Cruising to Alaska - Day 2!

The second day of our Alaskan vacation was spent on the open seas. We couldn't see land from either side of the ship. Although we weren't in a storm, the sea was choppy and we would go up and down. Brent and I didn't get sea sick; however, there were many times that we would be standing or walking and get very wobbly.

This is a clip of what it looks like to watch the waves out on the open sea.

Part of the day was spent just watching the ocean. There were plenty of windows to look out of that were within the warmth of the ship. It was very relaxing to just sit there and watch the water.

Although we were only in our 2nd day of our vacation, Brent already looks relaxed and rejuvenated. :)

Today we had lunch at the Windjammer. This buffet restaurant was on the 9th floor of the ship. It had windows all the way around the dining area. Today was an extra special day because we were able to eat with entertaining company. Sitting at the table (from left to right) are Haley, Brent, Carole, Lyn, Elmer, Della, Eddie, and Grandma. We loved hanging out with Grandma and her friends. They always had funny stories to tell; especially, Della. Just ask her anything about her mother and you will get a great tale.

This evening was our first formal night on the ship. Brent looked great in his tuxedo and I was sporting a new purple dress. One of the activities on formal night was to meet the captain of the ship, Rick Sullivan, and get a picture taken with him. Next there was a reception in the Shall We Dance Lounge where we could have a variety of beverages and appetizers. While we were at the reception, the captain introduced the top members of his team. Then we were off to our 6 o'clock dinner in the Edelweiss Dining Hall.

Lyn and Carole Jensen looked great in blue for formal night.

After dinner, at about 8pm, Grandma and I had our picture taken on deck. It doesn't look like it is 8 o'clock in the evening. However, it is windy and COLD on the deck. I can't hide the fact that I'm freezing during this photo shoot!

After dinner we were off to another show in the Broadway Melodies Theater. On this night we were entertained by two gentleman; one was on the piano and the other was a comedian. They put on quite an act together. Sometimes I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. Great fun!

Brent and I pose for a picture on the staircase at the Broadway Melodies Theatre. Each night when we returned to our state room, we were welcomed with an animal figure made from bath towels. I think this one is a puppy. Very cute!

Exhausted from a day at sea and dressing up, we eagerly went to bed knowing that the next day we would begin our adventures in Juneau, Alaska!

Cruising to Alaska! Day 1

After two years of marriage, Brent and I finally had our Honeymoon! We decided to take a cruise to Alaska!!!! Our trip started out by flying to Seattle, Washington. This is the view from the plan looking at the Grand Canyon.

Grandma and her friends at the Senior Center were on the same cruise! It was great to hang out with her and her friends. Grandma and I are modeling our custom made Alaska t-shirts created by Uncle Scott. The shirts say "Alaska 2010" on one side and each person's name on the other.

This is our spectacular cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas. The ship had 2,239 passengers plus 770 crew members.

Before getting on the ship, each person had to get their picture taken to be linked to their room card. The room card was more commonly known as your Sea Pass Card. This card was used to get on and off the ship, into your room, and to purchase anything on the ship.

Our lovely windowless state room was fairly small. This is pretty much it. Needless to say, you could go to sleep anytime in here because when the lights were out, it was pitch BLACK!

If you think the room was small, here is the itty bitty bathroom.

The hallway where our room was located was SUPER long and narrow. This is a view of only half of the hallway. Brent's parents also happened to be on the same cruise as us. After we found our rooms, we explored the ship together. Here Brent and his Dad are lounging around the deck 9 pool. This is the outside pool. Although it was heated, I didn't want to get in and out of this pool when the outside temperature was 50 degrees or less. Brrrrrr....

This is what you could look at while you were lounging around by the outside pool.

At the back end of the ship, there was a rock climbing wall. When the ship was cruising in the open seas, it was very WINDY back here.

This is the indoor pool. It was nice and warm in here. There were also ping pong tables in here. Lots of things to do.

This is the view from the Centrum. This is in the middle of the ship. Floors 5, 6, 7, and 8 have balcony's looking into this area. It is a beautiful part of the ship and a great lounging area.

This video clip will show you around the Centrum from the 4th floor where it begins.

Every night we attended a show in the Broadway Melodies Theater. It was a huge auditorium with sofa like seating, very comfortable. The first show we attended, we sat in the balcony. The first show was a comedy act.

The first day of our trip was spent exploring the ship. We left the Seattle port around 5pm. The rest of the evening we cruised through the Puget Sound and out into the Pacific Ocean. As I have never been on a ship before, it was exciting to be out on deck watching the ship pull out of the harbor. It was cool and windy. We had beautiful views of the homes along the shoreline as well as harbors filled with sailboats. We were both anxious to see what a full day on the open sea would be like!

Chopped off my Hair

Now its nice and short :)

Mitchell & His Mom (I think he really does love me)

In honor of Julie's wedding, Mitchell and I wore purple to the reception. Mitchell looks pretty darn good in his purple dress shirt. He picked it out for Senior pictures next week. Yes, Mitchell the senior!!! Wow, high school graduation, here we come!

Mitchell has several adoring fans. Here Madison and Andrew just can't get enough of Mitchell. They demanded that their picture had to be taken with him. It must be great to have so many people love you!

Fun in Flagstaff!

This week Grant and I took a two day trip to Flagstaff. We had a ton of fun!!!! Our adventure began at the Snowbowl ski lift. The lift takes you from where you park (8000 ft above sea level) all the way to the top of the mountain (11,700 ft above sea level). It was quite a ride. Grant and Andrew are brave and ready to ride the chairlift. It was a little unsettling trying to get on without the lift stopping but we made it.

This is the view at the beginning of our ascent up the mountain. Grant hated it when the lift would stop. He felt like the cable would start to sag. I think he may have a slight fear of heights too.

It took a good 15 minutes or more to make it to the top and then jump off the lift without getting run over by the chair we just jumped off of! The temperature kept dropping as we got closer and closer to the top. At the top there was plenty of snow to make snowballs.

Grant helped Andrew climb the rest of the way to the top of the mountain.

The view from the top was amazing! You could see Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

This is the view from the chairlift from the very top of the mountain when we started our ride down.

Andrew did a good job staying seated the entire time on the lift! He loved pointing out the snow patches near the lift and telling me when to take pictures. He also had lots of good joke for the ride down; although, Grant didn't appreciate them as much as I did :)

Grant wished he had his PSP for the ride. He thought the lift was a little boring. I thought it had amazing views and am glad we took the time to do it!

Later that evening, we went indoor rock climbing with Stephen. Grant loves to climb anything and always looks for the most challenging wall to climb.

Grant found a ledge he could sit on to take a rest from his vertical climb.

Stephen and I took turns belaying. This forced me to actually climb. Out of all the times I've taken the boys indoor rock climbing, I have never climbed, I've always been the belayer. So it was a treat that I was able to climb a few times here. I was surprised at how easily I was able to get to the top. I thought for sure I was too wimpy to do it. Thanks Stephen!!!!

On Tuesday Grant, Bearett and I went to the Arboretum. This is a nature preserve and garden that showcases natural plants found in the Flagstaff area.

Bearett and Grant started their tour inside the tree ring maze. You really couldn't get lost in it but it was very cool to go through.

We went on an official tour of the facility. I was surprised how short it was. So we lengthened our tour and checked out more of the place. We heard that there was a mama duck with her ducklings around the pond. Unfortunately, we couldn't find her.

The highlight of our visit was the Birds of Prey show. This is a picture of Grant volunteering to be a mouse. He is pretending it is night and he can't see, he has ears to mimic a mouse and he is holding a squeaker. As soon as he hears an owl coming, he is supposed to squeak to warn the other mice to hide.

The owl that flew out was HUGE and very SCARY!!! This was the only part of the show that Bearett didn't like and hid in my lap. This is a falcon. If you look closely where the handler's hand is closed at, you will notice the feet of the bird the falcon is eating. It was so gross to watch him rip parts of it off and eat it during the show.

This is a hawk that has been raised in captivity. The 11 year old girl that his holding her says that this bird is so tame that it likes to be pet and handled. I still think it looks a little intimidating.

Some of the birds that came out weren't chained to a handler's hand. These birds would fly right over the audience. The problem is that they fly very low when they go across and one time the wings of one of the birds brushed my face!!!

This is another type of falcon that lives in northern Canada and Alaska. This is a big bird! This bird has beautiful coloring!

When the show was over there was a crow and two ravens in three cages. Bearett loved going up to the cages to talk to the birds. These three birds had been trained to take your dollar bill that you put through the fence and then put it in a jar. Each time they did this they received a treat. These birds were also trained to do other tricks on command. This was a great show and we would definitely go and watch it again with you!

Camping in the Mountains

On Friday and Saturday this week Mitchell, Grant and I headed up north to go camping on our yearly 12 Oaks 2nd Ward Camp out. The camping location is off of highway 87 about 29 miles north of Payson (go past Pine and Strawberry). We turned off the highway right after mile marker 280. Its not a developed camp ground but it was a beautiful place to camp! Grant and I set up the big tent all by ourselves :) Unfortunately, Brent had to work and was unable to join us on the camping trip.

Mitchell didn't want to camp near Grant and I so he set up his campsite a good 50 yards away.

Mitchell slept in his hammock all night even though it was pretty cold outside. He stayed snuggly warm!

After our incredible Navajo Taco dinner, Mitchell hung out with the other teenagers and played spoons. Later on they watched a movie. Yes, a couple of the families that had been camping at this site for 2 weeks had a generator, TV and DVD player. It was like we never left home :(

Grant and his buddy, Abram, played on Abram's DS's. I guess these electronic gaming devices can link together so they played, and played and played.

Max loved going camping. He loved finding dropped food on the ground and licking bacon grease off of the legs of the grill. He also made several new friends. Here he is snuggling with Dominique.

On Saturday morning Grant, Abram, Dominique, Max and I went out exploring to find the cool cave. Grant and I went in the cave last year but Abram and Dominique hadn't ever been there. It is difficult to get into the cave. You have to balance on the rocks, duck, and try not to get wet while you climb in. The water was a bit higher than it was last year so I ended up getting a wet foot right away.

After you crawl inside, the cave opens up and you can stand. You have to bring a flashlight in order to find your way around.

Grant crawled up into a secondary cave. I didn't explore this upper cave last year because I couldn't find it (I never looked up into the ceiling to see the small opening). So Grant led the way through the narrow passageway. At some point I had to squeeze through an area on my belly. I would NEVER have explored this part of the cave on my own. It was a great adventure! The upper cave twists and turns and goes up and down. Eventually, it leads back to the main large room of the original cave.

We hiked our way back to camp along the creek. It was a beautiful trail.

I was sporting my "I Love Mitchell" shirt for the hike. Too bad Mitchell was asleep and didn't come with us hiking. This was a fun adventure for our little family. We really should get out of town more often. Next time I think there should be a ban on any electronic device! I am such a mean mom!!!!