Captivating Cruise 2008

Wow look at those happy people! We had such a great time on our cruise last week.



This was a first for Joaquin & I so of course we were a little nervous. We were able to go with 4 of my sisters & their spouses as well as my parents, hence Joaquin's nervousness. He was just sure I would choose them over him (I should admit that's my take on it). After returning home Joaquin admitted to having a great time though. I tried ever so hard not to call my sisters every chance I could, instead we just bumped into them by the pool or shopping in Mexico. Some of the perks were soaking in the sun, running on their treadmill at sealevel while you overlooked the gorgeous ocean (I know I'm a little warped), ordering 2 appetizers, 3 entree's, & 3 desserts without being afraid of the bill, and being surrounded by people I just love.
The only negative was the fact that we felt like "gluttens." There was just soooo much food & no children to chase or Napa to work off the caleries. I did try lots of different kinds of food like escargot & lobster, but I didn't care for either. I went to a Yoga class in hopes of burning off a few caleries, but honestly there is so much "breathing" that I felt like I took a nap most of the class. Woops.
The boat cruises all night then stops at a different Port each morning. Our first Port was Key West, Florida (great shopping with a Mexico feel to it but no pushy salesmen), Cozumel, Mexico (pushy salesmen from when you walk off the boat), and finally in Belize. We only did 1 excursion in Belize which was an amazing series of zip lines through the jungle. As you can tell from our smiles, we loved it! The jungle really was so dense and I even touched a Boa Constrictor that was just crawling up a tree along the path up to the zip line. Joaquin didn't really want to, big weenie. After the zip line they fed us lunch & then we hiked through the jungle to the mouth of a cave where they gave us a headlamp & and inner tube. We floated through these cool caves & almost tipped over when we tried to kiss in the dark. It sounds romantic but the water was a little too "refreshing" as they called it. We got a good laugh though when they described their "rapids" which basically are just fast water about 6" deep. Wouldn't they die if we took them down Lava Hot Springs River!

A few of my sisters & their husbands did a Book of Mormon tour in Belize (yes we were rebels, hee hee) where lots of people feel that the BOM could have taken place. There's even an island called "Laman" that has recently been escavated & they have found ruins. After walking in the jungle of Belize we can understand how people wandered in the wilderness for years on end. There is just so much vegetation that it's hard to make out which way to go. All in all we had a great time but would love to take our kids with us next time. We just miss them so much when we're not together. What am I going to do when they grow up & move away? I guess I'll always have 1 child though.

Halloween or Bust

We're still working with Josh actually opening his eyes for the camera, but look at those muscles! Shelby was an adorable clown, although the wig only stayed on long enough for this picture. I did try to paint her face but it didn't go over well.


Aren't my girls gorgeous? Jessi wanted to be Superwoman for school then decided on Halloween to be Tinkerbell. Quinn is a Renaissance Princess although she like to call herself a Greek Goddess!