Cruising for a bruisin' ...or just cruising

The kids really wanted to go on a big trip for spring break this year. With the wedding coming up, Ken and I didn't want to spend a lot of money. (Weddings are expensive!) So we ended up going to California...it was a fun trip, but not quite what the kids had in mind. We told them we would go on a bigger better trip after the wedding. Well, they did not forget this promise. They kept asking and asking where we were going this summer. Tyler was set on going to Costa Rica. But for some reason I didn't want to go there. We talked about going to the Canary Islands or some place that we had a time share. We went back and forth between several places before we decided to go on a cruise to the Caribbean. I found a good deal online and thought it would be fun, adventurous and fairly inexpensive. Well 2 out of 3? It was more than we had expected... but hey it was fun and adventurous!

We flew to Miami (Ken and Tyler together on one airline and Teegan and I flew with frequent flyer points on another) We arrived within a short time of each other. We stayed the night in a hotel and caught a free hotel shuttle to the port.

The first day which was Sunday, we spent at sea. Mostly eating, exploring the cruise ship and eating some more. As on most cruises we did a lot of eating. Monday was or  first port of call  in Cozumel. We took a taxi to a place where we spent most of the day snorkeling.

We also saw a lame seal lion show and saw some dolphins. This was a good taste of snorkeling for the kids. We had a nice chair on the beach with shade to relax and snokel at our leisure.

Tuesday we stopped in Belize and went to the ancient Mayan ruins in Lamanai.

We hired a tour guide ahead of time and he took us to the ruins. We spent about an hour going down the river to Lamanai. We saw 3 ruins and hiked the tallest one, which was really steep. It was a great view. After returning from the ruins we ate an authentic lunch of stewed chicken, rice and beans. It was delicious. The guide talked to us a little about the significance of the Book of Mormon and these ruins. He was not LDS but knew a little of our beliefs.




Day three was Roatan Honduras.

 Zip Lining was way fun!

 Monkey head!

I think this was our favorite stop. It was really beautiful. We Went zip lining through the Jungle, got to hold monkeys, toucans, and other animals, and had a beautiful spot on the beach to snorkel. This location also had a boat that had been placed in the ocean with a big rope swing to jump from. we had a great time. Our guide told us about how they love to eat iguanas. He told us about how you need 4 people to catch one. A seer to spot it, A climber to climb the tree to see where it goes,  a runner to run after it, a catcher to catch it and a dog. He also told us about how he ate his friends pet iguana. I didn't believe him about all this stuff but he swears it is true. It isn't legal to sell them so you can't find them in stores or restaurants.

Our last stop was Costa Maya Mexico. It was our least favorite and we didn't spend much time there.

every night was a new towel animal waiting to greet us on return from our dinner.



After our cruise was over, we spent a couple days in Miami. It was so humid and hot that it was somewhat miserable. We got tickets for the hop on hop off bus and drove around Miami some. We also went to church. and on the last day Ken and the kids went kayaking. They saw a manatee and a little shark. We also ate stone crab for the first time. It was soooo delicious but really expensive. It cost $60 for 5 stone crab claws!

The best crab I have ever Joes stone crab!

 every night was a new towel animal waiting to greet us on return from our dinner. 

 The kids wanted pizza so we got them some so they wouldnt be hungry for our expensive Joes Stone Crab meal. Its a good thing too.

South beach 

It was a great trip, my favorite part was spending time with my family and creating memories with them.

The I dos are done...in a manner of speaking

It has been over two months now since Tori and Jennings got married. I still can't believe it sometimes. It was a perfect day. I can hardly believe that we pulled it off! We are pleased with how well everything came together. I hope that my little girl will be blissfully happy from now until forever! If not, Jennings, I will hunt you down. haha.


Here is a link to the video

http://vimeo.com/103905611

I love those 2 and I am happy for them. I am a little sad for myself however. The night before the wedding, I cried and cried. I was happy but sad at the same time. Sad that my little girl was leaving home to make a home of her own. Sad that I wouldn't get to see her everyday. Sad that she had a new best friend. It is hard for a mother to let go of her babies! So hard! You give them life and everything you have, then before you know it, they are gone. When they are little it seems like you will have them forever. And then before you know it and usually before you are ready, it all becomes a memory. I am so pleased that they were worthy to enter the temple and be married for time and all eternity. I was emotional in the temple, my baby girl has grown up and has become a beautiful righteous woman.

The reception was perfect. We had a lot of support. The decorations came together perfectly. We got lots of compliments on how amazing the decorations were. The food was great, We had dancing and a DJ that was so fun! It really was a great day! We had lots of help cleaning up so we were home and in bed by about midnight. That was such a blessing!

These two are such a blessing in my life! I can't wait until I can blog about babies! Although I do not feel old enough to be a grandma! Maybe I can wait. Ha

More These are a few of my favorite things and some that are not so much

As I was getting ready for church today, I reached for my tooth brush and started to brush my teeth. I immediately realized that there was a hair on my toothbrush! Bleck! I hate that!. I hate hair anywhere that isnt on a head. Hair on my neck ( I am really sensitive and can tell if a hair has jumped off my head and landed on my neck) hair on the bathroom counter, and especially hair on my toothbrush. ugh! So I decided to make a list of things I hate. So here goes:

Things that I hate:
Hair on my toothbrush
Whining
Going to the doctor (dentist, gynecologist, optometrist etc)
A kink in my neck
I hate being crammed into an airplane for hours especially when I'm tired and just want to lay down and sleep. I hate the stale air that is on airplanes. I don't much like airplane food either unless its ice cream.
Throwing up..nasty! This is so disgusting. For some reason my family talks about this more than is ideal and its usually at the dinner table. :(



Then I started thinking about
things that I love: 
My family
Doing things with my family (playing games, eating, travelling, camping etc)
Cotton Candy I don't know why but I love me so some good cotton candy!
Sugar -I love sweets! Is this bad that my top five things have sugar listed twice? I love a good treat, cold stone ice cream, a good cupcake, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, maple bars...I could go on and on but you get the idea.
A good movie that makes you laugh and cry (Steel Magnolias)
Eating dinner out (I love having a break from cooking-it is especially great if the food is good...this is not always the case. I have high standards of what good food is)
A good bargain
Travel, travel, travel. I love to travel. well not the act of travelling, that kind of stinks (see above list of hates) But I love visiting new places, and experiencing new cultures, foods and people.
I love to laugh although it can be hard to make me laugh. I don't find most comedy funny. But I love to laugh
I don't do it nearly often enough.
The feeling I get when I am done exercising-relief
A good hug-not too long not too short. Some people I like to hug longer than others.