Our trip to the hill country.

Okay so I've really dropped the ball on this blog! I blame the fact that I now have a full – time job on top of my wife and mother duties :) Without further ado I give you a recent blog:

Last weekend Jim, Sadie, and I took off for an adventure in the hill country of Texas! We left in the early afternoon on Saturday and drove 2 hours to Kerrville where we checked into our hotel – The Inn of the Hills. After settling in we drove up to Fredricksburg and walked around the cute little shops. Fredricksburg is a resort town like Park City or Jackson Hole and has some nice shopping. We spent plenty of time in many shops especially a gourmet food store where they had samples of everything. After shopping we ate at a bar and grill restaurant and called it a night.

On Sunday, after a quick breakfast at IHOP, we drove up to Enchanted Rock State Park only to find the park filled to capacity and was closed until the afternoon. It's a popular place and we knew there was a possibility of it being closed. We headed back to Fredricksburg and picked up some picnic supplies at H.E.B. and headed out to a new destination - the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park. We had a picnic at one of the picnic spots there and then went to the living history farm at the park. This was a farm that was run just how it was back in 1919. The people there were dressed for the time period and were doing all the chores from milking the cow to making butter. The employees all eat a meal there at night that comes from the farm – they have canned fruits & vegetables that they grow every year, they slaughter the animals, smoke the meat and put it in lard, and make fresh bread and cheese. The houses are from the 1800's and there is no electricity. It was really amazing to see! After the farm we took a nature walk and saw some longhorns, white-tailed deer, and bison. We finished our tour with a drive around the park and headed back to town. We ate at a great German restaurant – Auslander. It was very tasty food.

Monday was a bit overcast and cool. We got up early and headed up to try Enchanted Rock again. We figured since it was early, a bit cool, and no longer the weekend that we should be okay. We did manage to get into the park but just barely – they closed the park 6 cars behind us. We started hiking in cool weather but warmed up as we ascended the rocky terrain. Enchanted Rock is a huge granite rock that looks like it should be in Utah instead of Texas. We hiked to the top of the rock (it was quite a climb)and back down, then walked around by the river. It was fun to climb and explore the park! After the park we went into town one last time and ate really good BBQ at the Peach Pit. A trip to an ice cream parlor finished our trip. We said goodbye to the hill country and we were back in good old Austin in no time! Ginger was excited to see us – she stayed home with some kind neighbors taking good care of her. We had a great time and learned a lot about Texas and our 36th President! For pictures please visit our gallery.

Sadie's birthday, family visit, & Bike fest '09

I have really dropped the ball with this blogging thing! I keep thinking I will do it when things settle down a bit but then they never do! Anyway, we are keeping busy here in good ole' Texas - the weather has changed, it's actually all over the place...one day it's 90* and sunny the next day it's 57* and rainy but at least we are out of the triple digit temps. September was a busy month starting with Sadie's birthday. We had some Lightbox friends over for cake and ice cream and had a good time. Over Labor day weekend Jim's parents came to visit and help us out with repairs, decorating, and such. They also brought our dog Ginger with them! They so graciously took care of Ginger while we made the transition to Texas and we are so happy to have her back with us! We appreciate greatly all their help and it was wonderful to see them! We also had the Kiker Elementary Bike fest - we rode our bikes down to the school and learned all about bike safety and then rode as a group around the Veloway (a 3 mile paved bike trail). It was very fun.

Jim (and the company) has moved into their permanent office space and are enjoying it, Sadie has made so many friends that we constantly have play dates and birthday parties to go to, and I keep busy with all the volunteer work I am doing. Sadie and I are looking forward to spending this weekend back in Utah for a quick visit while Jim keeps things running smooth here in Texas. Well, that's about it for now. For pictures visit our gallery!

Texas Status Report

Howdy y'all!

Well, it's been over a month now since we moved to Texas and I thought I would give a status report.

Texas is hot!! Apparently it is unusually hot though - everyone keeps telling us that this is not normal. We are still waiting for the temperature to drop below the 100* mark. Even with the hot weather Austin is a pretty great place! We all give it two thumbs up and are happy with the move. Our house is beautiful and we really enjoy the space, our neighborhood is wonderful – very active and friendly. We have spent a lot of time enjoying the community pool here and have gone on one bike ride and several walks through the area. We have enjoyed many festivals and fun activities such as our neighborhood BBQ, the bat festival, and the Shorts movie premiere (with a carnival). There are so many tasty restaurants here and we have tried several. The food here is great and very diverse.

We are all settled in pretty well. Jim has been working in a temporary office space (their permanent space will be available next week) downtown and Sadie has started the 1st grade at Kiker Elementary. I have yet to find a job but plan to do some volunteer work at Sadie's school. In the meantime I keep busy with the house, errands, and all the other daily tasks that a wife and mother has to do. Sadie also started her new dance class which is a combination class with ballet, tap, and jazz. She has done ballet before but never the other two – she is doing well with all three.

All in all we are doing very well down here in Texas! We miss our Utah friends, family, and mountains but are enjoying all that Austin has to offer! For pictures of some of our Texas adventures visit our gallery.

Disney World '09

We had a wonderful trip to Disney World this June. Here is a trip report and as always you can visit our gallery for pictures!

June 15th 2009 - On the way
Our flight took off from Salt Lake City at 10:00 a.m. It was a bit delayed but the pilot made up the time in the air and actually got us to Orlando early. My brother Mike and his family were on the same flight as us and ended up being in the row behind us. Once we landed we made our way to the Magical Express shuttle service and after a 40 minute ride we were at our destination: Coronado Springs Resort. Check in was quick - no line - and we were soon walking to our room. The grounds are beautiful and the room was perfect. After getting settled in we walked around and checked out the cool pool and playgrounds. We ate dinner at the Pepper Market where the food was good but pricey. After dinner we went to the gift shop and bought some milk, juice, and donuts for breakfast (we had packed cereal). We headed back to our room and got on our swimsuits and spent the rest of the evening playing in the huge pool and sliding down the waterslide. We showered and called it a night so we could get plenty of sleep for the next day.

June 16th 2009 - Magic Kingdom
We woke up early (7:00 a.m.), got ready, and had breakfast in our room. We were at the bus stop by 7:45 and at Magic Kingdom by 8:30. There was no line to get into the park and once inside we got to meet Snow White. We walked down Main Street and through the castle to fantasyland where we rode Peter Pan's Flight with a 20 minute wait (although the sign said 40 minutes). We walked right onto It's a Small World and then made our way over to Toontown to meet the fairies. We waited for an hour (our longest wait) but Sadie really wanted to meet them. We met Tinkerbell, Iradessa, and Rosetta (my favorite fairy). We then went on Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster which Sadie loved. Jim took Sadie on Dumbo (they waited 50 minutes!) while I ran over to Splash Mountain for fastpasses. We were getting hungry so we stopped in at Colombia Harbor House and picked up some mac'n'cheese, chicken strips, and fish & chips. The lunch was good and the room was air-conditioned (it was Hot & humid). We jumped in line for Haunted Mansion next - Sadie acted scared at first but she was fine later. It was almost time for our fastpass to Splash Mt. so we went over to Tom Sawyer's Island and explored a bit and then went on Splash Mountain. Fastpass is a wonderful thing - the wait was up to 110 minutes but by using fastpass we were on in less than 15. This ride was Sadie's favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom. We got fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMR) next and headed into Adventure land. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, had popsicles while watching the Tiki birds, and rode the Jungle Cruise. We headed back over to BTMR and rode using fastpass so again waiting less than 20 minutes. After BTMR we went down Main Street to Tony's Town Square restaurant where we ate some good Italian food. While in the restaurant it started to rain - then it started to really rain. When we left the restaurant it was really coming down! Sadie and I put our ponchos on (Jim just winged it) and we walked/ran over to Buzz Lightyear. The line wasn't very long (everyone was out of the rain) and we got on in less than 20 minutes. After that we decided to call it a night, since we were all pretty wet, and caught the bus back to Coronado Springs. By then it was 8:30 p.m. We changed pants and walked over to my mom & dad's room to say hi to them and my sister Lori who just got into Florida. It was a very busy day.

June 17th 2009 - Disney's Hollywood Studios
We got up early and met my parents, Lori & Travis, and Mike’s family at the bus stop for Disney Hollywood Studios at 8:30 a.m. The first thing we did at DHS was to get fastpasses for Toy Story Mania and then my Dad, Lori, Travis, Jim, and I headed over to Tower of Terror while my mom took Sadie to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Tower of Terror was a lot of fun and not as scary as I thought it would be. After that we met up with my mom and Sadie and went on the Studio Backlot Tour. When we were done with that we met the pink Power Ranger and Sadie got an autograph. We wondered around a bit and looked in some shops and then headed back to Toy Story Mania for our fastpass return. We all enjoyed this ride – it is a family favorite. Jim and Travis then ran over to Rock'n' roller coaster to get fastpasses and then we all headed to lunch at 50's Prime Time Diner. The Diner looks like a 1950’s kitchen and everyone is family – your waiter, the people in the booth next to you. Lunch was good and our waiter was funny. After lunch mom & dad decided to go back to the hotel and we stayed with Lori & Travis and got into the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular just in time for the show. After the stunt show we went over to the Muppets 3D show and then got some popsicles to cool off and caught the Jedi Training camp where we got to see Darth Vader. While Jim and Travis went and rode the roller coaster I took Sadie to the High School Musical pep rally. Sadie was picked to dance around with the dancers and she really enjoyed that. She was starting to get hot & tired so when the boys came back Jim, Sadie, and I went back to the hotel for a quick rest and some good pool time. After the pool we decided to catch a bus down to downtown Disney and got some good food at Paradiso. By the time we got home it was 10:00 p.m. and we were all very worn out.

June 18th 2009 - Animal Kingdom
We got up our usual time and met Lori, Travis, and Mike's family at the bus stop at 8:40 a.m. and headed to the Animal Kingdom. Once we got there we headed straight to Expedition Everest to get fastpasses and then made our way over to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Mike wasn't feeling well so he sat out. The Safari was great with lots of cool animals. After the Safari Mike called and said he was going to the hospital to get checked out - he was okay but better safe than sorry. I told Jennifer that it's not a trip to Disney until someone goes to the hospital - I'm just glad it wasn't me this time. We went back over to Expedition Everest and rode it. I was proud of Sadie for riding it and even though she was scared and didn't like it too much she didn't cry or throw a fit. She simply said that she didn't want to ride it again - ever. We had lunch reservations at Yak & Yeti - the food was good, Sadie and I had the Chicken Lo Mein and Jim had the lettuce wraps. After lunch we went to get fastpasses for Kali River Rapids but the line was only 45 minutes so we decided to ride. Unfortunately this time the sign was waaay wrong and we were in line for over an hour! Ugh. Usually the wait times are better than posted but not in this case. On the ride Lori and I got soaked, and I mean soaked! Jim, Sadie, and Travis got quite wet as well. I never did fully dry out the rest of the day. We then caught the Flights of Wonder show that featured many different types of birds. We lucked out at It's Tough to be a Bug and waited only ten minutes for the show. Sadie wasn't sure if she liked this show or not. I will have to ask her again about it later. After the show we walked around a bit and realized it was about to rain so we ducked into Pizza Safari and got some breadsticks, drinks, and chocolate chip cookies and watched the storm. The rain let up a bit until it was just a small drizzle and Jim, Sadie, and I went to the Pangani Forest Trail and saw more animals. We rode the train out to the conservation station and back and decided to call it a day. We got back to the resort at about 5:30 and picked up a sandwich, chips, and a rice crispy treat to share and headed back to our room. The rest of the night was spent relaxing in our room and getting to bed early.

June 19th 2009 - Epcot
We woke up the usual time and met everyone (Mike's family, Lori & Travis, and Mom & Dad) down at the bus stop at 8:30 a.m. We went to Epcot for the day. It was my parent's official 50th Anniversary. The first thing we did was to get fastpasses for Soarin' and then we went and rode on Fast Track. Sadie was a bit scared at first but this ride ended up being her favorite ride at Epcot. I picked up some Anniversary badges for my parents to wear so everyone would know it was their Anniversary. We went over to ride Soarin' and on the way my parents were stopped and handed a phone - it was Mickey Mouse wishing them a happy anniversary. We all rode Soarin' and it was definitely a favorite for everyone. Afterwards we ate lunch at the Sunshine Fair right outside of Soarin' and then went over and rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends and saw Turtle Talk with Crush. Turtle Talk was just as fun as it was years ago in Disneyland. We walked around the aquariums looking at all the fish and parted ways with everyone. Jim, Sadie, and I walked over to Spaceship Earth that was just re-opening after being shut down for a while and got on with hardly any wait. We had fun in the interactive area after the ride. Jim wanted to ride Mission: Space and the line was only 30 minutes so while he did that Sadie and I grabbed some popsicles and sat in the shade. We headed over to the World Showcase at that time. We hit Mexico first – rode the Gran Fiesta ride and Sadie went to the Kidcot station and got a mask to color and collect tags for from all the countries. We went over to Norway next and rode Maelstrom and Sadie added to her mask. We walked though a few countries and made our way to Morocco where the Restaurant Marrakesh was. Sadie collected the tag from the kidcot station and we walked around the shops for a bit. We bought Sadie a shell necklace with her name written in Arabic - since her formal name Sadah is Arabic. We then met everyone at the restaurant for my parents 50th Anniversary dinner. The food was great and the service was wonderful. After we had eaten the meal the waiters all came out clapping and brought my parents a dessert with a lit candle in it. They put red fez hats on my parents and congratulated them on their Anniversary. After dinner we hung out in Morocco with my family for a bit and then everyone went their own way. We visited Japan, Germany, and Italy before staking out a good spot for the fireworks. Meanwhile my parents went over to the American Experience and got the royal treatment. Someone had spotted their Anniversary badges and when they found out it was their 50th they gave them a certificate and took them to the front of the show and had everyone clap for them. Then they were taken to a special VIP section to sit and watch the fireworks (they were also given another free dessert). After the fireworks we made our way out of the park and ended up on the same bus as my parents. Sadie promptly sat on Grandma’s lap and fell asleep. We all had a terrific day.

June 20th 2006 – Resort & Carbone visit
This morning we slept in a bit and went to the Mayan Grill for a breakfast buffet. After filling ourselves with tasty food we hung out at the pool for a while and then our friend Tom Carbone came and picked us up so we could spend the afternoon at his house. The rest of the day was filled with playing volleyball (house rules: one bounce is in) in their pool, catching up, and eating lots of good food--delicious prime rib, excellent potatoes, fresh bread, ripe watermelon, and Florida special Key Lime Pie . It was great to see Tom & Tina and their kids Simon & Olivia (Tommy is away at college), plus Tom “Magnum” Angus and his wife and son, “Magnum Jr.” Later Tom took us back to our hotel and we called it a night.

June 21st 2006 – Magic Kingdom + home again
We got up early this morning (7:00 a.m.) and packed up all our stuff. We said goodbye to Lori and Travis who had an early flight and met my parents at the front of the hotel to check our bags and have them hold onto our other bags while we went to the park one last time. We caught a bus to Magic Kingdom and strolled down Main Street and then made our way to Pirates of the Caribbean ride which we walked right on. We parted ways for a while with my parents so we could ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again. We walked back to Main Street just in time for a party/parade where Sadie and I danced in a conga line with Woody (from Toy Story). After watching the other floats go by with Mickey and the gang aboard we went to the Main Street Bakery and had lunch with my parents. We said goodbye to Disney World and headed back to our resort to catch our Magical Express bus to the airport. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare so we visited some more with my parents who were on the same flight as us. After an uneventful flight we finally arrived home at 8:00p.m. and called it a day. Our trip was a fun, exciting, awesome (Sadie’s word) trip! Disney does a good job and I give them high marks. We can’t wait to come back (maybe in five years)! For more pictures visit our gallery.

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 9

Day 9: March 22nd, 2009 - Going home

We woke up early – at 6:00 a.m. to a cool, rainy Long Beach, California and ate breakfast with everyone one last time in the Mermaid Grill. We said goodbye to Mimi and Grandpa and went to wait in our designated lounge. Jen, Paul, Hailey, and Drew were still with us – we were all on the same flight to Salt Lake City (then they went on to Boise). We all took a taxi to the airport and hung out there for a couple of hours. We ate lunch at a little restaurant and then got on the plane. A short while later and we were landing in Salt Lake City. We said our goodbyes to Paul, Jen, Hailey, and Drew and went to meet Solomon who was nice enough to drop us off and pick us up from the airport. On our way driving home we stopped at Wal-Mart for some milk and spaghetti for dinner. We went to bed early that night because we actually had to work and go to school the next morning.

It was really a wonderful trip – we all had a great time and came home well rested with many fun memories! Make sure to check out the gallery for pictures.

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 8

Day 8: March 21st, 2009 At Sea Day

Today was our last full day aboard the Carnival Pride. We slept in till 8:30 a.m. and took our time getting ready. We went up to the Mermaid Grill for breakfast and found everyone already there. It was a cool, drizzly day. After breakfast we went to the debarkation talk to find out what we need to do for the next morning. Sadie came with us to the talk but brought her DS and her headphones. After the talk we went back to our room for a bit and then had lunch in the Normandie dining room. We were going to have dessert after our lunch but ran out of time – Jerry had arranged a bridge tour for all of us with the captain. So I promised Sadie ice cream later and we dashed out and made it for the tour. We got to go to the bridge and see how a ship that size functions. The crew was all very nice and it was quite a view from the bridge. Sadie went to camp carnival for a few hours after that and Jim and I walked around the ship. We picked up Sadie and she said goodbye to the nice councilors there. They gave her a pencil, a painting of the ship, and her name tag for a souvenir. They were all very nice. We went up to the lido deck and ate some ice cream and then went to the kid’s talent show to see Hailey sing the ABC song with another little girl and the kids got to dance with funship freddy ( a big, weird looking mascot). Jim was frightened but I held his hand. Sadie wasn’t frightened and gave him a big hug. We went to dinner for the last time on the ship and enjoyed the food even more (now that we knew all that yummy food was coming to an end). After dinner we checked out the gift shops one last time and bought some last minute gifts and a scrapbook and called it a night at 9:30 p.m. Gallery.

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 7

Day 7: March 20th, 2009 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

We slept for a bit longer this morning – 7:30 a.m. and met everyone for breakfast. The ship was already anchored in Cabo San Lucas. We caught a tender boat off the ship at 9:15 a.m. and were taken to the marina. Once again the weather was perfect! We walked part of the way around the marina looking at all the vendors and saying “no, gracias” a lot. When the kids started getting tired we found a man to take us on a boat ride and drop us off at the main beach. He took us out in his glass bottomed boat to the famous arch and by lover’s beach where we saw more sea lions, birds, and some tropical fish. He dropped us off at the main beach and arranged a time to pick us up. We hung out on the beach for the rest of the morning and Sadie got her hair braided for $8. We went to a beachside restaurant for lunch and I had some wonderful tacos Cameron con queso (shrimp tacos with cheese). After lunch we played in the water for a bit longer and then our ride showed up. We hopped in the boat and were taken back to the marina. We did some more shopping along the marina and Jen bought all of the kids a frozen juice bar. Before we got on the boat Jim’s dad (Jerry) gave Jen and I silver bracelets that he had bought for us. Mine had dolphins on it. We grabbed a tender boat back to the ship at about 2:30 p.m. and went to our rooms for a rest. It was the second formal night and so we took the kids up to Camp Carnival for dinner. After dinner Sadie got to watch the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks, and then she got to have a party where they made hats and danced around. Meanwhile the adults had a quiet dinner and hung out in the casino for a bit. We then went to a late night comedy show featuring Jerome. He was very funny. We picked up Sadie at 11:30 p.m. – she was still awake but tired (as were Jim and I) so we all went to bed. Gallery.

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 6

Day 6: March 19th, 2009 - Mazatlan, Mexico

We woke up early this morning as well – 7:00 a.m., dressed, and met everyone up in the Mermaid Grill for breakfast. After breakfast we watched the ship pull into the marina. The weather was wonderful – in the 80’s. We got off the ship just after 9:00 a.m. and made our way past the time share pushers and found our guide for the day out on a little patio surrounded by gift shops. His name was Hugo and he was from King David’s Tours. I had made a reservation for us all on the internet before the trip. Hugo was a great guide and we had lots of fun with him. First he took us (by shuttle) to a catamaran boat and gave us a tour of the area (before we boarded the boat Sadie bought a dress for $7, I talked the man down from $10). We saw pirate caves, sea lions, rock formations, and learned a bit of the history of Mazatlan. After our tour we went to Stone Island and got on a tractor pulled trailer. While riding through a small, poor, Mexican town we stopped by a man selling fresh roasted peanuts for $1 (or 10 pesos) per bag. Sadie wanted a bag and I told her she could buy one if she had the money. I had forgotten that her aunt Cindy had given her some pesos before our trip. Sadie whipped out a 10 peso coin and bought her own bag of peanuts (which she munched on throughout the rest of the trip). We got to our final destination –Malakey, a small restaurant right on the beach. We all grabbed a table under the palm leaf umbrellas and settled in. Jim, Sadie, and I went with the first group of horse back riders while the others stayed at the table. Sadie decided to share a horse with me and Jim hopped on his own horse. We rode through the small village for a bit and then out onto the beach. Our guide seemed to disappear half the time and Sadie and I were left leading the group. We didn’t mind – our horse knew where it was going. It was a nice ride – only about 25 minutes or so. We went back to the restaurant and the others went on their ride while we stripped down and went out to the water for some fun. Sadie had brought her bucket and shovel and she and I made a sand castle. We also found several sea shells. Jim and Sadie stayed in the water for longer while I went up to the restaurant and enjoyed some fresh made tortillas chips and salsa (with Mimi) and took advantage of the open bar. When the others got back from their ride lunch was served. We had fresh breaded fish, a grilled chicken leg, and cheese quesadillas with rice, beans, tortilla chips and salsa. It was all very tasty. We got to play on the beach a little longer and shop at some of the vendors (I picked up a beach dress and shawl for $25) and then it was time to go. We paid $30 per adult and $15 per child for all of this tour – including food and drinks! It was an amazing deal. Hugo was a nice, funny, informative guide and we would recommend him to anyone. After Hugo dropped us off at the Marina we hung out at the patio for a bit. Sadie and Hailey danced to the music, Drew was fast asleep in his stroller, and the rest of us enjoyed a cold margarita. We got back on the ship at about 4:15 p.m. We all cleaned up and met for dinner. After dinner we played a quick game of Bingo (none of us won) and watched a music/comedy show that Sadie fell asleep in. We were all in bed at about 10:00 p.m. Gallery.

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 5

Day 5: March 18th, 2009 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

We woke up early this morning – 7:00 a.m. and watched the ship pull into port. Jim left early to meet up with Paul and Grandpa. They were doing a mountain bike tour. Jim borrowed Sadie’s camera for the day and shortly after he left the cabin I realized that he hadn’t put the battery back in the camera. Sadie and I ran up to the Mermaid Grill and luckily found him still eating breakfast and gave him the battery. We went back down to our cabin and finished getting ready and then met Jen, Hailey, Drew, and Mimi in the Mermaid Grill for breakfast. We got off the boat and got pictures with a sad looking donkey. While we waited for our tour to begin (we booked the sea life water park with dolphin encounter) we walked through a little walkway with colorful parrots and got pictures of everyone with the parrots. Finally our tour got started and we all piled onto a nice bus and drove for about 20 minutes. We got to the sea life park at about noon and had lunch – hot dogs, pizza, and fries. After that we saw a dolphin show and then got ready to get in the water with the dolphins. We waited in the small pool for about 15 minutes but the dolphin (Belle) didn’t want to go into that pool so we all went into the big pool (she didn’t want to come to us so we went to her). We all got to pet her as she swam by and got to shake “fins” with her and get a kiss. It was so amazing to be up close and personal with a dolphin! We got to play and swim with her as well – we even had a water fight (which she won!). After the encounter we got to play on the water slides for a while and then shop in the gift shop before getting back on the bus. We were worn out! Meanwhile the boys found a shop to rent bikes from and had a wonderful ride. We all met back on the ship and rested in our rooms for a little while. We all went to dinner and celebrated Drew’s third birthday complete with cake, gifts, and Cars tattoos! After dinner we walked around for a little bit and called it an early night. Gallery.

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 4

Day 4: March 17th, 2009 - At Sea Day

We all got up around 8:00 a.m. and went up to breakfast at the Mermaid Grill with everyone. It was St. Patrick’s Day so we all made sure to dress in green. Sadie went to kid’s camp and played pirates. I went to a talk about shopping in the ports while Jim went to the lido deck and saw lots of dolphins swimming in the ocean. We met up again with everyone at Mermaid Grill and ate pizza, fruit, and ice cream cones. The weather was warmer so we went and hung out by the pool – the kids all got in and played in the pool while I sipped a Pina Coloda. After just hanging out and relaxing we went to the room to clean up. Sadie and I joined Jen, Hailey, and Drew for Tea Time in the Florentine lounge. The kids got juice while Jen and I had tea. They had scones, sandwiches, and all sorts of pastries. We went to dinner and ate too much like usual. Everyone wore their St. Patrick’s Day flare. After dinner we called it an early night and had Sadie in bed by 8:45 p.m. Gallery.

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 3

Day 3: March 16th, 2009 - At Sea Day

This morning Sadie and I woke up at about 7:30 a.m. but Jim was still sleeping so we went into the bathroom to change and get ready. We went up to the lido deck and checked out the weather – it was about 65* still cool but getting warmer. We found the others already at breakfast and went down to wake up Jim. He was already awake and ready and we all went up to the Mermaid Grill for breakfast. Sadie wasn’t ready to go to the kid’s club yet so she went exploring the ship with Jim and me. We checked out the shops, the gym/spa, the pools, and some of the lounges. At the pool Sadie took her shoes off and waded in the water – it was cold but she didn’t care.
We met everyone at the Mermaid Grill for lunch and then we all went to the kid’s club for a family activity: Build-a-bear! The kids each picked an animal and an outfit and we filled the bears ourselves. Sadie chose a black bear and a cute sailor girl outfit. Her name is Taylor the sailor! We went back to our room for a few minutes and then Sadie went to the kid’s club for a few hours. She got to play the Wii and paint t-shirts. Meanwhile Jim and I got to check out the ship on our own and explore the casino.
We picked up Sadie from camp and went back to the room to get ready for formal night. We met in Mimi and Grandpa’s room before dinner and had a drink and Mimi gave some gift bags with underwater cameras, St. Patrick’s Day beads and braclets for Jen and me. The kids got goggles and St. Patrick’s Day headbands. The dinner that night was amazing (steak & lobster). Once again the kids got to dance with the waiters and we all had fun. We went back to the room and changed Sadie out of her formal for kid’s night. After we dropped her off at camp we went to a show. The Kid’s camp had the kids 6 and older go to the show so we got to wave to Sadie from our seats – she liked seeing the show with her new friends. The show was wonderful – great singing and dancing. After the show Sadie got to go to a kid’s party and Jim and I hung out in the casino. We picked up Sadie at 10:30 p.m. and we were all in bed by 11:30 p.m.
Gallery.

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 2

Day 2: March 15th, 2009 - Boarding the ship

Today started out with breakfast in the hotel with everyone. I gave everyone in the family gift bags for the cruise filled with things they might need (laundry bag, highlighters, post-it notes, nightlight, air freshener, Spanish for dummies book, Sudoku and crossword puzzle books, and tropical picture frames). The kids got bubbles, a dry erase board, some stickers, and highlighters. The gifts went over well. After breakfast Jen and I ran across the street to a little clothing shop and bought some hoodie jackets (it was still cool out). Then we all got onto a shuttle and went to the port to board our cruise ship.
We got to the cruise ship terminal and checked in on the Queen Mary (the old cruise ship is now stationary and has a museum and a hotel in it). We all wished we had more time to tour the Queen Mary but maybe next time. After checking in we went to our waiting area and waited. It took quite a while because they were also switching staff (which they do every 90 days). But we enjoyed ourselves on a little grassy area – the weather was sunny and warming up. The kids entertained everyone with their bubbles and made friends with other kids.
At about 2:00 p.m. we finally got onto the ship – The Carnival Pride. We went up to the lido deck and ate lunch at the buffet called the Mermaid’s Grill. After lunch we all went to our rooms to rest and unpack. Our room was #1172 on the Riviera deck. It was very nice and roomy and it was wonderful to have a window to look out of. When we were unpacked and rested we split up. Jim went with the boys to get a drink and Jen and I took the kids to the Camp Carnival registration to register the kids for the kid’s camp. We filled out all the forms and got all the information we needed then we went to meet everyone for dinner. Our table was #280 and was in the captain’s club (which is a smaller, quieter room just off the main dining room. Our waiters were wonderful! Every night they danced and sang for us – they always pulled our kids up to dance with them as well! After dinner we walked around and explored the ship a bit and then went back to our cabin and let the boat rock us to sleep. Check out the gallery

Mexican Riviera Cruise Day 1

Day 1: March 14th, 2009 Flying to Long Beach

We started our trip with a plane ride to Long Beach, California. It was a quick and uneventful flight and we were on the ground 1 ½ hour later at 5:30 p.m. The weather was cool and we hoped it would warm up on the cruise. We took the hotel shuttle to the hotel and checked in (Best Western Long Beach). We met up with Mimi and Grandpa who had gotten in earlier and walked to a Mexican restaurant for some tacos and rice - a good start to our Mexican vacation. We went back to the hotel and visited some more with Mimi & Grandpa and waited for Jen, Paul, Hailey, and Drew to come in. When they finally arrived we visited for a few minutes and then went to bed.

Sadie's award

On December 10th Sadie recieved an award at her school for excellence in vocabulary and reading. The kids in her class are supposed to have 16 vocabulary words memorized and passed off by January - Sadie has passed off 40! She seems to soak things up like a sponge. She is also reading on a first grade level and she is doing advanced math. She actually likes doing homework (let's see how long we can keep that up...maybe until college?). We are so proud of her! For more pictures visit our gallery.

Thanksgiving '08

Thanksgiving weekend began with a feast and performance in Sadie's kindergarten class. All of the kids brought something from home (crackers, cheese, etc.) and had a cooporative feast. Then the kids sang a native american song for the parents and showed off their headbands and necklaces that they had made. Later that evening we ventured up the canyon to the cabin that we were staying in for the weekend with friends. Sadie quickly called dibs on the little loft that had a twin bed in it. I really didn't think that she would stay up there all by herself but she did and she loved having her own little space. The weekend was spent eating, playing games, and taking a walk around the frozen lake. There was snow but not enough to go skiing or sledding. We did drive down the canyon on Thursday to have Thanksgiving with my family at Cindy's house. We picked up Ginger on the way and she had a good time with Einstein, Dante, & Kansas (other family dogs). On Saturday we got to visit with Jim & Sandy Moy who came up to visit and show off their little boy Peter. It was a fun, relaxing weekend. For pictures visit our gallery.

We made it to Austin!

You may remember my blog about Frontier Airlines ruining our trip to Austin. Well, we finally got to take that trip. Luckily Frontier Airlines did wave the re-booking fee (I'm still very anti-Frontier) and we were able to re-book everything. We got into Austin on a Thursday and after checking into Marriott Springhill Suites we went to dinner at Magnolia Cafe. It was a very good 24 hour diner - the grilled vegtables are wonderful. After dinner we walked down South Congress Avenue, or SoCo as the locals call it, and checked out the fun, zany shops that they have there. On Friday we spent most of the day driving around neighborhoods (for those who don't know, we are re-locating to Austin this summer). We found a neighborhood that both Jim and I fell in love with. A nice, walkable community with lots of trees and beautiful houses and only 15 minutes from downtown. After lunch at a cafe we drove up to Travis lake and took a little walk. We finished the day with dinner at El Sol and La Luna mexican restaurant, which was very good. Saturday found us driving around neighborhoods again for most of the morning, eating good BBQ at Stubs, and walking around Zilker Botanical Gardens for most of the afternoon. It was so nice to be walking around a beautiful garden in short sleeves and shorts in November. We finished the night with dinner at Brick Oven pizza. Sunday we flew home. We didn't take many pictures because we did more driving around than anything but visit our gallery for the ones we did take. All in all we have a very favorable view of Austin and look forward to getting to know the city better.

Halloween '08

Sadie was Belle for Halloween this year. It was nice that I could convince her to be Belle so we could use her ballet costume again and not have to come up with something new. Sadie didn't have school on Halloween so she had her school parade on Thursday. On Friday she went to school with me (I was dressed as Snow White) and we had a good time visiting classes. We then went downtown and took Jim out to lunch. That night Kate, Bruce, and Ian (as Mr. Incredible) came over and went trick or treating with us. We had a good time. For pictures visit our gallery.

Frontier Airlines Ruined Our Trip!

Warning: this blog contains one BIG rant.
Jim and I are supposed to be in Austin, Texas this weekend but thanks to the horrible customer service at Frontier Airlines we had to cancel our trip. FRONTIER AIRLINES RUINED OUR TRIP! Here is what happened:

Jim and I arrived at the Frontier Airlines ticket counter a few minutes after our friends Bruce and Kate did (who were going with us on the trip) and a good 40+ minutes before our flight left. At the counter we were informed that Frontier Airlines has a policy that you have to check in at least 45 minutes before a flight. We thought that maybe since we were only a few minutes late and had no luggage to check in AND there was no one else in line that maybe they would help us out. NOPE. They said we would be put on stand-by for the next flight. Jim and I thought this was ridiculous but accepted that we would just get into Austin later than planned. We went through security and went up to the gate where they were still loading people onto the flight we were supposed to be on. We asked if we could still get onto our original flight and we were told that we couldn’t. So we waited….the 10:30 flight was full….we waited….the 2:30 flight was full. We soon found out that the soonest we could get on a flight to Denver was at 7:00 at night and there were no flights to Austin after that. Oh and the next day (Friday) all flights to Austin from Denver were booked and so the chances of us even making it to Austin on Friday were slim to none. The soonest we would get to Austin was Saturday afternoon (our return flight was Sunday morning). At that point we realized that our best case scenario would be to cancel our trip and try to take it at some other time. The absolute WORST thing about it is that no one from Frontier would help us. They treated us as if we were non-entities and kept reminding us that it was OUR fault because we were late (according to them). It was so upsetting and frustrating at the airport – at one time I had to excuse myself to the bathroom so I could break down crying (I really did not want to make a scene). I couldn’t believe how horribly we were treated. One of the women at the boarding counter told me that there were HUGE signs up in the check-in area telling us of the 45 minute rule (not that it would have helped us BEFORE we got to the airport) but when we finally left the secured area and went back down to check-in I looked around for the signs. All I could find were the small round check-in signs which said (in small print) that you must check-in 45 minutes prior to your flight. We finally found one Frontier Airlines employee, Vanessa, who was concerned for us and tried to help but it was too late at that point and there was nothing that she could do. We managed to get flight stock to use again (with a re-booking fee that supposedly Frontier will wave) and had expedia cancel our hotel and car (expedia was wonderful and very helpful). We had to pay the first night for the hotel and a small fee for the car. Suffice it to say that after we use our flight stock (I refuse to lose the $800 in tickets) that WE WILL NEVER FLY FRONTIER AIRLINES AGAIN! Thank you for listening.

*Bruce & Kate made it to Austin but what happened to us put a damper on their vacation as well.

September '08

September was a busy month for us, especially for Sadah. It started out with Sadah's birthday on which she recieved her own Nintendo DS to play her games on (now she doesn't have to borrow mine!) Then she had her first day of kindergarten. Sadah was not at all nervous and didn't even want me to walk her into her classroom. She knew where it was and had me just drop her off in the front of the school. On the 6th we had a birthday party for her at the Kid Barn where all her friends came and bounced, ate pizza and cake, and had a great time. I started back to work at North Star Elementary doing what I did last year. I only work Monday through Thursday so I vounteer at Sadah's school every other Friday. Sadah does really well when I am there - she isn't distracted at all. In the middle of the month Jen, Hailey, Drew, and Boppa all came out and spent a few nights with us. We all went up to Oktoberfest at Snowbird and rode the alpine slide. We also did some dancing and plenty of eating. We ended the month with a trip to the circus which was a fun as it always is. For pictures of Sadah's birthday and first day of school click here. For pictures of Oktoberfest and the circus click here.

San Francisco '08

Jim and I visited San Francisco over Labor Day weekend this year. We went to attend the wedding of our good friends Pat and Colette. Sadah stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa Mangelson but before you start to feel sorry for her just know that they took her to Build-a-Bear workshop and bought her a bear for her birthday. She also got to go to a family party (my great-niece Kyra was blessed) so she had plenty of fun. The wedding was beautiful and it was wonderful to see Pat and Colette again. We also saw our friend Rich who recently moved back to San Francisco from New York. Rich gave us a tour of Pixar Animation Studios (famous for such films as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, & Monster’s Inc.) where he now works. It was really cool to go behind the scenes and see what goes into making an animated feature. We also got to visit with our friends Mohammed and Romina in their nice apartment overlooking the bay. Along with visiting friends we also got in some shopping at the pier and in Chinatown. It was a fun little trip. For pictures click here.