CrUiSe

Life is too short to not enjoy it, right? A few weeks ago we did something we've talked about for years but never actually thought would happen --

a week-long cruise with no kids!

My parents are generous souls and took our girls for us while we sailed away to freedom.... ;) and to a week of no work, no responsibilities, no dishes, no cooking, no diapers....and lots of people waiting on US.

It was a little strange at first. Walking through the airport with no strollers or little hands to hold. Carrying a PURSE instead of a diaper bag. And then on the ship, maid service and meals ready and being forced to just relax. (We got used to it pretty quickly. But I did miss my girls every time I saw a little kid...if the kid was happy. If the kids was screaming or running wild, I would say a silent prayer of gratitude for my awesome parents).



This is us as we sailed out of Long Beach, CA. It was a little bit of a rush to feel the power of the ship as we set sail! And after hours of packing, traveling, getting my kids all ready to be left for a week, etc., we were finally embarking on our long-awaited adventure.

The inside of the ship was totally blinged-out. (OTT, if you ask me. Combine all the lights and patterns with the swaying of the ship and it does things to your mind) This is Kraig in the main lobby with the glass elevators.



After exploring the ship (and getting a little lost, which is easy to do at first) we hit the lunch buffet. And let me just say, that we had been dieting and exercising for 2 months so that we could gain back all the pounds we lost and feel fine about it. And we ate with gusto! It was great. They told us the average weight gain on a cruise is between 7 and 11 pounds. And our friends who've been on cruises really talked up the food so I was expecting everything to taste amazing.
The buffet was decent. Lots of selection and pretty fresh and tasty, but it was still a buffet. Really the DINNERS are what's worth talking about.

Every evening you get dressed up like you're going out to a nice restaurant, because you are. The dining area has linen tablecloths, classical music playing, low lights, and a 2 page gourmet menu. There are every-day menu items they serve like steak, salmon, fried chicken, etc. and then they have a page of dishes that are being prepared just for that day, with about 5 appetizers, 6 entrees, and 2 specialty desserts to choose from. It is really hard to make a decision some days so the waiters will just bring you two dishes and you can try both. Usually Kraig and I would get 2 or 3 appetizers each, then the main dish, and then always a dessert and sometimes some herbal tea. (Well, actually, Kraig would typically get 2 main dishes).
The portions are smaller than you'd get in a Chilli's or somewhere - they're more like you'd get in a gourmet restaurant where the food is about quality more than quantity.

And it was so fun meeting all different kinds of people at dinner. They would sit us either at a table for two, which was usually pretty close to other couples so it's awkward if you don't break the ice, or at a large, round table with other people which we chatted with. Everyone is so relaxed and open and it's really easy to meet people.



Here's us at dinner on one of the formal nights. The formal nights are so fun! Everyone wears evening dresses and shirts/ties, and there are photographers set up around the ship to take your pictures (which we posed for but didn't purchase - a total rip off at $20/pic)
This is me getting ready in our little stateroom and below is one of us posing on the way too blinged-out stairs.






After dinner we would do a little ballroom, or go to a comedy show or karaoke. We felt like we were dating again, and super free, relaxed, and young.

Every night we would return to our stateroom to find it spotless, with a towel animal and chocolates on our bed. This may sound silly to some, but you moms out there will understand: one of my favorite things about being on vacation is throwing my towel on the floor only to return and find it has disappeared and a fresh, neatly folded one hanging on the rack. It was so nice to not have to pick up after my family for a week!


PORTS

After a day and a half at sea, we arrived at our first destination: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We loved this place!!! It's a small town of roughly 70,000 which exists mainly due to tourism, so they love us there. This is us as we sailed into the port. We had a fleet of dolphins welcome us! They saw the ship and started bee-lining toward us, jumping and playing. It was so cool. I wish I'd had my camera for that.



The red dot is Cabo.

We had two days here. The first day we did a lot of browsing the flea markets and talking to the locals. These guys all spoke English and were way cool! It was fun talking to them and hearing their different sales pitches and funny English phrases they know. As we walked past a flea-market, this is what we'd typically hear: "Hey, honeymooners! My turn. Come see my store. I give you good price. Best prices in town. We make a deal."

We found it pretty amusing to barter with the merchants. It's like a game with unspoken rules. After lots of checking around for prices and seeing how low different merchants would go, we bought some fun souvenirs and felt like we got some good deals: a mexican blanket, dresses and shirts for our girls, a little dolphin whistle for Mikayla, some pottery for me, and some wind chimes for our parents.

The first day we hired some of the local guys to give us a boat tour of the coastal highlights and drop us off at the beach.

Our driver (with our cruise ship in background)




This little hole in the rock is called the 'Window to the Pacific'

This is Cabo's natural arch known as "El Arco de Cabo San Lucas' and also known as 'Land's End' because it's on the very tip of a peninsula.

If you go directly south from here you won't run into any land until

you reach Antarctica.

Then we walked along the beach here, which was beautiful...


and ate at as outdoor restaurant, "Sharky's" where we had some really tasty fajitas.




The next day was the adrenaline rush day. Para-sailing and jet-skiing!!! Both were things we had never done before. We worked a sweet deal with the locals in which we went para-sailing for $30/person (and Carnival was trying to charge $90) and jet-skiing for $60/hour when the going rate was about $90/hour - and we were sworn to secrecy not to tell the other customers. I was a little apprehensive about hiring the locals to do this stuff for us because it wasn't 'Carnival-approved' and I had fleeting images of faulty equipment/catastrophic accidents pass through my mind, but we found a great company. Very time-efficient, sound equipment, nice guides, etc.

I love this kind of adventuresome stuff - but only if I feel like I have some control. Well, this day would test my trust for Kraig in a new way - because when we went jet-skiing, he had all the control! I didn't get a picture of us doing this but I let him drive and it was crazy!

He went 50mph at times and skipped over the water like a rock while I was digging my nails into his chest and yelling - it was really scary because I thought for sure we were gonna capsize. I have a healthy fear of the ocean due to past experience. Well I guess I kept him in check and after a while I got used to it and started to relax more, but he still had a few nail marks when we got off. :) It was definately a rush, but after 45 mins we were ready to give our forearms a rest.

The parasailing was surprisingly gentle and peaceful. We were up there for about 10 minutes, and we went higher than our cruise ship. It was awesome. I only regret not taking my camera up there to get a few shots and a video. So if you ever go para-sailing, now ya know! (You don't get wet at all)







Puerto Vallarta

This is a big city and our impression was that it wasn't as clean or safe as Cabo, but we still enjoyed it. The terrain is different, too. It's humid and jungley whereas Cabo is more of a desert.

We had booked a whale-watching/snorkeling tour at this port, so as soon as we got off the cruise ship we boarded a catamaran and took off with our group. We rode for about an hour, and then reached the 'Marieta Islands' which has been made into a national wildlife preserve for birds. This is the booby bird, found only here and in the Galapagos islands. They have bright blue feet and are called booby birds because it originated from the Spanish term 'bubie' which means 'dunce' because they were easy for sailors to catch.

We snorkeled around the island for a few minutes (it was pretty cold even with a wet suit) but couldn't see much. The best time of year to visit here, turns out, is in the summer, when the water is so clear you can see right to the bottom. Bummer.

So we got out and went to the beach on this island, which had several shallow caves to explore. After looking around a little we settled onto the sand and had the lapping of the waves lull us into (or me, anyway) into a nice little dreamland. It's too bad it was a cloudy day or we would have been in the water more. We ended up seeing the clearest view of the fish when we fed them and they came up to the boat.

On the way back is when the real fun began. The crew on the boat was about 6 twenty-something year old Mexican guys. They sensed our disappointment about not seeing any whales yet, and the water being murky, so they started up a party .... they were just really fun and goofy guys and it was really amusing listening to their English ...they started up dancing after we had eaten lunch, and of course, broke out the margaritas, and tried to make everyone have a good time.

And then we saw some whale spouts in the distance and the driver made a beeline for them. We didn't get too close (not close enough for a decent picture with our little camera) but we got a video. It was exciting to see. They were leaping and diving for us. And we saw two dolphins appear out of nowhere right next to our boat, and then they were gone.

This is how the driver found me after he came back from a quick trip to the lower level.

He wasn't too mad -- actually he got a big smile on his face and wanted me to take a picture with him.



So we did. :)

After we finished our 6 hour tour, we got off the boat to find a few Mexicans makin' a few bucks off a very friendly, well-trained seal. We bought into the tourist trap and paid $10 to get a hug and a picture with this dude.

But hey, when else will we get a chance to get kissed by a seal?

We had a great time at both ports and were impressed with how friendly and cool the people were, but we were especially glad we were safe in both places. You might have heard in the news about a tour group that got held up and robbed in Puerto Vallarta. Well that was a tour group from our ship, and we were really glad we didn't go into the city. They lost passports, wallets, cameras, etc. Scary stuff.

Back on the boat, we had another formal night on Friday and just more ship activities as we sailed back to Long Beach. We did some mini-golfing, hot-tubbing, napping, reading, playing cards, and talking to people we met, oh, and eating of course. We had to try the sushi, the Panini bar, the pizza, the Tandoori (Indian food), and the Mongolian wok. The last few days were lazy days and I was starting to miss my kids and get a little bored with being lazy, so it was actually good to get back.

Play and indulgence lose their novelty when it's all you do. It's good to have work and obligations. I suppose. I must admit it.

We felt really blessed on this trip and probably won't get another one like this for a decade or so, so we relished in the experience, and now cherish the memory! We thoroughly enjoyed this relaxing, fun, and romantic time with each other and I feel like a lucky woman to have this guy.

Tips if you are considering a cruise:

1. Book early and you will get a better deal. Carnival has a 100% price satisfaction guarantee which means that if you've already booked with them and a better price pops up, they'll refund you the difference. And the prices change at least weekly so keep checking.

2. Although the ship is fun, it's all about destination (in my opinion) and seeing different parts of the world.

3. A cruise is probably not a good idea if you: can't stand crowds, don't like too much commotion, don't like wind, get motion sickness easily (because people said we wouldn't feel the boat moving but we sure DID), don't like meeting new people, or if you want to stay in contact with someone on land every day and don't want to pay a fortune.

4. In OUR opinion, a cruise will not be an enjoyable family vacation until your kids are at least 5 years old. Even then, it can be a dangerous place for little kids with plenty of exposure to worldliness. Having said that, we did see lots of family groups having a great time together, and you can decide where you go on the ship and what you do.

Cute little Quirks

I was just going back through some old posts and it's amazing how much I've forgotten about the cute little things Mikayla used to do. So this post is more like a journal entry update on my kiddos - sorry, not too interesting to those of you who are tired of reading about kids. But I wanted to get these down since this blog is like my on-line family journal.

Ashlynn:

- says 'DA!' for ta-da when she's done something exciting.

-tackles Mikayla/wrestles/plays and laughs so cute with her sis

-kisses Mikayla goodnight the same time Kraig and I do

-said 'drink' the other day, along with the sign. Also says "UH-OH", and "dog" whenever she hears Miko barking

-signs for 'milk', 'more', 'drink', and 'eat'

-sleeps 12 hrs at night

-two bottom teeth

-getting pretty feisty when it comes to fighting for something she wants

-she's a little ham and tries to make us laugh

-loves HEIGHTS! Always climbing up on step stools to be taller, always trying to get up on tables and the counter. I am going to have to watch this one.

-usually eats most things with gusto. The floor is a huge mess after every meal.


Mikayla:
-still very much into Lightning McQueen. Always calls our red car 'Lightning' and our green car 'Chick'. Very favorite color is RED.

-This girl loves SPEED! She is always begging us to drive really fast and says the freeway is her favorite (yes, we are a little scared for when she turns 16)

-much more determined to be independent - dressing herself, saying own prayers, etc.

-Loves Clifford, Curious George, and Word World

-Loves her teachers, Miss Heidi and Miss Marianne. Always reports who was naughty at preschool

-Knows her colors, shapes, and most of her letters and their sounds

-loves "Daddy daughter dates' especially going to the mall and riding the merry-go-round/train

-loves chocolate milk

-Getting really good at using a pencil to trace her name. Can recognize her name.

-Very happy girl when she gets enough sleep. Otherwise, very sensitive.

-Loves to dance to her 2 favorite songs: "My Girl" and "Forever"

-Loves going 'out' - shopping, restaurants, park, etc.

-Is riding her two-wheeler bike (with training wheels) and lovin' it (thanks, Uncle Kent!)

-She loves her mama right now. What can I say? I am her idol. I better appreciate it because I know this will only last for a few more years. She frequently says, "When I grow up to be a big giant lady like you mom I'm going to".....(fill in the blank) go to work, put on makeup, have babies, go to meetings, etc.

We love our girls! They're both so unique and lovable, and they love playing together lately. I am enjoying each day with them (except for the times they drive me crazy) but I know it's all part of the ride.

When All Else Fails....Give Up

It's like when you're 39 weeks pregnant and it feels like that kid inside is NEVER coming out....even though you know, inevitably, that it will...

That is how I feel about potty training and my three year old right now. It seems like she's never going to WANT to fully do it. YEP. She's completely content playing away and going in her diaper without the interruption of having to run to the potty. She is completely capable of reading her body signals of having to go, of holding it for HOURS, of pulling pants up and down, flushing, washing, etc. My work is done.

So, since I've tried everything I can possibly think of to motivate her to actually do it, I am backing off, letting go, giving up, and WAITING for her to decide she is ready to do it. (NOTE: Some days I am good at this, but other days it just drives me CrAzY and I wish I could FORCE her to just DO IT!)

We really have tried a ton of different things to motivate her.
-Potty party
-stickers
-tons of praise
-jumping up and down like a goon
-calling grandma to tell her
-hugs
-high fives
-treats
-Her favorite character underwear (she periodically asks me if she can wear it and I tell her when she keeps her diaper dry for a few days, she can wear it)
-a stamp card and a stamp for every time she goes to show her beloved preschool teacher
-special outings like bowling or Boondocks once she builds up 10 stickers
-MONEY! A coin in a jar for every time she goes
-potty books
-potty videos
-modeling
-she's taught her 'potty doll' how to go
-letting her run around bare
-a potty dance/song that makes her laugh
-we've even tried opening the window for 'fresh air' when we change her poopy diapers but the real reason is so it's slightly uncomfortable for her to have to wear a diaper and have it changed (she hates being cold) although we don't make it seem like a punishment, just a matter-of-fact necessity.

She mentally and physically is a potty pro. She's just not ready emotionally yet. She doesn't care enough. She'll even say things like telling her friend, "Big girls use the potty." and she's even said to me, "I'll use the potty someday, mom, you'll see"

So....I will wait. I will listen to the wisdom of my preschooler. I just hope that 'someday' comes before Elementary School. THAT might pose a little problem.

Ashlynn's 1st

From this...



to this...


On Saturday my babe hit her first major milestone! I love the one year mark. Walking, done with nursing, cow's milk, first words...the amount of change and growth in this first year is amazing and it makes me reflect back to the tiny thing she was not too long ago. But I have to admit...

When I was growing up, I used to think it was so funny how sentimental my mom would get on each of our birthdays. She would reminisce about being in labor, the delivery, etc. As a kid you just don't understand what a huge deal it is to a mom to celebrate the birth and life she gave and all the experiences and emotions it brings.

I will never forget the details of what happened a year ago. The anxiety I faced about trying for a VBAC. Labor pains starting at 4am. Then, at the hospital, trying to cope with labor pains on half of my body because the epidural got dislodged. The burning pain across my previous incision. Then how Ashlynn got stuck, then into the OR again and how we waited and waited to hear her breathe and cry. So scary. And I am so grateful that Ashlynn made it here safely. That night I lay in my hospital bed with my little boo, feeling immense peace and relief and just enjoying being taken care of by the docs and nurses.

Ashlynn is my little dream child (which is what her name means) and Kraig, Mikayla and I have had a great time enjoying her developing and growing into a cherubic little toddler. She has been so healthy and HAPPY and silly. She has been walking across the room with increasing confidence and steadiness during the last 2 weeks, and grinning the whole time.

She has a huge appetite and she especially goes crazy for BaNaNaS. This is what happens when I give her banana slices:

1. She flaps her arms and makes monkey noises.
2. She shoves them in her mouth as fast as possible.
3. She smears some in her hair for good measure.
4. She looks to me for more, and sometimes signs the 'more' sign. But usually more monkey noises suffice.

('More, mama!')

So for her 1st, I threw her a banana party. I made banana cake with cream cheese frosting. And you can't have bananas without monkeys, right?

And we opened presents from the cousins. She got a cool puzzle, rubber duckies, a pop-up toy, and a retro-style rotary dial toy telephone.



And, I know it's silly, but we had a 'best-dressed banana' competition. Here are the entries:

It was nice having family here to celebrate. We missed the Cramer side of course (wish we lived closer) and the rest of the Williamsons who live outside of Utah. Glad we could skype/facebook with some of you to share the craziness! We had quite the loud, laughing, busy, screaming, running, big-family party!

Ashlynn's first Words

Here's my little cherubic girl showing off her new favorite word. This was a few weeks ago and she says it all the time now, especially when she wants to get our attention. She's already taken her first steps, too! She'll be 11 months in about a week. Life has sure been busier with our Ashlynn joining our family, and added lots more giggling and silliness (if that was possible). We sure love this little gal!

Answers

Everyone has on-going unanswered questions or concerns about stuff, right?

I've had a little list piling up in my brain for several months. Sometimes, when my brain is on overdrive and I can't shut it off to go to sleep at night (for no apparent reason...other than that bowl of ice cream that I ate that could be giving me a sugar high) I think about STUFF. Like:

How am I going to get Mikayla to try new foods and learn how to EAT and get out of the 1st %tile for her weight?

Will I EVER find a reputable, fair-priced, licenced, polite, quality contractor to finish our basement that has now been in the works for a year and a half? ( I must've gone through 7 contractors now, researching them, getting quotes, negotiating, etc.)

Who should teach ______ primary class? How long till _______ is going to be called as a teacher? etc. etc. (I am in charge of the teachers for Primary and lately it has been very high-maintenance)

What should I do with this mop on my head known as hair?

How in the world am I going to stay on top of all the housework? (I swear, it gets messier faster when your living space is only 1000 square feet) And HOW did all those crumbs appear on the floor? Didn't I just sweep?
Note: My kitchen floor is much messier now that my 8 month old will enthusiastically try to stuff any table food in her mouth - a sharp contrast from her older sis, who as a baby refused anything that wasn't smooth - so I usually happily sweep up the mess. Usually.

I admit, these concerns are pretty lightweight compared to lots of peoples' lives. It just wears on me when I don't find solutions, month after month. And after lots of prayers and brainstorming.

Well, recently I've been excited and relieved because I am finally getting some ANSWERS! I am learning I just gotta be patient. Have faith. Keep working at it. And s-l-o-w-l-y, ever so slowly, solutions are coming.

And I have to keep a good perspective. I've accepted the reality that the house probably won't be as neat or as clean as I like it as long as I have kids in the house. I know that my job with finding primary subs is going to be continuous (until they release me or I move out of the ward).
And, maybe I'll just be the lady who wears a ponytail all the time because she can't style her hair worth beans. Maybe I'll be 75 with a ponytail. (Hmmm....actually don't ladies that age go to the hair salon once a week and get it 'done' and then just wear a shower cap and never have to do it? That sounds good to me....)

On a more serious note, I know that Heavenly Father is listening to me. I should probably pray more than I do. But when I do have a heartfelt talk with him, He listens. And I think sometimes He must chuckle at my concerns, but I know that He cares, because it matters to ME.

We went to California a few weeks ago. We go every year for the Cramer family beach party. And whadayaknow, the day before we were supposed to leave, Mikayla starts acting grumpy and whines about how she's gonna throw up. I knew by the way she was acting that she had come down with something, but she is rather dramatic when it comes to illness so I thought it might just be a quick little bug that's been going around our neighborhood.

So we decided to go anyway. I was kind of anxious about it (I could just picture us driving along in the barf-covered car with two screaming kids). WEll, the drive there went okay, other than the fact that Mikayla refused to eat anything and only accepted drinks. But on Friday night, the night before beach day, she had - we ALL had - an awful night. She was thrashing about in her sleep, waking up, crawling along the floor crying, refusing to be put back in her little bed or our bed, etc. Note:Somewhere in there I figured out that what she meant by 'I need to throw up' was 'I have a sore throat' - she just didn't know the right phrase.

Anyway, Kraig and I spent a lot of time awake that night. And, we later admitted to each other, a lot of time praying. We just wanted to have a nice time at the beach with all the family. We'd come far for just a short trip. We don't see the Cramer side much, and they're so welcoming and fun. We wanted Mikayla to feel better and have a good time with her cousins.

In the morning we let her sleep in. She slept till about 10:30. I was still expecting her to be a grouch since she didn't even get her full amount of sleep and then not feeling well to boot. But, miraculously, she woke up, happy, pleasant, bright. She ate food! She started running around the house with her cousins! And we ended up having a fabulous time at the beach. Mikayla was completely content the entire day, even late into the night. In our mind, that was a miracle and an answer to our prayers. And the stormy weather cleared up and the sun came out. That was a pleasant surprise too.

I guess what I'm saying is, sometimes answers to our prayers come the next day. And sometimes they come after months, or even YEARS.
But they come. :)

Lightning Party

I almost didn't do a friend party for Mikayla because she's been timid in big groups lately, but I'm so glad we did! We had a great time, and Mikayla was in heaven! She finally got her Lightning McQueen Party.
We started off by riding on the 'racetrack' we made. We live at the end of our street and we just okayed it with our neighbors accross the way and blocked off the road. They loved it!

All the racers

Playing 'Pass the Parcel'. You pass the present and when the music stops, you can unwrap one layer to get a prize (a classic British party game).

Mikayla showing me her bracelet she won in the 'Pass the Parcel' game

All the kids showing off their bracelets

Playing 'Don't let Frank catch you' tag game that Kraig came up with

Lined up just before they take off racing to the other side of the yard

I was so pleased that the cake turned out seeing as I'm not a great baker, but I do enjoy getting creative with kids' cakes. The fence is made out of cinnamon sticks and pretzels tied together with string. The grass is coconut died green. And I searched all over to find just the right kind of tractors. For 3 months, Mikayla has requested a 'Lightning McQueen Cake' so I wanted to make sure she loved it. When I showed it to her, the reaction was "OH MY GOODNESS!" which made it so worth the effort.

Present time! Mikayla loved all of the gifts, but after opening them she just wanted to keep playing with all her friends. They went and rode bikes again while they waited for their parents to come. I think that's what made the party so happy for her - to have her favorite little people over to celebrate.

We waited till all of the kids had gone home to give her our present, a long awaited for kitchen! We knew that once we showed her this she wouldn't be interested in much else.

I think her new obsession is going to be princess stuff. She only recenlty saw Cinderella and has been asking for a ball gown ever since. Well, we just gave her her Halloween costume a few months early. Though thankfully she doesn't HAVE to wear it every day, she has asked to wear it to bed and to church.