The Trip of a Lifetime!!

Out of fear of being deleted from LeeAnn's "Friends" list (hehe) I have been motivated to update my very outdated Blogg!! Life has been crazy busy/stressful as of late. So there is my reason/excuse for my lack of creative energy. But after taking 2 cruises in 8 weeks, I'm feeling a little better!

Much has happened in our lives but since this is a "happy place" I will just stick to the positive! Before Joe & I took our cruise to Mexico in Nov. (It was FANTASTIC by the way) Kent & Robyn came across a screaming deal for a 5-day cruise to Catalina Island & Ensenada. We couldn't resist! We called Mom & Dad and it didn't take much arm twisting to get them "on board" as well!

So the plans were made! The cruise was from Jan. 7-11 so this was our Christmas. We kept it a surprise until Christmas morning. Joe & I made a scavenger hunt for the kids. After they opened their Santa gift they started in on the clues that led them down to the basement, up to the game closet, to Joshua's email, to the freezer and finally to the DVD player. They were instructed to push PLAY. When they did they saw a video of Joe and I on the beach in Puerto Villerta telling them that we were all going on a cruise! Joshua burst into tears of joy! Lukas had to read the card that gave all the gory details of the trip! They were elated! We were relieved that they weren't disappointed in the lack of gifts to open that morning. They were ready to pack their bags!!

So we left on Thursday, Jan. 4th and traveled to St. George, UT where we stayed two nights in Mom & Dad's condo (Trendwest). They are nice because they have a full kitchen and 3 bedrooms and are very new and NICE! The boys loved the murphy bed, arcade, ping-pong and sitting in the hot tub while it was raining. Kevin & Robyn Cox came over to see us and surprised us with the great news that they are pregnant!! Yeah!! Congrats!! Grandpa brought the 4-wheelers with us and the guys went out to Sand Hallow and had fun on the dunes. Amanda was very sad to be left out because she had the stomach flu. When we arrived at Trendwest late Thurs. evening I thought she was car sick. She threw up all down the hallway in the main office when we were checking in. But she threw up all night and had a fever the next morning! I was so worried it would spread! But it didn't and she was feeling much better by Sat.

Saturday afternoon we left for Anaheim, CA. We drove through some pretty serious wind & rain between Las Vegas and Burbank, CA. I am a very nervous traveler when the weather isn't absolutely perfect! But we made it just fine! We stayed in a hotel right across the street from the main gate of Disneyland. Thanx to my cousin Brian and his connections, we were able to spend Sunday in Disneyland! It was great to be back again! We fist headed straight to the new Nemo Submarine ride. It was cute. Amanda & I were sitting by Astro Blaster when I spotted Brian and his cute wife, Deb. They had broke down and bought season passes so they could come spend the day with us in the park! It was so great! It was fun to spend time with Brian and to be able to get to know Deb better! The one thing I really wanted to do there was see the Aladdin show because it was shut down last time we went. While we were sitting having lunch one of the Dream Maker Staff started talking to us and ended up giving us a Dream Maker Pass to the show which meant that we were taken in first and got to sit on the front row for the show! It was fabulous! It was overcast and chilly all day and then finally at 5:30 it started to rain! So we bought ponchos for the kids and kept on truckin' We walked on to every ride we wanted and really had the place to ourselves! We held out until 10:30 and finally went back to the hotel with soggy socks and shoes and lots of great memories! THANX BRIAN, DEB, TIFFANY & CHRISTIAN!!!!

The next morning we drove 30 min. to the pier to board our Carnival Paradise Ship. The kids were so amazed at how big it was! Joe & I had our own cabin that had an outside window and the kids were right across the hall with two single beds and 2 bunk beds. They were all excited about having their own t.v. and bathroom. Kent & Robyn and kids were on one side of us and Mom & Dad were on the other side. We explored the ship and introduced the kids to the buffet! It was one meal that everyone sat down happy at. And then they found out about the ice cream machine!!! That became their favorite stop! Especially Noah! On the last day we asked him how many ice cream cones he had eaten and he immediately responded, "51!" Now that's a good vacation!!

The kids had fun in Camp Carnival. They had camp counselors and programs for each age group. They made alot of new friends from many different places. Lukas even made a friend from Australia. It was nice because after dinner each night we could check Noah & Amanda into Camp Carnival from 7-10 while we went and enjoyed the entertainment! They had alot of fun! They also had some of their friends from home there. They loved the pool (even though it was salt water) and the hot tub! It was a bit chilly so they spent more time in the hot tub.

We stopped first in Catalina Island where they immediately kicked off their shoes and let the waves chase them on the beach. We walked through some shops and then rented a 6-person golf cart for the 8 of us. We were driving along and ended up behind the Barkers. We ended up racing them all over the island. Going up hill was a bit slow but you couldn't stop us going down! We had alot of fun!

The next day we were in Endanada, Mexico. We walked from the ship into town. Mom bought the kids a bracelet with their name on it from a street vendor. He didn't have one for Noah so we got to see him make it in about 3 min. time. It was worth the money just for that. It was incredible! The kids enjoyed shopping and bartering with the people. I was about to have an anxiety attack trying to make sure we had everyone together! After about an hour I was done. So we headed back to the ship. There's no place like HOME!!

The dress-up night was fun. There was Lobster on the menu and all Lukas wanted was fries. So our waiter brought him a huge plate of fries! The next night they all ordered 4 shrimp cocktail. That is the beauty of a cruise! Eat what you want, when you want! Our waiter was from the Phillippines so it was fun to talk to him in Tagalog. His wife and family are from a town that was in my mission, but it was assigned to Elders. Quite a few of the crew members were Filipino so it was fun to be able to use my Tagalog! I don't get that chance very often!!

All in all it was a great time! The kids were very sad to have to get off the boat on Friday morning! I was too! A cruise is never long enough! It is the ONLY way to travel!! Joshua & Lukas loved it because they were pretty much on their own! They had no need for us! We had fun with Mom & Dad, The Barkers & The Morrisons! Great people, great fun!!

After getting off the ship we headed back to St. George to stay at Trendwest again! We were in no rush to get back to reality! We took the 4-wheelers out again on Sat. and had a great time. We relaxed, the kids swam and Kevin, Robyn and Chelsea came over. They brought a fun game called 6 Nimmt! (Take 6) They got it for Christmas. It is from Germany and it was SO fun!

Sunday we drove the rest of the way home only to find our driveway covered in a foot of snow. JC was beside herself with joy to see us!! We had a friend of ours house sit for us and take care of the dog (JC), the lizard (Rex) and the turtle (Ashley). I don't think we will see our driveway again until May!

I am so thankful that we were able to take this trip. The timing of it all wasn't very great but I know this is something that my kids will remember forever! And to be able to do it with their grandparents is an added bonus!! I may need my basement finished, my laundry room finished, a new dishwasher, a new washing machine, new carpet, etc, etc, etc, but I truly feel that making memories together as a family is an investment that will yield eternal bonds and relationships.