A Real Vacation

Yes, a real vacation. I talked to my dad yesterday and told him we had been on a vacation. His definition of a vacation is something you do without children or in-laws. Yep, this is the real deal. No offense anyone but it was wonderful. The weather was cold for the Caribbean but not rainy and it didn't even matter. We got away from it all and thoroughly enjoyed every second. This picture is at the dining room table on the first formal night of the cruise. I guess some people don't like the whole dressing up thing but I think it's fun. How often at home do we get to wear glitz and get away with it?

The first stop was Belize. We floated on inner-tubes in an underground river. We had headlamps on our helmets because it was dark. There were stalactites and bats on the ceiling. It was really cool!

Next, we went on a zip-line in this amazing rain forest.

Here I am getting my gear all set for a ride. It was a lot of fun.

The next day, we got off the ship in Costa Maya, Mexico. This is just a sleepy little beachfront town. They were wiped out by a hurricane 3 years ago and looks like they have rebuilt quite a bit already. We found a little dive shop and they took just the two of us on their boat out for a dive. I am always a little nervous to dive the first time on a trip. Living in a land locked state doesn't present itself with a lot of opportunities to scuba dive. In the past, we have gone on big boats that have ladders to walk down into the water with and this time we had to do the fall-backwards-into-the-water-from-the-side-of-the-boat entry. Not exactly my comfort zone but I did it and we saw some fun coral and big fish.

The next day we stopped in Cozumel, Mexico. We took a cab down to Palancar beach and went on a dive with two other girls from our ship. The guide brought a camera and got some great pictures. The reef we drifted along was amazing. The fish were really big and bright. It was probably the best scuba diving I have ever done. I loved it!

Our guide found a crab on the bottom and brought it for us to hold. He's pretty big!

The resident turtle came out long enough for us to have a photo op. He was much more friendly than the turtles in Hawaii. They swim away and don't let you get anywhere near them. This guy was close enough to touch but I didn't. I wanted to go home with all of the fingers I came with.

Oops, this picture got in twice and I don't know how to delete it.

This ship had so many fun things to do on it. I must admit we had moments of guilt because our kids would have LOVED this ship. This is Nelson getting on the flow rider. It sprays water from the bottom and you can boogie board and surf just like you were on the ocean.

Nelson was a lot braver than I was and got up on his knees.

This ship was huge compared to other ones we have been on. There is a 10 story open space area in the middle of the ship with a promenade at the bottom. There are shops and restaurants, walking bridges and staterooms with windows overlooking everything. Can you see the spaceship looking appendage on the upper part of the ship? That is a cantilevered whirlpool. It is the size of a small swimming pool and you can look out the windows and over the edge from inside. The best part, it's for adults only. Aaahhhh, can you feel the relaxation? It was our favorite hang out place on the ship, not too far from the self serve ice-cream cone station.

This is the second formal night, in the dining room. I could live on lobster and creme brulee.

We went on the rock climbing wall a couple of times. Not in a row, mind you, this was killer! It's a sad statement on how wimpy I have become. However, I made it to the top both times and rang the bell to celebrate.

Here's Nelson on the way up. It was a pretty big climbing wall!

Here it is. Proof that I did this. It's a little scary because the water is coming at you at 35mph but I did it!!

Well, our minds and bodies had a rest and now we are back to the usual frenzy that we exist in. If someone figures out how to live day to day without chaos, please let me know because I loved the vacation state of mind while it lasted!

Snowbound, Science, Skating, Scoring, Superior

David's scout troop built a new sled for the Klondike this year. Here he is (BYU hat, holding rope, standing) getting the gear loaded up.

The Klondike camp was held at Maple Dell. This is the troop heading down to the knot tying game.

David is in the stretcher. They had to build the stretcher, run around an obstacle and back with an injured party and David was it. They lucked out this year and it wasn't too cold, high 20's.

This is David at the science fair at Cascade. He built Heron's Fountain. It uses water and air pressure to make a fountain. It isn't spouting in the picture, but the water comes up out of the top of the bin. The science fair is always fun.

Here is David on his way to school with his valentine's day box. This is another one of those last-day-ever events. This is the last valentine's box I will help make for my kids. It is hard to believe that time has gone so fast every time we pass another marker.

Caroline is 14!!! Happy Birthday!!! For her party, we took a bunch of her friends ice-skating and had cupcakes and hot chocolate.

Laura, Brinnan, Josie and Melanie putting skates on...

What a bunch of cute girls! They had a great time!

David and Katie came along for some fun, too.

Nelson and Katie helping each other out, what a sweet picture.

Basketball season is over for David and their team was undefeated. Here is David heading in for a shot.

...and again...

and again! Even though this picture is blurry it is fun to see the action I think.

David and Katie both just had their Solo Piano Festival and both of them received a Superior. It is truly a joy for me to have piano music being played so often in our home. It is something I love so much. I grew up hearing my grandfather and stepfather play so beautifully and am glad it is something I can still enjoy thanks to my children. Thanks, guys.

au revoir Jordan!

Our niece Jordan is entering the missionary training center tomorrow to serve in the Paris, France mission for 18 months. We went over to say our goodbyes on Sunday night. We were trying to keep everything upbeat with no crying until David just came up to Jordan and told her congratulations and gave her a hug. Well, it was sweet and we will miss her a lot. Being the oldest grandchild, ever since her arrival she has had everyone's full attention and it will be really strange to not have her around. If Michael goes on his mission right when he turns 19 they may not see each other for 3 1/2 years. We also figured out that, only counting boys, we will have a constant stream of someone gone on their mission until David gets back from his in 9 years. Wow, that's a long time to not have everyone together.

Jordan is 4'11 and Michael is 5'11. Here he is kneeling to give her a hug on her level.

Nous vous aimons, Jordan! Bonne Chance!

basketball, singing and swim

We are about halfway through basketball season and David's team is having a great season. They are a city rec team and have had pretty much the same team for the past 3 years. They haven't lost a game this season and David has been a large part of the points. Here he is on the way to a shot. David and the scouts went on the Klondike campout this weekend. I'm not into winter camping but these guys lucked out. The temperature in town was about 40, ok it was in the 20's at night and I'm sure in the mountains it was colder. He survived and has yet to unpack. If someone took pictures maybe someday I can post those.

I made an attempt to upload a video but it was taking FOREVER so I gave up. Maybe some day I will take the time to learn how to do that. I wanted to put on the video of Katie at Solo and Ensemble Festival at Orem High. She sang in a group of 6 and then a duet with Aubree. Both of her songs qualified to go to Region next month. Maybe I could video that event better than this time and figure out how to put on a video...we'll see.

Jordan goes into the MTC this Wednesday the 10th so we went to lunch last week. She chose PF Chang's and I was so glad, I LOVE the crispy honey shrimp, I have been dreaming about it ever since. OK, we can move past the food. We had a nice time and it was fun to get together one last time before she leaves. We are going to go over tonight and say our goodbyes. Sad!

This weekend was the State swim meet. Michael was a little on the grumpy side this week. I think all he could think of was this meet, his final of his high school career. Here he is at the start of the Medley relay. He led the race in the backstroke, his best stroke. His split was 27.02 split was his personal best. His team was seeded 6th and took 7th, improving their time by about 4 tenths of a second.

Next, Michael swam the Individual Medley. This picture is a little blurry but I think these diving pictures look so cool. Michael is 2nd from the left in the yellow cap. He got a great start!

Butterfly...

back and then breatstroke...free and...

Celebrating! He was seeded 9th and took 8th. He improved his time from 2:09:04 to 2:05:84!

Thanks to Grandpa Chuck for being the family's event photographer. His camera is way better than mine and I am so grateful he changed his flight reservations so they could stay and be there for the meet. Lots of family came to support Michael, too. Thanks guys!

Here is Michael and his 200 Freestyle relay team the second day. Michael, Josh, Jacob and Cody. Michael anchored this race. They were seeded 6th and took 7th, they had hoped for better, but on to the race Michael had been waiting his whole career for.

At the blocks waiting for the 100 Backstroke. This was such an exciting race. It is so fun to be in the stands for the final heat of a really close race. The crowd is so loud, and we had a lot of family there cheering with us. Michael was seeded 6th and took 4th! He improved his time from57:11 to 56:18. He was so happy! It was a great moment to share and such satisfaction for Michael at the end of his Senior year. We are so proud of you, Michael.

The Medals stand, receiving his medal.

Way to go Michael!!

Happy Birthday Nelson and Caroline!

Caroline saw a cake like this at the grocery store and loved it so we made it for her birthday. It turned out so cute!

Nelson's birthday was Saturday and Caroline's was on Sunday. 44 and 14, here they are. We went skiing on Saturday and I wish one of us had brought a camera. It was such a gorgeous day. Bright blue sky and it was warm! We found the Congers on the slopes and skied with them for the rest of the day. It was a great ski day. Then Caroline and I had costume check-off for the school play coming up, Annie. Next we went to David's basketball game. They have had a great season. Michael took pictures at the game so I will post them later. We went out to dinner with our friends Rich, Becca, Mike and Nikki and then went to the BYU vs. Utah basketball game. It was a good game! Sunday was Stake conference and we love that because Nelson gets to sit with us at church and then he gets to come home and be with us for the day. We had Caroline's chosen birthday lunch, hamburgers, onion rings, and milkshakes, YUM! Then we made the cake and went to Chuck and Oranee's for dinner. We celebrated birthdays for Kib, Nelson, Caroline, and Ali and also honored Jordan as she is about to leave for the MTC and Paris! We played crazy party games and sat around and talked a lot. Cindi reminded us that when Jordan was young, she called Nelson "Nelsie" and she called me "Nelsies". I had totally forgotten that! We will miss her for the next 18 months. Depending on when Michael gets his mission call, he may not see her for almost 3 1/2 years because he may leave just before she comes home. If Stephanie goes on a mission she and Michael will leave around the same time and then she won't see Stephanie for that long, also. How sad! This week we are looking forward to State Swim on Friday and Saturday and hopefully a birthday party for Caroline's friends.