Going to the Bahamas!!

For Christmas my mom got our family a cruise to the Bahamas. It turned out that Greg wasn't able to go, so it was just me, my mom, Hannah and Gabe. The kids were so anxious to get on the "big boat" and when we finally made it there they could hardly contain themselves. They wanted to quickly get on board and see the room!! Hannah knew it was going to have bunkbeds, which was so exciting for her. She called the top bunk.

Here are the kids heading up the loading ramp. Gabe insisted on pulling one of Grandma's suitcases. What a gentlman!

Here's Hannah on her top bunk...so exciting for an 8year old!!


Here's a shot of the inside of the room. We were hapy to have two big windows instead of the little port hole window we were expecting to get.


The kids wanted to go out on the deck to watch the ship leave port. Gabe loved the "fire station" boat (police boat) that helped escort us out. It kept having to speed up and warn other much-smaller boats to stay clear. Gabe was in heaven!

Beautiful Hannah staring out at the water and saying goodbye to the USA.

When we made it to Nassau, we went ashore to shop. The kids had lots of fun seeing the different culture that was presented. Here's Hannah in an adorable hat that matched her outfit.

Buddy in his "rasta" hat...very stylish!

Hannah wanted to get her hair braided because she wanted the little beads in her hair. Doesn't she look cute with the comb in her hair? :)

The finished product (after I altered it a bit). Hannah had the beads at the bottom of long braids but then decided she wanted them at the end of the french braid. I think it turned out cuter this way!

Hannah with a view of Nassau behind her. Look at the beautiful water!!

Getting ready to board again. After walking all day it was nice to get back and relax.

My mom, JoAnn posing by the Bahamas Celebration ship.

It was my turn to pose...not so sure about the angle of the shirt but it was the only picture of me.

Once on board, the kids went and played in the children's water area. Hannah had a blast on the waterslide and Gabe enjoyed running around in the toddler area.


Little Buddy havin' some fun in the "whaw-tees", as he calls it.


Relaxing on the deck just before bed. The warm ocean breeze was a perfect solution before bed. They both went right to sleep.

Hannah just had to have one of the fancy drinks they were serving. I have to admit, it was pretty good but a bit pricey.

Gabe was up early and sitting by the window so he could watch the boat return to port in Florida. It was a fun three days! Thanks mom!

Please Don't Shed Any Tears...

Ok, so I know that all of you are just waiting with bated breath to see my blog entries about my vacation....well, I've decided that I am only going to post a few pics here about it because I've been going through them ALL morning. I'm only up to where I go to Houston (about half way though) and I already have about 150 pictures I want to blog about. So...knowing that would take me FOREVER to do, I've decided to just make my month-long vacation into it's own book and only post a few pics here on my blog.

I know that most of your hearts are breaking right now so please know that once I get the "vacation" book made, you can come to my house and look at it any time you'd like! ;)

I'm kinda bummed about this but I know it's the only way to make it work out to where I don't go insane! It seriously takes about 5 minutes for the blogger to download FIVE pictures (my picture files are huge!)...Can you imagine downloading 300?!? No thank you!

So, I'll give highlights but the fun little details will have to be saved for the book!

Kleenex anyone?!? :)

Holy Cow!

I have been blogging ALL DAY LONG!!! My back and bum hurts but I'm just so excited to get this made into a book, I'm pushin' through the pain. Now, all I have to do is my vacation, which might take a while because I was gone for a month BUT the end is in sight!! Yippee!! I can't wait!! :)

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

I love celebrating Greg on Father's Day (June 21st, 2009) because he is an outstanding father to his children. I love that fact! If I could give every child in the world a priceless gift, it would be the gift of a "daddy". Nothing can take the place of a loving and caring dad. I'm truly so grateful for Greg and for his amazing bond with our kids. It's of eternal worth!


Here's Gregor with his little ones. Aren't they cute?

This is the card that Hannah made Greg at church. It was shaped like a shirt...pretty cool!!

The moments I live for are moments like these...That's something I wish I had had as a child but I'm glad I now know that my Father in Heaven loves me in the same way Greg loves Hannah.

Greg and his little buddy. The tie Greg is wearing was giving to him by Hannah years ago. I think she was about 18 months old. I love the fact that he still wears it on Father's day.

Alexa was with us for Father's Day. I made sure she got into the pictures too.

My gift to the best daddy I know. He looks so handsome in the outfit, just so you know.

Me and my handsome price.

Gregor's gifts. We tried to keep it simple and focus on the true meaning of Father's day...being a father to the two cutest kids in the world!

Greg really loved his gifts, especially the pictures of the kids that I took for him. I'm so grateful for Greg. He's simply an amazing daddy!

Visiting Greg's Grandmother, Helen

We went to visit Greg's grandma, Helen Curtis, on June 20th, 2009 before the big shin-dig for my uncle and Avienda. It's always a pleasure to spend time with her. Greg is very close to her and we wish we could see her more often.


Helen and Gregor


Helen and her Great-granddaughter, Hannah.

We were having a hard time getting Gabe to stay seated for a photo. Greg had to step in and help out.

But finally Gabe decided to sit with his Great grandma and allow me to take a picture. I'm glad he did because I love the way Helen is looking at him, complete love in her eyes.

Not sure what happened to create these pictures but Greg and Hannah must have been in a strange mood or something...

I have NO idea what they're doing but as long as they're having fun, I guess that's all that counts. I love seeing Hannah bond with her "daddy". I'm grateful she has a daddy in her life. It makes me realize just how much I missed out on by not having a father while growing up, let alone a "daddy".

A Birthday Party for My Uncle George and Avienda

A party was held on June 20th, 2009 for my Uncle George and for my cousin's little girl, Avienda. It was a good time just chatting with the family.


Avienda just turned 2 yrs old.


My grandma smiling at Avienda.

Alexa, Eolana, and Patty cheesin' it up for the camera.

I had to sneak around the corner and get a picture of Shailee. She had her friend with her and in grand teenage tradition, had decided to separate herself from her "embarrassing" family.

Our gift to my Uncle George. It looks like a girly book because of the flowers but it wasn't.

I love this picture for several reasons. First I love the gift that my mother gave her brother. In the middle are the pictures of her and him when they were kids. Then the two pictures beside each of them are their parents and then the final outer pictures are the parents of their mother and father. It was a very touching gift. The other reason I love this picture is because my uncle is giving a sincere smile. I was bummed that it was covered up by the frame but some of his smile is still showing. He's not one for giving a real smile but he loved the gift so much he couldn't help but show his true joy.

Another view of his sincere smile...I love it! It's good to see him truly happy.

And here is a good shot of they joy on his face. Again, it was a great moment, just to see his raw emotion.

My uncle George and my mom.

Greg and me.

Me and my "uncle", that's what I call him. Probably because I only have one uncle so he got the title of "Uncle".

Me and my grandma. I cherish every additional photo I get with her. I know one day they'll be priceless, as are my photos with George McCrone from Delaware.

My sister, Crystal and my mom.

Swimming Lessons

This year Greg signed Hannah up for swimming lessons, which started on June 15th, 2009. She was thrilled about it but I, on the other hand, was not...not because I didn't want her to learn how to swim better but I didn't want to have to drive 25 minutes into Lehi each day for two weeks!! It just throws my schedule off and I don't do well without a schedule. Anyway, I endured the two weeks and Hannah did terrific! Here are the highlights...


This is Hannah waiting to begin on her first day. She was so excited!


Here's Hannah waving at me from across the pool. Good think I brought my "long distance" lense (I'm sure it has an officail name but that's what I call it).


After her first swimming lesson, I rewarded both her and Gabe (for being so good and sitting in his stroller) by taking them to the best place ever...McDonald's!! Going to McDonald's after swim lessons became a tradition and I'm sure our stock raised a bit because of it.

Hannah showing me what she had learned that day...

push off and glide forward. She did it perfectly!

Look at that stroke! She's a natural!!

Hannah talked me into getting her goggles. All they had left was blue but she didn't seem to mind a bit.

Hannah practicing her free-style stroke.

Hannah practicing her back-stroke.

Hannah listening to her instructor. She was a very good student.

My pretty little fish posing for the camera...she's a natural.

I just liked this pic of her...no story behind it.

This is the last day. They turned on the big water toy at the end of class so the kids could play in it. Hannah regularly goes to the Legacy Center with her dad to swim so this was not her first time playing on the big water toy but she loved it anyway.

Here's Hannah's sly way of getting a picture of her "crush" Zach. During the last week of swim lessons she began talking about him. She became discouraged that he was only 6 yrs old but decided she better ask him if he goes to church anyway, because a crush of hers has to go to church, she explained to me. I remember how thrilled she was on the LAST day of swim lessons that her "crush" did infact go to church. And she was even more thrilled that he agreed that his crush had to go to church as well. It was there final moments of "crushing" but they were both on the right path.

The classic Hannah pose...a must have!

This is Hannah's reaction to finishing her swim lessons and for advancing onto the next level. I'm glad that she was proud of herself because she should have been. As for me, I was definitely proud but I'm not sure if we'll be taking lessons again anytime soon unless they open a pool in Eagle Mountain.