3.31.2013

March Madness

March came and went very fast this year...


Tanner and Mary went to Alta's Junior Prom together
3 | 2 | 2013


We hosted our traditional Dice Party in honor of St. Party's Day



We all crowd around our bar and play the funnest dice game...Left/Right/Center


Then we went south to Mesquite and St. George for Chance's first b-ball tourney of the season

Chance plays infield...Pitcher or Short Stop...

Those Southern Utah mountains make for a spectacular view at the ballpark!


Chance is a switch hitter....Look how good he looks hitting left!



Dano and Chance went with some of their baseball buddies to see some Major Leaguers play in SLC...Mariners vs. Rockies...Chance loved seeing the 'big boys' hit home runs



But the BIG highlight of our month...I'll give you a few hints...

it floats
it has a mouse on it
it is the same length as the Eiffel Tower

Can you guess???





3.30.2013

Disney Magic


the DISNEY MAGIC Cruise!

To celebrate my mom's 60th Birthday, my parents treated us all to the most amazing family vacation!  Everything Disney does is over the top, impressive, FUN and memorable, and the cruise was all that and more!  I cannot say enough good about it.  I did my best to summarize a very full week of Disney Magic

The beautiful Disney Magic - we sailed from Galveston, TX - Grand Cayman - Cozumel


3500 passengers - 1000 crewmembers - the best service!


The Birthday Girl and her grandkids - who could guess she is 60?!


Mickey Mouse welcomes us aboard!


Journey loved getting her picture taken with all the Princesses...several times!



The Girls and Minnie - Hailey's mother-in-law, Kay, joined us as well


The Boys and Daisy


M - I- C - K - E - Y   M o u s e


Every time we turned around there were character appearances and photo ops...so fun!





The buffet had the most elaborate, gorgeous watermelon carvings everyday!
And the food...oh my gosh...the food...incredible...crab, lobster, 7-course dinners...you cannot go on a cruise and not gain weight...it's impossible...and required, right?!


Every night our cabin host made us hilarious 'towel animals'  We would be excited to return to our cabins each night to see what he'd made for us...A couple of our faves were the elephant and monkey!

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The Magic is the only ship with the Character breakfast...
After seeing all the characters, our waiters, Sam & Derek, made everyone hilarious
 'napkin hats' of different Disney movie characters.


Tanner wasn't too keen on character appearances, but he jumped at the chance to meet the ship's Captain {center} and the Cruise Director {left}


 Every dinner wasn't just a meal, it was an event.  There was something fun and unique about each one.  This was at the Animator's Palate, where the walls and wait staff uniforms (back left) start out black and white, but soon get colorful and come to life!  Seriously, who comes up with this stuff?!


After two days at sea, and lots of eating, movie-watching and bingo-playing, we arrived in our first port...

GRAND CAYMAN
the softest, white sand and gorgeous turquoise water...a beautiful island!

We headed to Stingray City


It was so cool to be in 4 feet of water on a sandbar with stingrays swimming all around, and not caring if you held them, pet them and kissed them!



Tanner found a conch shell


We couldn't get enough of these gentle creatures, yes they still have their barbs {the thin black line above the guides hand}, but they are so used to the human visitors that they aren't threatening

 
Makai and I didn't want to leave...We could have floated with the stingrays all day!


The cruise gave the girls tons of quality cousin time!


Next stop...COZUMEL


the Caribbean is hard to beat...
we snorkeled in the crystal clear water..
saw another stingray and held a sea urchin...very cool!




Both islands were big hits!


I think my two favorite things about the cruise were the fabulous broadway-style shows each night...And the fact that there was something fun for everyone to do!  My boys went to the teen clubs and made friends and stayed out til the wee hours of the morning.  
Journey and Tatum danced with Snow White and went to cooking school and helped us play bingo.  It was just so special to spend such great quality time together...
and make memories we'll never forget!


Until next time Disney...We will SEA you again!


THE END!

2.28.2013

the LOVE month


What I love most about February is that it's a short month!

despite the frigid weather and winter blues...we managed a few fun things...

Makai volunteered to dress-up and promote Ihop Pancake Day
{all proceeds donated to Primary Children's Medical Center}
Thank you, Kai, for being enthusiatic and generous for a good cause!
He got a lot of attention from the ladies, so that made his night!

Tanner attended Bingham High School's Sweethearts Dance with his girlfriend Mary.
please forgive my handsome son for his hairstyle choice...sigh


 Kai and Journey had a whole week off school, so the 3 of us flew to Palm Springs for sunshine and warmer temps! 
The minute I see a palm tree, my winter blues fade away...

 world's smallest nest on a palm tree branch
it's hard to tell in the pic, but it's about the size of a silver dollar {and belongs to a hummingbird}
it was the cutest thing we've ever seen!!
my seasoned travelers ready to get home to dad, but not the blizzard that was waiting for us!
Palm Springs in February is tough to beat!!!


Chance {bottom left} attended a training camp in Mesquite with his new baseball team. 
They had a rigorous 3-day schedule of non-stop training and scrimmages. 
He was worn out, but learned a lot and made new friends!

 March has a lot of fun in store for us, so farewell February!  Bring on March!!

1.01.2013

12.25.2012

Naughty is the new Nice


Happy Holidays 2012

from our home to yours






12.21.2012

party of the year

White Party 2012


Let's get this party started!
Our crazy friends Chris & Alex had this giant champagne shipped to us for the party...
yes, it's actually full of champagne, and yes we finished it before the night was over!


It took us 11 years, but we finally hired a Bartender! 
Hilary, our gorgeous friend, and talented bartender, took good care of party guests!


Cheers to White Party 2012!


some of the girls 


and Guys


friends 


comedians


family!

We took close to 200 photos at the party, so I'm forced to narrow it way down for the blog.  It's the amazing, fun, festive friends and family that make this party our favorite night of the year!  I hope our guests enjoy it as much as we do!!