Happy Birthday Dad! 36!!!!

 We celebrated Nick's 36th Birthday on Saturday.  Even though it was his birthday, he still got up early and worked 6 hours before coming home and starting the fun.  After a morning of running the kids to choir rehearsal and then a birthday party for Kaylee's friend, and then a tithing settlement appointment, we had a babysitter come and watch the kids so Nick and I could go and see Catching Fire (Hunger Games).  It was so good and it was so fun to go to a movie!  We hardly ever get to go to a movie!  When we got home we took the kids to dinner to Granny Annie's.  They gave Nick a huge ice cream sundae that he shared with everyone.  Here are some pictures of our fun day.  The green party hat came from Kaylee's party she had gone to.  The little kids loved it!

 We gave Nick a cool car book, new tie, and new dress pants.

We had made him an M&M cake on Saturday, but we were so full from dinner that we saved it and ate it Sunday after church.  It was still yummy a day later!  And we put on 36 candles!

It was a fun weekend and I think Nick enjoyed his Birthday!

Preston's First Haircut

Yep, Preston is over a year old and is finally getting a hair cut!  I probably should have done this sooner, but since he doesn't have a lot of hair so I think I was putting it off as long as possible.  I decided to just put him in his high chair and use the clippers to trim the sides and back of his hair.  There was a lot of hair on the floor when I was done, but he still looked like my cute little Preston, but just not as shaggy!  I started taking pictures during his hair cut, since I didn't think about taking them before...then Kaylee offered to take some while I was doing his hair cut.  It isn't a perfect haircut, but it is a little tricky cutting a wiggly one year old's hair. 

Last days of our cruise...

Thursday was an at seat day, which meant even more relaxing and doing nothing!  Again, that was the whole point of this trip and that is exactly what we did....nothing.  We got up and worked out, because to me it is a luxury to work out with out kids or anything else needing to be done first.  We had breakfast and then did some more soaking up the sun on the back of the boat by one of the smaller of the four pools.  It was great weather.  

After some relaxation, I went to a zumba class at 11, that was held in one of the lounges.  The instructor was great and it was a lot of fun.  After zumba, we got cleaned up and had lunch and then found some soft lounge chairs to read and relax by another one of the big pools that is like an atrium.  We also enjoyed some cookies and milk for a snack.

We also got a chance to get in a nap before dinner...again.  It was heaven to get a nap every day!  I didn't think I would need to, but I was tired!  We had dinner and then headed to the show, which was the stand up comedian again.  I think his name was Juan Carlos.  We had felt a little sea sick for the first time because the boat was rocking pretty good all day Thursday.  We took some dramamine before dinner, which helped, but made us SO tired!  So we called it an early night and went to bed after the show.

We got up early and had breakfast before getting the rest of our stuff packed and to our designated disembarkment area.  We were off the boat and through customs by 8:30 and were on the road back home shortly after.  We drove straight home, stopping for gas in Las Vegas and Cedar City.  We made it home just after 8:30 Friday night and it was so great to see our kids!  I really did miss them a lot while we were gone.  Alivia had a fever for the first few days we were gone and I was worried about how she was, but she was great and they all were excited to see us!  Preston was already in bed when we got home, so we didn't get to see him until the next morning when he woke up.  Nick ended up working a few hours on Saturday, so he didn't see him until 11 the next morning.  It was so cute to see Preston's face when he saw dad, he was so happy.  You can tell he is a daddy's boy.  We spent most of Saturday doing laundry from not only our cruise, but from the kids week.  So it took pretty much all day, but we got it done and got all unpacked before Carson and I left for the bells concert that night.  Overall, it was a great quick vacation.  It was good to have some one on one time with each other without any kids.  It is something we need to try and do more often.  Life can get so hard and busy that it is sometimes hard to get that one on one time that couples need.  We can't wait to go again on a cruise or vacation alone, as long as we can convince our families to help us out again!

Ensanada Mexico

After spending Tuesday in Santa Barbara, we headed south to Mexico and woke up to beautiful sunny weather in Ensanada.  This is the view from our balcony of the sunrise.  We got up early and worked out in the ship's gym, which was super crowded by the time we left.  We had breakfast and then enjoyed a bit of time by the pool before getting ready and heading off the ship.  The sun was so warm and it was so nice to just sit and read a book while Nick enjoyed the hot tub.  We only left the ship long enough to visit the little shops next to the port to buy a few souvenirs for the kids.   

We ended up with a few shirts, necklaces and little purses for the girls, and blankets for all the kids.(They ended up loving it all).

After we got back on the ship, we had lunch and enjoyed some more lounge time by the pool.

We took a nap before getting ready for dinner.  One of the nights of dinner, I ordered two appetizers and two desserts because I couldn't decide on just one!

We sat on a table with two very nice couples.  The first is Alicia and Roger Vandertop from California, and Mary and John also from California.  Both of done a lot of cruises in the past and it was fun to talk with them and get to know more about them.

The show Wednesday night was the comedy act of duo Alfred and Semour.  We actually saw them perform on the Celebrity cruise we took 3 years ago, but they are just as funny and we were laughing almost constantly!  After the show we went into one of the lounges that had live music and did a little dancing.  I guess I should say I did a little dancing.  Nick isn't a dancer, but doesn't mind just watching.  It was a good day.

Our day in Santa Barbara

On Tuesday, we ported in Santa Barbara, CA.  They tendered us to shore where we found a place to rent bikes and went for a ride around town.  

It was a pretty place and the weather was pleasant.  I didn't know what to expect from Santa Barbara, but the only thing that DID surprise me was all the homeless people along the beach.  I guess since it is such a warm climate all the time, it makes sense why people would live there like that.  Other than that, it was a beautiful place and we had so much fun riding bikes around and finding different parks, gardens, and shopping.  

 We got back on the ship just after lunch and took a nap, did some reading by the pool, and then enjoyed a yummy dinner.  The show for that evening was a comedian, it was funny.  The ship always had live music and dancing, karaoke, or some type of entertainment.  We also enjoyed watching movies in our room and watching the view from our balcony.  

 That night, after we had dinner, they brought us a cute little cake and sang to celebrate our anniversary.  Despite the off pitch singing, it was very nice!  And a great way to finish the evening.