So this morning we got up to see the sunrise. It looked a bit iffy to start out because there were a few sinister looking clouds about. But then, the gods eased up and out came the sunshine... It was just gorgeous... and well worth the hike through the red mud and spider ridden bushes.

Once we arrived, we just hung around and looked at the beauty before us. But then, out of the blue, I was given a hand made invitation to join the exclusive "Mrs Royle" Club... of which there are only 3 members at current. (tick, tick, tick...) For those of you who don't get that... I have a BIG FAT DIAMOND RING on my correct finger.... And for those of you who still don't get it... I'm ENGAGED!! Yaaaaaaay!!!! So to all those men (and women I guess) out there.. Sorry, but you are too late - I am now officially spoken for!

And for the romantics/nosey people... "He got down on one knee just as the sun peeked above the mountain, bringing with it the bluest sky and warm colourful clouds, and said - You are my sunshine... Will you Marry Me?" To which I replied... "GASP! Oh my God, Gasp, HOLY CRAP, YESSSSSSS!!! HOLY CRAP (mini jumps up and down), Oh my God... WOW!!! (mini jumps up and down) Holy crap, WOW!!! It's so beautiful!!! Etc.........." And now I have a fiancé and I am a fiancé... It's very surreal... I have been really tender with the new addition to our family... hehehe

For the diamond hunters/nosey people... It's white gold.. There is one big diamond in the middle, 7 diamonds on either side, and about 16 or so diamonds around the central one... It's hand made, one of a kind and it's total caret value is .75 (I think - I'm sure I will be corrected on that one if I'm wrong... hehehe) He had it for 2 months hidden at home (without me knowing... and for those of you that know me well, it's hard to hide stuff from me coz I am very observant and cluey....) It is just gorgeous... and ya know what... it looks super on my little finger... hehehe...

So to celebrate... we went sailing today and it was just perfect... We organised a baby sitter for the munchkin (who scared us before we left by appearing with a crazy looking red spotty rash.. which in the end we think is just heat rash or rash from the salt water... more on that story to come!!!!) and off we went. We went with another really nice young couple who are from the UK.

We saw a small pod of playful dolphins, inviting us for a swim... none of us took them up on their offer, but it was an awesome sight... I think Adam got a bit of it on camera.

We sailed to "Mariners Cave" which is basically a big whole in the side of an island. To get inside though, you have to time the waves well, take a HUGE breath and swim down a meter or so, swim under about 2.5 meters of rock into a DARK as hole, while your ears pop from the pressure and then you're inside... So yeah... Adam and I went first to try it but had no success. I also freaked out and decided that my efforts of trying were good enough for now... Near enough is sometimes good enough... no matter what the coach says. So I swan back the boat (SAPPHIRE SEAS 2 - 1 year old 44foot sailing boat... Just GORGEOUS!!) So the boys stayed in and kept trying... Adam has some success... But I'll let him blog about that...

We then went to "Swallows Cave" and OPEN cave this time so the girls had a lot more success... It was gorgeous too... Lots of swallows... (Who'd have guessed?) IT was a shame though coz there was quite a bit of graffiti in there from the local youth... Just their names and stuff...

We also sailed to a beautiful secluded beach/island. A Tongan guy owns it... We anchored the boat and snorkled to shore and had a bit of a sniff around. We just couldn't get over how perfect it was. Each photo we took was a postcard... The water was so crystal clear and lovely to swim in. We saw some interesting looking creatures on the bottom. After our little tour of the island, we swam back to the boat and had some lunch. After lunch, we decided to have more quick dip... We just couldn't waste the opportunity. So the boys made good use of this time by doing back flips off the back of the boat... Who started it all? Adam of course... The dare devil. Then our skipper Raymond (a really, really lovely guy... Tongan, 6 kids...) decided the temptation was all to much... So he got his kit off and joined the boys with the crazy diving, only he climbed onto the railing of the boat and back flipped from there... The testosterone was flying... But us girls agreed that testosterone is a good thing, because it gets things done.

When we got home, I stacked it out of the little dingy boat that took us to shore... DOH! I didn't hurt myself but apparently it looked really dramatic.. I was more embarrassed then anything... and worrying about my 'preeeessciousssssss'.. hehehe

Elli was apparently really well behaved while we were gone, but as soon as we got home, she turned into the she-devil. She wouldn't stop crying and was throwing herself around. She didn't want me, or Adam or anyone else and she didn't want to be held and she didn't want to be on the floor or walk around or be in bed... Nothing... It was horrible. We took her to the room and tried to get her to sleep but she wouldn't have it... I just started crying coz she got herself so worked up she looked and sounded like she was ready to pass out. So Adam took her and tried to settle her. In the morning she had some crazy looking spots which we narrowed down to heat rash and teething. So she's got one top tooth and another two on the way. Poor little mite..

18/01/07
Last night was a SHIT sleep... The power was out for a while so I was HOT as.. and Elli wouldn't get to bed and she was thrashing about once again... so Adz and I sang to her for about 20 mins... We are sooo sick of ABC, twinkle, and old macdonald... She woke up a few times in the night with the same symptoms...

And this morning wasn't much better. We gave her a bath and that seemed to settle her a bit. She's had breakfast but she's all over the shop. So we leave Mala today and go back to Niafu. We'll stop in at the pharmacy in town and see if we can get her something... As much as I have LOVED this holiday to bits... It's time to come home... I miss everything and everyone... We miss routine and comfy beds...

Better go...

Love you all... see you very soon...

PEACE OUT!!!

Sleepy Neee x x x ZZz z z zzzZ z z