Saturday, October 27, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
The Cruise Report Pt. 1
Well we are home from our cruise, mostly unpacked and round two of laundry is almost over, so I figured it was time to start posting the highlights. This trip definitely had ups and downs. The highs included the nightly entertainment, the stop in Puerto Vallarta and two days of perfect weather. The lows would be the hurricane force winds that picked up around day four and turned our otherwise pleasant boat into a nightmare from whence there was no escape, missing two ports because of weather and emergencies at sea (our boat was called into a rescue operation on day 6) and sadly...the food. I know I had high hopes for our dining adventures but it was not to be. To give you a feel for what I'm saying on Mexican night when we got chips and salsa instead of bread (which by the way I LOVE chips and salsa) we got Tostitos and Pace. Which I admit I eat at home...but I had higher expectations. On Asian night the noodles were, well, Ramen. So between the rocking boat and the food my tummy has been in the seventh circle for some time...
But for what the food lacked the entertainment made up for in spades! I think our favorite was the magician. This guy blew my mind! My favorite trick was putting his assistant into a coffin sized box then folding that box to roughly 20"x20", then unfolding it and out she popped. Totally crazy!! I also loved his rope trick where he he cut a rope in half then tied it together and proceeded to move the knot all along the rope and finally pulled the knot right off and the rope was whole. Crazy stuff. He also did a second show that was all card tricks which were amazing. I have to say seeing magic live on stage is completely different than on TV--I loved it.
There was also a fantastic comedy/improv group that performed a couple times and they were hilarious! We also got to see a wonderful music, dance and theater troupe perform. This of course is near and dear to my heart and brought back all kinds of BYU memories. Their best performance was Music of the Night a compilation of Andrew Lloyd Weber's work.
So even though dinner was never great, we could always count on a great show after!
This is proof that we did have at least some good weather! There is nothing quite as relaxing as reading by the pool having drinks brought to you at will!
My one and only towel animal.
Playing bingo in the lounge. We were one number away from the big jackpot!
But for what the food lacked the entertainment made up for in spades! I think our favorite was the magician. This guy blew my mind! My favorite trick was putting his assistant into a coffin sized box then folding that box to roughly 20"x20", then unfolding it and out she popped. Totally crazy!! I also loved his rope trick where he he cut a rope in half then tied it together and proceeded to move the knot all along the rope and finally pulled the knot right off and the rope was whole. Crazy stuff. He also did a second show that was all card tricks which were amazing. I have to say seeing magic live on stage is completely different than on TV--I loved it.
There was also a fantastic comedy/improv group that performed a couple times and they were hilarious! We also got to see a wonderful music, dance and theater troupe perform. This of course is near and dear to my heart and brought back all kinds of BYU memories. Their best performance was Music of the Night a compilation of Andrew Lloyd Weber's work.
So even though dinner was never great, we could always count on a great show after!
This is proof that we did have at least some good weather! There is nothing quite as relaxing as reading by the pool having drinks brought to you at will!
My one and only towel animal.
Playing bingo in the lounge. We were one number away from the big jackpot!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The Craziness...
As much I as I look forward to vacation, and the one we have coming up is going to be amazing, I hate the last minute chaos that precedes the tranquility. I know you know what I mean. First there's the packing, which I typically start a couple days before, but in order to pack you have to do all the laundry and in this particular case my washing machine broke!! 
I know, seriously! So we spent a good part of the day shopping for a new washing machine, hauling out the broken one, which of course was full of water and wet clothes and setting up the new one. Then there's the cleaning. I cannot go on a trip knowing that my house is a mess, so I've been trying desperately to clean. Easier said than done when you have two munchkins running around undoing everything I've done. Then for us there's the pet prep. Now if you don't have vindictive cats you will not be familiar with this portion of travel preparation. 
I, however, have very needy cats who like to let me know how unhappy they are when I leave. So they show their displeasure by peeing on EVERYTHING. So part of getting ready for this trip meant cleaning the garage
so we had concrete floors for them to sleep on and sealing off all the shelving with plastic tarps. So let's just say I am really looking forward to tomorrow about 6p.m. when I will be sitting on the deck of the cruise ship sipping something fancy!
I know, seriously! So we spent a good part of the day shopping for a new washing machine, hauling out the broken one, which of course was full of water and wet clothes and setting up the new one. Then there's the cleaning. I cannot go on a trip knowing that my house is a mess, so I've been trying desperately to clean. Easier said than done when you have two munchkins running around undoing everything I've done. Then for us there's the pet prep. Now if you don't have vindictive cats you will not be familiar with this portion of travel preparation. 
I, however, have very needy cats who like to let me know how unhappy they are when I leave. So they show their displeasure by peeing on EVERYTHING. So part of getting ready for this trip meant cleaning the garage
so we had concrete floors for them to sleep on and sealing off all the shelving with plastic tarps. So let's just say I am really looking forward to tomorrow about 6p.m. when I will be sitting on the deck of the cruise ship sipping something fancy!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Fat Cat in a Tight Spot
Don't even ask me how he managed to get up there. We certainly didn't put him up there!! All I know is that on Saturday we heard some desperate meowing and looked out the patio door to see Chubby wedged into the 6" overhang of the patio cover. Of course being the loving pet owner the first thing I did was grab my camera. After successfully humiliating him, by capturing the whole thing on film, we went out to help him down. He sort of rolled out to the fountain and with cat like grace landed on his feet...eventually. If I hadn't seen it myself I would never have believed it!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Finally Some Pictures
You can't say the girl doesn't enjoy her cake!
This picture of Natalie is from Mother's Day but it is one of my favorites of her! When you can catch her smiling she is such a doll.
Aubrey lost her first tooth in July! She was so excited about a visit from the tooth fairy. She also lost her second tooth (next door neighbor) just this weekend.
This is the jam I made from all those raspberries from Riley's Farm. I found the best recipe online that didn't require any pectin! Made "jamming" super easy and kept the tangy raspberry flavor. (of course I can't find the link now... sorry! I'll keep looking). Basically it was a 2:1 ratio of berries to sugar (ie 4 cups mashed berries with 2 cups sugar).
This is Aubrey's first day of school in the first grade! She's such a big girl!!
This one is from Riley's Farm. If you've never been I highly recommend it. This is a working farm which also includes historical re-enactments. We spent a Saturday picking raspberries and apples. The kids absolutely loved it and the fruit was SO good.
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