Bahamas Cruise

We had a great time on the cruise. My sister Jessy invited me to accompany her on her gig aboard the Monarch of the Sea. My mom, our friend Mrs. Flores, and our cousin Jenny went with us. Jess only had two performances so we got to hang out a lot. We flew to Florida on Thursday, and boarded the ship Friday from Cape Canaveral. The first day on board we tried to rest up, as we were all tired from traveling. There were three of us in our tiny stateroom which seemed to shrink to half it's size once our luggage arrived. Later that night we were treated to a viewing of the shuttle launch (which unfortunately Jen and I missed). I heard it was an amazing sight. Saturday morning we arrived at Nassau but there was some problem docking the ship so we weren't able to spend as much time there as we would've liked. Jess had to be back pretty early because she had a show that night. So we did some quick shopping close by, and then went to the Atlantis resort to check it out. The front page story of the Bahamas local paper stated that Atlantis had just laid off 800+ employees because of the economy. Atlantis is a beautiful resort and I would love to go back and stay there. We had a quick lunch and enjoyed their pool then had to get back to the boat. We had just enough time to get ready for Jess's show, and the formal dinner to follow. Sunday was my birthday. We were supposed to disembark at Cococay, but were unable to because of high waves. That was a bummer but we managed to have a good day on board anyway. We had a get together in our room with my mom and Mrs. Flores that morning and took some pictures without realizing our hair was a mess! Later I had a facial at the spa, and then we watched the Men's sexy legs contest on deck. It was hilareous. Most of the contestants were recruited by the staff, some with good legs the rest just good for a laugh. There were four judges and the contestants were supposed to impress the judges while showing off their legs and dancing to the Lambada. Some guys really got into it and let their inner exotic dancer come out. After dinner we went back to our room and I was surprised to find our room decorated for my birthday! We celebrated my 29th birthday at the Disco (I've decided it was a good number and I'll just stay 29 for a while). We had a great time dancing to Green light and Womanizer among many others. Monday morning we disembarked and all of us in Jessy's band had a pancake breakfast at the band promoter's house. It was fun hanging out with her group and their wives and getting to know them. The time went too fast, and now we are all back to work. Pictures to follow.

My Dad a Vietnam Veteran

It was great to have mom and dad over for a short visit this weekend to watch the OSU game, and the kids in their primary program. I'm jealous of Sarah and Riley, not just because they always have a babysitter (ha), but because Kendle and Morgan can be around such great grandparents! Dad conversed with Caleb about the recent election and Caleb actually was listening.

One thing that was cool is dad brought a few of his old Vietnam war photos for us to look at. I remember being a kid thinking it was so cool that my dad was in a war. Rich and I used to sneak into dad's closet and look at his guns and pictures. He even let me wear one of his cool headbands for football in high school. It was the coolest thing telling my friends that my dad wore this in Viet F'n Nam (sorry had to say it)!

I guess what I'm trying to say is this; I'm proud of my father for being a true American Hero, just like John McCain, just like anyone else who's ever risked their life for this country. I'm sure dad wishes he didn't see or have to do certain things during that war but at the same time it made him who he is today (and being raised by great parents as well). I'm sure I've never told dad this but he is definitely my hero and someone I look up to daily!

A few pics of the meanest 5'7ish guy you wouldn't ever want to mess with:





Cool M-60 machine gun on the chopper

Leaves, costumes and candy!

Caleb and Alia were good helpers cleaning up the leaves with me. I had them wear head protection because nuts were still falling from our tree. I'm sure glad we got the front yard done because the rain is here to stay! The back yard is going to be a chore.



After seeing Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull, Caleb has morphed into a mini me version of Dr. Jones! We now have all four Indie movies and he's watched them all many times.



Alia loves everything princess. She was Princess Jasmine this year. We took the kids to our stake trunk-or-treat last night and had a good time. Lots of candy and some interestingly decorated vehicles. Now I need to hide the kid's candy somewhere so I can eat it all!!

We're all going to the OSU vs ASU game tonight and hope to hook up with Rich and Deb. I'm sure it will be raining, but here's to hoping for clear skies before kick-off!