Here Come the Holidays!

Here it is! Year's end and facing the holidays! I love Thanksgiving and Christmas because to me it means family and togetherness . Of course, there is all of the food preparations, the shopping, the wrapping of gifts, the tree to put up, the outside decorating to do, the parties to plan and execute, and all the work that goes with all of it. But being with family is the best part of all!

The season makes me think of all the blessings that I have been given and I give thanks to a kind Heavenly Father for knowing me and recognizing my needs and the desires of my heart. This year has not been an easy one for me and I have had a lot of life-altering adjustments to make but I know that He knows that I CAN do it. He has blessed me with a wonderful husband, family and extended family that show me their love, understanding and support. I recognize their concern and am grateful for it and for them. I have come to appreciate each one of them even more this year than I did before. I am thankful for each of you. I am truly blessed!

I pray that as we approach this Thanksgiving week that we can express our love and thanksgiving to one another and especially to a wonderful Father in Heaven who has given so much to us all. We each have challenges to face but that is how we grow. May those difficult times draw us nearer to Him.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

West Caribbean Cruise

The Carnival Freedom

We left Salt Lake on the morning of Saturday, September 18th, for Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I never quite get used to flying!! One of my greatest fears. How I hate that I hate it! But how else do you get to Florida? So off we went for a week of true relaxation. I love to cruise more than I hate to fly.

Our cruise ship was the Carnival Freedom and we left port on Sunday afternoon. We visited Key West, Grand Cayman (Georgetown), and Jamaica (Ocho Rios). We traveled with Brad, Tyler and Ben and since I don't swim and don't snorkel, Mike and Tyler snorkeled in Grand Cayman. Mike said that the coral wasn't as vibrant in color as what he has seen on other cruises but they had a good time. He sunburns so easily so he had taken precaution by wearing a shirt with his swim suit. However, he forgot his sunscreen and forgot that the backs of his legs were not protected. When he returned to the ship, his legs were "vibrant in color". He spent a lot more time on this cruise in shorts ... something we rarely see! (By the way, I like him in shorts! He needs to wear them more often!)

Our highlight of the trip was in Jamaica. At the suggestion of Marc and Gretchen, we decided to try the Zipline excursion. What a blast! We loved it and took several pictures (thank you, Ben!) That is definitely an excursion we would go on again! The workers/instructors were so professional and fun. We were told that we could yell, scream, cry and even use profanity .... that there were "no swear words that the trees of the forest had not heard before". The first line was a bit "breathtaking" but the following 8 were much easier. By the time we had "zipped" down nearly 3000 feet, we were beginning to feel like "seasoned" zipliners! Well, almost! I nearly crashed into a tree on the next to last landing! Once again, the instructor was the saving factor! I think I may have scared him a little, too, but he was willing to put himself between me and the tree!

Mike and I are all suited up!

"Tough" looking group, don't you think?

Getting instructions

Mike "flying" through the trees!

"Here I come! Catch me!"

A long walk up but a shorter walk down!

Taken on our way back to the shuttle. The flowers were beautiful!

Guess who got back first? Youth has it!

We loved the formal nights, the good food, the warmth and even the humidity ..... well, at least I loved the humidity! We did a little shopping at each port but came home with very little in the way of souvenirs. No souvenirs but some really good memories.

All dressed up for one of the two formal nights onboard.

They clean up right nice, don't they?

(Ben, Tyler, and Brad)

It was a great trip! We are ready to book another cruise for 2011. Anyone want to go with us??