MOAB

Last month over Valentine's weekend, Paul and I went to Moab with my sisters and their families. July and Mel were able to leave Friday morning, but Paul and I had to work. So we met up in Moab around 7:00 Friday night. We grabbed some dinner at Pizza Hut and then since the whole town was pretty much shut down we decided to go to the Motel. When we pulled into our Motel (yes, I said Motel, not Hotel), we were a little nervous. Now for everyone that loves the Bowen Motel, I apologize. I don't mean to offend you. But I'm pretty sure that one swift kick on our outside door and the murderer/rapist would be able to enter our Motel room. Paul and I decided to risk our lives for one night and thankfully we woke the next morning unscathed. We ate a big breakfast in preparation for our hike to Delicate Arch and we were on our way.

We bundled up (since it was about 37 degrees) and got ready to go. The hike was pretty perfect. There was only a little snow and I've never seen Delicate Arch with snow before, so it was cool to see. My nephew, Cooper was all dressed up like a little stuffed animal and he got a lot of attention. Such a little cutie!


My niece, Cayman, found a walking stick and was quite the little hiker. She loves posing for pictures and is such a card. What a cute little personality!!



We made it to Delicate Arch and Cayman was having the best time running around trying to catch the crows. She was kind of scaring me with all the running, so I told her if she got too close to the crow, they would peck her eyes out. Obviously that was the wrong thing to say. Cayman got so scared anytime a crow would come near her. She would run away and try to get someone to hold her. I guess I'm not a very good aunt. :)






On the way back, Cayman started getting sick so we decided we better go to the Motel. While everyone was resting, Paul and I decided we needed to get out of the Bowen Motel so we made the switch to Holiday Inn Express. Let me tell you, I thought we were in a 5 star hotel!!! We were finally able to get some sleep without worrying about what lurks behind our door. We met everyone for dinner and walked around town for a little bit. The only store open was a bookstore so I had a wonderful time. After dinner, July and Cory took the kids back to the motel so they could sleep and Mel and Phil came to the hotel to swim with us.

The next morning we had breakfast at McDonald's and then we were on our way home. We stopped at In N Out Burger in Draper and then said goodbye to everyone. It was a fun weekend and I only wish we had more time to spend together in Moab.

Vacation of Lifetime!!!

Western Caribbean Cruise
Summary of the trip:

Flying First Class! Included all the diet coke I wanted I drink, all the treats I wanted to eat (chips, twix, cookies, etc.) and all the movies I wanted to watch.
Cold, cold weather – Florida was a chilly 27 degrees! Florida!! Did I accidentally head north instead of south and end up in Idaho?! It was so cold!

Out boat was enormous! The food was incredible!

Sprinkles – We weren’t allowed to walk past the free ice cream maker without getting an ice cream cone (this probably helped contribute to the 7 pounds I gained).

Haiti – So sad. It was too rainy to get off the boat in Labadee Haiti. We took pictures at the top of the ship of the island where we could have gone ziplining. Since we couldn’t get off the ship, we spent the day playing in the arcade, learning some 70’s dance moves, ice skating and of course, eating.




70’s Disco Night – If you’ve ever met Paul or Dani, you know they are excellent dancers! They were the life of the party and everyone kept asking how much they had been drinking. Of course the answer was nothing!

Jamaica – Dunn’s River Falls was incredible. You start at the bottom of the falls and climb your way to the top right through the falls. There are about 40 people all holding hands and climbing. It is quite a sight to see. There are specific points during the trek where there are excellent picture taking opportunities for the guides. At one particular point where you are supposed to squat down and let the water tumble over you while the guides take a picture, I told them I didn't want to do it. The guide looked at me and said, "It's Standard". Apparently, in Jamaica you don't get to make your own choices....the guides at Dunn's River Falls make them for you. I was laughing so hard and all day whenever someone would ask us to do something, we would say, “It's Standard”. We ate genuine Jerk Chicken which was soooooo yummy! Then came shopping - a pink bamboo bag, leather sandals, coasters, and beanies for our nieces.


GRAND CAYMAN!!! We booked a guide to do some snorkeling and to take us to Sting Ray City. The weather started out beautiful. We took about a 20 minute ride out to the ocean and settled in to do some snorkeling. It was really windy so the waves were really big. I had never snorkeled before and didn't really enjoy it. Water kept getting into my snorkel because of the waves and I kept thinking I was choking to death and I only saw one little fish. We did that for about 30 minutes and then headed another few minutes to Sting Ray City. Sting Ray City is in the middle of the ocean where it is shallow. The Sting Ray's are just swimming around everywhere. I held one and then it was time to feed them. I was really jumpy because I didn't want to step on one and I just kept shuffling my feet. When the guide got the food out to feed them, the Sting Ray's came from everywhere! I couldn't handle it. I was running for the boat (praying I wouldn't step on a Sting Ray, because there was no way I was taking the time to shuffle!) and screaming the whole time, I don't like this, I don't like this!! I'm sure I looked like an idiot. Paul stayed there and fed them and held them. When we were done with the Sting Ray's we went to the beach. It was the most beautiful beach I'd ever seen. The sand was soft and white and the ocean was the most clear blue-green. It was breathtaking! We ate some lunch on the beach enjoying the view and then headed back to town to do some shopping. Paul and I got Hard Rock Cafe Sweatshirts.


Cozumel! - This was the day I was most excited for. We were going to rent UTV"s and go look at some ruins, a lighthouse and do some more snorkeling. The UTV's were so much fun. We were able to stop at a Mayan Ruin which was really cool. It was pretty small, but it had a lot of significance. Then we headed to the lighthouse where we climbed to the top of it. There were 135 stairs and it was so difficult to climb that high when I was at least 5 pounds heavier than I was a couple days before and I'm been lounging for 5 days straight. But we made it to the top and the view was gorgeous. It was so windy though, I thought I was going to fly right off the top! After the lighthouse we went to the private beach where we were supposed to snorkel. It was too windy so we were only able to lay in the hammocks for awhile. It was so nice to just lay and look at the ocean for a bit. After that our tour was over. We got a taxi back to town to do some shopping where I got a couple of Coach Bags (of course they are real!).



The Quest – The funnest scavenger hunt ever! Picture 300 adults all running around trying to do the craziest things imaginable to try and win bragging rights! Some of the “quest” items included: men wearing bra’s, two guys in one pair of pants, 10 person pyramid, and doing the worm. This was hilarious!

80’s Night – Complete with Madonna, Prince, and other guest 80’s singers. Loved kicking up my shoes during Footloose. Nothing better than 80’s music.

Formal Night – I loved being able to wear my “fancy” dress for one more occasion. Paul and I dressed up for the Formal Dinner and felt very classy.

Benaminia & Raniel – Our very wonderful Waitress and Assistant Waiter. Benaminia was the funniest girl. She showed us a magic trick every night. Loved having them as our servers at dinner.

Kennedy Space Center - Gotta admit, I was kind of bored. Paul really liked it though so I'm glad we went.


This trip was such a fun vacation for me and Paul! Loved every minute of it (except the rain).

A Carriage Ride & Christmas Lights

July and Cory invited us to go along for a carriage ride around Temple Square on Tuesday night. When we got there, Cayman was already in her seat waiting for me and Paul to join her. She snuggled up with us and enjoyed the ride. I had never been on a carriage ride before and it was pretty fun, although very slow. When the ride was over, we walked around Temple Square to look at the lights. We stopped to have some hot chocolate and went to the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I love spending time with Cayman and Cooper! Paul and I had a great time and are so glad we were invited to spend the evening with them.

A Pumpkin Patch and Princess Party

Last Friday we went to the Pumpkin Patch with Clark, Kari, Charlotte and Alice. It was quite exciting to go on a short hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick out our very own pumpkin. Charlotte and Alice seemed to enjoy it. I think we got some great pumpkins!


The next morning was Cayman's Princess Party. That was a lot of fun. Princess Aurora came and it was so cute to see her interact with the kids. Even Paul was impressed! Cayman was so excited to have Princess Aurora at her party and she had a great time with all her family and friends. The adults even got to dress up as princesses.




Paul and I are so blessed to have the cutest nieces and nephews!

Living the Gatsby Life.....At Least for the Weekend

My boss bought tickets to a charity event in L.A. called I Survived Real Estate 2009. The profits went to benefit The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. When she asked if Paul and I would like to come with her, I was ecstatic. We flew out on Thursday, September 10th to San Diego. As we were getting on the plane, my boss Kathy turned to me and said, "I'm living the Gatsby life, well at least for the weekend". Thankfully, she allowed me and Paul to live that life with her! Kathy (my boss) and Mike, Joe (the other owner) and Anita, and me and Paul set off for one of the most relaxing weekends I've ever had.

We arrived in San Diego late Thursday night. As we pulled up the resort where we were staying, The Grand Del Mar, I was in awe. It was beautiful. Our room was gorgeous and we had a balcony overlooking the pool. We were pretty tired so we went straight to bed.






The next morning, Paul and I did a session at the San Diego Temple. This has been my favorite temple since the first time I saw it 13 years ago. It was as beautiful on the inside as I imagined. After our session, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the charity event. We got all dressed up and headed to L.A.


Joe and Anita

Kathy and Mike

My shoes were one of my favorite parts of my outfit and unfortunately, they literally were killing my feet. After about 2 hours, I started getting shooting pains up my legs, and I could no longer stand in the shoes. So the shoes had to come off. Other than that, the night was fun and the event was great!

The next morning we slept in and then Paul and I had breakfast outside. It was so beautiful and peaceful. They have this nice serene music playing and everyone speaks softly to you. It was so relaxing.



After breakfast we took a walk around the grounds and then we went to the beach. We went to Torrey Pines which was amazing. There are all these cliffs that are made by the sand and they are so cool. We took a walk down the beach and we walked a little too far because we ended up on a Nude Beach. It took us just a minute to realize what had happened, so we turned around and headed back to the land of the dressed. When we got back to the hotel, we decided to go for a swim. Again, it was so relaxing. The pool played classical music under the water, so I just floated in the pool with my head under water listening to the music. After I was done swimming, I read by the pool and the hotel staff brought around cold water and frozen grapes. So good!


That night the six of us went to the 5 star restaurant that was at the resort. It was called The Addison. When we were seated, they set a gold box next to my chair to hold my purse. Then they told us the water was complimentary. The following is our meal:

1 - 2 raspberries with tangerine sauce.
2 - Bite size roll with cheese inside (this was delicious and one bite size roll was not nearly enough).
3 - 1 small artichoke heart with a single olive in it and 3 pieces of calamari dipped in squid ink (this was one of the most normal tasting items, unbelievably).
4 - Sablefish and carmelized onions.

By this time, I had tasted everything, but I had finished nothing. For anyone who has met me for more than a second, you know I am kind of a picky eater (cheeseburger, catsup only ring a bell?). One of the waiter comes over, leans down and asks me if I'm ok and if the food is acceptable. I was extremely embarrassed and said everything was great. Then came the main course. It was shortribs and gnocchi. Finally!!! Something I could eat. I finished it all, or least I thought I finished it all. The waiter came over and saw how much I ate and exclaimed, "God Bless You!". Then he realized I had left one gnocchi in my bowl. This was unacceptable and he got me a new fork so I could finish it off. All of us at our table were laughing pretty hard by then. About this time, I needed to use the restroom. As I stood up, one of the waiters came over and asked if he could show me to the bathroom. So he walked me all the way to the bathroom door. When I came back, another waiter pulled out my chair for me and put a new napkin in my lap. Now was time for dessert, or so I thought. But instead, we were offered the cheese course. This featured 5 different cheeses from around the world. I liked this course as well, because who doesn't like cheese and crackers? For some reason, the cheese waiter gave me and Paul the most cheese. We were pretty full by this time and couldn't finish all of it. Not wanting the waiter to get mad at me, we switched plates with Joe and Anita. When the waiter came back, he mentioned how he was glad I was able to finish my plate, but what was wrong with Joe and Anita? Of course it was all in good fun. Then it was time for dessert. Holy cow! This was delicious. I got a raspberry meringue and lemon verbena that was to die for. Then we each received a homemade cookie, compliments of the Chef. What an incredible experience.

Sadly, the next morning, we had to say goodbye to our 5 star resort and board a plane back to SLC. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend and I have to thank Kathy for inviting us along on her Gatsby Weekend!

A Couple of My New Favorite Things

I just wanted to share with everyone a couple of my new favorite things. The first one is my new obsession with a woman named TiffanyD. :) She has a wonderful blog and many youtube videos that I love to watch. She does amazing things with makeup!! I had a big event last weekend and thanks to her I was able to do the prettiest smokey eye. You can watch her here: www.makeupbytiffanyd.blogspot.com



TiffanyD is also the one who told me about my second favorite thing, Coastal Scents Makeup. For all you that love great products at a bargain, this is the site for you: www.coastalscents.com I bought the 88 Warm Palette, a steal at only $24.99!!!


Have fun!

Bear Lake 2009

Last weekend was our annual Watson trip to Bear Lake. Paul, Jake the dog and I went up Saturday morning to meet Nick, Dani, Lyn and Dave. Nick's family was very gracious and let us stay in their cabin that has it's own private beach. We stopped at La Beau's on our way to grab some lunch (you can't go to Bear Lake without eating at La Beau's!) and then met up with everyone around noon. We unloaded the jet ski's, set up our lawn chairs and were ready to get some sun. Unfortunately, the sun was nowhere to be found. It was overcast and kinda chilly. We tried not to let that ruin our fun day. We had some great waves for the jet ski's and I still tried to get a tan. Kari, Clark, Charlotte and Alice came up around 4:00 and by then the sun decided to come out. It was fun to watch Charlotte play in the water. We went back to the cabin around 6:00 and showered and got ready for dinner. Lyn and Dave provided steaks and they were delicious! Rick, Lisa, Kaden, Ethan and Tanner got to the cabin around 9:30 that night. It was a nice relaxing night filled with reading (mainly me and Lisa did the reading), playing the Wii, and visiting. We were all pretty tired so we were in bed by midnight.

The next morning we had a yummy french toast breakfast, celebrated Clark & Kari's birthdays and then headed back to the beach for some more fun in the sun. Thankfully today the sun was out in full force and I was able to get a very nice tan! The boys played with the Frisbee and football and me and Lisa got some more reading in. We went back to the cabin around 2:00, ate some lunch and then packed up for home. It was a very nice, fun, relaxing weekend.