Anniversary Cruise

 I'm still playing catch up and today, I wanted to report in on the cruise Jeremy and I just went on for our 20th anniversary. It was a magical trip in every sense of the word, I'm fairly certain it was the best vacation I have ever had, but don't tell the kids that we had so much fun without them. We have been home for a week and already the details are slipping away so I will try my best to get it down before I forget even more.

The trip got off to a bit of a rough start with a very delayed flight. We were supposed to leave here at 11pm and fly overnight to Boston. Unfortunately, our flight was very delayed. We didn't end up leaving PDX until 1:30am. We then had a VERY tight timeline for catching our connecting flight in Boston. It was tight enough that once the plane landed the flight crew asked everyone to stay put to allow those of us trying to make our connection to San Juan to get off the plane first. We made our way to the front of the plane, but unfortunately the airport crew had an extremely difficult time attaching the gangway so that we could deplane. Once we were finally allowed off, we had to sprint to our next gate (thankfully only a few gates down) where we found a fully boarded plane waiting for us. The second flight was uneventful and we finally made it to Puerto Rico.

The first day is Puerto Rico is a bit of a blur. We had mostly been awake for 36 hours. We took an Uber from the airport and the driver ended up not actually dropping us at our hotel. He told us we were there, but when we got out, we were not. We had to drag our luggage about a 1/4 mile to the hotel, which would have been more fun had the roads not been rough brick/cobblestone. We got settled into our hotel, found some food, and did a little shopping/walking around. It started to rain that evening and we were beyond exhausted so we ended up going to bed before 9, which was really crazy considering that would have been 6pm our body time.

The next morning we were recharged and ready to spend the day exploring San Juan, since we didn't have to be to the ship until 3pm. We spent much of the day wandering around old San Juan, ducking into shops with AC whenever possible. We visited an old military castle/fortress, Castillo San Cristobal, which was not only really interesting, but gave us incredible views, including our first peak at our ship. We found an amazing little hole in the wall place to eat and had empanadas, fish and shrimp tacos, and traditional Puerto Rican beans and rice. Eventually, we made it to our ship and were on our way.

Our first morning of the cruise, we awoke in St. Thomas, USVI. We had heard that St. Thomas is very touristy and not the best of the Virgin Islands, so we had planned to immediately head across the island and take a ferry to St. John. We had to take our life into our own hands just a little with a taxi driver who thought he was a race car driver in order to make it to the ferry, but in the end it was worth it. We took the ferry to St. John and then another taxi to Maho beach. St. John as a whole is incredibly beautiful, most of it is a state park. At Maho, we found an incredible beach that is designated a sea turtle sanctuary. We snorkeled around and saw sea turtles for the first time. Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay as long as we would have wanted because we knew the ship was two taxi rides and a ferry away and the last thing we wanted to do was miss the ship on the very first day. We did make it back though and were rewarded with our very first towel animal. We ended the night with formal night on the ship.

Day 2 was our anniversary and it found us in St. Croix. This was the only day we didn't really have a plan for, but it ended up being magical. The beach at the port is fantastic, so we didn't have to take a taxi. We spent the day snorkeling and spent probably a good two hours following a couple of sea turtles around. We also saw some amazing fish and huge starfish. Since we were so close to the ship, we didn't have to worry about missing it and even were able to walk back and have lunch mid-day. The only downside was that we spent so much time in the water that we both got pretty sunburned without realizing it.

The next day was St. Maarten/St Martin. The island is split and half owned by the Dutch and half by France. We spent less time in the water this day, which was welcome as we were babying our sunburns. Instead we took a island tour and got to see both the French and Dutch sides of the island and learned all about the history of the island. We stopped at several prominent sites throughout the island, including an iguana farm. Our last stop was at Maho beach (not the Maho beach on St. John). Maho is famous because the airport is right next to the beach so the planes fly right over your head as they land. It was unreal! We also got to watch a plane take off. That was an adventure because we didn't realize how strong the jet stream would be off the back of the plane. Our hats immediately blew off and mine ended up in the ocean. It was difficult to even stay on your feet.

The second to last stop was Antigua. This was the only island where we had booked an excursion through our cruise company. We had planned to snorkel with the stingrays. This ended up being way more amazing than I had anticipated. We started with a bus ride through the island. We got to learn about the island along the way. We then took a boat ride out to "stingray city". We got off the boat in the middle of the ocean. It was a shallow area at least a mile from land on any side. The stingrays could best be compared to cats, who like to come up and rub against you. They were very eager to let you touch them and we even held a few. It was something I never thought I would experience. Antigua was also the only place we saw jellyfish.

Our last island was Barbados. He we look a taxi to Carlisle Bay. We spent the day at a resort there. They had an ocean slide, ocean trampoline, and rope swing. We also were able to take a boat ride out to a shipwreck and snorkeled around the shipwreck. I was not  sure I wanted to get back on the boat because I knew the fun was coming to an end. At least we came back to a towel surprise.

All good things must come to an end. And so it was that we spent the last day of the cruise at sea and then started our journey home. The only good thing was at the end of it all, we were rewarded with getting to see our kids again. That made it worth it to come back to real life.

 

Camp

 It's been a while and I have an overwhelming amount to catch up on. Lets start where we left off. Two weeks ago was camp week. Merrick went to FSY, CC went to girls camp, and Elsie got to have special time at home with mom and dad.

For the third year in a row, Merrick headed off to Western Oregon University for FSY. He had a good group go with him; Quincy, Colvin, Arthur Salo, Kalani, and Quinn Ulicny as his roommate again. His report on the ladies was less glowing, but he still had a great time. Apparently too good of a time, since we got a call Friday night that he had been involved in some locker room hijinks that got a bit out of hand. Thankfully, he didn't get kicked out since, when they called, we were sitting in the airport on our way to San Juan (more on that next time).

While Merrick was at FSY, CC went to girls camp for the first time. She also had a great time. Unfortunately, with her wrist, she couldn't go swimming, but was still able to participate in most of the activities. Jeremy got to go down on Tuesday night for Bishop's night and, on Wednesday, Becca went down to help with a craft so they both were able to check on her and her wrist. This is also how we found out that they didn't have mattresses in their cabins and CC was just sleeping on her sleeping bag on plywood. Thankfully, we were able to send a mattress pad down with Becca. She came home exhausted, but happy.

While Merrick and CC were away, Elsie got to live her best life at home. She played with Isabel, had a playdate with a friend, went to the park, went to the movies, had a special dinner date with mom, and went mini golfing. I know she missed her siblings, but she made the best of it.

The week of camps rolled right into Jeremy and my week away for our anniversary trip. That deserves a post of its own, so more on that next time. 

Never a Dull Moment

Next week 2 of my 3 children will be away at camp for the majority of the week. Right on the heels of that, Jeremy and I will leave for our anniversary cruise and just days after we get back, I head back to work. This past week, I have been feeling the pressure of getting the kids ready for their camps, prepping for my trip, and starting with back to school shopping so I'm not super behind the 8 ball when I get back.

In addition to all the prep work of coming events, we had two doctor's appointments for CC this week as we continue to work through her health challenges and it wouldn't be summer if we didn't also sneak in a little fun.

This week, some of the fun came in the from of a church Pioneer Day picnic. They had a bike parade and Elsie enjoyed decorating her bike and leading the parade.

We also went to the pool this week and met one of Elsie's friends for some extra fun.

Yesterday, I planned to wrap up the week by taking Elsie to a birthday party while the two older kids packed for camp. Well, things didn't quite go as planned. Elsie's friend's mom texted in the morning that she and her husband were in the hospital and her husband was headed for an emergency appendectomy, but the party would still go on with the help of her mom and sister. I told her I would stay and help...welp..."the best laid plans of mice and men".

As I was walking into the party with Elsie, I got a call from Jeremy. He said Carrigan had cut her wrist and he was not sure if she needed stitches. She was trying to catch a glass as it fell out of the cupboard. Unfortunately, the glass hit the counter and shattered before her wrist made contact. After a quick FaceTime, we both decided very quickly that she did in fact need stitches. He headed in with her, with Merrick sitting in the back holding pressure on her arm, while I reserved their spot in line and made alternate arrangements for Elsie. I then headed their way.

After several hours and 3 stitches, we were on our way home. Unfortunately, that means that she is a bit limited in some of the activities she can do at camp. We are incredibly grateful her injury wasn't worse. It very easily could have been. 

Summer Days

This summer is flying by. I have things that I was hoping to accomplish this summer, but they never seem to get done. The days go by in a blur, but I do try and make sure we get something fun in for the kids on most days. Here is some of this week's fun. We went to the arcade, CC went out with some friends, we went to a party in the park put on by our friend's company, and kept cool in the sprinklers, pool and river. Not pictured here are the dozens of hours spent at the baseball field this week. Today is the last day of the state tournament though, so soon baseball season will be behind us.

We continue to battle with Carrigan not feeling well multiple days of the week, so we try and make the most of the days she does feel good. We have a functional lung test this week and are hoping for answers or at least a path forward.

Market and More

 It has been a crazy week! On Monday, I was going about my normal business, when I found out about an opportunity to go to pick cherries on Tuesday. It had to be Tuesday, because they were likely cutting down all the trees on Wednesday to make room for more pears. Also, the orchard was an hour and a half away in Hood River. I quickly rearranged my schedule and made plans to go out the next day.

On Tuesday morning, Elsie and I headed out with a guy from our church to go pick. It was a long day of driving and picking in the sun. We ended up with probably close to 100lbs of the most beautiful cherries. We also got to experience some amazing views along the way.  We got home on Tuesday afternoon. I was exhausted and unsure what to do next in dealing with all the cherries. I had a baseball game to go to and then I found out that Carrigan got approved to have a booth at the farmer's market in town then next day.

To say that the next 36 hours was a whirlwind would be an understatement. We had 2 baseball games, one over an hour away from our house. I was running all over town to collect things CC still needed to get ready for the market. We had to be at the market super early to get set up and make sure we had everything we need since it was her first one. We rolled right from that into the market itself.

The market was an overall success. We had several people we know come by and support her. She also got really positive feedback from those who came by. She ended up making $205, although she poured most of that into supplies for this week's market.

Crunch time didn't end with the market. When I got home, the pitter I had ordered had finally come so once the girls went to bed, Jeremy and I spent an hour and a half processing cherries. We were a well oiled machine and pitted and prepped for freezing what would end up being just under 8 gallon sized bags worth of cherries.

With the market and the cherries behind us, I could finally finish preparing for my Stake Primary Activity on Saturday. We had a primary "Pioneer Trek to the Temple". We started at the stake center and played pioneer games, made butter, and made candles. We then walked to the Temple and participated in challenges and obstacles along the way.

While I was at my activity, Jeremy took the girls to the West Linn Old Time parade. CC was not feeling well, but was a good sport to be out there so that Elsie was not too shy to go out and grab candy.

I try to tell myself that someday life will slow down and I will miss these times, but right now, I just want to take a nap.

4th of July 2025

Summer rolls on and this week we were able to celebrate the 4th of July. This year all festivities, and most of the week for that matter, revolved around baseball. In addition to 4th of July, this week was also the WL Big Bang Baseball Tournament. This meant that we not only had a game everyday, but we also had to volunteer to do admissions, snack shack, and the scoreboard. On top of that, Merrick started practicing with his new basketball club team. We don't seem to have any shortage of things to keep us busy this summer.

As for the 4th, we continued most of the traditions we have developed over the last couple years. We started the day at the river paddleboarding. We like to get there pretty early so we can get parking and can be wrapping up by the time its getting really crowded. The river didn't disappoint this year. It was an overcast day and on the cooler side, but the water was warm enough and it didn't feel cold out on the water.

When we all had our fill at the river, we headed home for a late lunch and to get ready for some baseball. I'm not sure spending hours at a baseball game is really how I wanted to spend my holiday, but there is something very American about it. In any case, that's where we were. Unfortunately, we did not pull out the win.

After the game, we grabbed some pizza for dinner and headed out to watch fireworks. Merrick went out with Colvin. They rode scooters and chased fireworks around Pete's Mountain. As for the rest of us, like last year, we went down to the Cedaroak boat ramp and went down onto the dock to watch the fireworks. There were many houses along the river putting on displays. We would just turn ourselves in whichever direction fireworks were going off at the moment. Eventually, the girls got too tired, and even though the fireworks were still going strong, we headed home.

It was a fun-filled 4th, not one soon to be forgotten.