Cozumel

Our first port was in Mexico. Out of all the ports we were going, this was the place we for sure knew what we wanted to do when we were there -- it was the Ancient Mayan ruins at Tulum. We had heard from everyone we had talked to who had been to the Caribbean that this was somewhere we didn’t want to miss. And they were right.

Not knowing much about Tulum before we left, it was incredibly fascinating seeing the ruins and learning a little about the history of Tulum. The site was built by the ancient Maya on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. I don’t think anything I write will do the view any justice. It was gorgeous to say the least. The city was built inside a wall to protect its people from invaders coming from both land and sea. The beach played a very important role and served as a dedicated trade peninsula for Mayan ships. The view was breathtaking. After the tour Austin and I walked down to the beach and it was so neat to swim out on the beach and see the ruins from the water. It was our first day in the ocean and it was so warm and the sand was so soft. It was a hot day and a great way to cool off. The ruins themselves were beautiful. It boggles my mind that something like this was created hundreds, thousands of years ago without any of the modern day resources we have now. The buildings were once covered in stucco and painted bright colors that has since faded away. I would have loved to see them then. The Maya used the buildings mostly for rituals and ceremonies. The first two pictures below are of the City Square. The next pictures are known as the Temple of the Descending God and on the outer wall shows a figure sculpted into the rock head down. The figure is thought to represent a deity.

After the tour we enjoyed shopping and headed back to the ship to lay by the pool. Another great day!

Our Cruise

Last night I didn’t sleep very well.

My bed wasn’t turned down with a square chocolate mint on my pillow. There wasn’t a funny animal made of white towels on my bed that also happened to be wearing my new white sunglasses. The light switch was across the room on my wall rather than conveniently located on the headboard. When I turned off the lights my room wasn’t pitch black. Instead the light from the street lamp shone through my closed blinds. Sadly, in the distance I could hear the train and sirens. I couldn’t feel the soothing rocking of the deep blue sea. My dreams weren’t filled with the next day’s adventure of crystal clear blue water and white sandy beaches, but rather the nightmare of the lame excuse of jet lag I had made up for calling in sick to work today. There was no tap on my door of a perfectly ordered room service breakfast plate to wake me up. I didn’t wake up to find my swim suit and cover up laid out on the vanity where I had left it the night before but instead two extra large suit cases filled with six loads of dirty, sandy laundry. There was no Lido Deck with a gorgeous view of a new country we had arrived at while we slept soundly.

Nope. Today it was back to reality. At least I woke up to the two sweetest faces I had been missing for the past nine days…..

Our trip to the Western Caribbean was spectacular. A cruise for 7 days with a stop in four different countries. A trip with just adults. A chance to vacation with my parents and one of my sisters and her husband.

Two Christmases ago my parents invited each of us girls and our husbands on a trip of our choice. That Christmas day we took a couples “geography” test which would determine the order in which the couples could choose the week they wished to go. The couple would pick their week and my parents would build the dream itinerary. Anyone who knows me (and my college major) would know that Austin and I should have had our choice of any 108 weeks we wanted. But on that Christmas day I sat 38 weeks pregnant with Wyatt and knew a week of “adults only” was out of the question for the next year. So Austin and I quietly “failed” our test so that all the other sisters could have a fair chance at winning first choice. :)

Side note: For fear of making myself sound incredibly stupid, let me explain. I graduated BYU with a geography degree. Travel and Tourism to be exact. One would think I would ace a geography test related to landmarks, locations, hemispheres and continents, but let me repeat. I graduated in Travel and Tourism. I studied cultures, travel patterns, religions. This does not mean I know the coordinates of Botswana, Africa. When I say, “quietly failed", I really mean failed miserably. My sisters make fun of me. Please, don’t think less of me.

Well, it worked out that three of my sisters ended up picking last spring as their time of year, and my parents figured that one combined trip could accommodate them all. So they got to planning and the eight of them enjoyed an Alaskan cruise.

I was so envious at the time.

Until late last year when our itinerary popped up in my Inbox.

A Western Caribbean cruise! Perfect!! Jennifer, Dwain, and my parents, for 7 days in the Western Caribbean. How lucky are we?? The boys were at a perfect age to leave them for the first time. Thanks to having Austin’s parents close by, we knew they were in good hands.

For 7 days we cruised. We saw breathtaking scenery, experienced once in a lifetime opportunities, ate and ate and ate, played games, snorkeled, read books, and enjoyed each other’s company. Even though a family trip with everyone is always so memorable, it was so much fun to take this trip with my parents and one of my sisters and her husband. We’ve never had a chance like this.

And everything about it was marvelous.

I'll have to post the trip in increments, but this is the first two days.

The group of us before setting sail. We flew to Tampa Saturday and boarded the ship early Sunday afternoon.
Notice me in the picture. I'm happy and excited. This was pre panic mode. About 25 minutes later I start hyperventilating about my “missing” suitcase as we sail away from Tampa. Hours later, between game show and comedian entertainment I'm on the verge of tears when it’s still missing and everyone else's suitcase has been delivered to their cabin. After filling out a report, the steward issuing me a bag of deodorant, sample toothpaste, a free Carnival T-shirt and their apologies does my sneaky sister and husband relay to me through hysterical laughter that my "missing" bag has been parked in their cabin for more than 6 hours. Ha! Good one guys. I'm so still laughing about it.

The next day was spent at sea. Mid-day we were informed that a Coast Guard chopper would be picking up a crew member who had slipped and fell and needed immediate medical attention. It was pretty fascinating watching how close the helicopter idled next to the ship. We got quite a Guardian-esque show minus Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner. Our waiter later told us that the crew member was fine and would be re-joining them as soon as we returned to Tampa.

The ship was incredible. The rooms were so comfortable, the food above and beyond, and the shows and entertainment were unbelievable. Cruising definitely agrees with us. We knew we were in for an amazing week.

Easter: Part 2

For me, Sunday was by far our best Easter as a family to date!

It may have been that we started the gorgeous day bright and early with Church at 8:00 and could focus on the reason we celebrate Easter.

It probably had to do with me getting to coordinate TWO little boys Easter outfits, a task I get a little too excited about! Remember, it was just last year where I realized the way to accessorize with boys are ties, and I must say, I’ve gone a little overboard. Nevertheless, I need to enjoy it while it lasts because I’m sure there will come a day when my boys have an opinion about the cheesy, but oh so cute, things I put them!

It also probably had to do with the mini Easter Egg Hung we had for the first time in our backyard for our kids. That for me is one of the things that I will remember years down the road when I think about this house. It’s priceless. Austin was such a great hider of eggs, Dax was a wonderful hunter for eggs and Wyatt was, well, a perfect eater of eggs. I just sat back and watched grinning from ear to ear.

It may have been that the Easter Bunny hit the nail on the head by bringing the boys sand buckets, shovels, swim trunks, Bolt and lots and lots of treats. He even visited Austin and I!

It could have had a little to do with the time we spent in the afternoon at the park where I actually managed to get a few pictures of the boys. They may be silly, but definitely seemed to capture their personalities and what fun these two are.

It may have been that we went the total non-traditional route for our Easter dinner and started cooking a pork roast at 11:30 Saturday night to allow the 16 hours of cook time in the crock pot. The results? Our very own Café Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad with a homemade Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing. My sister forward me the recipe from a top secret source and can I just tell you, I felt like I was back in American Fork minus my winter coat. It was scrumptious!

All in all, a perfect day. We hope everyone had as happy of an Easter as our family!!

Easter: Part 1

Growing up I loved Easter. I totally believed in the Easter bunny. And I'll tell you why. One early Sunday Easter morning when I was young I remember going to San Clemente to visit my grandparents. On the way out of our tract I saw him. The Easter Bunny. The real, true-live kind like you see at the mall. He was hopping down the street in my tract. And he waved at me. I felt pretty darn cool. I think now that it was just a coincidence that I saw the Easter bunny that day. I think he was for the enjoyment of the family that lived behind us, we just got lucky to spot him when we did.

Our family always had Easter at my grandma and grandpa’s. My grandma would take such great care in setting the tables to perfection, would pull of the good China, and would have a little treat at each table setting for the grandkids. That was always the first place we ran as we walked in the door; to see what treat was at our seat. Then we would raid the bowl full of cashews. Kinda weird, I know, but cashews for some reason were a hot commodity in our family and Easter was one of the very seldom times we had them.

Even when I figured out that the Easter bunny I saw hopping down the street wasn’t real, I still loved Easter. My mom always did such fun things for us on Easter morning. She is an amazing riddler. When we woke up we would find a plastic egg next to our bed with this complex, peculiar, thoughtful riddle as to where the Easter bunny hid our basket -- out in the garden, in the box full of shoes next to the back door, in the dryer, next to the 12 pack of Cola on the garage shelf. Sometimes one of us girls would cry because we couldn’t figure the riddle out. Sometimes one sister would find a basket that wasn’t theirs and have to hurry and hide it back where they found it. Sometimes it took all 5 girls to find a single basket. It was so much fun. I hope my mom has kept some of those riddles; I could use the help now. How she came up with 5 riddles for my sisters and I and hid our baskets in a new spot each year is beyond me. She amazes me and made it so much fun. My dad always hid the Easter eggs so well. As fun as it was though, one of us would end up crying during the hunt for eggs as well (that's what you get with a house of 5 girls) and that just made it all the more fun for my dad!!

When I moved out, Easter kinda went downhill. There was no special plastic egg by my bed. No riddle to make me think. Sometimes no basket at all. And definitely no coveted Golden egg for the lucky Easter egg hunter.

Now, Easter is back in full form. I have my sweet husband and two growing boys and we’re surround by our family again. We have some new fun traditions, and some we’re making our own. Part of what I love most, we celebrate Easter on Saturday and Sunday.

So, here it is. Easter: Part 1.

Dying Eggs & the Kreipl Easter Picnic. Oh! And the dessert I made! Just what we needed...more TREATS!! Which, by the way, Wyatt says. Well, he doesn't exactly say treat, but he tries hard and comes fairly close. We just know we better hand something over quick before the meltdown begins. These little puppies definitely got the Wyatt stamp of approval!!

To be continued.....

lollipop

How many licks does it take Wyatt to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

Well, we don’t actually know. But….

It takes an older brother falling asleep with it in his hands for him to steal it from.

It takes sticking him in his chair for at least a half hour to have at it. It taskes a mini examination since this is the first time his wicked mean mom has let him eat one. (In my defense...they are SOOOO messy. I have proof. See below!)

It takes licking it from both the right and the wrong end.

It takes trying to stand it upright on his tray.

It takes missing his mouth a few times.

It takes rubbing his sticky hands & arms in his hair.
It takes sharing a few licks with mom.

It takes one huge, cute, cheesy grin.

Love this boy!!!