Cruise Report - Day 3

On Day 3 we pulled into Cabo San Lucas. There isn't a port there so we had to "tender" into the city by small boat. As you can see I was all smiles as we started our journey. We were going with an excursion called Baja Buggy's. They picked us up in a very small van (14 of us to be exact) and we had a 30-45 minute drive. Once we got there everyone was given their gear and we suited up for the ride of our lives. Kevin was the first driver (and only driver because he loved it so much). We had to follow our tour guide and stay with our group. We drove out in the desert and by then by the ocean. It was so fast, dusty, and bumpy. Nothing we have experienced before. We were able to stop a few times and enjoy the scenery at a calmer pace. When we got back into town we needed to find something to eat (low blood sugar = no fun). We finally made the long (and hot) walk to the Hard Rock Cafe where we had Diet Coke, Nachos, and a really nummy dessert. It was expensive but it was good! After that we shopped for a while and found some interesting people on the boardwalk. When we got back to the ship we went to the show that night (I think it was the comedians but I could be wrong). We were exhausted but had a wonderful day. I tried to only pick a few of the pictures that highlight our day.

Dawnie on the Tender

Our Tour Company

Kevin - My Awesome Driver!

Our Tour Guide

Being Silly

The Full View

At the Beach - Refreshing!

This is one of those guys all dressed in gold

Rockin' It at the Hard Rock

Have you got your Jazz Hands ready?

Nieces Sleepover

Okay, so I've not done a great job of blogging about the fun things that have been happening in our lives. I'm going to try and catch up with some of the highlights over the next couple of days. This summer we had a couple of nights where we had our nieces come over for sleepovers.

First was Eliana & Cadence who were going to attend our Ward Swim Party at the Roy Aquatic Center with us. I picked them up after work and we drove home, which for them took FOREVER, and picked up Kevin. We went over to the party and I think these girls are fishes! They love the water and showed us all their swim moves that they have been perfecting. We finally convinced them to leave when their teeth were chattering and their lips had turned blue by promising them a treat after dinner. We went and grabbed dinner and cookies...yum! When we got home and dried off we watched my favorite version of Cinderella (staring Whitney Houston) until their little eyes couldn't stay awake anymore. I told them we could finish it in the morning and we got ready for bed. Kevin read two stories and sang them songs before they went to sleep in the living room. I think they got way more sleep than we did that night because I kept waking up and going to check on them (which in turn woke Uncle Kevin up as well...sorry babe!). After they woke up and I recovered from their stealth nature in the morning (seriously they both almost gave me a heart attack) we had breakfast, watched the rest of Cinderella, and headed home. We had so much fun and loved sharing that special time with them.

Second it was Lexie's turn to come up and stay with us. Josh dropped her off at my work and we headed the 30 minutes that seems like forever to a kid, toward home. We stopped and got some dinner at McDonalds and Lexie played on the toys (Madame Alexander dolls in her meal...so cool!). When we got home we played Candy Land, watched Sleeping Beauty, colored in coloring books, and waited for Uncle Kevin to get home from school. It was so cute when Kevin came in. Lexie was so excited that she almost knocked him over. Once we got her settled it was time for bed so Kevin read stories and sang to her until she could fall asleep (he is going to be the best dad someday!). I slept out on the couch so that she wouldn't be in the main room alone (which was no small task with a fractured rib). The next morning when she woke up we had breakfast, got ready, and I had to get her to swim practice by 9:30 (which is early for me but we made it!). I stayed and watched part of her last swimming class and played with Jaden.

We had such a good time with all the kids and hope that we can do it again sometime...maybe when we have a bigger house! Thanks to Steven, Aspen, Josh, & Stacie for sharing their kids with us. We love you all!

Cadence, Eliana, & Lexie

Ouch!

Okay, so I don't know how I did it but I'm pretty sure I bruised/cracked one of my ribs this weekend. I was having some discomfort on Friday and Saturday but when I woke up Sunday I thought I was going to DIE! I got to church and didn't know if I was going to be able to make it through. Unfortunately, I had to teach Gospel Doctrine and kept having to take time to try and breathe because when I breathe in deep I get a piercing pain in my chest. I made it through Sunday School and Relief Society but then I was ready to go home. I tried laying down but that made it way worse. Then I started crying which is not good when every time you breathe in you are causing yourself more pain. Kevin took me out to the couch and helped me get comfortable. He made me lunch and made sure I was in the least amount of pain possible. I have the best husband ever...he takes such good care of me.



I had to come to work today because I was in charge of the birthday celebration...why did I have to do my own you ask? Because there is no one else to do it! I am ready to go home and relax. From everything I have ready it can take up to six weeks to heal and you just have to take pain medication, ice it, and get plenty of rest (impossible when it hurts to lay down...this is when I wish we had a recliner). Wish me luck!

Cruise Report - Day 1 & 2

I decided to split this out over several posts by day so you (really I) don't get overwhelmed by all this information. I hope it works...if not, don't feel like you have to read.

We left on Sunday, June 13, 2010 which is the day after our 3rd Wedding Anniversary. Our flight left early that morning so we got up and headed to Bountiful where my favorite brother Steen was waiting to take us to the airport. Normally I'm not a morning person but this day I was wide awake and super excited for our new adventure. We arrived in Los Angeles, which was our port, and took a transfer to the pier. The ship was SO HUGE! I couldn't believe this would be our home for the next 7 days. When they let us on board we went and checked out the ship and had some lunch in the Windjammer Cafe. When we got to our room it was all decorated with Anniversary decorations. Kevin had arranged for them to decorate in advance and it was such a fun surprise. That night we got ready and went to a Murder Myster Dinner. It was EXTREMELY campy but a ton of fun.

The next day we were at sea and had plenty to do. We went to a "Cha Cha" class, visited Johnny Rockets (they waiters dance to the music and the food is AMAZING), lounged in the sun, saw an ice skating show, met Captain Per (said like the fruit...Pear), and Kevin sang Karaoke. Throughout the rest of the cruise people would come up to us and ask if Kevin was the one singing. He was a HIT! Around 1 pm we finally dropped into our beds and prepared for our next day of adventure...

Kevin getting on the Mariner of the Seas

Our cabin all decorated...wahoo!

At the Murder Mystery

What diet?

ICE under the BIG TOP (our ice show)

These ice skaters were so good

Dawnie & Captain Per

Kevin singing "Mack the Knife"

Lincoln Anthony Purcell

We have been so blessed to have another baby in the family. Kevin's brother Tony and his wife Abby had a baby boy on June 23rd. We love him so much and have enjoyed seeing him grow so much already. Here are a couple of pictures of the boys.

Good job Abby! I salute you!

Fourth of July

Okay, so you all know that I am new to this blogging thing. We finally downloaded pictures from our camera and now I can catch up on things that have been happening. Here are a couple pictures from the July 4th celebration with Kevin's family (2009 & 2010). Scott and Kitty are always so good to get us all matching shirts so that we can go to the Logan Fireworks. They do a great show and we have a lot of fun. The last couple of years we have gone to dinner at Melina's first. That is where these pictures were taken.

Proud to be American!

2009

2010 (Tony, Abby, and Link are missing...so sad)

Cruise Report #1

Okay, so I'm sure that I will have to post a few times to fit in all of the fun things we did on our cruise last week. This one will be dedicated to swimming with the Sea Lions in Puerto Vallarta. We met the bus at the pier around 9:15 am and drove for about 30 minutes to the "Vallarta Adventures" which has iguanas, dolphins, sea lions, birds, etc. There were only 10 people that were going to the Sea Lion Encounter that day. They took us on a boat to an island type area and we got to see all of the Sea Lions (and more dolphins...those things are everywhere!). They took us back to a private cove that had two Sea Lions (Cassandra & Shanna) waiting to play with us. There was another Sea Lion that wasn't behaving that day so we were instructed to stay away. Yes MA'AM!

They told use that we could pet them as much as we'd like but not to touch their faces or scratch their skin because they don't like that...who would? We got in the pool and each took turns stroking the Sea Lions, going out for hugs and kisses, having them jump over us. It was so cool to feel like you were really having conversations and interaction with these amazing animals. It was definitely one of the coolest things that we have ever done.

I added a few pictures here so that you can share in the fun. I'll be back later to post more about our amazing cruise!