Cruise Day 1, Puerto Rico

We just got back from the best vacation EVER!  It was so relaxing and I saw so many amazing things.  I tried to burn as much of it into my brain as I could, because some of the stuff I saw couldn't be described with words.  There are too many pictures to put up and still have room to write, so I'm going to do a few blogs about the trip.

We flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico on Friday and spent the night. We got in late and by the time we got to our hotel it was midnight. We walked around the hotel for a little and then went to bed. We got up in the morning and it was sooooo sunny and warm!

We had 1/2 a day to spend in San Juan so we walked around Old San Juan looking at stuff. 

The streets were soooo cool!

Those that know me pretty well probably know I have a fear of birds. I HATE it when there are huge groups of them and when they fly around me or over my head. Well we went to this little square and people watched for a while and there was this HUGE group of pigeons.

Now, I know I haven't had spanish class for quite some time, but I remember enough to know this means 'do not feed the birds.'

Well apparently not everyone got that because there were a bunch of people throwing bread crumbs to them.  Some of the pigeons were even landing on people!  And we wonder how people end up with the bird flu...

So all this is going on, yet little innocent me on the bench away from the birds is the one that gets pooped on!!  How gross is that??  Thank goodness I had just bought a bunch of hand sanitizer.  And thank goodness it wasn't on my head!

Pretty sure this is how you get food poisoning, but hey, it's still pretty cool!

It said on our cruise info that we could board the ship after 2.  Well Brent and I were super excited to go and we got there around 1.  Luckily we still were allowed to board.  It wasn't crowded at all yet, so we spent a couple hours just exploring all over the ship.  We went on the Royal Caribbean cruise line and it was soooo pretty inside!

That night we played (and lost) bingo and enjoyed a (virgin) mango daiquari.

The ship set sail that evening at 8pm and it was so cool to see it set off!  Well it was cool until about an hour later when I thought I was going to puke.  Apparently I get a little sea sick :)

The next day we woke up and we were in St. Thomas!  I will blog about that tomorrow :)

Floating Down a River in the Middle of January

Two Saturdays ago my mom organized a float trip down the Skagit River to see the eagles.  This is the time of year where they're around and you can see hundreds of eagles during your trip.

There were 12 of us in our group (11 of who do crew with my mom.  I was the odd man out).  We got all bundled up and ready to go and got on a bus that took us to the river!

I haven't worn a life jacket forever.  Well let me tell you.  They tighten up those things until you feel like you have a corset on.  I should have let all my breath out like horses do while their getting their saddle put on because I had a hard time breathing after that. 

Cute mom is ready to float the river!

They had two types of rafts.  One that the guide paddled for you, so you have a relaxing float down the river.  Or they have the kind you could paddle yourself.  I was all for the guide paddling, but I was definitely in the minority.  That'll teach me to go rafting with a bunch of rowers :)

Our guide ended up being hilarious.  He said the most eagles he had ever seen was about 600.  He said it was kind of eerie and they were everywhere you looked.  Well, we saw about 10.  Even though we didn't see too many, we still had a blast goofing off and paddling ourselves down the river.

One of the other downfalls of being in the paddle boat was they all do this at least 2 times a week.  I do not.  My arms felt like they were detatching from my body halfway through the trip.

A nest.  After I saw how big they really are, I learned I will never let Macie anywhere an eagle might be.  She would be a goner!

One of the guys we saw.  There was one that actually scooped down and grabbed a fish in the river.  So cool!

In this picture I have on EIGHT (no exaggeration) layers on my top and four on the bottom.  I was lucky I wore so much because even then I was chilly!

We all had so much fun.  The guide also does white water rafting in the summer and now my mom is planning on some trips to go do that.  Thanks for the fun day momma!

Ahhhwooooooo!!!!!

For Christmas my mom got us an AWESOME present.  A night at the Great Wolf Lodge!!  Now I know most people think it's a place to take your kids, but Brent and I are kids at heart.  So I think that counts. 

We were supposed to go a couple weekends ago, but Brent's grandma passed away and he went to Utah to attend her funeral.  So we rescheduled for this weekend.  Well, when we got there they had a hold on the reservation, but forgot to go ahead and change it so we didn't have a room!!  That wouldn't have been a big deal except for the fact that they were sold out.  We drove 2 hours to get there, and there was NO way I was getting back in the car and driving home.  My intimidating husband took care of everything and we somehow ended up getting a room.  The only downside was that I had gotten out of the car and was ready to cause quite the scene, but then it all worked out and I ended up with all this adrenaline and rage inside of me.  Good thing I'm so sweet and it went away quickly :).

I've heard a ton of commercials on the radio and seen some on tv for this place, but it doesn't do much justice.  It was AWESOME!  We spent 4 hours playing on all the fun things they had.  Our favorite was a waterslide called the Howlin' Tornado.  It's a 4 person circle raft that is a normal waterslide at first.  But then it shoots you  into this giant tunnel thing and you go up and down the sides like a snowboarder goes on a half pipe!  While you're flying through this thing there's all these lights going off.  It was crazy and so much fun.  We rode that 5 times.  I also loved the wave pool.  It was my first time in one, and it was a blast.  The waves can get crazy! 

There was this part that had all these water contraptions that would fill up with water.  Well you could hold them and then wait until someone walked under and dump it on them.  Let me tell you... this is where the kid came out in me and Brent.  There was one point where it was 2 9-10 year olds and Brent and me working the things.  There were also water guns that you could squirt people with as they walked by.  This was hilarious until Brent squirted the family with the baby.  Then I feared for his life as the dad was glaring at him.  Whoops. 

After we ate we wanted to take pictures, but I was almost dry by then.  So Brent volunteered to be the model.

This is the place where we caused mischief.  The giant bucket would fill up and dumb TONS of water everywhere.

Here are the water guns that almost got Brent beat up.

The bucket is starting to dump water while Brent waits for it.

It's coming!

I can barely see him!

Wave pool!

Brent Abdul-Jabaar.  Look at that form (and that whiteness!)

This could be my favorite picture of Brent ever.

Next he went across the lily pads.  I was really impressed.  He went fast and stayed on!!

Uh, ya think?

Ok, let me tell you about the awesomeness that is this thing.  Not only is it the pass to the waterpark, but it's also our room key!  But that's not all.  It also linked Brent's credit card to it so people could just scan our bracelet!  Brent said I didn't even need him! :)

My awesome bracelet bought me this delicious peanut butter rice crispy treat paw.  So cute (and yummy!)!

Our original room had one bed.  But the room they gave us had two beds.  So Brent and I played Ozzy and Harriet and slept in our own beds!  But it was still close enough so we could jump to the other persons bed and snuggle :)

Thanks mom for the great Christmas present!  We will DEFINITELY be going back!  But next time we will probably call ahead of time and confirm our reservation, just to be safe.

Eye Had a Rough Day

It's been two years since my last eye exam and since I have monthly disposable contacts (yes that means I only change my contacts every 2 months), I figured it was time I should go get new ones.  Not to mention the fact that I can't really see out of my right eye. 

I would just like to start off this story by saying that I am not stupid.  But man, today at the eye doctor was rough.  I got there and the receptionist asked a few questions and had me come around to look at something.  I didn't hear everything she said but I caught that she wanted me to look at a picture of something.  So I got up close and looked in this little lens (I thought it was a little weird since you normally do that stuff in your exam, but I was a new patient here so I just rolled with it).  So as I was peering in she said, "Um, that's a camera."  Whoops.  I guess what she had said was she wanted to TAKE my picture. 

So I get back into the exam room and the doctor starts looking at my eyes.  When I want a self-esteem boost, I go to the dentist.  They rant and rave about how amazing my teeth are.  When I want to be slammed back down to earth, I'm going to go to the eye doctor.  The first thing he said to me was, "Your corneas look AWFUL!".  In case I didn't hear him, he moved over to the other eye and said it again.  I was actually mildly offended so I said, "Well that's great for my self-esteem.".  I said it jokingly, but Dr. Meany didn't respond.  In fact, he kept going.  "Woah, you NEVER see this with this type of contacts!  I can't believe what they look like!" and "I can't believe your corneas...".  OK.  Enough about my freaking corneas!

So I tell him I can't really see out of my right eye that well and that I know I need a stronger prescription.  So he does all the little flips and lens changes and then sits back and stares at me.  At least I think he was staring, I had my contacts out.  He then tells me, "I can't believe this.  There is no way your right eye and your left eye are what the last people prescribed you.  I think you switched your lenses."  Now, as much as I want to think that I did NOT switch my lenses and the doctors really just messed up and told me the wrong number for the wrong eye, I'm betting that didn't happen.  Which means that I have been wearing the wrong prescription in the wrong eye for TWO YEARS. 

By this point I was just drained and didn't want to be here anymore.  For one final kick to my ego he said, "Ok sit back and cover your right eye."  I did.  He looked at me and said, "Your other right eye.".  I promise I learned my right from my left when I was four.  Or maybe I didn't since I've had my left contact in my right eye for the last two years and vise versa.

So now I have to go back next week to have a check up to see if my poor overprescribed left eye and my underprescribed right eye have corrected themselves and are seeing what they should.  On the bright side I can see REALLY well out of my right eye now.  But on the down side my poor left eye has been overworking itself for two years and now I can't see as good out of it until it fixes itself. 

Man, this was a hard day.  Next our fertility doctors are probably going to tell us that you can't get pregnant through the belly button and we've been doing it wrong for all this time and that's why we're not getting pregnant (kidding).

Say NO to More Fur!

I was deleting old emails the other day when I found the pictures of Macie and Chip that the breeder had on their website when they were puppies.  SOOOO stinkin' cute!

Baby Macie!  This picture melts my heart!  Brent and I like to reminisce about how she looked like a nerdy little kid on their first day of school pictures with her hair all combed back.  I love how she didn't have her brown eyebrows yet, too!

Baby Chip and all his adorable fluffiness... it seems like he was just this big!  I can't believe how fast he's grown up. 

I always hear people say how they knew they were done having kids after the last one or how they knew they were supposed to have one more, they just had a feeling.  Well this is EXACTLY how I felt about our furries.  Somehow I think the ladies in Relief Society would look at me like I was crazy if I agreed with them and used this example...

The other night Brent was goofing around and asking Chipper if he wanted a new little brother or sister (he was talking about one that barks).  Instantly my legs went numb and I said "HELL NO!".  After we got the kitties, I knew I wanted a puppy quickly after.  After we moved to Seattle I always felt like I could have another dog.  Especially for Macie to have a buddy to play with.  We looked for a while and when we found Chip we knew he was the one.  Within days of adding him and the insanity that follows him to our family, I knew it was complete.  NO MORE FURRIES. 

We do like to have things in two's....two kitties...two puppies...who knows, baby two babies sometime soon? :)  But for now we are content with our little zoo.

I want to hit and hug you at the same time.

Around the beginning of December Brent and I decided we needed to get in better shape for our upcoming cruise, and to just be healthier in general.  Plus, hopefully I will gain around 30 lbs this year (Baby Anderson!) and I want to be in good shape for when that might happen. 

We were at Target one day and we came upon the Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred.  We are Biggest Loser fanatics so I don't know what we were thinking buying a workout dvd from this crazy person.  But we did.

So we started on Level 1.  The first time we did the dvd Brent was dry heaving.  After he showered and collapsed on the bed.  I went downstairs to get something and almost tumbled down all of them.  It turned my legs to jelly and it took me a good minute to get down 14 stairs.  As the days went on we kept going and it got a little easier. 

Then we moved on to Level 2.  Brent did it by himself one night (I was at my mom's) and he told me that he thought I would like it a lot more.  I tried it the next day and he was right!  It was more fun, but WAAAAY harder.  I don't usually sweat, but man, this got me to! 

We haven't moved on to Level 3 yet (I'm scared.), but it's amazing to see how much of a difference there is after just 3 weeks doing the video!  We also don't do it every single day.  There is no way my joints could take that (I sound like a senior citizen). 

So if you want a good way to shape up, I would highly recommend Jillian.  You will want to punch her during the work out, but hug her after.  It's totally worth it.  Get ready to get SHREDDED!

Wave bye bye!

Not his best, but you get the point :)

Gooooooaaaaalllll!!!!!

Sometimes I think I have adult ADD.  Especially at sporting events.  But one sport that always has my attention while watching it live is HOCKEY!  Lucky for us, Everett has a team and they play about 8 minutes away from our house.

On Saturday we took this lady:

to the game with us!  We had a lot of fun watching the zamboni drive around and watching the players warm up.  Brent even went and bought a cow bell before the game (a lot of people there ring cow bells...). 

The game was awesome except for one part.  There was only ONE fight!!!  And it was at the beginning!  The main reason I go to hockey games is to see the fights!  Anyway, after 3 periods it was tied 5-5.  This was good for the team but bad for my ears.  Every time we got a goal or did something good, Brent rang his stupid cow bell right next to my head.

During the break between the second and third period we also got to play chuck a puck.  You buy these little foam pucks for a dollar each and throw them onto the ice and the person closest to the blue dot in the center wins.  I, unfortunately, thought you had to get it on the Les Schwab mats on the ice so I was aiming for the completely wrong thing and didn't get very close.  But I did get it about a foot away from the mat :)

Anyway, after the 3rd period we went into a 5 minute overtime.  Well no one scored there so we went into a SHOOTOUT!!!  Keep in mind, the only team I have ever witnessed a shootout is on The Mighty Ducks.  So this was very exciting.  Each team got 5 tries to see who made the most goals.  Our team went first.

After 5 turns, both teams had made three, so it went to a SUDDEN DEATH SHOOTOUT!!!  Both teams missed the first and then we made our second.  The other team had to make it or they lost...

And they missed!!!!  We won!!!

Apparently, that calls for more cowbell.

2-m-0-e-0-h-9

On the scale of "this was the absolute worst year of my life" to "this was the most fantastic awesome year of my life" this year was rated "meh".  There were a lot of fun things we did.  And then there were some not so fun things that happened.  But overall I would describe this year as just a year.  Nothing devastating, nothing spectacular.

We didn't go too many places, but we had some of our favorites visit us!

When we did go on vacation, we went to Utah (for 9 days...) but we got to see some of our buddies we miss sooo much!

And we got to make a new friend

We also went to a real live ranch while we were in Utah.  Not exactly my idea of the perfect getaway, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget.

My favorite trips of the year were being in NYC for this:

And going to Phoenix this year for Thanksgiving (you know it's a great trip when you were sad to leave and wanted to stay an extra few days).

Brent had an awesome year at work and still loves his job.  I'm so proud of him for all the long hours and hard work that he puts in to provide for our family.

A couple of us had some medical issues:

But thankfully we recovered.

Although we had another frustrating year of unsuccessful fertility treatments, we learned a lot about the power of a positive attitude and relying on someone other than yourself.

Even though my reproductive oven hasn't decided to start baking anything, we did get to add this guy to our family. 

And this little girl loves him so much!

Even though these girls could do without him.

I'm glad this year is coming to a close.  I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be an awesome one and I can't wait to see what is in store for us.  Happy New Year and hasta la vista 2009!

The Christmas that Almost Wasn't

Ok, that's a little dramatic.  But when it happened, I was pretty sad.  It all started Christmas Eve when I got Brent's big present ready and stuck it in his stocking.  Later that evening Brent told me that he was going to go get my stocking ready and wrap one more present.  Well I completely forgot that I had put his present (in an UNSEALED envelope) in one of the stockings.  He happened to grab the same stocking and when he looked inside he thought it was something from last year.

So he opened the envelope and saw ...Seattle to San Francisco....2010.... and ran up to the bedroom.  He held it up and asked what it was and I started bawling.  So Brent got his big present Christmas Eve.  And I learned to do a better job wrapping presents and putting them out when they're actually going to be opened :)  It's funny now, but it was pretty upsetting then.  The one cute thing was that I had been tracking where Santa was all day on Google and when this happened I looked and he was in Seattle :)

We woke up Christmas morning at 6:30 and were ready to go! 

We opened presents and had homemade egg mcmuffins for breakfast.  Around one my mom, dad and Bubba all ate lunch with us. 

The furries got to wear their Christmas Pj's and LOVED every minute of it (ok, probably not really, but they humored us). 

We ended Christmas by going to Sherlock Holmes with the fam.  Talk about a great way to end the day (ahhhh Robert Downey Jr...).  The movie was sooo good!  I would definitely want to own this one (and not only because RDJ is in it :)). 

We had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the new year!