For once I am at a loss of words. I am not sure where to begin to describe the 9 days away. It was so much fun being with Jeff. Even just being on the airplane with a book was relaxing. There were so many great things. One of my favorite parts was listening to John Lund speak. He knows a lot about the Book of Mormon and a lot about marriage. I felt so uplifted. We saw many wonderful things and I am sure I can't think of them all, s0 here goes my attempt and my travelogue. This is more for journaling purposes than anything else.
Day 1: We had a 4 hour layover in Atlanta, so we decided to brave the public transportation. We went to see Millenial Park, but it was closed for a private event. It looked beautiful from the outside. We also walked around the World of Coke, but didn't want to pay since we only had about 30 minutes by the time we got there. There will definitely be more to see when we go again someday. It was much better hanging out there than in the airport!
Somehow I had picked to fly into Fort Lauderdale when our hotel was in Miami (Only me!), so my good friend Ranell (from Oregon), used her investigative powers to find us a shuttle to Miami. There was a crazy lady in our car and it took 1 hour and a half to drive 20 miles. We eventually reached our hotel! We watched the Red Sox game (which we didn't even stay up to finish as it went into extra innings- they eventually lost-doh!)and ate at a sports bar.
Day 2: Met up with our group from Cruiselady. I was excited to have all my activities planned for me. We did notice pretty quick that we were one of the only younger couples there, but everyone seemed really great and excited to be there. They were a neat group to travel with. We went on an airboat tour through the Everglades. It was a gorgeous day. We even held a baby alligator and watched trained alligators. We met a couple from the Northwest and hit it off immediately with them. It was nice to meet new friends.
We got on the ship around lunch time and then just enjoyed the sun and the view of the harbor. It was Sunday and since it was an LDS cruise group, we were able to have Sunday services. The speaker was John Lund, who is incredible, and we were lucky enough to have a concert by Michael Ballam. It was a beautiful way to spend a Sunday.
Day 3: Day at Sea We were able to hear John Lund speak again and we just explored the boat. We were able to sleep in, work out, read, relax and enjoy time together.
Day 4: We went to Grand Cayman. We signed up with the group to swim with the stingrays. I don't have any pictures of this because my underwater camera fell off the strap-doh! But let me tell you, it was so cool! The water was not very calm, but it was crystal clear blue. Exactly what I pictured and more when I thought about the Caribbean. The stingrays were kind of scary at first because they were so big, but they would just come up and hang out with us. I got pretty sick, I think from all the salt water and the next part of the little boat ride was not so fun for me. Luckily I felt good enough later to snorkle some more. It was pretty rainy, so many of the people we met went back to the ship. We figured we were already wet, might as well enjoy the island. We went for a "run" to find the nearest beach. We ended up at 7 mile beach and enjoyed a nice afternoon. I am glad that Jeff is such a good sport!
Day 5: Due to crazy circumstances, this ended up being another day on the boat. There were riots in Honduras, so they didn't feel it was safe to go there. (I personally didn't want to be in a country I didn't know with civilians having guns and protesting, hmm...)We spent the day working out, listening to John Lund, eating, reading, and eating.
Day 6: We were rerouted to Cozumel where we went to the ruins of Tulum. This is a beautiful site and it was great to have the local guide, Lemuel (yep, his real name!) talk to us about the Book of Mormon correlations. You could feel his love for the site.
Day 7:We had found out our plan to go to Belize was also waylaid, this time due to weather. How can you be disappointed when you are still being waited on hand and foot? The replacement port was Progreso Mexico, and we were lucky enough to go visit Chichen Itza. It is one of the new 7 wonders of the world and it was magnificent. I was in awe the entire time we were there. I could have stayed there all day and I could do one post all about it. Maybe I will. :-)It is amazing to think of the ancient civilizations who built these temples and what their lives were like. Our guide was Helaman this time and he was incredibly knowledgeble.
(Here is Jeff proving he did wear his nametag every once in a while!)
We also watched a movie on the big screen on the ship. (Well, Jeff watched it, I fell asleep. Some things never change!)
Day 8- Day at sea- This was the first time we participated in "cruise" activities and we had a lot of fun. We joined in some competitions and ended up dancing, singing karoke (Steph, you would be proud) and dancing some more. We also took a latin dance class, which was a lot of fun. We did some more relaxing and reading and hanging out with new friends we made. We also saw some great shows while we were on the ship- my favorite being the amazing juggler, Jeff's favorite being the show dedicated to 80's music!
(These are the waiters responsible for feeding me lots and lots of food!)
Day 9: Time to check out and head home.
I couldn't believe it was over. I had a great time, but I was definitely thinking about my kids. On the plane ride home I found out Emily had had a febrile seizure while I was gone and it just made me so sad. My mom handled it perfectly of course, but that is something no grandma should have to see. Emily was very excited to see us as was Bryce (who came running!), but Dallin kept on playing video games. It is good to know they are so loved and well taken care of. We were supposed to just miss my mom's flight home, but her plane was delayed so I was grateful to tell her thanks in person. She is a fantastic mom and grandma. They had such a good time with her and I feel so lucky that I could enjoy myself and my time with my sweetheart while they were in good hands.
This was the first vacation that I felt rested when I came home. I was ready to take on laundry and cleaning again, and ready to play with and love on my kids! I am grateful for my marriage and my wonderful husband of 10 years and this chance to enjoy just being together. Thanks for the hot chocolate every night. Love ya babe! You are the best!
We had our first taste of wearing costumes at a kids Halloween party at the Y. The kids met a lot of their friends there and just had a good time playing games and eating treats. What more could you want? Bryce really loved the bean bag toss and kept sneaking to the front of the line and reaching as high as he could to put the bean bag in the lion's mouth. So cute!
The next weekend I took a trip up to Seattle to visit my cousin for her baby shower. Unfortunately I got sick on the way up and she took good care of me. I just brought Bryce with me and Jeff had a great time with the older 2 kids at home. He took them swimming and just enjoyed being with them.
Jeff and I got a babysitter and went to an adults only Halloween Party. We rented a bowling alley and then played pool and hung out. Everyone dressed in costume and just enjoyed chatting without the little ones to take care of. We definitely need to do this more often. I wish I had more pictures, but my camera wasn't working. You can see more on facebook if you want to add me as a friend! :-) It was so much fun!
The day before Halloween was a little busy. I had the co-op preschool at my house. It is one of my favorite holidays to be in charge of because the kids are so cute! We had a great time. I was able to volunteer in Dallin's school for their harvest festival. I don't get to help as much as I would like, I just have to remind myself it is not my time yet! So, I am so grateful for friends who help watch Emily and Bryce so that I can be there every once in a while.
Halloween Day started with teacher conferences. I have been so happy with the charter school that Dallin attends. His teacher is very aware of what he needs and loves to challenge him. I am grateful that she is continuing to foster his love of learning. He has been such a joy to teach and it is wonderful to see him learning from someone else. We spent Halloween night with good friends having a pot luck dinner and then took the kids trick or treating. The boys sprinted so far ahead that I didn't get any pictures of them! They were sweating by the time they met back. (Hopefully someone else has pictures!) Emily was too funny. She was very picky about her candy. One time she said, "I have tried that kind and I didn't like it. Can I have chocolate?" I tried to chastise her a little for being rude, but it made me laugh! Bryce made a very cute pirate, but didn't quite get the trick or treating yet.
So, that is the last few weeks in a nutshell. I look forward to posts of a more random nature!
