Our First Cruise!!

Last May we finally went on a cruise! We had been talking about doing one for a long time, but it was all just talk and nothing really happened. I got the idea to see if our friends would be interested in going with us. I asked and they loved the idea! We were finally accountable to actually make it happen!

We chose to do a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas and Key West. We got things booked and planned our excursions.

We drove over to Colorado to drop off the kids with Grandparents and flew out of Denver with our friends. I had never been to Florida before and I also had never left the country, so this vacation was full of firsts for me!

Don't mind Brandon's creeper face!

We made it to Miami and it was so humid! (Goodbye non-crazy hair!!!) We took the train to our hotel and explored a little.

The next morning we took an Uber (another first for me) to the port and boarded our ship. We were amazed by how big the ship was, and we were apparently on one of the tiny ones.

We set sail and relaxed by the pool! The next morning we came to our first port, Nassau, Bahamas.

We were supposed to go snorkeling, but it got canceled, so we explored the city instead. We also found a beach and went swimming.

Making a shack with palm tree branches for the roof

This guy was so fast chopping the coconut

That night was formal night for dinner.

The next day we came into port at Coco Cay, Bahamas. This is Royal Caribbean's private island. It was SO beautiful! Here we did kayaks, wave runners, and just relaxed.

The boat that took us to the island. It is too shallow to take the ship closer.

The water was the most beautiful color and so clear!

We had joining rooms on the ship!

For our last full day we ported in Key West, Florida. It was a cute little island town! While we were here we went paddle boarding. Once I got the hang of it, it was so much fun!! We saw a sea hare, a star fish, and tons of nurse sharks.

Southernmost point of the U.S.

Sea hare

Nurse shark

More nurse sharks

We ate lunch at this hidden food truck that our shuttle driver recommended to us. It was YUM!

 While on the cruise, we were assigned a table for dinner every night. We quickly became friends with the other couples at our table! We had so much fun talking and were one of the last tables to leave each night.

Next cruise, I am taking a hair straightener..... just saying...

We arrived back at Port of Miami the next morning, checked out, and Ubered to the airport for a long day of flying back to Colorado. When we got there we got to hug our babies and tell them all about our trip. It was a trip we will never forget, and we may or may not have already booked our next one!

My Birthday Surprise

This year for my birthday I got the greatest surprise!! My best friend lives in Colorado and I only get to see her one or two times a year. I miss her a lot!

On my birthday this year Lucas said he had to go to school to take an exam. He suggested that we meet for lunch after his exam was over. He left to go to school and I hung out with the kids for a while before loading them up into the car to drive up to Orem. I figured we would just hang out at Target until he called to say he was finished.

On my way up there he called and said he was all done and to meet him at J-Dawgs (a restaurant that makes a hot dog taste ridiculously good!) We got there, and went inside once he got there. We placed our order and were waiting for our food when I turned around and my best friend was standing there! I was a little confused at first, but incredibly happy!

Apparently, there was no exam! Lucas used that as his cover to go get her from the airport. When he got to the restaurant, he came in while she stayed behind in the car for a few minutes. They had pulled off an amazing surprise and I couldn't believe I got to hang out with her for the rest of the week!

While she was here we discovered the deliciousness of Fiiz (a soda bar), went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and got a mani/pedi. It was so much fun to have her here and was a really great birthday!

Catching Up On 2017

As much as I try, I just can't seem to keep up to date. This is going to be a "highlights" post, then I will post a few of the things I have more to share about.

We had some New Years fun with the kids by doing a countdown at 8:00pm (really they thought it was the real deal)!! We made lots of noise, danced around, and had sparkling cider.

 Tyson turned 2 on January 15th! He loves Mickey Mouse and he loves trains, so we found him a Lego Mickey Mouse Birthday Train!! He loves it and it is his special toy that can occupy him for hours!

Madi did another session of dance class and is learning a lot. Her new teacher does a really good job of teaching them technique and the names of the different ballet positions.

For Valentine's Day Lucas and I spent a night away while my brother and sister-in-law watched the kids. Madi had so much fun baking a cake with Aunt Chelsea!! It was really yummy, too!

The kids waited and waited for it to snow because all they wanted to do was make snow angels! They got their wish, and it snowed many more times after that!

We made a snowman family!

They finally got to make snow angels and both freaked out when they laid down and the snowflakes were landing on their faces... haha!

I got to go on a lunch date with Tyson! We went to J-Dawgs and he felt very special having one-on-one time with Mommy!

Madilyn's preschool class went to the BYU Museum of Paleontology. 

They loved seeing all of the dinosaurs!

Easter weekend was an adventure this year. The kids had a stomach bug and took turns throwing up. They felt well enough for a moment, so we were able to get their Easter clothes on for a picture.

We made a blanket fort! The kids loved hanging out

 in there with lots of toys and books!

The kids have been begging to go to school with Lucas. We decided to all go with him while he took one of his finals. I walked around campus with them while he was taking his test. They thought his school was really neat and loved seeing where he goes all the time.

Madilyn went to the dentist and was a rock star! NO cavities!! 

The receptionist even made her a balloon flower.

Sometimes Tyson has a unique

fashion sense!

We spent a lot of time in St. George this year. One weekend we even drove down to Vegas for the day. We had fun exploring the M&M store and trying the Taste the World at the Coca-Cola store. It was fun tasting all of the different sodas and only one of them was nasty!

One of our favorite things to do when we go to St. George is to go 

exploring on all of the trails through the desert!

Spending the 4th of July at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

We had to have both of our willow trees removed. We discovered that they were both infested with the willow borer. It is a thick worm-like creature that is about the diameter of a dime, and about 3-4 inches long. They were turning the insides of the trunks into sawdust. We lost a lot of shade, but it did make our backyard seem much larger.

Madilyn and Tyson loved getting to help feed 

the neighbor's chickens!

We didn't have any glasses to view the eclipse, 

but we still were able to experience how cool it was!

The new Smith's Marketplace has kid size carts. Every time we go there the kids just have to use them. They think they are the coolest kids ever as they push them around. It makes grocery shopping take at least twice as long, but they love it!

Tyson had no idea his blue drink gave him a cool blue pirate mustache!

Towards the beginning of the year we talked with the kids about money and the fact that everything at the store costs money. They started earning their own money by doing jobs around the house. Madilyn is obsessed with dresses and wanted to save her money to buy a new dress. Tyson wanted to save his for dinosaurs! They each decorated their own container to save their money in.

They finally got to make their first purchases! They felt so

 grown up getting to pay with their own money!

We love these two amazing kids so much!