Last December, Jared and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. We always said that we would take a big trip, something memorable. Really, we wanted to make up for our honeymoon which seemed absolutely wonderful at the time. We went to the beach in the middle of the winter. We were poor college students and because we got married over Christmas break and had to get back to
BYU for the new semester to start, we only had a couple days. We have always regretted that we didn't do something more.....
Around our 5 year anniversary, we started tossing the idea around with my brother and his wife that when we hit 10 years, we'd go on a big trip. My brother Chris and I are only 18 months apart. Starting about High School, we became really close and in college we both lived at the same apartment complex, I could see his bedroom window from mine. We both met our spouses and the 4 of us became great friends. We all got engaged around the same time and were married within 6 weeks of each other. It seemed like the perfect plan to take this trip with those who shared the memories of when it all started.
The plan: a 7 day Caribbean Cruise, Spring Break, no kids! Here's a glimpse of what we referred to over and over as Paradise!
The 5 star ship was amazing! We felt like we were living the big life, everywhere you go people wait on you and treat you like royalty.
The food was fabulous! If you haven't gone on a cruise before, trust me, the only problem with the food is possibly too much of it. Every night you eat a 5 course meal and there are buffets and dining areas open all day long and even throughout the night. There was also an ice cream parlor and hot pizza available around the clock, plus, if you were too lazy to walk to the food, you could always pick up the phone and ask room service to bring it right to your room....
On the top deck of our boat there was a huge screen TV. You could sit under the stars and watch movies (this was Monday night and they showed the big game for all the sports fans). There was a pool and hot tubs you could relax in while watching, or you could lay in lounge chairs.
Here's a better day time view of how that looks.
We went to 5 different islands. We were completely amazed at how all of them were so different. Some of them were lush and green tropical rain forests, some were dry and almost desert like, some were wealthy, some we were glad to be leaving before dark, but all were wonderful and we had great experiences everywhere we went. Here are some highlights.
I loved all the great beaches. White sand, blue water, sunshine, a slight breeze. It was all so perfect.
Jet skiing in the ocean was definitely a highlight! This is actually my brother and his wife, but we had the only waterproof camera so there were no pictures of us. I'm sure we got just as much air on the waves.
At Barbados, we got to swim with sea turtles. This was our first time snorkeling so we didn't take our underwater camera with us, just hoped to figure out the snorkeling thing first. Once we got the hang of it we started bringing the camera. We'd bring things to feed the fish and they would come and eat right out of your hand.
No vacation is complete without fishing, so we spent one morning with a guide and set out to catch bone fish. It's a science I decided, they explained to us that fishing for bone fish is all about patience. You have to wait for them to come to you and then you get only one shot to cast your fly line in just the right spot. If your fly lands on top of the fish it will spook them away. It's ideal to have your fly land a foot to either side of him, but you don't want to take too many casts because that also will spook them. Precision is the key. They took us to a great spot and while Jared had two strikes, I only caught a star fish.
St Lucia was one of the prettiest islands we got to visit. We chose to do a canopy tour there which turned out to be an amazing experience. There is nothing like riding a zip line through the rain forest.
Here we are all harnessed and ready to go. It's not the best look, but everyone looked the same so it was okay.
It felt sorta like a scene from Indian Jones.
Here comes Jared over the river.
On the last zip line my brother let his camera roll. It actually turned out really well and gives you a good idea of what it felt like. Check it out!
It was fun to come back to the ship every night and get all dressed up for a nice dinner and entertainment.
Here we are toward the end of our trip. All smiles. This is my sister in law, Tally.
Here is Jared and my brother, Chris.
This trip was truly a week in paradise for us. We loved every minute of it and the memories are something we will cherish the for rest of our lives. I'm so grateful for an amazing husband and 10 wonderful years of marriage.
Hunter decided to put them all in a line leading to her.
Today we had a birthday party for her. Everyone came to see "What's cookin?" and we had fun doing all sorts of cooking activities.
First everyone got to decorate cookies.
They all had their own unique style.
Then, I gave them all a bunch of ingredients, (wheat, flour, oats, water) and I let them measure and stir and bake whatever they wanted. This little girl is making sleeping beauty cake.
Here they all are hard at work.
Opening presents is always a highlight. This gardening kit was especially perfect for Emma, she wanted to go outside and try it out right away.
