recent Things post on Friday that we were heading out to see a comedy show on Saturday as it was something on our bucket list and I've been getting lots of emails and messages from you guys wanting to know the kinds of things we have on our bucket list and I'm always getting emails with requests for date night ideas, so I thought I'd combine the two and share how we created our own bucket list plus our tips for keeping date nights interesting!

Travel & Adventures

I have always loved to travel and Jesse was bitten by the travel bug from his very first trip to Australia. So far, we haven't been on too many trips together, however, our bucket list contains lots of different adventures we hope to have in the future. 

The video above gets my brain swimming with ideas for all the different types of places I'd like to explore - rainforests, castles, mountains, rivers - you name it!

This year the big plan is to head over to New Zealand, however, we're also hoping to squeeze in lots of little weekends away to places across Australia as there's so much of this beautiful country we've yet to see. I love websites like Airbnb which give you the opportunity to stay in unique places in parts of the country you never would have thought of visiting before - and often Airbnb accomodation is far nicer than hotels (and you can often get a place with a full kitchen - perfect for this allergic to everything girl who would rather eat in!).

Some of the adventures on our bucket list include; 

• Have a holiday in New Zealand (This year's overseas vacation!)
• Going to Disneyland together (I am a Disney nut and have been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld multiple times so I cannot wait to share my favourite place with my favourite person!)
• Take a vacation in a rainforest destination (This is pretty vague, but I love nature and have this dream of a rainforest vacation I'm longing to fulfill)
• Stay somewhere in the Blue Mountains for a weekend
• Have a "farm stay" experience
• Head to the "outback" on vacation 
• Take a relaxing beach vacation (Think hammocks, a good book, peace and quiet - a completely relaxing vacation is definitely what we need!)
• See the Northern Lights
• Go on a cruise 
• Visit an outdoor church/chapel/cathedral
• Experience a gospel church service (I'm talking a full choir gospel church!)
• Visit Niagra Falls
• Walk on the Great Wall of China
• Stay in an overwater bungalow
• Visit the Waitomo Glowworm Caves (seriously look at this and tell me you don't want to go RIGHT now!)DONE! See the post here

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New Experiences & Unique Date Nights
I'm one of those people who wants to try everything at least once - so many of the things on our bucket list are things we've yet to experience. 

We also like to keep date nights interesting so a lot of these experiences are plans for future date nights. We can't go out to eat at a restaurant (due to my allergies & coeliac disease) so we make the most of the world around us and experience new things together!

Some of the new experiences on our bucket list include;

• Go apple picking (As an obsessive apple eater this is something I've always wanted to do but always forget to do as Autumn rolls around - this year we've put reminders in our calendars so we don't forget!) - DONE! See the post here
• Go strawberry picking
• See a Gold Class movie (I don't know why but we've never done this before so it's on the list!)DONE! See the post here
• See a stand up comedy show DONE! See the post here
• Do the tree top walk at Illawarra Fly (We're currently debating on whether or not to also go ziplining - even though I'm terrified of heights I think the experience would be awesome!) 
• Go to the drive in (This is something that's slowly becoming extinct so we're planning on heading to a drive in movie while we still can!)
• Go to Putt Putt golf (I've never been putt putt golfing in my life and I've always wanted to - we're actually planning on doing this early next month with our lovely wedding photographer Lucie and her husband Alban!) DONE!
• Go canoeing/kayaking together (This is something I did when I was younger and loved it so I really want to try it with Jesse!)
• Go horseriding
• Go 4 wheeling/quad biking on a beach (This girl who was terrified of four wheelers became obsessed with them in Louisiana :P) 
• Go rock climbing
• Go on a helicopter ride 

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Projects To Do

One of our favourite things to do on the weekend is work on a project. We love DIY things so naturally there's quite a few DIY projects on our bucket list.

The projects on our bucket list include; 

• Build a piece of furniture together from scratch (We've restored plenty of furniture pieces but we've never made something from scratch - I really want to build a cute side table from scratch so that may be our first project!)
• Build a cubby house for our kids (This is obviously a long way off but it's been a dream of Jesse's for a long time so he requested it went on the bucket list so he never forgets)
• Create a decor piece for our room (A canvas, a custom made frame - the options are endless!)

But once you have your bucket list - how do you actually make sure you tick things off?! For us, the biggest motivator is having everything written down - that way, we don't forget the things we want to do and we can record when we tick each item off. 

We have a Bucket List Notebook from Mi Goals ($19.95) where I've written down each and every one of our bucket list items. As we complete each one, I use the inspiration section to stick in photos/ticket stubs etc so that we can remember what we've done!

You can see on the right how we filled out of Live Comedy Show page this weekend - I just added the ticket receipt (because they take your actual ticket upon entry - wah!) as well as some photos from the night!

But now, let's talk date nights! As I said above, a lot of these bucket list items will be used as future date nights/days. We've always had to be creative with our dates as we can't do the usual dinner and a movie (unless it's dinners at home followed by a movie) so we love keeping things interesting by doing different things together.

Our top tips for keeping date nights interesting are;

• Think outside of the box
  Don't think a "date night" has to be your standard dinner and a movie or whatever you think a date night is supposed to be - get creative and use date nights/days simply as a chance to spend time together
• Experience new things together
  I think there's nothing better than experiencing something new with Jesse so we love trying new things together and the times where we do something completely new and unexpected tend to be some of our favourite times together
• Remember that you can have fun on a budget!
  I always hear people say "well, we can't go out on date nights because we can't afford it" - and that's totally not true! You can make a date out of anything - we've even had nights where we simply have a picnic in our backyard or at a local park or have an at-home movie night with snuggly blankets, microwave popcorn and an old movie from our DVD collection. Even a game night with your favourite board games is a cheap way to have fun together. 
• Make date nights a regular thing
  It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget to take time out together. We tend to "schedule in" one date night a month, however, we're usually doing something each weekend if we don't have other plans - even if it's just something simple like making a delicious dessert together or having a movie night at home.
  
  For us, scheduling these date nights in is a must as our schedule is so busy. By making "us time" a priority we can organise things around our date nights to ensure we still get that time to spend together and not keeping pushing it back "next week". 

But I would love to know? 

What's on your bucket list - and how do you keep date nights interesting?

Share your ideas in the comments below so that we can come up with a big list of ideas to inspire one another!