Thanksgiving to Christmas

Well I have to say that I am glad to see that I am among a group of friends who are also a little behind on their blogs. I figured I could catch up with one covering Thanksgiving & Christmas as not much else has been happening.

Thanksgiving was spent in the lovely Antelope Valley. Okay, so I admit that I don't find much lovely about it, BUT I do have some lovely family there. We had a Bird family reunion during the holiday weekend as the greatest number of family members could attend. We certainly missed the Kenna & Tony Miani family, Carrie & Andy Borman family and Craig & Keri family. It seems as we all get older & the family expands, it's harder to get everyone together. It was great fun to spend time getting reaquainted with cousins I haven't seen in 2 years. The young ones grow up so fast! Here are a few pictures from our good times. I really appreciate all those who put in so much work to prepare the food & games.

For Christmas I was so happy to be in Grand Junction, CO with the snow! While it didn't snow while I was there, I was perfectly happy to enjoy the snow already on the ground. I was able to spend some time with Craig, Keri, Ryan, Ruby, Mom & Dad. It was a nice & relaxing time. I can't believe how big the girls are getting. Ryan is so full of energy, she makes me tired just watching her. Ruby is army crawling & is not fond of smiling for the camera. Luckily we were able to get some cute pictures of her anyway. I also was able to go to lunch with my friend, Monica, before I left to go home. I always love visiting with my friends. Unfortunately I don't always have time to visit with everyone I want to. Even though I get 7 days off, it speeds by & before I know it, I have to come back home to get ready for a week of work. Here are some pictures from Christmas.

I have certainly been blessed to be able to spend time with so much family this holiday season. I also got a new bike for Christmas & am excited to ride on some of the trails here in town. I'm hoping this will be a fun new way for me to get some exercise.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving & Christmas!

Mexico

Okay, so the cruise was a ton of fun! Yes, I did get some motion sickness, but nothing too bad. I was still able to eat plenty & enjoy my time aboard ship. Mom & I went on the Mexican Riviera cruise on the Royal Carribean Radiance of the Seas. We boarded ship Wednesday (14th) in the afternoon. I was amazed at how quickly people started drinking...we hadn't even left the dock! We headed to the buffet to eat lunch...I was starving! The food was good overall. It was nice to have a variety. I think I did pretty good considering the amount of food available (I still fit into all my clothes).

Our first stop was Ensenada, Mexico. My first thought as we were riding through town was, "this looks just like Palmdale!" I guess since the city is only about 2 hours from San Diego, I shouldn't have been too surprised that it looked a lot like places I've been in California. There was a Costco, Home Depot & a few dollar stores. Our tour guide was sure to point out all the gas stations....only 1 brand, Pemex, which is owned by the government. Apparently the government buys up any land that produces oil. We rode on a bus for about an hour to "La Bufadora" which is a blow hole. Yes, very exciting, but it was a pretty area there on the coast. We had to walk through the gauntlet of shops before seeing this natural phenomenom (which I love....ok not really). Mom had more fun shopping, I think. I'm just not a fan of the pressure type selling they do. I like to browse without someone constantly trying to sell me something. I loved how they would say to come buy something I don't need...hahaha.

Our second day was at sea. It was nice to be able to sleep in which was not difficult since our stateroom did not have a window. We had to use Mom's cell phone as an alarm clock because we might have slept all day otherwise. We spent some time at the gym, outside enjoying the sun and of course eating! It was a nice relaxing day. We also went to the after dinner show which was great. We missed the first night's show which we were told was horrible, so we didn't mind.

The next day we were in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I had the tendering experience since we couldn't pull right up to the dock. We picked sea kayaking which was fun. Mom & I were in the same kayak. We paddled pretty far in some pretty choppy water. It was interesting being so close to the water in what seemed like the boat route. We had water taxis & other tourist boats driving past us & they seemed pretty close to me. Apparently there was an unusually large number of jellyfish in the water. I hadn't noticed any, but felt some stinging on my leg for a short time....not sure what it was though. Mom had one splash up on her leg leaving a nice red welt on her thigh. We got to rest on the beach for a little bit while some crazy people went snorkling. I would have been happy to go if there weren't jellyfish everywhere & a lot of boat traffic. When we were done, we decided to walk through town (sorry Mom...it was my idea). We were surprised at the upscale stores & restaurants. It was SO hot as we were walking around. I was sweating like crazy & poor Mom looked so red & tired. There were a few street vendors I would have liked to stop for, but I was so dang hot, hungry & thirsty, I just wanted to get back to the ship. Several times I was asked if I wanted a Mexican boyfriend after saying no thank you to offers of cheap silver jewelry. I had to laugh as I said to Mom..."I can get one of those where I live". I mean HELLO...there is definitely not a shortage in the USA! We were thrilled to get back to where the tender was & found some ice water waiting for us.....AHHHH refreshing! We got back to the ship & ate & I was back out in the sun for a little bit. I ended up getting my shoulders nice & toasty even with 2 coats of 30 sunblock. I am still peeling!

(the blue line on the sand are jellyfish)

The next day we were at sea again. We had a personal training session and enjoyed some reading time. The day had quickly turned overcast & cool, especially with the wind from the speed of the ship. We watched a towel folding demonstration. It is so fun to see what the stateroom attendants can do with some towels. Later we watched some of the bartenders doing some juggling & mixing of drinks...pretty cool. Later that evening we watched the finals of the karaoke competition. There were some great singers. It was a lot of fun. Our dinner table group was pretty interesting. There was a mother with her 2 daughters & a dad with his 14 year old son. The 2 guys were only there 2 of the nights. The mother & her daughters were LDS! What are the odds?

We needed to be up fairly early to get off the ship the next morning. I was ready to be back, but will definitely be ready for my next cruise! The plan had been to spend a little time in San Diego then for me to drop Mom off in Palmdale (I would stay the night) so she could spend a few days with the CA Bird flock & then fly back to CO. Unfortunately, my cousin's husband had passed away the Wednesday we left and the funeral was Tuesday. So, we got in the car & headed back to St. George.

It was a great vacation & I am so lucky that I have such wonderful parents! This was my birthday present & Dad was wonderful enough to let Mom & I go off on our own. Thank you SO MUCH!!! Love you!!!!

So, I don't even know what to title this entry. It seems that I have used update...slacker...and any other appropriate title. Perhaps it will just remain titleless...haha...is that even a word? Anyhoo, life hasn't been too exciting since I last wrote. I am still enjoying the boxes stacked in the exact same places since I moved in. I just haven't had the motivation to get more done. I have decided on a second date for my housewarming party. I was going to have it last Friday, but decided to go visit the CA Birds (with little convincing needed). I REALLY needed to get out of town. So, my party (yes, can you believe I am hosting a party? It's almost scary!) will be on Oct. 2. It should be fun since the people who will most likely show up are good at parties. This should give me the motivation to get things better organized & clean! :)

Another thing that's been happening is boy drama...oh how I love drama (BLAH). I broke up with Kelly. It was a process that took over a month since I was really struggling with the decision. I know it was for the best, but it's been really hard. I find myself looking for his truck everywhere I go (there are so many dang white Chevy trucks here!) I still miss him & it really hit me as I was driving back to St. George Monday night. I enjoyed the distraction of visiting my busy CA Birds and found that returning to an empty & quiet house is not something I was looking forward to. I have been lucky with family & friend's support. For those of you not counting...ok so all of you :)...this is the second relationship to end in 10 months. Each one lasted about 4 months....huh, does anyone else see a trend? Hopefully it's a short trend.

Moving on to happier topics...It did my heart a world of good to be with my family. Driving up into the driveway & having 3 kids run out of the house shouting your name can only make you smile. Bryn (2) kept saying "Shelly home, Shelly home!" It was SO cute! I loved all the hugs & the excitement of having me there. I got to walk Ty & Lori to school on Friday morning. It's fun to see the excitement they have of going to school.

Coming soon....I am looking forward to buying a new bike & going riding with my friend Karalyn. Also, Mom & I will be going on a cruise to Mexico Oct. 14! This is my first one & I am WAY EXCITED!!! I just hope I don't get sea sick. Hopefully I will be better at updating this now that my nights are free...but don't expect too much! hehe