Back from Paradise…

Before Josh leaves on his mission, we planned a Caribbean cruise to go on with the family.  It was unanimous, Best. Vacation. Ever…

I’ll post later about our excursions, but first boarding this beautiful ship below

Disney Magic 2013 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Bon Voyage party

Bon Voyage party on top deck.  It was windy the first day, but that didn’t stop the fun.  Although it was a full ship they accommodated everyone very well without feeling over crowded (except for the elevators, good excuse to use the stairs).  Disney Magic holds 2,400 passengers, has 11 decks, and is almost 1000’ long.  They have 945 crew members from all over the world.  Exciting! 

 

First night dining at Animator’s Palate, the walls and paintbrush columns lit up with different Disney scenes, then a special surprise visit from Mickey. 

We took the red eye flight from Vegas, so a bit drowsy the first day.

Promenade Lounge VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Pictionary in the Promenade Lounge.  Team awesome (us) beat team amazing

 

Refreshed for day 2, Parrot Cay.  You could see the ocean from both side of the restaurant

 

A dress up dinner with the family, looks like all we did was eat…  almost ;) but that was a good time for pictures.  The food was wonderful as we dined in different restaurants with different cuisine each night, but with the same fun servers.

The ship had 4 or 5 pools, this was a fun one for the kids.

 

With the head chef.  Paul and I enjoyed a date night with some fine dining at Palo’s (top deck, beautiful ocean view), while the kids enjoyed their Pirate Party dinner.  Blissful evening with my baby! 

There were often sweet surprises in our room.  They carved the carrot into a mermaid, impressive.  Top notch service!

 

Our awesome waiter, it was fun getting to know them as they seemed to thoroughly enjoy our family

 

Nick (who usually doesn’t like his pic taken) photo bombing the girls with the Captain. 

The shows on the ship were charming, funny, and entertaining, in the state of the art Walt Disney Theater.  Twice charmed has won best show on any cruise ship.

 

What is breakfast without a Mickey waffle?

 

The girls thought it was cool seeing all the princesses and Disney characters on the ship.

 

A room with a view.  We enjoyed relaxing on the veranda while at Sea, the boys had a room next door.  Such a good mix of family, social, beach time, and R & R!  

Bon Voyage

A special road trip

My purse camera was acting up on this trip, so the pictures aren’t the best, but a trip I really want to document.

 

 

In September playing catch up we traveled for a neat celebration, honoring my grandma who would’ve turned 100, and my dad who turned 80.  We gathered for lunch and enjoyed catching up, then met at the cemetery for a well deserved tribute to my wonderful Grandma.

 

my dad shared some old pictures of our ancestors from the early 1900’s, they had one of the first cars in their area.  It was so neat hearing the history on this side of my family.

 

My dad and his sweet sisters. 

Aunt Shirlene read some funny, touching letters, Aunt Helen and I arranged the flowers, and Aunt Gwen brought balloons.  Then we all shared stories and memories of their mom/ our Grandma… from her cheerleading days in high school, to her dating days when she met my Grandpa, to the special things she said before leaving this earth.  She was an amazing lady, full of spark and warmth, whom everyone loved.  Never saying an unkind thing about others and she raised a wonderful family. 

My favorite memories with Grandma… picking and eating fresh peas with her in the garden; seeing her face light up when we would come each summer, squealing  with delight; our yummy bedtime treat, she let us pick our favorite homegrown, home bottled fruit each night before bed; she had fun activities planned and taught me how to sew and embroider; and she bought me my first bra, yup, she was an awesome Grandma!  

 

Genuine, warm, and fun people!  My parents divorced when I was 2, so we would stay with my dad for a few weeks each summer in a different state.  They were always thrilled to see us and made us feel like a valued part of the family.

Happy 80th Birthday dad!  (10 years older then my mom) 

We love you Dad!

They adored Sophie and Sage and getting to know them better!

Chilling

 

Feeding the Ducks VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

On the way home, we stopped at the new Brigham City Temple (the day before the dedication).  What a neat addition to this town, it’s beautiful!  We also toured the popular lava spot in ID, since they missed some school for this trip, I tried to make it educational.  The girls and T found it fascinating.

 

my nephew JJ, Trevor and my cute sis

They were locking the gates, but while we were here, two sisters traveling from CO came to us and had many questions about our temple.  We were happy to talk with them.

Thanks Aunt Lena for the belated birthday gifts for Sophie and Sage, so thoughtful!

Families are Forever!