Cruisin

Saturday, November 22, we embarked on first ever cruise and were fortunate enough to take the entire family, all 9 of us! We had so great fun and were sick to death of food by the time we got home!
Our first stop was Cabo San Lucas where we went out on a catamaran for a snorkeling trip. The water and the fish were beautiful. In town we were talked in to a picture of the kids with a baby lion cub, and pictures with various lizards.
The next day was spent in Mazatlan. We just went in to town and did some shopping and visited a cathedral. We didn't get any good pictures...next time I guess.
Our favorite day was in Puerto Vallarta. We took a little tour of the city, the beach and the jungle. We visited the set of the movie Predator where there was a natural rock slide into a beautiful river pool. They had a rope swing rigged up and everyone tried it. I was most impressed with the bravery of our entire family...the water was freezing!
We took a million pictures between our 3 cameras but I couldn't possibly post them all here. These are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Day One: Our vessel! Everyone is so excited to get on!

Jamie and Britt getting off the bus....roommates and trip companions.

First night, at dinner. Corey deep in contemplation....

Peter and Terry at dinner.

Rachel and Colby

Day Three: Cabo San Lucas, Robin and Jamie on the catamaran.

Terry, Lindsey and Corey preparing for snorkeling. Rachel, Colby and Britt in back.

Words would never do this picture justice!

Holding a baby lion cub in Cabo.

Lindsey being oh so brave....NOT! She wouldn't hold the lizard by herself.

Puerto Vallarta

As you can see, there are really cute girls there :)

On the beach.

View from the hills of Puerto Vallarta.

On the set of "Predator"! Deep in the jungle (well, maybe not so deep). This was awesome!

Peter (the yellow blur) doing his Tarzan impression in the jungle.

Adios Amigos!

High School Football

Cottonwood is going to State!

Cottonwood VS Pine View

That cute little cheerleader at the top is my niece, Staci Jo. Today I took a few hours off work to go watch my alma-mater win the state semi-final game. I love to watch football! We came so close when I was going to Cottonwood too many years ago....but lost in the semi's. It was heart breaking. I try to avoid getting attached to any team for that reason....being a former Raiders fan, and Jazz fan....getting my little heart broken when they would come so close only to lose in the end. I can't take it! I will be truly bummed if Cottonwood doesn't win the final next Friday.

Three Generations

Today we celebrated 3 generations of November birthdays. My mom's birthday is November 5th. My birthday is November 11th, and Corey was born on my 28th birthday. (That's one way to make sure your son never forgets your birthday!) It's fun each year to have our three generations together to celebrate. My mom is a very young and beautiful 69 years. Corey will be 18, which I cannot fathom. Me....well, do the math.

Rachel and Colby deep in conversation, and Robbi stuffing her face.

Sisters! Robin love Jamie, can't you tell?

Blowing out the candles...

Colby, Rachel, Richard, and Britt

Mom and Merrill

Things I have learned in my 46 years of life:

• It's true: That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.
• Happiness is what you make it. No person or thing can make you happy. It's most often the simplest and smallest things.
  
• It's never too late to improve yourself.
• There will never be enough hours in the day to do everything you want or need to do. The more time we have, the more we find to fill it up. Prioritize well!
• Children grow up all too fast! Enjoy every minute of them. *See note about priorities above.
  
• It's also true: "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear". This is true in so many areas of life, whether it's taking a test, speaking in church, or weathering any kind of storm be it financial, physical, spiritual or emotional.
• Angels really do exist and you never know when one might show up to help you, or when you might be called upon to be the angel in someone else's life. Don't miss out on those opportunities.
• You can't smile at someone without getting a smile in return. Try it if you don't believe me.
• And my favorite: "Don't sweat the small stuff....and it's all small stuff!" In the grand scheme of things, it really is.