Jon is a Star

On our cruise Jon was brought up on stage to participate in the fun. In the first video he is supposed to be a backup singer to the comedian who is lipsyncing. Poor Jon has no rhythm. Yes, you can hear me talking and laughing at him in the background. The comedian is in front of Jon for part of the time but it is still funny.


In this next video Jon is supposed to lipsync to the song, however he has no clue what song this is. Afterwards they gave each participant a bottle of champagne. Yeah - we don't drink! So on our way out of the theater Jon pawned it off on a family group and they couldn't believe that he would give up his free bottle of champagne. Throughout the rest of the cruise Jon would always get these looks from people like they knew him and then they would realize that he was one of the men onstage and ask him something about it. It would give us a little chuckle each time.

Family Cruise

To celebrate my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary my family went on a Wester Caribbean Cruise. It was just my parents, their children and spouses, so no grandchildren. Their anniversary is actually in August, but who wants to cruise in the summer when it is warm, unless you go to someplace like Alaska.

Anyways, we have been planning this for five years. We were all very excited, especially since for most of the group this would be their first time on a cruise. We set sail from Tampa on the Carnival Legend for a weeklong cruise with stops in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. In Grand Cayman and Roatan Jon and I, along with my sister Nancy, went scuba diving which was amazing, especially in Roatan. In Cozumel the whole family went to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum. It was soooo beautiful there. I can see why they built where they did. There is a nice breeze and the water and view is amazing. In Belize the whole family (with the exception of my brother and his wife) went cave tubbing and zip lining which was so much fun. Come on ziplining in the jungle of Belize and then floating on tubes down a river with caves up to 3/4 of mile long. AMAZING!

It was fun to just spend time with my family without any children distractions. The adults could be kids. Our first cruise it was just Jon and I which was really fun, but I liked having other people to talk to and do things with. We definitely liked Royal Caribbean better than Carnival but we had an excellent time and both cruise lines have advantages and disadvantages. To each his own I guess. The week after our cruise was difficult but we have survived and things are finally back to normal.

Playin' in the Snow

Last week we were able to dig out the 4-wheelers and take them out in the snow. It was a great day and tons of fun. It has been almost a year since we last rode the 4-wheelers and my body was feeling it. My arms were dead by the end of the day (it couldn't possible have anything to do with the fact that I had two low tires, which makes it harder to steer). It was still fun and just great to get out in the sun. Here's some pics from our outing - Enjoy!

No Car Payments

We did it! For the first time in our marriage we have no car payments. A few weeks ago we paid off our truck! What a feeling of freedom that was. This last year we have really tried to get out of debt. Besides our mortgage we only have one more loan which will be paid off probably in June. It is amazing the sense of security and freedom that comes with being out of debt. It is something I highly recommend!

I HATE MY FRONT PORCH

.... and here's why



Maybe it will get big enough that we can make an ice sculpture out of it.

The Plan

Sunday morning I received a call at 8:15 am asking if I would be able to sub in Primary. I understand people get sick and whatever so I was happy to help out. We have church at 9am and we leave at 8:30 so I can have the programs there before everyone shows up and then Jon helps set up chairs and works in the library. This didn’t give me much time to prepare a lesson, which I have to admit I did a lot of preparation during Sacrament Meeting. I was thinking what I could do for a lesson and then I fell back on the classic throw together a lesson in fifteen minutes “Plan of Salvation” lesson. It’s one of those things you learned over and over in Primary. Now I know why – the subs were called 45 minutes prior to church.

As I was giving the lesson I was really impressed with what they comprehended. We were talking about the veil and how we can’t remember what happened in the Pre-Mortal Life, and then one girl asked if we will be able to remember things we learned on earth after we die. I knew this answer but luckily I was prepared with a scripture that we could read which explains that any intelligence we gain in this life we will be able to have in the next. She was really excited to learn that.

We were talking about how we come to earth to gain a body and be tested. A boy speaks up and says that he hates test and never does good on them. I then told him that this is a easy test because it is open book (scriptures, prophets etc), we can ask for help (prayer), and if we get something wrong Christ is there to make it right for us. Later in the day I really got to thinking about that. It really is that easy but then why is it so hard as well. Pride and life just seem to take over and then I somehow lose why I’m really here. It is nice to have a reminder every now and then about what is really important. I think I learned just as much as they did.

My First Book

I finished it! I kept hearing about this book you could make from your blog and so I thought I would try it out. I was a little scared because I wasn't sure how it would turn out and if the quality would be good, but I decided to give it a try anyways. Once I finished the design and layout and sent in my order the anticipation was killing me. I was super excited to see how my first book would turn out. I was surprised when I received an email two days after submitting my order telling me that my book was ready to be shipped. I had my book one week after placing my order. I was impressed with the response time. The morning came that the book was to be delivered. FedEx showed up at work early that day - Yeah! I got the package opened it up and .... it was way better than I expected. I had really expected the worst. I know so positive huh? I am really pleased with how it turned out. Jon was making fun of me when I told him what I planned to do but now that it's here and he can see it he is impressed as well. The idea of this book was the reason I started blogging. I am not a scrapbooker or journal writer and this book wraps it all up in one and looks way better than any scrapbook I could make. So I give it two thumbs up - way up!