More Curise Pix

Puerto Vallarta - South Banderas Bay

Puerto Vallarta - South Banderas Bay

Room on Ship with cute towel animals.

Horse back riding in Puerto Vallarta

Best beach I have ever been to. White sand and clear water.
We could see the bottom of the ocean from our chest. This is
in Cabo San Lucas.

Cruise Highlights

Well, the vacation finally came and went. It was amazing. Alan and I are generally pretty frugal with money so blowing money on what seemed like such an extravagant vacation was a little uncomfortable. I felt really guilty at first. But we worked hard and were smart with our money this year and it was an amazing experience. So I think I'll be able to forgive myself for busting into the savings account. I could write a ton about what happened on our trip, but that would be really long to read so here are the highlights.

The ship was really nice. It is only 3 years old. It has a 40,000 sqft spa facility which is where we spent a lot of our time. We went every day and got 4 different spa treatments. We also spent a lot of time on the "serenity deck" which is the quiet "adults only" deck. I got a lot of reading done and Alan had some homework to do (unfortunately) so that was a favorite spot. We saw some shows in the theater and caught a couple of comedy acts.

Of course the food was out of control. The scale said that I had gained 9 pounds the night we got back. In all fairness, it probably wasn't that much because I was fully dressed and it was night time on a full tummy when I weighed. But I feel like I gained 9 pounds so I am going to count it. We met some really great people and I was so excited that the couple we were assigned to eat with every night in the dining room was so fun. They were great and we really enjoyed getting to know them. On the last day there was a chocolate buffet. Did you hear me people? A CHOCOLATE BUFFET!!! The whole thing was devoted to chocolate dishes and deserts. No wonder I gained 9 pounds.

We booked 2 excursions through the cruise line and did some stuff on our own. I went out of my comfort zone a lot this past week. I was pretty proud of myself. We went zip-lining, hiking and repelling in a huge canyon, drove on a bus for a very long time with a very, very crazy Mexican driver, rode in really fast boats, rented jet skis, swam and snorkeled in the ocean, rode horses through jungle canyons and jumped off rocks into waterfalls and ate authentic food on beautiful private beaches accessible only by boat. These descriptions don't really do the activities justice, but I am pretty sure that I won't ever forget them, even if I don't describe them in detail. And to top it all off, I sang Karaoke with a live band, in front of a room full of people, all by myself. Yes, you heard it right, I sang Karaoke, ALONE! Of all the things I was scared to do this week, that was the most horrifying. I probably sounded like crap because I was so nervous, but I didn't chicken out or hyperventilate and that is what counts.

Alan was the adventurous one when it came to eating. He ate tons of seafood and steaks since I don't really like those things and we never really eat them here. But he also had sushi, clams, duck, alligator, shark and frog legs. He skipped the escargot because he said he had already tried it. I was thoroughly impressed but really grossed out at the same time.

There were so many things to do on the boat, that we didn't even begin to scratch the surface. Honestly we didn't even try. Our main goal was to relax, not to party and I think we accomplished it. It is nice to be home now, even though we both still feel like we are on a boat today. I keep rocking back and forth with the tide of my living room floor! ;-) We will have to start saving our pennies so we can try something different next time. Hopefully it won't be another 7 years before our next vacation!

Fall Break

We wanted to take the kids to Disneyland, but instead we decided to save the money for a cruise. So selfish, I know! So we took them to Sedona instead. The Hamiltons, Orams and Daniels spent the night in a neighboring city (in one hotel room, YIKES!), then woke up the next morning to go hiking. We were trying to see the fall colors but we were about a week or 2 to early. There were some yellows and red's but not much. It was pretty anyway.

We also went to see some old Indian ruins which were pretty neat and took our first trip to Jerome AZ. If you don't know, Jerome is a ghost town. Well it used to be. Back in the 70's only a hand full of people lived there. It used to be an old mining town built in the early 1900's. Now it is mostly a tourist hot spot because of all the historic buildings. Barely anything looks like it has been restored. And the whole town is built on the side of a very steep hill/mountain. Very precarious at best. Since all the buildings are so old, they all look like they are about to roll down the side of the hill at any moment. Wouldn't want to be there during an earthquake, but it was really neat to see. The kids actually really liked it too. They keep talking about wanting to go back to the ghost town. We had a Haunted Hamburger, voted the best burger in AZ and I have to say it was pretty yummy. But that pumpkin cream pie was to die for!

The point of all this is that the kids had a blast and we spent about 1/20th of what we would have spent taking them to Disneyland. Plus it was way more relaxing! I would say the trip was a success.

September - The Month of Birthdays

It seems like everyone in our family has a birthday in September or May. Se we decided to have one big celebration this month. My grandparents were in town, so my mom's step brothers came for our party too. Mom's step-nephew Dylan had a birthday in Sept as well as grandma so we had a party with presents and individual cakes for: Alyssa, Matthew, Kimberly, Dylan, Josh, Zachary & Grandma! It was crazy!

Kimberly got her first "friend" party. She had a pretty good turn out. It was a slip'n'slide party. In most places a September 15th birthday would be to cold for this but here in Hell.....oops, I mean Arizona, September 15th is the perfect time. It was a lot of fun and since we did everything outside, including cake, ice cream and presents, I didn't have to freak out about a million kids trashing my clean house. Clean up was super easy.

Zachary had a little birthday party on his birthday in which we let him eat his cupcake. He was a mess but he loved the cupcake (of course). So we let him have 2. :-) It was pretty low key since 1. we already celebrated the week before at the MEGA PARTY and 2. he isn't going to remember anyway. I can't believe that he is already a year old! Time goes by so fast when you track it in terms of how big your kids are getting. For documentation purposes, he started army crawling at 10 months & regular crawling at 11 months. He can go up the stairs like a pro, but doesn't even attempt the down (thank heavens). As of this post he will walk around the furniture but won't stand unsupported and is definitely not walking. He has a few words even though the only ones he uses regularly are "mama", "dada" and "ah-dat" (which is used interchangeably for "what's that" and "I want that" . His first word besides mom and dad was "grandma". He can also say "no" and "all done" when he feels like it.

In other news this month, Alan and I finally got callings at church. We are now Sunday School Teachers & we are team teaching the Marriage and Family Relations Class. I am super excited. I love teaching with Alan. We work really well together as teachers. And I have never gotten to teach Sunday School to adults before so that will be different. Hopefully people who actually want to be in class and participate (fingers crossed). I think our first lesson will be this Sunday.

A Kimberly story to part with. The other day we were in the car and Kimberly starts shouting "Mom, Zachary just talked! He just talked!" So I said "He did? What did he say?" To which Kimberly replies "He said, WELL ISN'T THAT CONVENIENT?".......... Right Kimberly, sure he did........... :-)

Pix are of me with the kids, Kimberly's party and Zachary's party.

So much has happened!

Well, a lot has happened since I posted last. I'm not even sure where to start. To avoid this being a 10 page post I am going to hit the highlights.

1. We moved into our new house!!! It is beautiful and I love it. It is so cozy and there is so much space. I don't feel overwhelmed and closed in. It is definitely worth the extra 10 minutes to town. Well at least it is for me, I'm not the one driving it every day. But Alan seems happy too.

2. Kimberly started Kindergarten. It is hard to believe I have a kid old enough to be in school. She really loves it and has finally started to adjust to the fact that she can't do whatever she wants whenever she wants. She has had to "flip her apple" for not "making good choices" twice already. Her seat was also moved in the first week to the "square table" which is essentially the isolation table because she has a hard time not socializing when she should be working. It has been a month and she was switched back to a table with friends this week. We will see how it goes.

3. Benjamin started Pre-School. He loves it. He is way more excited to go to school than Kimberly is. It is only 2 times a week but he wakes up every morning asking if he gets to go to school today. He is the youngest in his class but he keeps up with all the other kids. He is so thoughtful of the other kids. Always giving toys to them and suggesting they take turns. Even though he is my rambunctious child he is also my "sweet" child.

4. Zachary is mobile now. Though he hasn't taken to crawling in the traditional format. He army crawls. I saw him crawl the regular way the other day for the first time so I know he can do it, I think he just prefers to army crawl. He is really fast. 11 months old but nowhere near walking yet. He has, however, managed to master the stairs. The baby gate finally went up this week. We don't want any broken heads. He only has 2 teeth still.

5. Alan has reached the halfway point in his Master Degree program. I am so proud of him. It doesn't give him a ton of free time, but luckily our new office is dark and cool and pleasant to spend a lot of time in!

That is about it for now. I feel so much better lately. Most likely due to the fact that Kimberly is now in school and we have more of a daily routine. Plus Benjamin is way more manageable when he and Kimberly aren't squabbling all day. And I am sure the daily doses of Paxil aren't hurting either. ;-) I have closed on some houses so we have a little money in the bank and are starting to replenish our year supply. I have been good about reading my scriptures and saying prayers daily. We even have family prayer and scripture study most nights and usually squeeze in a FHE once a week. I feel like everything is going so well right now. Like we are doing what we are supposed to be doing and we are mostly happy. Strange how that works huh?

The pictures are of the formal living & dining in the new house, Kimberly on the first day of school, Zachary mastering the stairs and the kids hanging out in their new play room.