BEST NEWS EVER!!!

I am so excited!!! My sweet friends Jimmy and Rachel who I have blogged about before finally got their adoption miracle!! A darling baby girl named Shelbi Ann! She arrived home about 10 minutes ago... and we couldn't be more excited for them! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Day 7 - Princess Cays and time to say goodbye...:(

The last day was meant to be our most fantastic. A day on Princess Cay in the Bahamas (Princess’ Private Island). We envisioned sunshine, laying out on the beach, basking in the sun, snorkeling in the warm waters, sand volleyball games on the hot sand and then cooling off in the air-conditioning of our very own rented “cabana” to escape the crowds...

But... as you can see... we didn't need the air conditioning... and the sun never came out... and if you notice in the pictures the island was pretty much all ours with no one to escape from... (because no one was there.) But you better believe we had a blast anyway!! Even if I never took off my sweats off the whole time!!

Most everyone did go snorkel... I bummed out with Joe and Lisa and took a nap in the cabana...

Everyone knew that Nancy went snorkeling... because her mask marks were there for about 24 hours!
The cabana... which by the way was about the size of an outhouse. And we probably could have constructed our own for the $200/day rental charge... did keep us warm. I’m not really complaining about the weather I mean it was ALMOST 70 degrees and what we were going home to made that seem balmy... but definitely not what we were hoping for :)...

There was a good game of volleyball... And a game of wizard in the cabana...

And we are pretty sure we were the last ones on the island... also pretty sure we had the most fun too! (We won't soon forget Joe and his brownies.)

We then got ready and went to our last meal... (well besides our midnight meal... and breakfast of course!) This was one of our waiters... I sort of think he was glad to see us go...

We went to our last performance in the theatre and then we finished the cruise with a fantastic game of “picture scavenger hunt”. I’m admitting here that some of the pictures we were looking for were a little random... but oh it was fun!! Shane and I had the pleasure of being on Lisa and Joe’s team. Joe was the comedian of our group and a PERFECT guy to have around on the cruise! But Lisa… we learned that Lisa isn’t the shy little sweet blond thing she professes to be… Lisa is the ring leader of all things... We'll never think of her the same... but we love her even more!! One of the greatest things that Shane and I gained from our cruise... are the relationships that we built with everyone that was there. I'd call us friends for life now... It was perfect... and I think that everyone would agree! People keep asking me if we got sick of each other... my answer... is NO WAY! I don't think that any of us were bugged with each other... ever... (maybe spouses were for a minute or two...:)) but not as couples (except MAYBE Ron J. was a titch bugged at Lisa about her "rule changing" in the scavenger hunt! :))

This week I made a video for our upcoming "cruise reunion party" It's 40 minutes of pictures and videos (chosen from over 1300 pictures together!) All though we used the phrase "what happens on the ruby... stays on the ruby..." a little of our laundry is aired on that video. Tayler and Saige thought it was very funny... but also think that we are all very WEIRD! And after watching it they turned to me and said... "you didn't miss us at all did you Mom." I assured them that I did! We were so grateful for the care that was given to them... and because of that I was able to enjoy myself so much more! Thanks again Mom and Andy and Missy we couldn't have done it without you!

We can't wait for the next time... we're thinking around 3 or 4 years... anyone want to join us next time?????

Day 6 - Sea Day

Day 6 on our cruise was another great day... Unfortunately the weather was not so great... crappy would be the adjective I would use. Cold and windy, no soaking in the rays this day, but perfect for a 5k walk around the deck on our "On Deck for the Cure Walk". Raquel, Deon, DeeAnn and I woke up bright and early for this walk to support breast cancer. We had a fun time and burned off at least a "few" of those 100,000 calories we had eaten that week... but more than that this walk was for a great cause and in support of our special friend (that we were so glad was with us) DeeAnn... whose 39 year old sister Karla is fighting both breast cancer... and bone cancer... this walk was dedicated to her...

The rest of the day was spent eating (of course), playing games as a group, like 3 hours of catch phrase. The waiters thought it was fascinating, a few of them kept coming over to watch us... pretending like they were working at the same time. (Notice the guy in green...)

This day Shane and I actually took a nap... while some of the others went to a “detox your body” program… kindof funny when you think about it since it was all about how what we put in our bodies affects us… um… all I can say is too late… we just spent the last 6 days shoving food into us… now they want us to “pay” to have it “detoxed” out! Looks like the cruise industry has ALL the bases covered (I also liked the class – “secrets to a flatter stomach”… I could have taught that one…. Here’s the secret…. PUT DOWN THE COOKIE!)

Shane and Angie
Rusty and Kim
Matt and DeeAnn
Lisa and Joe

Ron and Nancy

Bill and Deon

Ron and Raquel

All da' boys

Gathering in the hall - ready for late night entertainment (and more food).
Watching the newlywed game.

To be continued...

Tulum... Day 5

Our 5th day on the cruise we docked in Cozumel Mexico. After a short walk through the rain, and a taxi to the ferry dock (our first mistake of the day - pretty sure we could have caught the ferry right from that dock... but you don't ask people at the taxi parking lot a stupid question like that... they'll find you a dock somewhere else!) We quickly got on that ferry. We had been warned that this might not be a pleasant experience. Wow… that was an understatement.. especially since the weather was stormy and terrible. Shane and I actually felt fine and slept most of the way... but I would liken it to being on “The Tidal Wave” at Lagoon for ½ hour... Except that you weren't sure which direction it was going to go next... We were ALL happy to get off of that “ride”!

We were quite pleased with ourselves that we had made it to Playa Del Carmen at exactly the time our tour guide had told us. We had hired “Helaman” an LDS tour guide to take us to Tulum... many of us had heard great things about him. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to be there, so his son-in-law Carlos guided us. He did great, what a cute guy. We boarded our 15 passenger van and headed off. Carlos got right to business giving us lots of background and information about Tulum and the associations between the Mayan ruins at Tulum and the Book of Mormon. The only problem was that we were all exhausted from too many late late nights… (and some were still sick from that ride over.) And although his English was excellent for only speaking a year of it... some was missed in translation. So unfortunately most of us were nodding off and trying VERY hard to be polite… It’s a good thing we had DeeAnn with us… because she was chipper and awake and full of questions for our cute little guide!

We had a great tour of Tulum with Carlos… Very informative and fascinating! What a beautiful scene it was set right on the coast.

Carlos...

Don't we look smashing in our raincoats? We stopped at a little shop on the way to the ferry to purchase them... because we were sure it would be a downpour. It never really rained... just sprinkled, but they served another purpose as well, I'm guessing we couldn't have got lost from our group in these get-ups!

How cool of a shot is that? I must admit Ron and Nancy took that one, I never even saw any iguanas... the camouflage worked on me! The nice thing about offering to do our "Cruise Video" is that I have the pick of 7 couples pictures on my computer! If only I had our video - which apparently has 44 out of 52 "corrupted" files from our cruise. GRRRRR


I almost asked the guy next to me where I could find me a pair of shorts like that for my hot hubby... :) Those aren't swim trunks people... just "hot pants" for another day in paradise!!

Deon, Deon Deon... After touring Tulum Deon and I went to the restroom. When we came out and were washing our hands I noticed a plate on the counter with money on it... I must admit I thought to myself... this is not a pretty restroom... I mean we did get soap... but who are we tipping here? At that very moment I see Deon reach into her purse and pull out a dollar that she set nicely on the "tip plate." A lady handed us a paper towel and we left. When we got back to the group I said, "This beats all... Deon just tipped the towel lady!" And that's how Deon became known as the "Potty Tipper." After Jamaica and her attempt to save that nation with tips... I was surprised she had anything left! We are still wondering what she gave to one particular man at the nearby shops... because she was pretty taken aback when he asked her if... "the pretty senorita wanted a hot Mexican lover!"

After Tulum Carlos took us to a “cenote” for a picnic lunch of “subway sandwiches”. It was very pretty, but none of us wanted to get into the water… a titch bit eerie. There were hundreds of little fish… when we threw a piece of cookie in they would attack it like piranhas... He assured us that they wouldn't do that to us... but I didn't see him jumping in either.

When we arrived back at the dock at 3:05 PM and were told that the ferry just pulling out was the last one until 5... which meant our ship would be leaving us. We panicked a little… actually a lot… Carlos ran around trying to get us on some sort of a ferry back. We were all certain we would be stranded in Playa Del Carmen Mexico and miss our ship!

Lisa had warned and warned us not to try to do that tour on our own... she had got Deon quite worked up about the whole thing... So when the "last ferry just left" announcement was made... she was NOT happy... That doesn't look like a relaxed vacation face does it...

She was wishing she had stayed back in Cozumel with Joe and Lisa to hold an Iguana in a diaper...

Or watch Joe in the "zonkey show"...

But instead she was with us... stranded on the dock!

Eventually we found someone who informed us we could catch a ride back on the ferry that was used to take passengers right back to our ship. (In other words the one you got if you booked an excursion through the ship.) Of course since they knew we were desperate the price was double for us... Pretty sure they knew we were going to pay whatever they told us to!! (Thank heaven's our friends had extra money... because Shane and I had spent all ours for the day!)
The ride back was just as horrendous as the ride over. Shane and I didn't get sick... but I must have looked like it because the lady walking around handing out barf bags - tapped me on the shoulder to ask me if I needed one? I was thinking about how this was only 8 miles... and how so many people came from Europe all the way across the Atlantic... on ships that were nothing like a "Cruise ship"... it must have been unbearable!!

What a wonderful site to see this...

That night we had a fabulous crab dinner, but only half of us made it there, (we were there of course... Shane wasn't missing a meal!) The rest were sick in their rooms! Shane and I were exhausted that night. And turned in a bit early.

All in all we decided that having an LDS guide made it so much more fascinating for us. But if any of you are reading this and considering doing it your own tour. MAKE SURE you check the ferry schedules BEFORE you go!! The ship waits for no one... When we were sailing from Grand Cayman a speed boat was trying to catch up with our ship (that wouldn't even slow down) to get a passenger back on board! Thank heavens that wasn't us!!

To be continued...

Grand Cayman - Day 4

Our second island was Grand Cayman... I love Grand Cayman... it is clean... the people are friendly... it's a spot I could stay at for a while... a long while! Our whole group decided we wanted to go to Sting Ray City... and we were not disappointed. I never thought I WANTED to swim with Sting Rays... but it sure was fun... yes a bit spooky to have 4 ft wide sting rays flapping around your body... but awesome! We booked our own tour with “Moby Dick Tours” they were fabulous. We boarded the boat and headed out for our first stop of snorkeling. It was lots of fun… not too many fish, but amazing eels and extra fun to watch most of our group who were snorkeling for the very first time!

Ron and Raquel ready to go...

Joe and I choked on the sea water when we saw Kim’s reaction to the eel that slithered out from under the rocks… (In order to get a visual picture of the flailing… It kindof looked like me when I see a dog… or my girls… when they go fishing!) We affectionately named Kim “FOE” ‘fraid o’ eel! Unfortunately… Shane wasn’t afraid… our guide who was feeding and playing with the eel, got mad at Shane –who hadn’t heard him telling us 10 times NOT to swim over the rock while he was getting the eel to make an appearance…. Shane swam right over that rock… And came up with a blank look of “What??” I think this is where my fear of having a boy in our family comes in… I can’t even imagine Shane as a young boy… And he has had PLENTY of years to grow out of that… FRIGHTENING!!

As I have mentioned several times I’m not really an animal person… cats, dogs, small rodents make me shake like a baby… but holding and kissing sting rays… seeing eels and weird fish… I’m as cool as a cucumber… well I don't know if I would go that far...!! It was amazing to be out their with the stingrays though. We all had a blast, that was a moment we won't soon forget! Lisa got some weird rash... had to be wiped down with little "towelettes" by the muscular guide... she didn't look like she minded much... but then he HAD been attacked by a shark... TWICE... we saw the scars to prove it. Incidentally she invited him to come to Utah... and then said he could stay with me... that was a bit random, but part of the new side of Lisa we got to know :)!

This is for 7 years of good luck...

Don't I look relaxed??

After our adventures on the sea we got dropped off at “7 mile beach”. Now that is what I call Paradise! WOW! Beautiful. We didn’t stay too long… the sun was strong and the ship was pulling out, but man it was fun!!

Joe and his "crab".

The following picture is a "classic". It was cause of the only grumpiness that we had all week... but well worth it. Here's how it transpired...

1. A bottle of Del Sol nail polish (purchased in Jamaica) - clear inside... BRIGHT PINK when it hits the sun.

2. The plan was for ALL of us to paint our husband's nails (while they were sleeping). We only had two bottles... so I was supposed to do Shane's and then leave it by my door for the next to get it... etc.

That part didn't work...

I waited until Shane was definitely asleep... untucked the covers at his feet and began... I only got one foot done... (but I did do three coats.) The other was tucked underneath him. So I tried to move onto his fingers. I got two... and he woke up... And he didn't wake up HAPPY! He starts smelling his nails, and saying "what is going on here... did you just paint my nails!" "why do you think things like that are funny!" He jumps out of bed and washes his hands (I wanted to remind him that nail polish DOESN'T come off when you wash your hands... but he was WAY GRUMPY - there's no way I would have said that.) I played kind of stupid while he informed me that "I better have nail polish remover." (I just had my nails done for the first time in a very long time... so obviously I had no remover with me!) I just pretended like I was asleep, (and tried not to laugh) while he fumed a little bit. I really needed to get that polish outside the door... but it didn't seem like the time. :)

He was still peeved the next morning. We got off the boat and those nails started showing their "True Color!"... He was still not thinking it was funny... (everyone else did though...) Rusty laughed the hardest... Shane started to loosen up only when I whispered to him to look down at Rusty's toes. Sure enough his were pink too! He felt better having a buddy with pink toenails... the same buddy who had been to "Twilight" with him on opening day... It takes a good man!

2 very secure men... I hate to say it... but I think they liked it... they did explain quite often when they noticed people looking at their feet though. Joe wasn't excited either when he joined the ranks a few nights later! Hehehe... I LOVE that kindof stuff!!

That day like every other… we ate every meal we could, saw every show we could, went to the sail away party where we danced crazy. (Sprinkler Man, Conga Lines, Leaps and Ribbon Dances come to mind.) Laughed at a billion things… that may only be funny to us… (no doubt we were thought of as the “drunk group” who never drank!) Stayed up way to late… slept very little… and absolutely loved it!! (And yes somewhere in there we missed our kids too :)!)

Too be continued...