Cruise

We had a fabulous time on our cruise to the Bahamas with friends and family! HUGE thanks to my mom and dad (and sister) for taking care of Sydney, she had so much fun and we know she was well taken care of!

I would highly recommend taking a cruise with family/friends, it was so fun to have people on board that we knew!

We left Sunday evening from Pasco and flew all night, with stops in Salt Lake and LA before finally arriving in Miami on Monday morning. We arrived at 6 am, and we couldnt board the cruise ship until noon. So we went to an outside shopping complex that was right on the water. We were super exhausted so we just hung out and relaxed there until we could board. I think that was the longest 6 hours of my life. Next time remind me NOT to take a redeye flight. Finally it was time to board and we met up with a bunch of family and friends for lunch! We spent the first day exploring the ship, napping, and eating! It was a nice relaxing day!

Day 2: We were still pretty tired from our trip to miami and not used to the time change yet, so we slept in which was super nice! Our stop for the day was Grand Bahama Island. We met up with our group (most of them) and headed to the Island. We had so much fun at the beach that day!

Burying each other in the sand (some had a little too much fun with this by giving the ones buried extra body parts, hahaha), swimming in the water, which ended up being a bit colder than we thought it would be, and just soaking up the sun! We also all passed around coconuts, which we later realized had a bit of alcohol in them, oops! Guess there is a first time for everything! I could have sworn there wasn't anything in them, it tasted fine to me. Guess I was wrong about that!

After we got back on the ship we met up with everyone for dinner. Dinner on board was very nice, the food was good, not great, but good. But the best part was you could order anything you wanted, as much as you wanted, for free! Ahhhh it was so nice! That night we watched the comedy show on board, which was funny! I along with a few other family members were participants in the show. Good times!

(Fred with the comedian)

Day 3: This was such a fun day! Our whole group booked an excursion together and went to Atlantis! I had never been there before but it didn't disappoint! We easily could have spent a few more days there! We spent the day floating on the amazing lazy river, going on water slides, enjoying the aquarium, and more! I would definitely recommend going there if you have a chance! In the evening we enjoyed dinner and more shows on board!

Andrea, Brooke, and I at Atlantis

Part of the group at dinner one evening

Day 4: Thursday was spent relaxing at the beach, soaking up sun and enjoying each other's company! The ship stopped at the cruise line owned island and it was great. We rented snorkeling gear, and a giant "party" innertube. The guys had lots of fun with the tube playing king of the mountain and trying to get eachother off of it. Im pretty sure at one point we had a record number of people on the tube, which said maximum occupancy was 4 people.

After returning to the ship we again met up for dinner with the group. Later, we watched the Newlywed game onboard, in which Marshall's parents and his brother Dallas and his wife participated in. It was hilarious!

the hubby and I at dinner

Day 5: Sadly we had to pack up and leave the cruise ship! We had a great time on the cruise! After getting off the ship we took a taxi to find our motel that we had previously booked. Online the place got really good reviews. In person however it was a completely different story. Without question this was the junkiest place we have ever stayed. The only good thing about the place was that it was right on the beach, which was way nice! We walked to a nearby restaraunt for lunch, which ended up having some really amazing food. On our walk back to the motel we all decided to walk on the beach. That was our first mistake. Our second mistake was ignoring the sign that said "you may encounter nude bathers". We really didn't think there would be very many. We were wrong. Very wrong. We saw more skin than we ever have in that short walk back to our motel. We were not aware when we booked our motel that there was a nude beach about 100 yards down from it. Haha! We went to dinner later that night and had the most expensive dinner I have ever eaten. It was way good. But crazy expensive. I still have a small heart attack every time I think about how much it cost! We spent the rest of the evening walking around Miami at a huge outdoor shopping complex.

We spent the next couple days enjoying Miami and soaking up as much sun as we possibly could! We also went to the Miami Zoo which was great! One of my favorites that I have been to! They build the exhibits so that you feel so close to the animals! We also got to be there when they fed some of the animals, which was awesome! We watched as they threw live fish in for the otters, and the otter would chase the fish down, catch it and eat it whole on the rocks. Then we watched as the zookeeper fed oranges to the monkeys. It was such a fun experience!

I personally loved Miami and would go back there in a heartbeat! It was sunny, warm, the beaches were great and there is lots to do there! We were sad to leave it behind, but it was great to come back home to our sweet girl that did amazing while we were gone!

Thankful

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."

We had a good Thanksgiving this year full of food, family, games, and fun. We hope you had a good one too! Here are some things I am grateful for.

1. I am thankful for family.

2. The gospel. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have and for my eternal family.

3. The blessing of being a mom. I love my job. There are crazy, stressful days but I wouldn't trade it.

4. Trials. This is a hard one, but I am grateful for trials and the things I learn through them.

5. Laughter. What would I do without it? It really is the best medicine!

6. Life in general. We've had a bit of a rough year to say the least, but I am grateful for the good moments we have had. We really are very blessed!

7. Friends. The ones that I can laugh with, cry with, and everything in between. I have the best friends. Seriously.

There are so many more things, these are just some of the many things I am grateful for. My goal is to try to be better about seeing the positive things in life, and holding onto them rather than the negatives!

Those Moments

I love those moments that melt your heart and make all the craziness of having a toddler worth it.

Yesterday Sydney woke up from her nap and was crying and calling my name, so I went upstairs to her room and she said she wanted mommy to lay down with her, so I laid next to her and we snuggled. She feel back asleep in my arms. This is such a rare occurance in our house, in fact this is the first time anything like that has ever happened. It was so sweet, and it made the chaos and craziness all worth it.

Today I laid her down for a nap and she is currently upstairs singing "animal crackers in my soup...." over and over. I love that girl. I am so grateful to be her mom. She makes me smile!

I know how the saying goes...

"Everything happens for a reason" and "Things will happen when they are supposed to"


but is it "when it's supposed to" yet??


Because I'm really kind of getting impatient....

Rexburg Pictures

Here are some pictures from our fun trip!

Roadtrip, Babies, and Bears!

Last week Sydney and I packed our "Soupcases" (as Sydney calls them) and headed out for a roadtrip with my parents to go visit my brother, his wife, and their sweet new baby Caden!

We packed the car Thursday late afternoon, grabbed Sydney a happy meal and were on the road! We drove half way Thursday and stopped in Boise where we got to stay with my aunt and uncle and their family! It was great so nice of them to let us crash at their house, and it was great to see their family!

Friday morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and headed out again to drive the rest of the way to Rexburg. We made it about 5 minutes out of Boise before we started hearing strange noises coming from the car. We pulled over, only to discover we had one of these:

Bummer! So we (and when I say we I mean my dad =) ) unpacked the entire car, put on the spare tire, turned the car around and went back to Boise to find a tire shop. We got brand new tires and were on our way. Again. We pulled into Idaho Falls later that afternoon, where we stopped at Winger's where my brother is the manager and had some yummy food! Sydney did AWESOME on the way there. She only complained once or twice that her bum hurt and asked me to fix it for her =) other than that she did fabulous!

Once in Rexburg we spent Friday evening hanging out at my brother's house, catching up, and snuggling baby Caden! Here is his adorable little self:

He is SO stinking cute and so cuddly! He is seriously the quietest and happiest little baby! I had NO idea babies could be that quiet and calm! I hope my next one is as good as he is! I could have snuggled and held him the entire time we were there! It was so good to cuddle a new baby again! Its been way too long!

Saturday we got up and headed to Bear World! Oh Bear World! Sydney LOVED it there. She would have been happy spending all day, every day there. We first drove through the are where you drive around and look at the animals, we saw lots of deer, a moose, buffalo, elk, albino elk (I had no idea these even existed!) and lots of bears! It was so cool! After we drove through once, we went into the gift shop and it was heaven for Sydney! You walk in, and there are stuffed animals EVERYWHERE. Seriously. Her dream! We ended up walking out with only one new one, a cute white, super soft bear. It is her current favorite! (I would post a pic, but of course it is currently napping with her)

Other activities at Bear world included feeding the ducks:

Petting the animals in the petting zoo area:

Watching these super cute bear cubs wrestle and play:

And one of her favorite things, riding the rides! She would have gone on the rides over and over all day long!

Later that night we got some way yummy mexican food from the infamous Taco Bus in Rexburg. Sunday was the baby blessing and it was beautiful! After leaving church we all got to take much needed naps, and eat some seriously amazing homemade pizza. Later that night we went and saw some pretty waterfalls, but it was too dark to get a great picture. We had so much fun meeting baby Caden and hanging out with family! We stayed up late and woke up early amd didnt nap a whole lot so we were a bit worn out when we got home, but it was worth it! The drive home was uneventful and went better than I ever could have imagined, Sydney did so good! We hope to visit again sometime!

Prayers

Please keep my neice Olivia and her family in your prayers, she has been diagnosed with Stage 5 retinoblastoma, which is Stage 5 eye cancer. She has a long road ahead of her and needs all the prayers she can get. You can read more about Olivia and her condition here: http://13pavements.blogspot.com/

Please feel free to pass this blog on, it would very much be appreciated.

Two!

Our sweet little Sydney has gone from this

To this!

Sydney Jade turned 2 today! She is so full of energy and so much fun! We just love her! Here are some 2 year stats for record purposes!

• Height: Shorty (exact measurements will be taken at her 2 year checkup in a couple weeks)


• Weight: Not very much =) (again, we will have official measurements later)


• Favorite Color: Blue and pink


• LOVES stuffed animals and anything soft


• Talks, and talks, and talks. And never stops.


• Loves rap songs. No really. She does.


• Is now sleeping in a "big girl bed" and LOVES it


• Loves elmo still


• Is a mommy's girl most of the time


• Is not a fan of hugs, kisses, or any type of affection really


• Is very spunky, and very opinionated


• Amazes us with how smart she is and all the things she can remember


• Knows and sings her ABC's on a regular basis


• Makes us laugh. A lot.


• Is seriously adorable. But my opinion is slightly biased =)

Changes Ahead

Well I have made the decision to go back to school. I will be going back to be a RN, with the ultimate goal of working in an OBGYN office setting. I'm very excited to persue this and I know its going to be a long and challenging road, but I couldnt be happier about it! Im a bit nervous, as I havent been to school in over 5 years (yikes!), so I'm sure it will take some time to get used to school again, but I can't wait! Wahoo!

Wanting

I've discovered lately how much it hurts when you want something so much that you can't have. At least for me I know I eventually will have it. It doesnt take the hurt away for now though. Sometimes I feel like life is happening around me but I'm stuck in place. I have however had peace in knowing everything happens for a reason, and that through trials we learn and grow leaps and bounds. I also know that everything happens in Heavenly father's time, when he knows its best. And sometimes we just cant have what we want. For now while Im waiting, I think it would be nice to be a bear. Why a bear? Well....

"If you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.
Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too.
If you're a bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.
If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. I could deal with that, too.
If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.Yup. I wanna be a bear."

Doesn't that sound great? =)

ABC's

It is amazing to me how fast Sydney learns....she had this down in less than a week.

So Excited....

That THIS girl, is finally home!

Wahoooo!!
Cant wait to catch up with my sister again!

What We've been Up To

This summer we have.......

~Gone Camping to Lake Wallowa.

~Booked a cruise for Novemeber. (Wahoo!)

~Consumed many slurpees.

~Had many Bachelorette nights.

~Watched lots of soccer. (Marshall plays, Sydney and I watch)

~Witnessed the birth of a sweet baby boy. (Just me)

~Went to Beehive Camp. (Just me)

~Made an endless number of invoices.

~Received some bad news.

~Gone through some rough trials.

~Shed lots of tears.

~Had my sister come home from her mission!!

~Gone to the park. A lot.

~Discovered a love for sushi and Yoplicity.

~Tried to pretend a certain BFF is NOT really moving at the end of summer.

~Realized we have some seriously amazing friends and family!

Here's hoping the rest of the summer is fabulous!

Out of the mouth of Sydney...

Sydney has become more and more fun and she continues to talk like crazy, as you can imagine, she comes up with some pretty funny and sometimes weird things to say! Here are a few =)

~As I'm cooking dinner she comes into the kitchen and says "Mom!" when I ask "What?" she responds "peace out!" then turns around and goes back to the living room to play

~Sometimes when Sydney toots, we will ask her "who tooted??" and she will respond with a straight face "Olivia tooted" (her cousin)

~Also after she toots we ask her "what do you say?" to which she normally replies "excuse me" but occasionally we will get something like "BIG toot!" instead.

~If you ask her who is pretty she will normally respond and say "Uncle Bubba pretty" or "Uncle Dustin pretty" or name other uncles

~If you ask her "where do we go poo poo?" she will normally say potty, But sometimes she says "bathtub!"

~Me: "Sydney do you want a hot dog for lunch?" Sydney: "No." "TWO HOT DOGS!"

A bird? A plane? A SYDNEY!

Here is Sydney showing you how to be a bird. Just in case you were wondering how. =)

New Love....

I have a new love thanks to my SIL Julie..........what is it you might ask?

THIS

Yes, sushi! It is so dang good! Thanks for introducing it to me Julie! Regular sushi dates will be a must!!

Seaworld Tickets?? Yes please!

This blog is giving away 4 tickets to Seaworld! Umm sunny Florida?! YES PLEASE!

Enter to win here:

http://theseversons.net/?p=838

Hope I win!!

Proud Momma

Today in church I hung out in nursery with Sydney (she's still a few weeks away from 18 months)





It comes time for the lesson so all the kids sit around the table.





The teacher starts off by showing this picture:

The teacher asks the kids, "who is in this picture?"

Sydney is the first little kid to yell out Jesus.

I am one proud momma!

Charity

We listened to a talk by President Monson the other night and I felt like he was talking directly to me. This part especially got to me.


"I consider charity or "the pure love of Christ" to be the opposite of criticism and judging. In speaking of charity, I do not at this moment have in mind the relief of the suffering through the giving of our substance. Tonight, however, I do have in mind the charity that manifests itself when we are tolerant of others and lenient toward their actions, the kind of charity that forgives, that is patient.

I have in mind the charity that impels us to be sympathetic, compassionate, and merciful, not only in times of sickness and affliction and distress, but also in times of weakness or error on the part of others"


So that is my goal! To be more compassionate, merciful and sympathetic, especially in times of weakness and error form others!

Loved his talk...go here for the full article.