For those of you who want to see more pictures...click below!
Link to our Cruise Pictures
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Cruise Highlights--Christmas 2010
Justin and I have returned from our wonderful, relaxing, and beautiful cruise to Progresso and Cozumel, Mexico. We had a fabulous time and were so glad for the week of time to be together. Here's a few highlights from each day (and warning, this is a LONG post...I'm kind of wordy :)!!):
Day 1/Monday: We drove to Galveston and found our ship :). Justin dropped me and the bags off and I patiently waited in the COLD and WINDY weather for him to drop off the car and ride the shuttle back. When he finally arrived we began the boarding process. We were quite excited to be using our passports for the first time! It was an interesting process to board and get our room key/on board credit cards, but it really didn't take too long. Of course they snagged us to pose for an embarkation picture (which I thought was lame since we really looked pretty awful and tired after a long car ride to get to Galveston). Finally, we were headed to the boat, I mean ship, as Justin constantly reminded me throughout the trip, it's a ship, not a boat. We explored the ship, got some yummy lunch (and fat free frozen yogurt--one of my favorite things about the trip...fat free frozen yogurt machine available 24/7!) After lunch we were able to get to our "stateroom" and were pleasantly surprised that it was a little bigger than we expected. We got settled in, were happy when all our luggage was delivered, and then got ready for our big safety demonstration. We had to gather at our "Muster" station, which Justin had fun calling our "Mustard" station. We got a lovely safety talk and then got to go outside to our safety boat area. The good thing about this was it was just as we were leaving port, so we were able to wave goodbye to Galveston. After our safety briefing was complete, we went up to the top deck and watched Galveston slip into the distance...our cruise had begun!!! We had the early seating for dinner, so soon we were off to our room to change and get ready for our first awesome dinner experience. At first, we thought we might have a whole table to ourselves, but our table-mates eventually arrived. Gary and Trina were wonderful people from Tyler, TX and we had a great time chatting with them each night. We were in awe of the food (and were appreciative of the nice, small portions, since everything was super rich and delicious!) and even enjoyed dessert (those of you who know me well know that it has to be a really special occasion for me to indulge in dessert!). After dinner, we changed back into comfortable clothes and then enjoyed the first evening show. It introduced us to the Ecstasy dancers (the very scantily clad dancers, I might add), the Ecstasy singers, and the ship comedians. The comedians were the best part, and we were eager to hear more from them on Tuesday! All in all, a great first day at sea!
After boarding the boat, waiting to depart
Ready for dinner on elegant night
Our towel animal, night 2
Day 3/Wednesday--Progresso, Mexico!! This was an exciting day in Progresso! We were up early enough to go up to the top decks and watch as we pulled into port. Progresso has one of the longest (or maybe the longest??) piers in the world, at over 4 miles long. We had chosen to do the excursion to the Uxmal Ruins. It was between that and the Chitzen-Itza Ruins (which are more famous), but we went with the Uxmal Ruins because they still let you climb on them...and we wanted to climb! We met up with our group and guide and boarded our bus (the bus was advertised to have a bathroom on board...the "bathroom" was basically a hole in the middle of the bus that you could use in emergencies....luckily I had no emergencies!). Our guide, "Temo", was awesome and hilarious and told us lots of good history and funny stories on our 1.5 hour ride to the ruins. Once at the ruins, Temo gave us a guided tour for about an hour or so, which was very interesting. The ruins were just so cool to see, and to know that they were built 2000 BC was INCREDIBLE! Wow! Then, we had about 45 minutes to climb the pyramid and walk around on our own. Justin and I went straight for the pyramid and had a great time climbing the 60 or so steps to the top. It gave us a fantastic view, and we were glad we made the trek up. Then, we walked around and spotted a few cool iguanas, and even watched a little one eat up all the petals that had fallen off a nearby tree. We both thought they ate insects, so watching it gobble up flowers was pretty cool. To end our tour, Justin sampled a local beer and I enjoyed a "Coca Cola Light" (aka Diet Coke). Just before leaving I was able to snag us an Uxmal magnet to join our refrigerator collection at home! We then enjoyed a quieter ride back to the port, as Temo gave us "Siesta" time. It was an awesome excursion and Justin and I were so happy we were able to see the ruins and experience that part of Mexico! Upon arriving back we only had a few minutes to look around the shops, then it was time to get back on the ship. We rested for awhile and then it was time for another awesome dinner! After dinner, there was not much going on except some game shows and karoke. I was exhausted, so we decided to turn in early since we knew we had a big day in Cozumel ahead of us!
Arriving in Progresso...windy, eh?
Sunrise while arriving in Progresso
At the ruins, the largest pyramid is behind us
View of the largest pyramid, from the pyramid we climbed
Day 4/Thursday--Cozumel, Mexico!! This was the day I was most excited about! In Cozumel, we picked the Clear Kayaking/Snorkeling adventure and I was super excited to try both for the first time! Luckily the weather was beautiful, and it was warm enough that I did not freeze while snorkeling! After meeting up with our guide, we were put into two taxi vans to head over to the Chankaoob (sp?) National Park. They have kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, tours, and swimming with dolphins at this park. Our guide, "Berto" and his cousin (can't remember his name) led the way to the Clear Kayaking portion of the morning. Unfortunately, it was quite windy so we could not kayak in the normal area (where there's lots of fish), so we really did not see much except water and rocks through our clear kayak. This was a bit disappointing, but it was still a good workout, and made me feel better about the pizza and dessert I'd been indulging in :). After kayaking we got ready to snorkel! Berto led us around the snorkeling area and pointed out cool things like an underwater statue, a yellow sting ray, and rainbow fish. It was SO COOL. I believe snorkeling has to be in my top five favorite things I've ever done in my entire life. Both Justin and I had underwater cameras, so we are hoping that at least some of our pictures turned out! After snorkeling we had a little time to sit on the beach chairs, dry off, and enjoy a coca cola light (this time, I ordered it correctly!). Then, it was back to the taxis and back to port. The port area had tons of shops, and Justin was a great husband and walked around all of them with me. This was good and bad. Good because it was fun to spend time with him, bad because he talked me out of almost everything I wanted to buy (though, in his mind I'm sure this was good, as it saved $$ :)!). Justin enjoyed another local beer (I'm sure this helped the shopping process) and then we got back on the ship in time for a late lunch. I had waited all week to try the chicken tenders, and felt that today was the perfect day since I'd burned so many calories kayaking and snorkeling. They were fried deliciousness. Justin commented that he had never seen me eat chicken tenders before, and I replied that was probably because I hadn't eaten them in at least 7 or 8 years! Man, they sure tasted good!! We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing on the "Serenity" (aka Adults Only/Quiet) deck and then got ready for dinner. After dinner, once again, there was not a whole lot going on, and we were tired, so we called it a night.
Arriving to the port in Cozumel
Ready for dinner, night 4
Our cute towel crab, night 4
Day 5/Friday--Christmas Eve at Sea--Today was our final full day at sea...and it was a rough one. We woke up to a rocky cabin and I was really feeling the crazy motion of the boat. However, I decided I would be fine and I would go work out with Justin. This, in hind sight, was not the best idea. Walking on a treadmill, on a very "sway-y" boat, is just weird and does not help someone with motion sickness :). After walking for awhile, and then attempting to lift some weights, I told Justin I had to get out of there. We returned to our cabin, which was even more sway-y than the gym, and I tried to settle my stomach. After awhile, we moved up to the Serenity deck to have some breakfast. This, thankfully, was a GREAT place to be on the ship. It was less sway-y, and they have awesome padded lounge chairs on this deck. We stayed there until it was time for the Newlywed/Marrieds game. We'd heard this was a very funny show, so we wanted to check it out. It was HILARIOUS. The married for a "very long time" couple (who I believe had been married for 54 years) were crazy and super funny. However, the best part was when the game was over and the cruise director told us about the funniest/stupidest things ever said by actual cruisers. He talked for at least 30 minutes, and we were all rolling the whole time. The only bad part of this was the show lounge was not quite as still as the Serenity deck, so my motion sickness was re-appearing. Luckily, we soon returned to the Serenity deck and spent the entire afternoon relaxing in the sun. It was a beautiful and warm day, so it was a great day to relax on the deck. At 4pm, they had a Christmas carol sing-a-long, which I was really happy about, since it was the one point in the day that it actually felt like Christmas! We then were treated to a quick holiday show featuring the ship dancers, singers, and the kids on the ship who had been going to Camp Carnival all week. The kids were SO cute! Then, we headed to our cabin to prepare for our final dinner, Christmas Eve dinner. We enjoyed one final dinner with our new friends Gary and Trina and then stayed up late for another night of the comedians and the "Dream Voyage" show done by the Ecstasy dancers and singers. Definitely not the Christmas Eve I'm used to, but we did have fun and it was a great last night of the cruise.
Hanging on the Serenity Deck...ahhhhhh
Our waiter, Genner, on the far left, doing the evening dance with the other waiters, they had choreographed moves and everything!
Day 6/Saturday--Christmas Day--Back to Galveston--It was hard to believe our cruise was over! However, as I told Justin, I think the 5-day cruise was just the right length, because I was actually ready to be back on land (possibly because Friday was such a rough day at sea). We disembarked around 10:30 and made it through customs and everything fairly quickly. We were quite impressed with the efficiency of the whole process. Then we headed to our hotel in Galveston where we would spend a relaxing Christmas day. Luckily they had a room ready for us, so we did not have to wait around in the lounge. We then ventured out and discovered Randall's was open (good for us, but kind of sad for the workers!). We got ourselves some Christmas dinner: sushi, crackers, hummus, cheese, and chex mix :). It was quite a yummy and eclectic Christmas meal! We headed back to our hotel where we enjoyed the cable, the comfy bed, and our Christmas meal. We were glad we'd made the decision to stay in Galveston that day and not head home quite yet. However, Sunday morning, it was time to head back to reality. We arrived back home to our very excited dogs and began the process of unpacking and photo uploading. Our dogs were quite well taken care of while we were gone; however, it was pretty cute to have them follow us around all day long as if to say "you aren't leaving again--are you???". We sure do love our furry children :)!
Well, that wraps up this super long post, if you were able to make it this far :). We are so thankful to have had this vacation together and are happy to share some of our memories with you. This week we are looking forward to doing some things around the house, visiting with some friends, and having my parents and sister come for a quick visit. It will sure be nice to see my family since we did miss Christmas in Nebraska with them!
We hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and wish you a very Happy New Year!!
Day 1/Monday: We drove to Galveston and found our ship :). Justin dropped me and the bags off and I patiently waited in the COLD and WINDY weather for him to drop off the car and ride the shuttle back. When he finally arrived we began the boarding process. We were quite excited to be using our passports for the first time! It was an interesting process to board and get our room key/on board credit cards, but it really didn't take too long. Of course they snagged us to pose for an embarkation picture (which I thought was lame since we really looked pretty awful and tired after a long car ride to get to Galveston). Finally, we were headed to the boat, I mean ship, as Justin constantly reminded me throughout the trip, it's a ship, not a boat. We explored the ship, got some yummy lunch (and fat free frozen yogurt--one of my favorite things about the trip...fat free frozen yogurt machine available 24/7!) After lunch we were able to get to our "stateroom" and were pleasantly surprised that it was a little bigger than we expected. We got settled in, were happy when all our luggage was delivered, and then got ready for our big safety demonstration. We had to gather at our "Muster" station, which Justin had fun calling our "Mustard" station. We got a lovely safety talk and then got to go outside to our safety boat area. The good thing about this was it was just as we were leaving port, so we were able to wave goodbye to Galveston. After our safety briefing was complete, we went up to the top deck and watched Galveston slip into the distance...our cruise had begun!!! We had the early seating for dinner, so soon we were off to our room to change and get ready for our first awesome dinner experience. At first, we thought we might have a whole table to ourselves, but our table-mates eventually arrived. Gary and Trina were wonderful people from Tyler, TX and we had a great time chatting with them each night. We were in awe of the food (and were appreciative of the nice, small portions, since everything was super rich and delicious!) and even enjoyed dessert (those of you who know me well know that it has to be a really special occasion for me to indulge in dessert!). After dinner, we changed back into comfortable clothes and then enjoyed the first evening show. It introduced us to the Ecstasy dancers (the very scantily clad dancers, I might add), the Ecstasy singers, and the ship comedians. The comedians were the best part, and we were eager to hear more from them on Tuesday! All in all, a great first day at sea!
After boarding the boat, waiting to depart
Ready for our dinner, night 1
Day 2/Tuesday: A day at sea. Ahhh.... This was a very relaxing day in which we basically did five things: worked out (yes, we are those people who work out while on a cruise), sat and read, ate, took a nap, and enjoyed the comedians. It was not especially warm this day, so we did not sit outside for very long, but we still enjoyed the crisp ocean air and the fact that all you could see was ocean and more ocean. It was pretty cool. This evening was "elegant" evening, so I was pretty excited to wear one of my favorite dresses!! They also had tons of portrait areas set up, so Justin and I posed at a few of them, hoping to get a good picture. One of them on the staircase turned out really good, so we'll be scanning that and I'll upload it later. The meal this evening was the BEST of any night of the cruise as well, with Justin and I both enjoying lobster tail and grilled shrimp (yummmm....). After dinner we decided to skip the "Country Music Spectacular" by the Ecstasy dancers and singers and instead enjoyed the two comedians on the ship. They were very funny, and well worth staying up late for!
Ready for dinner on elegant night
Our towel animal, night 2
Day 3/Wednesday--Progresso, Mexico!! This was an exciting day in Progresso! We were up early enough to go up to the top decks and watch as we pulled into port. Progresso has one of the longest (or maybe the longest??) piers in the world, at over 4 miles long. We had chosen to do the excursion to the Uxmal Ruins. It was between that and the Chitzen-Itza Ruins (which are more famous), but we went with the Uxmal Ruins because they still let you climb on them...and we wanted to climb! We met up with our group and guide and boarded our bus (the bus was advertised to have a bathroom on board...the "bathroom" was basically a hole in the middle of the bus that you could use in emergencies....luckily I had no emergencies!). Our guide, "Temo", was awesome and hilarious and told us lots of good history and funny stories on our 1.5 hour ride to the ruins. Once at the ruins, Temo gave us a guided tour for about an hour or so, which was very interesting. The ruins were just so cool to see, and to know that they were built 2000 BC was INCREDIBLE! Wow! Then, we had about 45 minutes to climb the pyramid and walk around on our own. Justin and I went straight for the pyramid and had a great time climbing the 60 or so steps to the top. It gave us a fantastic view, and we were glad we made the trek up. Then, we walked around and spotted a few cool iguanas, and even watched a little one eat up all the petals that had fallen off a nearby tree. We both thought they ate insects, so watching it gobble up flowers was pretty cool. To end our tour, Justin sampled a local beer and I enjoyed a "Coca Cola Light" (aka Diet Coke). Just before leaving I was able to snag us an Uxmal magnet to join our refrigerator collection at home! We then enjoyed a quieter ride back to the port, as Temo gave us "Siesta" time. It was an awesome excursion and Justin and I were so happy we were able to see the ruins and experience that part of Mexico! Upon arriving back we only had a few minutes to look around the shops, then it was time to get back on the ship. We rested for awhile and then it was time for another awesome dinner! After dinner, there was not much going on except some game shows and karoke. I was exhausted, so we decided to turn in early since we knew we had a big day in Cozumel ahead of us!
Arriving in Progresso...windy, eh?
Sunrise while arriving in Progresso
At the ruins, the largest pyramid is behind us
View of the largest pyramid, from the pyramid we climbed
Day 4/Thursday--Cozumel, Mexico!! This was the day I was most excited about! In Cozumel, we picked the Clear Kayaking/Snorkeling adventure and I was super excited to try both for the first time! Luckily the weather was beautiful, and it was warm enough that I did not freeze while snorkeling! After meeting up with our guide, we were put into two taxi vans to head over to the Chankaoob (sp?) National Park. They have kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, tours, and swimming with dolphins at this park. Our guide, "Berto" and his cousin (can't remember his name) led the way to the Clear Kayaking portion of the morning. Unfortunately, it was quite windy so we could not kayak in the normal area (where there's lots of fish), so we really did not see much except water and rocks through our clear kayak. This was a bit disappointing, but it was still a good workout, and made me feel better about the pizza and dessert I'd been indulging in :). After kayaking we got ready to snorkel! Berto led us around the snorkeling area and pointed out cool things like an underwater statue, a yellow sting ray, and rainbow fish. It was SO COOL. I believe snorkeling has to be in my top five favorite things I've ever done in my entire life. Both Justin and I had underwater cameras, so we are hoping that at least some of our pictures turned out! After snorkeling we had a little time to sit on the beach chairs, dry off, and enjoy a coca cola light (this time, I ordered it correctly!). Then, it was back to the taxis and back to port. The port area had tons of shops, and Justin was a great husband and walked around all of them with me. This was good and bad. Good because it was fun to spend time with him, bad because he talked me out of almost everything I wanted to buy (though, in his mind I'm sure this was good, as it saved $$ :)!). Justin enjoyed another local beer (I'm sure this helped the shopping process) and then we got back on the ship in time for a late lunch. I had waited all week to try the chicken tenders, and felt that today was the perfect day since I'd burned so many calories kayaking and snorkeling. They were fried deliciousness. Justin commented that he had never seen me eat chicken tenders before, and I replied that was probably because I hadn't eaten them in at least 7 or 8 years! Man, they sure tasted good!! We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing on the "Serenity" (aka Adults Only/Quiet) deck and then got ready for dinner. After dinner, once again, there was not a whole lot going on, and we were tired, so we called it a night.
Arriving to the port in Cozumel
Ready for dinner, night 4
Our cute towel crab, night 4
Day 5/Friday--Christmas Eve at Sea--Today was our final full day at sea...and it was a rough one. We woke up to a rocky cabin and I was really feeling the crazy motion of the boat. However, I decided I would be fine and I would go work out with Justin. This, in hind sight, was not the best idea. Walking on a treadmill, on a very "sway-y" boat, is just weird and does not help someone with motion sickness :). After walking for awhile, and then attempting to lift some weights, I told Justin I had to get out of there. We returned to our cabin, which was even more sway-y than the gym, and I tried to settle my stomach. After awhile, we moved up to the Serenity deck to have some breakfast. This, thankfully, was a GREAT place to be on the ship. It was less sway-y, and they have awesome padded lounge chairs on this deck. We stayed there until it was time for the Newlywed/Marrieds game. We'd heard this was a very funny show, so we wanted to check it out. It was HILARIOUS. The married for a "very long time" couple (who I believe had been married for 54 years) were crazy and super funny. However, the best part was when the game was over and the cruise director told us about the funniest/stupidest things ever said by actual cruisers. He talked for at least 30 minutes, and we were all rolling the whole time. The only bad part of this was the show lounge was not quite as still as the Serenity deck, so my motion sickness was re-appearing. Luckily, we soon returned to the Serenity deck and spent the entire afternoon relaxing in the sun. It was a beautiful and warm day, so it was a great day to relax on the deck. At 4pm, they had a Christmas carol sing-a-long, which I was really happy about, since it was the one point in the day that it actually felt like Christmas! We then were treated to a quick holiday show featuring the ship dancers, singers, and the kids on the ship who had been going to Camp Carnival all week. The kids were SO cute! Then, we headed to our cabin to prepare for our final dinner, Christmas Eve dinner. We enjoyed one final dinner with our new friends Gary and Trina and then stayed up late for another night of the comedians and the "Dream Voyage" show done by the Ecstasy dancers and singers. Definitely not the Christmas Eve I'm used to, but we did have fun and it was a great last night of the cruise.
Hanging on the Serenity Deck...ahhhhhh
Ready for Christmas Eve Dinner (do we look sun-kissed or what?)
Our waiter, Genner, on the far left, doing the evening dance with the other waiters, they had choreographed moves and everything!
Day 6/Saturday--Christmas Day--Back to Galveston--It was hard to believe our cruise was over! However, as I told Justin, I think the 5-day cruise was just the right length, because I was actually ready to be back on land (possibly because Friday was such a rough day at sea). We disembarked around 10:30 and made it through customs and everything fairly quickly. We were quite impressed with the efficiency of the whole process. Then we headed to our hotel in Galveston where we would spend a relaxing Christmas day. Luckily they had a room ready for us, so we did not have to wait around in the lounge. We then ventured out and discovered Randall's was open (good for us, but kind of sad for the workers!). We got ourselves some Christmas dinner: sushi, crackers, hummus, cheese, and chex mix :). It was quite a yummy and eclectic Christmas meal! We headed back to our hotel where we enjoyed the cable, the comfy bed, and our Christmas meal. We were glad we'd made the decision to stay in Galveston that day and not head home quite yet. However, Sunday morning, it was time to head back to reality. We arrived back home to our very excited dogs and began the process of unpacking and photo uploading. Our dogs were quite well taken care of while we were gone; however, it was pretty cute to have them follow us around all day long as if to say "you aren't leaving again--are you???". We sure do love our furry children :)!
Well, that wraps up this super long post, if you were able to make it this far :). We are so thankful to have had this vacation together and are happy to share some of our memories with you. This week we are looking forward to doing some things around the house, visiting with some friends, and having my parents and sister come for a quick visit. It will sure be nice to see my family since we did miss Christmas in Nebraska with them!
We hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and wish you a very Happy New Year!!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Countdown to Cruise Time--4 Days to Go!!!
This year for Christmas, Justin and I are doing something completely different--we're taking a cruise around the Western Caribbean! We are so looking forward to a whole week of just us together, enjoying the time to relax, lay in the sun, and kayak in a glass bottom boat!!! We haven't had a major vacation since our honeymoon, which crazily was almost five years ago, so we feel this vacation is long overdue =). This time of year is really the only time of year that we both can get a big block of time off from work, so though it's hard not to be spending the time with our extended family, we are going to love the special time together, just the two of us! We're sure to have loads of pictures and good stories to share when we return!
Before leaving though we have plenty going on: Christmas celebrations at work, Christmas celebrations with Justin's family, the Radio City Music Spectacular show (YAY--I get to see the Rockettes!), and delivering gifts to a family in need with our small group. Oh, and wrapping gifts, mailing gifts to NE, and finishing our Christmas cards. Looks like I'll have plenty to do to keep me busy until cruise time...hopefully I can squeeze in time to pack =).
We hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas, and I'll be posting about the cruise after our return!
Merry Christmas!!!
Before leaving though we have plenty going on: Christmas celebrations at work, Christmas celebrations with Justin's family, the Radio City Music Spectacular show (YAY--I get to see the Rockettes!), and delivering gifts to a family in need with our small group. Oh, and wrapping gifts, mailing gifts to NE, and finishing our Christmas cards. Looks like I'll have plenty to do to keep me busy until cruise time...hopefully I can squeeze in time to pack =).
We hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas, and I'll be posting about the cruise after our return!
Merry Christmas!!!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Thanksgiving 2010--Nebraska Fun!
This year for Thanksgiving, we traveled up to NE to spend the holiday with my family. It was Justin's first Thanksgiving with my family, and the first time I've been home for Thanksgiving since 2002!
We started our trek on Tuesday afternoon, thinking we would get up to Dallas in time for dinner with Justin and Katherine. Boy were we WRONG. It took us almost six hours (a trip that normally takes 3.5-4 hours) to get up to Dallas, which was an interesting start to our journey. Thankfully, the roads on Wednesday were much better and the four of us had a great ride up to NE.
We enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving meal, compliments of my wonderful chef of a mother. We all ate ourselves silly and then had a nice relaxing day watching football and napping. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family, we are so blessed!
On Friday, I got to do my annual black Friday shopping with my mom!!!!!! It was so great to have someone to brave the crowds with. Usually, I am all by myself, talking to my mom on my cell phone for much of the morning =). Of course, since we were traveling, I couldn't quite get all my shopping in, but I did get a nice start. I even had a nice surprise while in Younkers--my good friend Amy from HS was there with her brother. What a GREAT surprise! Usually I make an effort to try and get together with Amy and Rachael when I'm back in G.I., but with Thanksgiving being such a short holiday I didn't even mention to anyone that I would be there. I was so glad to see Amy and catch up for a few minutes! After the shopping fun, Justin, Justin, Katherine, my dad and I hopped in the car and headed to Lincoln for the NE vs. CO game. It was both Justin and Katherine's first NE home game experience, and it was awesome! The first half of the game gave us some nice sunshine and kept us warm, unfortunately, the sun went down in the second half and it got a little chilly for us Southerners...but we dug down to our Northern roots and survived =)! It was a great game and it was fun to share the experience with Justin and Katherine.
Yay! Onto the Big 12 Championship!
Justin and I having fun supporting NE (he wore "neutral" clothes, since he thinks he's still a Colorado fan...)
On Saturday we got the opportunity to help Reanna celebrate her birthday a couple of days early. It was fun to help her celebrate in person and we all enjoyed a few games of bowling and some great Mexican food at El Toro.
Mom and I having fun bowling
Mom and Dad
Happy Birthday Reanna!
Unfortunately, the holiday sped by way too quickly and on Sunday we had to pack up and start the looooooong drive home. It was sad to leave, especially knowing that this year we won't be there for Christmas, but we are thankful for the good times and good memories we made!
We started our trek on Tuesday afternoon, thinking we would get up to Dallas in time for dinner with Justin and Katherine. Boy were we WRONG. It took us almost six hours (a trip that normally takes 3.5-4 hours) to get up to Dallas, which was an interesting start to our journey. Thankfully, the roads on Wednesday were much better and the four of us had a great ride up to NE.
We enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving meal, compliments of my wonderful chef of a mother. We all ate ourselves silly and then had a nice relaxing day watching football and napping. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family, we are so blessed!
On Friday, I got to do my annual black Friday shopping with my mom!!!!!! It was so great to have someone to brave the crowds with. Usually, I am all by myself, talking to my mom on my cell phone for much of the morning =). Of course, since we were traveling, I couldn't quite get all my shopping in, but I did get a nice start. I even had a nice surprise while in Younkers--my good friend Amy from HS was there with her brother. What a GREAT surprise! Usually I make an effort to try and get together with Amy and Rachael when I'm back in G.I., but with Thanksgiving being such a short holiday I didn't even mention to anyone that I would be there. I was so glad to see Amy and catch up for a few minutes! After the shopping fun, Justin, Justin, Katherine, my dad and I hopped in the car and headed to Lincoln for the NE vs. CO game. It was both Justin and Katherine's first NE home game experience, and it was awesome! The first half of the game gave us some nice sunshine and kept us warm, unfortunately, the sun went down in the second half and it got a little chilly for us Southerners...but we dug down to our Northern roots and survived =)! It was a great game and it was fun to share the experience with Justin and Katherine.
Yay! Onto the Big 12 Championship!
Justin and I having fun supporting NE (he wore "neutral" clothes, since he thinks he's still a Colorado fan...)
On Saturday we got the opportunity to help Reanna celebrate her birthday a couple of days early. It was fun to help her celebrate in person and we all enjoyed a few games of bowling and some great Mexican food at El Toro.
Mom and I having fun bowling
Mom and Dad
Happy Birthday Reanna!
Unfortunately, the holiday sped by way too quickly and on Sunday we had to pack up and start the looooooong drive home. It was sad to leave, especially knowing that this year we won't be there for Christmas, but we are thankful for the good times and good memories we made!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Halvorsen/Schlafer Thanksgiving 2010
Yesterday we got to celebrate Thanksgiving a little early with the Halvorsen/Schlafer crew. We celebrated a holiday at Justin's parent's house for the first time since Abigail and Hailey were born over two years ago. They have a beautiful home in the country, and it was nice to be out there in the awesome TX weather we're having lately. I'm so thankful to have such great parent-in-laws and sister/brother-in-law to spend time with!
Here are some pictures from the day:
The Halvorsen/Schlafer Family Thanksgiving Photo
Me and cutie pie Hailey
Uncle Justin (aka "Ocean") goofing off with Hailey
Justin and I enjoying the swing in his parent's backyard
Here are some pictures from the day:
The Halvorsen/Schlafer Family Thanksgiving Photo
Me and cutie pie Hailey
Uncle Justin (aka "Ocean") goofing off with Hailey
Justin and I enjoying the swing in his parent's backyard
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Vote for My Teaching Idea--Help me Win an iPad!
Technology Tools for Assessment Teaching Idea
Hey All! If you haven't voted for my idea yet, please vote using the link above, and PLEASE share this with anyone and everyone you know who would be willing to help me out! The leader has over 700 votes...I'm in 12th with only 184...so a long way to go to get up at the top =)!!! THANKS!!!
Hey All! If you haven't voted for my idea yet, please vote using the link above, and PLEASE share this with anyone and everyone you know who would be willing to help me out! The leader has over 700 votes...I'm in 12th with only 184...so a long way to go to get up at the top =)!!! THANKS!!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Half Marathon-CHECK!
After finishing the race, back at the hotel--ready for a shower!
WOOHOO! Finished my very first half marathon today in 2:27 something...not sure on the official time yet and I forgot to stop my own watch when I was actually done. I'm just glad I made it in under 2.5 hours. Would have been probably a little better, but the 10 out of 13 miles of hilly terrain kind of kicked my butt...and I probably should have used my energy jelly beans, but I thought I was going along well...then ran out of steam a little bit with all the hills at the end. Lesson learned! Time to start training for #2...I think! I'm already looking at another possible race in Jan. or Feb. It's a GREAT time of year to run here in TX, so I think I'd like to keep on running! Never thought I'd consider myself a "runner", and I'm definitely no hard-core runner trying to be all super-fast and everything, but I'd definitely say I'm a regular old Joe kind of runner now!
Here are some pics from our time in New Braunfels on Friday and of before/after the race:
Me and my sweet medal, ready to head back to the hotel (Justin's water station was on the full marathon route, so he wasn't able to be there with me at the finish line =( ).
Before heading out the the race...do I look ready or what??
Me and Justin--a repeat of a photo we did on our New Year's trip to this same area
Sunday, October 17, 2010
T-Minus 6 days till the Race!
Well, my first 1/2 marathon is just SIX days away and I can hardly believe it. I never in a million years ever thought I would run a 1/2 marathon, nor anticipate actually enjoying it! Throughout the last 15 weeks I've actually begun to enjoy my runs (most days) and have even begun to think about what race I might sign up for next! It feels good to know that I was able to push myself to do something that I thought I would hate (and did hate for a little while) and now I enjoy it and am so glad I made myself do it. I'm still sad that Justin is not able to run the race with me, but he will be at a water station so he'll be able to cheer me on at a couple points during the race. I'll be sure to post some pictures once the race is over...especially because I already know I get a medal--how fun is that??
In other news, I've been quite busy this fall gearing up for some big fundraisers for my Florida Science Trip with my students. We'll be having a soup dinner and silent auction in November, so I'm gathering donations for the auction and trying to make sure we'll have enough soup to feed what will hopefully be a big crowd. It's going to be an amazing and fun trip, but it's sure going to be a lot of work to help the students raise the funds to go! I just keep thinking "you'll get to swim with dolphins, you'll get to go snorkeling, you'll get to see the Everglades" anytime I get overwhelmed with everything. If any of you out there have something you'd like to donate for the auction, or want to just donate to my students, be sure to let me know! We happily accept any kind of donation! These kids are GREAT and it's going to be such an awesome opportunity for them to learn science in a real-world context and setting.
Aside from that Justin and I are just keeping busy with all the normal things in life. I'll be heading to Minneapolis in a couple of weeks to do two presentations at the National Assoc. of Biology Teachers professional development conference. It will be a lot of fun, especially because I'll get to see some of my most favorite grad school buds AND I'll get to see my bestest friend since 2nd grade-Dawn, and I'll get to see one of my other best friends from gradeschool/high school-Amanda. I can't wait to have such great friend time with everyone! Plus, it's always fun to do a presentation at such a big conference, I just love teaching teachers!!
That's about all that's going on right now. I'll end with a picture I meant to post awhile back. It's a glimpse into a rare crafty moment I had in preparing for hosting my friend Serena's baby shower. I was pretty pleased with myself...
TaDa! Diaper Cake!
In other news, I've been quite busy this fall gearing up for some big fundraisers for my Florida Science Trip with my students. We'll be having a soup dinner and silent auction in November, so I'm gathering donations for the auction and trying to make sure we'll have enough soup to feed what will hopefully be a big crowd. It's going to be an amazing and fun trip, but it's sure going to be a lot of work to help the students raise the funds to go! I just keep thinking "you'll get to swim with dolphins, you'll get to go snorkeling, you'll get to see the Everglades" anytime I get overwhelmed with everything. If any of you out there have something you'd like to donate for the auction, or want to just donate to my students, be sure to let me know! We happily accept any kind of donation! These kids are GREAT and it's going to be such an awesome opportunity for them to learn science in a real-world context and setting.
Aside from that Justin and I are just keeping busy with all the normal things in life. I'll be heading to Minneapolis in a couple of weeks to do two presentations at the National Assoc. of Biology Teachers professional development conference. It will be a lot of fun, especially because I'll get to see some of my most favorite grad school buds AND I'll get to see my bestest friend since 2nd grade-Dawn, and I'll get to see one of my other best friends from gradeschool/high school-Amanda. I can't wait to have such great friend time with everyone! Plus, it's always fun to do a presentation at such a big conference, I just love teaching teachers!!
That's about all that's going on right now. I'll end with a picture I meant to post awhile back. It's a glimpse into a rare crafty moment I had in preparing for hosting my friend Serena's baby shower. I was pretty pleased with myself...
TaDa! Diaper Cake!
Friday, October 1, 2010
My Friend's Blog Contest
Hi All! My superawesome friend, Erin, is having her very first book published next spring (see, I told you she is super awesome!). She also writes a FABULOUS blog, "Christian Mama's Guide: Advice from Girlfriend to Girlfriend." Her blog is always fun to read and she posts delicious recipes every week! Right now she has a contest where you can win coffee, chocolate and her book (what more could a girl want???). Visit her blog here for details...and I highly recommend following her blog...cuz like I said--she's superawesome :)!!
(for some reason, this isn't linking, sorry you'll have to copy and pastte!)
http://www.christianmamasguide.com/
Erin's book:
(for some reason, this isn't linking, sorry you'll have to copy and pastte!)
http://www.christianmamasguide.com/
Erin's book:
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Beach + Good Friends = Awesome Weekend!
Justin and I just returned from a superfun weekend (according to Erin, if I remember right, this is how you spell superfun) at the beach. We went with four couples from our small group at church and their adorable children. We had condos right by the beach; cooked meals for each other; and had a blast at the beach, the splash pad, and the pool; not to mention fun times watching football and chatting.
They are an incredible group of people and we are blessed that they welcomed us into their group over four years ago. We hope this trip will become a group tradition, because we thought it was a fabulous vacation!!!
Thanks Erin for organizing such a superawesome weekend :)!!!
Ocean view from our condo balcony...sweeeeet...
Early morning sunrise...so beautiful!
Me & Justin before we left this morning, sporting the "recently swam in the ocean and showered" look :)
Two of the adorable children we got to hang with, Kate & Adeline, making sand cupcakes
Jessica, Rachel, Erin and I hanging at the beach
Helping slice up the fajita meat that Bryan grilled for us...yum!
They are an incredible group of people and we are blessed that they welcomed us into their group over four years ago. We hope this trip will become a group tradition, because we thought it was a fabulous vacation!!!
Thanks Erin for organizing such a superawesome weekend :)!!!
Ocean view from our condo balcony...sweeeeet...
Early morning sunrise...so beautiful!
Me & Justin before we left this morning, sporting the "recently swam in the ocean and showered" look :)
Two of the adorable children we got to hang with, Kate & Adeline, making sand cupcakes
Jessica, Rachel, Erin and I hanging at the beach
Helping slice up the fajita meat that Bryan grilled for us...yum!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Surprising Friends is So Much Fun!
"Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."
Last weekend I had the great, great pleasure of hopping on a plane and flying up to Rochester, NY to surprise one of my very best friends in the world, Karen, at her surprise baby shower. One of her great friends there was kind enough to pick me up late Friday night when I arrived and let me stay at her house that evening. I even got to enjoy a lovely 7 mile run around their river/canal trailways on Saturday morning. I wish I could run in that cool, nice weather here in TX! Anyhow, I digress. Karen's husband, Chad, had done a fabulous job of keeping everything secret. On Saturday morning, the two of them and Karen's parents headed over to Kirsten's house for "brunch". Little did Karen know that a group of us were gathered to shower her with love and fun things for her new little one. I was so, so excited on Saturday morning I could hardly stand it! I had not seen Karen since our wedding, which was almost 4.5 years ago. That is way, way, way too long to go without seeing such a dear friend! When Karen walked in I could see her scan the faces and could tell it was taking her a minute to process what was going on and that I was there (because, really, who would expect their friend from 1/2 way across the country to be standing in their friend's back yard at a surprise baby shower??). The shower was a great success and it was fun to be a part of that special time in Karen and Chad's life. Then, I got to spend the rest of Saturday and almost all of Sunday with Karen, Chad and Karen's parents (who are super great people that I was so glad to see!). Chad gave me the "tour ala Rochester" and it was fun to see all the neat places they have there. I had no idea Rochester was so big! All in all, it was just fun to spend some good quality time hanging out with a friend that I miss terribly and wish could somehow live closer to me! It was hard to leave on Sunday evening, but I have high hopes that they will make their way back to the midwest someday and I will have a better chance of seeing them more regularly. In the meantime, video chat is a beautiful, beautiful thing!
The Baby Shower Crew
My journey home from Rochester was definitely an eventful one. A co-worker had warned me that I might have flight delays if I flew through Newark, because apparently they have lots of thunderstorms. Well, unfortunately she was right. My plane was delayed by almost 3 hours and I barely made my connecting flight to Austin (thankfully that flight was also delayed by almost 3 hours!). Needless to say, arriving in Austin at 1:15 a.m. on the first day of school was not ideal, but it was so completely worth it to be able to spend the weekend with Karen!
As for this first week of school, well, it was the first week of school (all you teacher friends out there will get my drift). It's kind of a hectic and yet at times boring week with code of conduct meetings, reviewing expectations, passing out textbooks, etc, etc. Finally by Thursday I felt like things were getting rolling. I have some pretty chatty freshman this year, so it will be a fun challenge to reign them in and keep them engaged and focused. The best part of this year is I only have to teach four classes and I get time to mentor teachers and write curriculum. It's still kind of weird to only teach 2 classes a day, rather than 3 or 4 like I've been used to, but I think I'm going to like it a lot!! Here are some pictures of my classroom...yes there is an elementary teacher deep down inside of me :)
My new, "Go Green" bulletin board
My 3rd floor bulletin board picture for this year...that's me with "House" (my awesome seniors last year named him)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A New School Year Already & Training Time...
Wow! How are we almost half way through August and about ready for another school year? It doesn't quite seem possible. Yesterday and today while I was doing bulletin boards and hanging posters at school I marveled at how it feels like just yesterday I was tearing everything down. I'm kind of a decorating freak at school, and love to get all my stuff up and ready. This year I put everything up super early because I have some extra trainings next week that will eat up a lot of my prep time. I had such fun picking out a new bulletin board set (this year's theme "Go Green!") and figuring out where I wanted to place all my posters. I'm such a NERD! I have to say I am by far the MOST excited about this school year than any other year in the past few years. For the first time in a long time I have an actual TEAM of science teachers to work with, I do NOT have to teach 7 blocks (only FOUR--YES FOUR!) AND I get to mentor a few really super cool and awesome new teachers. They have so much energy and motivation it is truly going to be a joy to mentor them and learn together with them. Plus, since I'm only teaching four blocks, I have four other blocks to mentor, do curriculum work, and just work on being a better teacher myself. It will be SO refreshing to have time to breathe. I won't hardly know what to do with myself not teaching 7 blocks and not having grad school work (wait, who am I kidding? I'll just make sure I'm busy with 5,000 other things--haha!). At any rate, I am super pumped for this school year! I'll take and post some pictures of my classroom soon.
In other news...I'm now in training for my first 1/2 marathon. I'm not a runner, I never thought I would be a runner, but a few old friends and co-workers have been inspiring over the last year and have made me realize that I CAN do it. I'm finishing up my fifth week of training and so far, so good. I've always tried to start running in the past, but got hung up on my hip hurting. This time I just kept pushing through it, stretching and icing it, and now it's virtually pain FREE! Yay! I'm up to six miles for my long runs, and still have 10 weeks of training to get ready for the 1/2 marathon. Plus, it's for a GREAT cause! The race is called "Chosen-Marathon for Adoption" and will help raise funds for Christian adoptions. Our team will raise funds for our church's newly established Abba fund which will give low interest loans and grants to families wishing to adopt. (So, look for opportunities to donate soon!) It's fun to be becoming a "runner", and know that I'm doing it for such a great cause. Unfortunately, my running partner hubby has injured himself (and he's the former runner!!), so I'm not sure if he'll be able to do the race with me, but he's been a great encourager and cheerleader in my journey so far. There are also a few others in our small group running, so race day is sure to be fun. Plus, running in October, in Texas, should be BEAUTIFUL!
That's our most exciting news for now, aside from the fact that everything in our house is finally falling into place after our summer of renovations. After tomorrow our entry way tile will be re-done and everything will be complete! I'll post some pictures of all the new finishing touches soon.
And since a post is not complete without some fun pictures...here are some recent pictures of our 'children' and of our adorable nieces--three of my favorite little girls on the planet!!!
This is how I found these two 'buddies' one morning. Justin had left for work and I had slept in...and apparently these two had as well. I love how Sierra is using Mozart for a pillow =)
Hailey swinging...this was the least blurry...she really was having a good time, I swear!
Abigail and McKayla swinging...I LOVE the hat =)
McKayla hanging out with me and all my fragile toys (who are sort of all hiding behind me)...she insisted they pose in the picture with us =)
In other news...I'm now in training for my first 1/2 marathon. I'm not a runner, I never thought I would be a runner, but a few old friends and co-workers have been inspiring over the last year and have made me realize that I CAN do it. I'm finishing up my fifth week of training and so far, so good. I've always tried to start running in the past, but got hung up on my hip hurting. This time I just kept pushing through it, stretching and icing it, and now it's virtually pain FREE! Yay! I'm up to six miles for my long runs, and still have 10 weeks of training to get ready for the 1/2 marathon. Plus, it's for a GREAT cause! The race is called "Chosen-Marathon for Adoption" and will help raise funds for Christian adoptions. Our team will raise funds for our church's newly established Abba fund which will give low interest loans and grants to families wishing to adopt. (So, look for opportunities to donate soon!) It's fun to be becoming a "runner", and know that I'm doing it for such a great cause. Unfortunately, my running partner hubby has injured himself (and he's the former runner!!), so I'm not sure if he'll be able to do the race with me, but he's been a great encourager and cheerleader in my journey so far. There are also a few others in our small group running, so race day is sure to be fun. Plus, running in October, in Texas, should be BEAUTIFUL!
That's our most exciting news for now, aside from the fact that everything in our house is finally falling into place after our summer of renovations. After tomorrow our entry way tile will be re-done and everything will be complete! I'll post some pictures of all the new finishing touches soon.
And since a post is not complete without some fun pictures...here are some recent pictures of our 'children' and of our adorable nieces--three of my favorite little girls on the planet!!!
This is how I found these two 'buddies' one morning. Justin had left for work and I had slept in...and apparently these two had as well. I love how Sierra is using Mozart for a pillow =)
Hailey swinging...this was the least blurry...she really was having a good time, I swear!
Abigail and McKayla swinging...I LOVE the hat =)
McKayla hanging out with me and all my fragile toys (who are sort of all hiding behind me)...she insisted they pose in the picture with us =)
Monday, July 5, 2010
Home Improvements and NE Trip
Our home improvements are finally...almost...DONE! It turns out our original builder installed our entry way tile wrong...so, we have to have that re-tiled since it got cracked and broke while they were trying to put in the final touches on the laminate. We didn't really want to have to do this...but, we didn't really like the color of that tile next to the laminate...so I guess it's all good in the end. Except now we have to find the perfect tile and find the time for the guy to come back and rip out the old and put in the new. So, we're not quite all the way complete, but close enough =). Here are some pictures:
Living Room/Dining Room Area
Living Room/Dining Room--it's hard to see, but Justin has a very big grin on his face
Mozart and Sierra are really enjoying the new floors =)
The office...before I'd had time to clean it up =)
The tile backsplash...it might just be my favorite home improvement...LOVE IT!
After the projects were complete, I flew up to NE to spend a few days with my family, see some old friends (YAY!), see my great aunt in the hospital and see my grandma. Then, I headed down to OKC with my parents and sister where we met up with Justin and Kat to celebrate dad's birthday. It was a great trip. I had a wonderful time seeing old friends Rachael & Amy from my high school days and my good friend Reynalda whom I used to work with during the summers in college. Rachael and Amy have some of the cutest kids on the planet and it was so fun to get to see them and catch up in person!!! Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures with Amy =(. The most interesting part of the trip was that my parent's basement flooded. So, it was actually good I was there, so I could lend my young strapping hands to the flood effort =). We were able to get all the important furniture up on blocks and get the pad removed and most of the water out. It was kind of insane, but I was glad to be there to help out. I also got the pleasure (yes, pleasure, I'm not being sarcastic) of mowing their lawn twice! I used to hate mowing the lawn growing up, now I think it's GREAT! They have REAL grass and it's a HUGE lawn so it's a great workout. It's especially awesome nowadays with my iPod to rock out to. The only bad part: nasty mosquitoes who bit me despite my bug repellent. And, of course, I'm allergic to the bites so I had awesome red welts all over. Very cool. =). All in all, it was a fun trip and it was great to spend time with my family! Here are a few pictures:
Rachael and Me--so glad I got to see her and her beautiful children!!
Me and Mom hanging out in OKC
Me and Kat watching Justin open his birthday gifts...can you tell I was cold in the hotel room??
Living Room/Dining Room Area
Living Room/Dining Room--it's hard to see, but Justin has a very big grin on his face
Mozart and Sierra are really enjoying the new floors =)
The office...before I'd had time to clean it up =)
The tile backsplash...it might just be my favorite home improvement...LOVE IT!
After the projects were complete, I flew up to NE to spend a few days with my family, see some old friends (YAY!), see my great aunt in the hospital and see my grandma. Then, I headed down to OKC with my parents and sister where we met up with Justin and Kat to celebrate dad's birthday. It was a great trip. I had a wonderful time seeing old friends Rachael & Amy from my high school days and my good friend Reynalda whom I used to work with during the summers in college. Rachael and Amy have some of the cutest kids on the planet and it was so fun to get to see them and catch up in person!!! Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures with Amy =(. The most interesting part of the trip was that my parent's basement flooded. So, it was actually good I was there, so I could lend my young strapping hands to the flood effort =). We were able to get all the important furniture up on blocks and get the pad removed and most of the water out. It was kind of insane, but I was glad to be there to help out. I also got the pleasure (yes, pleasure, I'm not being sarcastic) of mowing their lawn twice! I used to hate mowing the lawn growing up, now I think it's GREAT! They have REAL grass and it's a HUGE lawn so it's a great workout. It's especially awesome nowadays with my iPod to rock out to. The only bad part: nasty mosquitoes who bit me despite my bug repellent. And, of course, I'm allergic to the bites so I had awesome red welts all over. Very cool. =). All in all, it was a fun trip and it was great to spend time with my family! Here are a few pictures:
Rachael and Me--so glad I got to see her and her beautiful children!!
Me and Mom hanging out in OKC
Me and Kat watching Justin open his birthday gifts...can you tell I was cold in the hotel room??
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