My Week on the Oosterdam

I've been home for a week now, and I'm just getting around to blogging about the cruise. I could pretty much sum it up in one statement: "It was AMAZING!" But I will elaborate just a bit, and include some pictures for those of you who would like to live vicariously through me for just a few minutes.

I took about 100 pictures, so I'm having a very hard time narrowing it down and posting just the BEST things! So, I've limited myself to 15 pics--I know, still too many if you're in a hurry--but I still feel like I'm leaving so many good ones out.

Without giving a total play-by-play, I'll try to narrow my explanations down to 4 categories: Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and On Board.

PV----In Puerto Vallarta, we did a zipline tour, which was the absolute highlight of my trip! We went on 14 different cables, the longest being about 400 meters long, and the highest nearly 200 meters high! If you are ever going there, I definitely recommend this!

At the end of the zipline adventure, we decided to try out the river (which we crossed over four times on the ziplines!) It was FREEZING! But it did feel good sitting on the rocks, drying out in the sunshine and 80 degree weather.

The open market was cool. I got almost all my souvenirs in this not-so-little place. You could seriously get lost in there!

My mom was brave and let this beautiful parrot sit on her shoulder.

MAZATLAN----Our second port was Mazatlan. We really didn't spend any time in the city. We boarded a bus and did a tour up into the mountains, where we were able to see some smaller towns, small family businesses, and real "Mexico" outside of the main tourist areas. It was really interesting.

Here is a group of us at a pottery place. My mom and Aunt Lila loved all the sun faces.

Here's a beautiful shot of the green mountains we saw. This is from inside a cathedral looking out.

Here is our tour group that day (all of us except for two couples that opted for a different activity that day) in front of a 400-year-old cathedral.

CABO----Cabo San Lucas was our "beach day." We took a water taxi down around the tip of the baja peninsula, where the water and rock formations coming up out of it were absolutely stunning! Then we had our driver drop us off on the beach (which you can only get to by water) for a couple of hours.

Once we were done at the beach, we did a little walking around. I nearly got killed by this gold pirate! Actually, there were a few of these really cool guys. At first, they look like a statue, but then as you walk by, they'll move a little or follow you with their eyes. And then, for a tip, you can get your picture taken with them.

We also got to see some local wildlife in Cabo, including these seals, a ton of pelicans, numerous colorful fish, and a couple of bull sharks being filleted! Yuck!

ON BOARD----Wow! We had every evening, morning, and three full days at sea. There are so many things I could say about the boat and what we did while aboard that it's completely overwhelming. So, just a few highlights:

The kitchen tour. It was really interesting to see how they feed 2000 people enough food for an average weight gain of 1 lb. per person per day! Disgusting, really, but oh, so good!

One sample of the amazing food we enjoyed! The presentation was always so great, and the food was delicious, too. We enjoyed all kinds of seafood, including Alaska king crab legs, lobster, tuna, shrimp prepared in various ways, fillet mignon, etc., etc., etc.

One day, we went to a culinary demonstration where we watched them create these amazing bouquets made completely from vegetables and fruits!

We had some fun times dancing. One night we danced in the nightclub, we took salsa and rhumba lessons, and it was so fun watching Grannie and Granpa dance. They still have it

I'm not too proud . . .

. . . to take a vacation (or two) when they fall in my lap!

So, last June, my mom told me that her parents were planning a cruise in January for their 60th wedding anniversary and taking all their children and spouses. My dad had decided that he couldn't go since it was during his basketball season (and a very critical point as well.) Some may not understand this decision, but if you've ever been a high school coach, you understand how much time and effort you spend trying to get your players to learn what it means to be committed to something and to never let your team down, and that if you were to take a vacation in the middle of the season, you would be the biggest hypocrite in your gym and completely lose the respect of your team. I know that even as an assistant coach, I wouldn't even miss one practice unless there was an emergency. Sooooo, my mom said that she could still bring a roommate along on the cruise. Tami was there, and I suggested that she go, since she had never been on a cruise before, and she had never spent any time away from her kids since becoming a mom. But before I could get too excited for her to go have a great vacation, she informed us that she was pregnant and due in January! Around that same time, Violet announced that she was also expecting (due in February), so she wouldn't be able to go either. Of course, both of my little sisters play basketball, Sullivan is on a mission, and Tyson would be back in school in January to finish his degree. So, since nobody else could go, I told my mom that if I wasn't pregnant too (which I wish I was), I would go. And now it's just a few days away! I am SO looking forward to spending this much time with my mom, and getting to know my Alaska aunts and uncles a little better (oh, and I suppose I might enjoy the beaches, excursions, food, entertainment, and warm weather, too!)

The only downer is that Tony can't come along. I have felt bad about that, and when he starts giving me a bad time about leaving him and the kids home alone while I go have a great time, I actually do start to feel bad. But the guilt was alleviated a bit in November, when another great vacation opportunity fell in Tony's lap! The school district is sending him to Washington, D.C. in April to attend a special education conference, and since his flight, hotel, and food are all paid for, and we had enough rewards points to pay for my flight as well, I'm going to accompany him! Washington, D.C. was next on our list of vacations we wanted to go on; we just never thought the opportunity would come so soon or be so affordable! So, we're going to go a couple days early to make sure Tony gets to see the things he really wants to see before his classes start up.

So, if anybody else wants to send a free or nearly free vacation my way, go ahead! I accept.

My (Christmas Break) Favorite Things

I realize that this post is LONG overdue, but I thought I'd do a quick rundown of our awesome Christmas vacation. Here are a few of my favorite things:

Our visit to Temple Square (in 40 degree weather!)

The Mayan--Oh, how the kids love this place!

A trip to Discovery Gateway, where the kids all found something right up their alley.

Smiles on the kids' faces on Christmas morning. Christmas was pretty fun as a kid, but it's much better as a parent!

We had a white Christmas this year, something we don't always have. We got tons of snow and very little wind. We enjoyed it by doing lots of sledding in a variety of ways: on the elephant hill in the back yard, at test hill in Cokeville, on a sleigh with a team of horses, and finally--the favorite--riding on an old satellite dish behind a truck with cousins.

This list simply wouldn't be complete without mention of the FOOD! Although I enjoyed it all, I really loved these little creations by Tony: jalapenos filled with cream cheese and parmesan and wrapped in bacon. Yum! Yum!