Welcome Home

Well, we are home from an AWESOME vacation. We went on an eight day cruise with Alan’s parents and siblings. There were twelve of us in all. We left all the kids home but had the time of our lives. Thanks Steve and Susan.

I am not sure how I can post eight days of nonstop fun in one post but I will try. We left on Saturday morning and my sister came to tend the boys. Thanks to Mimi, my Mom, and Nate and Megan Whitney for helping care for them while we were gone. Carden and Max were up bright and early but I was happy to see them before we left.

We flew to Long Beach and the sun was already feeling wonderful. We went on Norwegian Cruise Line to the Mexican Riviera. The first two days were spent on the ship and plenty of food was devoured. The second day we went to all you can eat sushi! Let’s just say Jana’s husband, Jason, saw a new side of me. He never knew I could eat so much.

Our first stop was Acapulco. We rented a 12 person van with AC. When we got in it was actually for 10 and the AC was on when the window was rolled down and the air was blowing. Gotta love Mexico! We went to a beach and body surfed. Alan actually rented a real surf board and tried surfing with his brothers for a few hours. Next, we went back to the ship, showered and ate dinner. We then went back out to the city to watch some mates climb a huge rock wall and dive into the water. It was crazy! We then shopped and headed back to the ship.

The next day was Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa. We took a small boat to a snorkeling area and beach. Mexico is great! You always have to pay for something. To use the bathroom, sit on a chair, or even a canopy you swear nobody owns. We bought a drink in a pineapple and some guacamole and chips in order to stay on some chairs. We snorkeled and Alan’s sister, Lisa, and I got beat up on some rocks when a large wave towed us over the top. We have some battle wounds to share for a while. We managed to still have energy to break it down on the dance floor that evening after eating more food of course.

I am trying to skip the part about how much food we ate because it was mind boggling. This morning Carden said “Wow Mommy! How did you get so big?” That was when I knew I had eaten too much the past week!

The next day was Puerto Vallarta. This was by far my favorite port. We went on a canopy excursion. It was so much fun. It really rates up there as one of the most exciting things I have done. I hate heights but LOVED this. We rode zip lines from mountain top to mountain top. I think there were about 15 lines total. Some about 500 meters. I highly suggest people try this one even if you are fearful of heights. The last port was Cabo San Lucas. The guys went fishing and enjoyed the day together. Unfortunately they only caught one fish that Alan had the chance to bring in. He felt bad later because no one got another chance. Bummer. All of us girls rented kayaks and rode a small water taxi out to an island and watch some huge waves hit the shore line. We almost got ran over by some VERY large yachts, bigger than our house, and even got honked at. It was super crazy rowing through there. We were a little out of place.

We headed back to the ship and waited for the guys to get back. Needless to say, we all panicked when the last tender was coming in and we had not seen the boat come back from fishing. I was so sick to my stomach! Sure enough, they all slipped out of the tender with all the ship crew and equipment. They still claim “They had plenty of time.”

Once again, we managed to eat our selves’ sick the last two days on the way back to Long Beach. We also danced and did Karaoke. We had beautiful weather the entire trip! We only saw rain the last evening on the ship and in the morning when we arrived in Long Beach. The rain actually turned out to be a blast.

We rented a car and drove through the city searching for the famous Trader Joe’s grocery store. We managed to find one after a long detour and some great rides through pools of rain.

We raced home to see the boys before they went to bed. I must admit, I was almost as excited to see the boys as I was the day we left for the cruise. They are the light of my life. I missed them a lot but it was nice to not worry about them on the cruise. Especially seeing as our ship made the CNN news channel. There was an outbreak of Norwalk Virus I am not sure of the spelling but I am sure I was scared to death of it. SICK!!!! NASTY!!!! Over 200 people got it. No one in our family came down with it but it was probably due to the fact we basically took a bath every chance we had in the hand sanitizing machines they had at every corner of the ship. Seriously, we each probably used at least a gallon of it!

So now we are home to SNOW SNOW and more SNOW. My bones ache again and I am getting spring fever. As we arrived in Salt Lake we received word of President Hinckley’s passing and my heart was torn. I guess I expected it but was not prepared. I love him and he will always hold a VERY special place in my heart. I know he was a real prophet and I am thankful for his wisdom. Although we spent a week in paradise with family, I know it was nothing compared to the paradise we can some day live in with ALL our family and Heavenly Father. Welcome Home.