Cruising!

Mike and I had such a wonderful time on our cruise! We have over 200 pictures,but I will just post a few of my favorites. They are in a mixed up order, but better to finally make this post than to spend another week rearranging.

This was taken just as we boarded the ship.

This was taken the last day of the cruise. It was jacket weather, but not a drop of snow anywhere!

The next pictures are of our day in Jamaica.

Riding the sky tram up to the Jamaican bobsleds. If you enlarge this picture and look closely, you can see Tom and Marlene in back of us. I want to be sure and mention how much we appreciated having those two with us on this cruise. It was like having our own, private cruise directors! They made it so much fun for us. I think we probably held them back a time or two, but they never let on. We have always loved them, but this trip left me with an even greater respect and admiration for them.

My first time down the bobsled!

Tom and Marlene on the bobsleds.

Mike and me.

Waiting for the liquid sunshine to let up so we could ride the skytram back down.

A quick stop at Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios.

Marlene and I at the Falls.



And now, backing up a bit...

We attended church at a Spanish speaking ward just before leaving for the cruise. See how cute and thin I look! I gained several inches around the waist and can't fit into my clothes any more.

This nice gentleman rescued us when the taxi didn't come to get us after church. He got us back to the hotel just in time to catch the shuttle to the ship.




We went to this fun little diner called Johnny Rockets where everyone cheers when you walk inside. There are nickels for the juke box and the waiters dance to the music!

Marlene, dancing with the Johnny Rockets people.

Now we are in Cozumel...

Toucans!

Just before we boarded the boat that took us out to the submarine ride.

Inside a submarine at 100 feet down. Not my favorite excursion!
Even worse than the St. Louis arch. (What was I thinking?!)

My handsome husband hanging out with me at the front of the ship on a windy day.

I loved the wind! I was very lucky to be one of only a few that did not suffer from being seasick.


We had so much fun at Johnny Rockets! Mike and I went back a second time!

We shared a chocolate malt!

Our dinner table...one of our favorite daily events.

Sander, our head waiter. Missing from this picture is Arthur, the assistant waiter. We gave them both a Book of Mormon on the last night of the cruise.

Mark created a new dessert, combining a scoop of ice cream with one of the soup appetizers.

These next pictures were taken early in the cruise, on our first land stop.

We filled our day at Labadee with so many memorable events. We started out relaxing in the shade on our beach chairs as we waited for our turn to parasail.

Mike, getting ready to parasail.

That's me on the right, parasailing....Whoopeeeeeee! This was my favorite event. It was absolutely exhillerating!

Just before going down the Dragon's Breath zipline which was abaout a million miles long.

This is Mike as he completes his ride!

This is me being reeled in because I didn't make it to the bottom. Gosh, I must not weigh as much as I thought!

We had a great time in Labadee!

The kiddie pool.

We had a great room,with an outside patio that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Each night our room attendant would make us cute little towel sculpture and put Mike's sunglasses on them!

From the outside patio, we had a great view of the ship captain's lookout.

The name of our ship was the Freedom of the Seas, but Mike and I dubbed it, "The Great and Spacious Building". We are so very glad we went, but we might choose something a little less extravagant the next time. Or maybe not...we'll see!

The rest of the story

In response to Annie's question about the last post... yes, Taylor was trying out one of Grandma's wigs. While Mike and I were gone, Grandma decided to quit wearing her wig. (Her exact words were, "I've never worn a wig and I don't want to start wearing one, now!") We think she looks a lot like Aunt Tarie with this new look. Still beautiful and a sparkle in her eyes.

We leave town for ten days and see what happens!

Taylor grew some hair!

Cheking in with the Kids!

We are on our Caribbean Cruise! I have tried to e-mail my kids, but I can't seem to make the connection. Anyway, since I told Mickala to check in everyday, I hope she thinks to check the blog, instead. It's been great fun, but today we missed the Grand Cayman Island because the weather was too bad. Yesterday, we were in Jamaica and it poured...buckets and buckets of liquid sunshine. So far, I have parasailed, done the zipline, the Jamaican bobsled and a beautiful airiel ride. Pictures and the full story to come later.

This is why we want to move to St. George...

9:00a.m. Monday morning

Proof that Mickala is no longer the spoiled child. (9:15a.m.)

"It's up to my knees!"

11:00a.m.

Whahoo! I Really Did It!

For those of you who youngsters who came to earth already knowing how to use computers, cell phones, digital cameras and the like...this will not be such an impressive post. But, for those of my generation or older, it truly is a monumental day. Prepare for the drum-roll......

What you are about to see is the very first picture taken on my Christmas camera! Understand that I did this almost entirely on my own. Kristi explained to me what a memory card was and showed me where it needed to be placed in my camera. She also told me about the cord that had to be plugged into both the camera and the computer. And Mike told me about the software disk I needed to install. But, I, ALONE, figured out how to charge the battery and put it in the camera and I, ALONE figured out how to take the pictures, and I also somehow figured out how to drop them onto the computer. What you are about to see is the very first picture I took on my camera.

TA DA!

Isn't she adorable!

And look at this handsome young man!

Quite the twosome, wouldn't you say!

Sweet little angel!

This is going to be fun!............

Happy Birthday, Kris! (Don't think you're getting out of a 50th birthday tribute!)

Today is my sister's birthday. She would have been 50. The pictures I have are pretty random, but I do have many wonderful memories...Mostly I remember how beautiful she was, inside and out.

...and how close to the same height we always were! I think the height thing keep us close when we were kids.

Cute cheerleader! This was taken close to the time that she met Rob.

Family photo taken in Salt Lake. Notice Kris's bushy hairdo. (This is supposed to be a roast, right?)


This was taken the night before Mike and I were married. It's hard to believe that three of those people have passed away. The Tolmans were such an important part of our lives. I'm sure Kris was one of the first to welcome back both Bishop and Dorene.

Beautiful Bride!

I love this picture! (it was taken in Vernal) Look at Kris's countenance. Pure love!

There's her smile!

We don't get there too often, but I love that Kris is buried in Annabella. It is such a peaceful place.

I "borrowed" this picture from Jamie's most recent blog. As I read the touching story of her precious little Brielle, it gave me great comfort to know that, counted among the many loving friends and family members, Kris is also watching over these two.

Well Kris, that's all for now. We never got to see you age. I imagine you would have done it the same way you did everything else...with grace and dignity...and a smile on your face.

"Sure do love ya!"

Another picture-less post

I have learned how to take pictures on my new camera, but I can't quite figure out how to look at them afterwards, or how to put them on my computer. But, they are coming soon. In the meantime, I have tried to upload the pictures Mike took at Christmas, but, for some reason, they will not upload. They, too, are coming soon.