10-12 Weeks

Dear Baby,
On April 5, 2011 we heard your little heartbeat!  It made it real for us!  Daddy even cried a little!  The Doctor took quite a while to find you and we were very worried but then we heard you!  You are the size of a prune right now. 

We have so much to do before you arrive!  We are so excited for you to come!!!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

*Since this was actually written over a week ago, you are now the size of a large plum!*

Baby's First Gift

Dear Baby,

Here is the very first gift you have received.  Shortly after we found out you were joining our family the Nelson's brought this gift over to us!  We are so happy they will be a part of your life!
There are so many people who are excited to meet you!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Dear Baby,

Here is the story how we found out you were coming to join our family.
Mommy was acting so funny.  She was making funny comments on Facebook and she was so very hungry and couldn't stop eating. Taco Bell's Crunch Wrap Supremes were her favorites (which were only 88 cents that week.)  She went to work on Friday morning after having a big oatmeal breakfast but still felt hungry!  So she stopped at Target to get some Easy Mac so she could make that and eat if for breakfast.  Later that evening she can home and took the test above that told us you were coming!!!  She was beaming with excitement.  Daddy was a little shocked and a little scared.

Daddy made her take another test the next day to make sure his panic was really justified.
We are so excited for you to join our family.  You will come sometime around October 29, 2011.  (Please come early since Mommy is really wanting to go to Disneyland!)

Love,
Mom and Dad

Festival of Colors

During the month of March every year we attend the Festival of Colors at the Harikrisna here in town.  It is an event welcoming Spring where you throw colored chalk all over each other.  Debbie's sister Katie came from California to see us and attend the event.  Above with her boyfriend Remington.

Us before the throwing with Eliah (our nephew) and his friend Carson.  It was so cold this day!

Here are the four of us after we were done!  The chalk gets everywhere! 

Our photo booth photos

We took an underwater disposable camera that we had left over from the cruise.  We had the best time!  It has become a tradition in our home that we hope to do for many years to come!  To see our pictures from last year click here.

Everglades Tour

It was so sad to leave the ship but we were so happy to have something to do instead of just heading to the airport.  We booked an excursion that would take us to the Everglades and then back to the airport to fly home. 

The guy who led the tour to the everglades was amazing.  He knew everything about the everglades!  We reached the Everglades Safari Park and immediately were escorted to the air boat.  It was a monster!  It carried 15-20 people.  We left and explored the area and saw so many alligators!

View from the front of the boat.  We were in the back but there was more happening on the side of the boat than in the front.

We were fascinated with these creatures!  Everyone in the boat was quiet and just focused on every little thing that moved.

These are just some of the shots we took!  They were everywhere!  Just basking in the sunlight.  Not having a care in the world.

We learned so much about their habitat, the everglades, their eating habits, and much more!

We loved the air boat ride!  It was about 30 minutes but flew by!  There was always something to see.

When we returned to the park we headed to the show explaining more about them and seeing them interact with humans.  The video above was before and the video below is during the show.

 It is truly amazing how much they act like house pets!  I believe all of us could have been seen with our mouths wide open during the show.  What we didn't capture on video was the handler putting his finger through the bottom of one alligators mouth where he was injured and seeing his finger stick out from inside his mouth!  These people and reptiles were AMAZING!  I also love Debbie's dialog.

Once the show ended we had an opportunity to hold a small gator.  Debbie has always had a fascination (and fear) of these guys so she was both intrigued and terrified of this whole experience!

Jeremy holding the little guy.

This guy is here almost all the time.  No cage, wall or barrier.  He just loves to be warm in the sun.

Before leaving to return to the airport.  We loved this experience!  We recommend anyone who had the opportunity to take it!  The everglades are such an important part of this country and there needs to be more focus on saving them!

We returned to the Ft. Lauderdale Airport and had to wait some time before our flight was leaving.  We ate at Chili's and returned emails and phone calls.  The above photo was a little strange to us.  The guy is a wax figure and quite freaky!  We still don't understand what this was all about...

Upon our return to Salt Lake City.  It was a long day.  This was the end of our journey!  So sad.  We had the best time!  We loved being with such great friends and had the most amazing time with them.  We can't wait to travel with them again soon!  Thanks you guys for coming with us!  It was a blast!

Sea Day and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

On our last sea day, Jeremy and I went and climbed the rock wall at the back of the ship. 

We both took the easy side and then we tried the medium level side.  The girls went to an empty conference room to do a workout video.

For lunch we went to a Murder Mystery event hosted by The Second City.  It was called "Presumed Murdered" and was kind of lame.  We didn't have very good seats and the story line wasn't very good.  Oh well... live and learn!

But we had good company and the food tasted good!

We took some pictures out on deck this day.  The weather was very nice and the sea was very calm here.

We had thought of bringing out Travelocity gnome but forgot it.  Luckily there was a guy on board taking pictures with his and so we asked if we could borrow him for a moment!  We love this little guy!

That evening after dinner we saw "Broadway Showtime: Encore!" in the Stardust Theater.  Other highlights of the night were playing spoons in the game room, and a late night Quest game in the Spinnaker Lounge.  That was very interesting.  The low point for the night was a pathetic version of Family Feud with a terrible host!

Pictures from the late night chocolate buffet.  There were so many desserts.  Some good, some not so good but a fun experience overall!

Great Stirrup Cay

The next morning we all got ready to head to the private island for the cruise line.  We waited and waited and waited because the water was too rough and they wanted everyone to be safe.  We finally were able to disembark the ship and tendered to the island. 

We all got our lounges figured out and all headed into the water.  It was very cold!  Since it is a private island they require you to wear these annoying life vests.  It was so hard to snorkel with them on!  We had to swim out quite a ways to see the fish but still had a good time.

It was so shallow in some areas we could have walked.  At one point Debbie and I got separated from the Nelson's and we headed in.  They came in a short time later telling us they had seen a jelly fish!  Scary!!!  (See out ship in the background?)

Enjoying our strawberry daiquiris.

It was a very nice day!  It ended too quickly since it took us so long to get there but it was a nice day.

The four of us heading back to the ship.

Once back on board we headed to dinner.  We ate at this restaurant almost daily.  After eating we saw another show in the Stardust.  It was a farewell show including "Oh What a Night!" and the comedian Buzz Sutherland we had seen earlier in the week.  OH BOY!  I was a little concerned about going back since I knew what kind of music it was and we had already seen the comedian.  It was a disaster!  The music went on, and on, and on!  It never ended!  Then Buzz told other people's jokes and went on a sad tirade about children and family!  We were stuck in the middle of the row with no way out!  Good memories... bad experience!  We were so sad tomorrow we were leaving but excited for the Everglades!!!

Tortola, BVI

Our next stop was in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.  Tortola is known primarily for their Pirate history.

We got up pretty early to get off the ship.  We all shopped at the tents right off the ship and the shopping was a pretty good success.  When we finished we decided to head to the beach.  The beaches are on the other side of the island.  Instead of having roads around the island they drive you up the mountain and down the other side.  It was pretty amazing. 

We ended up at Cane Garden Bay.  It was pretty cloudy with a drizzle of rain but it was beautiful!  The weather got warmer as the afternoon went on. 

We got some chairs and started our afternoon relaxation.

We got some pictures.

The water was nice and clear.  We didn't swim or snorkel this day.  We just relaxed.  There were millions of little fish right near the beach.  It was pretty amazing looking.  Debbie thought they were gross...

We then took a walk and got some pictures.

Some of the houses and buildings are amazing.  They are plain in style but they all have different bright colors.  We couldn't see any addresses listed so it made us wonder if the color is what they use to direct people to their homes.

Once our relaxing afternoon ended we took a taxi back to the port.  These views are of the other beach on the island.  Isn't it amazing?

The afternoon was perfect!  In fact the whole cruise had been perfect so far.  We felt rested yet not lazy.  We had experienced a lot of new things!

A view of the city and the port.

Before returning to the boat.  We didn't want to leave!

That evening we saw a comedy show.  The Second City.  It was very funny.  When we finished we headed to the game room on the ship to play BINGO!  Debbie and I brought our own set since we didn't want to play the real thing on the ship.  We also brought Dollar Store prizes!  It was really fun!  It was such a wonderful day!

To see the Nelson's blog click here.

St. Thomas, USVI

St. Thomas, United States Virgin Island was our stop the day after Samana.  We had decided before we left for this trip that this was the day we were going to just be with our spouses and meet up for dinner in the evening.  We spent the day without seeing each other but passed notes back and forth on each others doors.  It was pretty funny.  Debbie and I decided to spend the morning snorkeling and ended up at Coki beach.  This was not our first choice but it just worked out this way.

The beach.  It was a beautiful morning!

The water was pretty warm and clear!

We had forgotten our underwater camera but had a plastic case that we had purchased online for underwater use.  This is the best shot we got!  The first were pretty and there were quite a few of them.  Jeremy and Evelyn were doing a helmet dive right next to this beach so there were quite a few fish in the area. 

Our new snorkeling gear from Costco.

Us in the water. 

Debbie had the brilliant idea of bringing a box of fruit loops from the ship to feed the fish!  She put them in a plastic bag and tucked them in her suit.  She opened the bag and the whole thing spilled out and caused the fish to go crazy but then the loops decided to float so the fish gave up!  Here she is in her mess!  The cereal eventually made it to shore and I saw a parent trying to keep his kid away from picking one up and eating it!  So we can blame some Caribbean pollution on Debbie!

We had a very nice couple take a picture of us before we left and headed back to the ship to clean up.

We got cleaned up and took another taxi into Downtown St. Thomas.  It is very well known for its high price shopping with Tiffany & Co., and some other high end shops.  We took a walk around and weren't very impressed with this city.  The people seemed very nice but all they want is your money!

So we did some sight seeing.  Above is an old building from 1671.  It is currently closed but it looked like they may be working on it. 

We just loved the look of these buildings.  Weathered and old!

We just loved the look of these buildings.  Weathered and old! 

After we walked around for awhile we headed back to the port and took some tourist pictures.  I took this one of Debbie and then...

This nice lady took this one of us!  (Isn't this supposed to look like a post card?  Just sayin')

This nice lady took this one of us!  (Isn't this supposed to look like a post card?  Just sayin')

Us before heading back on board.

This is a very nice shot toward downtown St. Thomas.  The boats were beautiful on the ocean!

We met up with Jeremy and Evelyn and had to get a few pictures before he headed to dinner.

We met up with Jeremy and Evelyn and had to get a few pictures before he headed to dinner.

We met up with Jeremy and Evelyn and had to get a few pictures before he headed to dinner. 

They had an incredible time on their helmet dive!  The only reason we didn't do this excursion was that I am pretty claustrophobic.  They reassured me that I wouldn't have liked the feeling.  I was happy with my decision.

This night we treated to a specialty restaurant.  We went to Mombo's which was a Mexican restaurant.  It was decent but nothing really fancy.  We had an enjoyable dinner and Key Lime Pie for dessert.

If you are wondering what this picture is, it is a rib in a glass of water.  We laughed all evening about this mishap.  Later that evening Debbie and I were lucky enough to use an evening of Jeremy and Evelyn's spa package!  It was nice to go and relax for a while!

And this little creature that was waiting for us that evening!  St. Thomas was a nice place to stop.  It was our least favorite stop on the trip.  There are a whole bunch of things we would do differently if we had to stop her again.  It was a fun day though!  We love cruising!

To see pictures from Jeremy and Evelyn's day click here.  To see their helmet dive click here.