Alaskan Cruise

I've been trying to decide what the best way to make this post would be so it's not a mile long. I'll do what I can to not make it overwhelming! Don't feel obligated to read the whole thing, it's bound to be insanely long!! I used this as more of a travel log so I wouldn't forget what all we did. Sorry ahead of time. :)

My roommate, Jenny won some airline tickets from work so she was nice enough to share with me. I love to be the beneficiary!!! As soon as she mentioned it, I immediately said that I'd love to do an Alaskan Cruise. She quickly agreed that it's definately the way to go. We ended up saving about $1400 each since the airfare was covered! How awesome is that? Thanks again, Jenny!

Day One 7/26:

We left on Saturday, July 26 and flew to Anchorage, Alaska. We arrived and were connected with our shuttle from Princess Cruises quickly thereafter. The cruise leaves from Whittier, Alaska. Whittier is about an hour and a half from Anchorage. We found out on our drive that there is only one road in and out of Whittier, which consists of a two mile one-way tunnel that you can only enter from the side we were on every hour on the half hour. The window is only 15 minutes. We arrived and as we were about to go through the gate, it closed. This meant we got to sit on the bus and wait for 45 minutes until the next entry. LAME! Our bus driver took us over to look at a glacier in the mean time. So, let me tell you a little about this tunnel. Basically, it was blasted out as a train tunnel. It used to be that only trains could get in and out. These train tracks are much more narrow that regular tracks. The tunnel had to be adjusted when the cruise terminal moved to Whittier. We basically drove directly on the tracks to get through. By the way, the fee for a bus to enter? $125. Some fees were up to $300! That's CRAZY! Luckily our portion was included in our price for the shuttle. The tunnel was just wide enough to fit our bus with only about a foot on each side. Now, I'm not a fan of tunnels, so this was the first of many fears I faced this trip. We made it through without a hitch.

Now I'll say a little about Whittier. First of all, this town is kinda known as a crazy town. I think most if not all that live there are a little off their rocker. The town has about 250 people and get this: they ALL live in the same building! The building looked like some office building. It was only about 3 to 5 stories tall. Anyway, I think it's a crazy town.

We got on our boat, which was the Diamond Princess, at about 6:00 p.m. and disembarked at 9:00 p.m. Our room was an ocean view, which was supposed to be a 'fully-obstructed view'. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw our actual view...not too shabby!

We were reserved for the late seating for dinner, which was at 8:00 p.m. We were at a table with eight people. There was a couple, Mike and Donna, from Virginia; a couple, Steve and Kathy, from Dallas; and a couple, Ron and Pat, (Steve's brother) from Kansas. We totally lucked out with our table! All of them were so cool. The brothers and their wives kind of adopted us as their daughters for the trip. They were really fun to get to know. We hope to go to their homes and visit them. The pic to the side is Kathy, Steve, Pat, Ron, Carlos (vest) our waiter, and Triche (sp?) the assistant waiter.

Day Two 7/27:

Sunday was a day at sea. We cruised Glacier Bay from 6:00 a.m. until about 9:00 a.m. This was beautiful. It was a little weird to see ice just floating in the water that we were in. The glacier was pretty cool. They were saying that some of these glaciers go back about 20 miles. It's kind of hard to imagine just how big they are...oh, and yes, all that stuff that you see floating in the water is ice...
I don't remember specifically what all we did the rest of the day, but I think we took it pretty easy napping, reading, walking, and eating.

Day Three 7/28:

Monday was also a day at sea. We cruised College Fjord all day. It was beautiful! The fjord is surrounded by mountains and glaciers. It was pretty cold, but manageable. I think it was about 50 degrees or so, but the wind was pretty strong so it was better to view the scenery from inside. While we were cruising, there was a piece of the glacier that fell off into the water. It sounded like a huge crash of thunder that just went on and on. There was a huge splash and the glacier sounded like it just kept cracking. Super cool. Here are a few pics from that bay...

Look closely...do you see the water pouring out of the middle? Just to give you an idea of how big these glaciers are, that water hole was at least the size of a suburban or other large SUV.

The color of blue that is seen here is muted by the picture quite a bit. In person, it was so vibrant.

Day Four 7/29:

Tuesday we stopped in port at Skagway, Alaska. We were very fortunate that the weather cooperated with us. Each town that we went to, the locals were telling us that it was the first day of nice weather in weeks. It seemed to follow us wherever we went. I love to hear stories from the locals to see how life really is for them. Most of the tour guides were from the lower 48 and had come to each area for the summer and will go back to school when the tourist season is over at the end of September. In Skagway, the price for a gallon of milk runs about $6.00+, gas is about the same. Also, they only get deliveries of fresh fruit and vegetables on Tuesdays, so if at anytime during the week you have a hankering for an apple, you better hope it's Tuesday because everything goes so fast.

We decided that on this cruise we would do whatever excursions we wanted since we saved so much on airfare. In Skagway, we went on a dog sled and went to the Musher's camp. For those that don't know, a Musher is someone that is a dog sled driver. There are a couple of main races that they participate in. At the musher's camp, we had an oppurtunity to listen to a musher talk about the races and what all it is. For the iditarod, the temperatures can go to 50 below! That is crazy! I don't know how anyone does it. I'm not gonna lie...I was a little disappointed in the dog sled experience. We were on a six person 'sled' which was really just a golf cart type thing with no top. We were attached to 16 Alaskan Huskies, which is just a fancy way of saying 'mutt'. I think we kind of expected 'disney dogs'. The dogs were really lean, small, and mangy. While we were on the sled, we got to a hill, but they didn't want to wear the dogs out, so they hooked us up to a car that drug us up the hill. We then went in a circle on the dogs and then ended. It wasn't really worth the price, but at least we had the experience.

Being dragged up the hill so the dogs don't tire.

On our way back to the ship, we noticed what it's like to live in a small town and not have a lot of little things matter, like street names for instance...Love it!!

We also passed one area and saw two missionaries sitting out by the church. The church was so small. It looked like a log cabin and like it couldn't hold more than 25 people.

I wonder what areas this mission covers. I bet they have to take a sea plane to get anywhere. It would be a hard mission, especially when the winter comes. One lady was telling us that they have to plan a trip to fly to the closest Costco so they can stock up for the winter. She said that she had to keep it a secret from her neighbors because she'd get too many orders from people. I guess I kinda take advantage of the fact that I live about 5 minutes from Costco!

OK, so I'm posting this, but it's not finished. I'm sure you are thinking, "Oh my gosh, how could she post more?!?!" Well, I'm only half way through the trip!!! There are some funny things that happened the second half though, so there is more to come. I am too tired to finish the post right now. Hopefully in the next day or two I can finish...

Happy Birthday, Stephanie!

Today is Stephanie's birthday. Jenny & I went out to Steph's house and picked her up to go to dinner. We went to the new Cafe Rio out by Steph's house. It was good food, good company, and good times. I gave her a book that I was super entertained by so I knew she would be too. It was a Postsecret book. Basically, there is this address that you can write any secret to. It started out as an art and social experiment. This guy collects these secrets that people write in and he posts them on his blog. He's also published like two or three books with all these secrets. Quite interesting. A lot of them are really sad, some of them trivial, and some that just make you think. Anyway, hope you enjoy the book Steph! Happy Birthday!!! Love ya!!!

Happy Birthday, Gavin!

Today is Gavin's birthday. I just wanted to say Happy Birthday! Love you!

Movies, Movies, Movies

So, I saw a couple of movies this week. On Thursday, Matt called me and said that he'd gotten some free tickets from IKEA to Mamma Mia, so naturally I tagged along! Sarah, the kids, and I hopped in the car and headed up to Layton to mooch the free movie. We got there just in time for it to start after a gruelling drive through rush hour traffic & construction (surprise, surprise). I have to say, the movie was hillarious! K, so Pierce Brosnan can't really sing, but he gave it a good effort. I saw the play in Vegas a few years ago and I really enjoyed it then, so I knew it would be good, but I didn't expect it to be so funny. Anyway, I definately think it's a must-see.

On Friday, I met up with some friends and saw Dark Knight. I was a little hesitant to go to it, but I knew I needed a little social interaction. I was, of course, really glad I went. It was fun to catch up with some friends that I haven't seen for quite a while. So, the movie...I get kind of nervous to go see movies that I know will be intense, only because I get so worked up and stressed during them. I knew that at least Christian Bale was in this, so he could get me through just about anything. ;) Anyway, the movie was super intense, but super good. I was amazed at how well Heath Ledger played the crazy joker. He was so creepy, so I guess he did his job! I kept thinking at how sad that we won't see him in anything else. He was a great actor. Aaron Eckhart was really good also. I don't want to say too much about the movie itself because there were so many twists and turns so I don't want to give anything away! So, this is definately a must-see also!

American Idol

WARNING: Way too many pictures and lots of critiques to follow...

Ok, so I know it sounds nerdy, but I totally went to the American Idol concert! It was actually so fun! My roommate told me that the tickets were going on sale, so naturally I got online the second it opened. Camille's birthday was right around the time they went on sale, so I got her that for her gift. I knew we'd have a blast! So, I asked Steph if she'd like to go with Jenny, Camille, and myself, but it wasn't going to work out, so she said she'd go if no one else wanted the ticket. Sarah was thrilled (despite what she says in her blog!) that the ticket was available.

The four of us went to Red Robin before the concert, which of course was quite tasty.

Once dinner was finished, we all hopped in my car and headed to the concert. As we got to our seats, I heard a couple of people screaming my name. My first thought was 'who on earth would I know that would go to this concert?!?'

I turned around and two rows behind us were my aunt, Holly and my cousins, Capria, Krista, and Savanna. Wow! Small world!!!

So, the concert consisted of the top ten contestants from the show. They came on in order of when they were voted off. I was pleased that they each came out and performed by themselves. There were only like two or three numbers that they did together. The group performances always seem so cheesy. First up...

Chikezie. He was really entertaining. I wasn't a huge fan of his on the show, but I enjoyed watching him perform at the concert. I'd give him one thumb up. Next up was Ramiele. Not impressed! She has a pretty voice, but that's about it. She had absolutely zero stage presence. She kinda pranced around the stage, but looked completely uncomfortable. I'll go with one thumb down and the second thumb at about 45 degrees from being turned down.Michael Johns. Can I first just say...HOTTIE!!! He was so cute! I do think he did a great job. My favorite that he did was a Queen song. It totally fit his voice and he had so much fun with it. How 'bout one and a half thumbs up?Next up...Kristy Lee Cook. Ok, so on the show, I was not so impressed until she did God Bless the USA. I mean, 8 Days a Week? WHAT WAS SHE THINKING!?!?! When she came out on stage, she owned it from the first second. She did three songs, two of which were country and of course, she did the Lee Greenwood song again. Two thumbs up for her. When she is in her niche, she's fantastic. Carly Smithson...I love this picture. It looks like she was trying to fly away or something. She was entertaining. Sometimes she sounds like she is yelling, but all in all, I liked her. One and a half thumbs up. (I know I don't have half a thumb, but you get my drift...)

After Carly, there was a short intermission, so we just hung out and chatted. This is just a random pic of Camille that makes me laugh...

She'll probably kill me for posting this...Love ya Camille!!!

Brooke White was up after the intermission. How cute is she?!?! She was one of my favorite from the beginning. I was sure for a while that she'd be in the top three. She sang three songs. One of which was Let it Be. That was one of my faves on the show and she didn't disappoint. She gave props to Utah for all the support she got from here which was nice of her. I'll say two thumbs up for her. Here's just a clip...

Now, Jason Castro...

I have to apologize for having two pictures of him, but I couldn't help it. I had to show off the shoes he wore...Wait for it...

Um, yeah. Can you see them? I couldn't really tell if they were boots or just tennis shoes, but Come on, Jason! You cannot pull those off! I have an issue with Jason Castro. I think the only song that I enjoyed by him on the show was Halleluiah. He didn't even sing it at the concert. LAME. How in the world did he make it to number four? He gets two thumbs down.

Syesha Mercado. She has a pretty voice, but she also didn't have much stage presence. I was kind of bored with her. She is beautiful and I think I just expected more. I think that she would do awesome on Broadway. On the show, she did a few numbers that were very 'broadway-esque' and they were brilliant. I'd give her two thumbs sideways. (That means it wasn't worth the energy to turn them either way :))

FINALLY, the two faves...

David Archuleta. How cute is he?!?! During the show, I said that if I were 16, I would totally stalk him. Not in a creepy way, just a oh-my-gosh-you're-so-cute way. Don't even start to judge me, you know you know exactly what I mean! ;) Anyway, he definately did not disappoint! He was so good. Sometimes when you hear people on TV, you expect it to not sound so perfect in person. Well, with him, that is definately not the case. He was spot-on just like he was in every performance on the show. (with the exception of the one where he forgot the words, which he still sounded amazing while mumbling)

Anyway, he sang four songs. I can't remember all but one was the One Republic song Apologize. The other that I remember was Imagine. I have never heard so many people going so crazy at a concert. My ears were ringing so bad, it was hard to hear some of the singing. He was so appreciative of the fans in Utah. As he was thanking everyone, he started crying. Ah, how cute. I really hope he stays as humble as he is now. I guess only time will tell. I have a video, but it took way too long to upload. He gets two thumbs and two big toes up! (I know that's nerdy, but sue me!)

And the title holder...

David Cook. You know, I really liked both Davids on the show. At the final, I couldn't decide who I wanted to win. I think I leaned a little toward Archuleta just because he was from Utah. David Cook was very entertaining at the concert. He came out like he was already a bonafide rock star. It was quite a contrast to the humility of the other David. It was a little annoying that he was so cocky, but I guess he has every reason to be...
He sang two of my favorite songs from the show which were, Hello and Billy Jean. He gets two thumbs up and a big toe up, too.

So, I bet you thought I was finally finished with this ridiculously long post, but guess what? I'm not!

After the concert, we were trying to find out where they were because we wanted to see about getting autographs. Well, Sarah and I were almost home and I got a voicemail from Camille saying that she saw a bunch of people lined up at the back of the E Center. Being the dorks that we are, Sarah and I turned around and headed back. We had to do some maneuvering, but we cut in front of about 80 percent of the people waiting in the line. The idols started coming out one by one, and we bombarded them with everyone else. We pushed, shoved, and yelled our way to most to get a signature. The only three that we didn't get were Jason Castro (big deal), Syesha (also, big deal), and David Cook (he didn't even come out to give autographs). I got some pics of a few, but my camera died after three... Oh well! Here are the pics I got. I am going to scan the autographs one of these days and post them. Mostly as proof to one person that didn't believe that I did it!!! ;) you know who you are... :)

Kristy Lee Cook - Btw, she is beautiful in person!

Ramiele - Btw, she is so little! Her and David A. are about the same size. (5 foot nuthin)

Michael Johns - Btw, super cute!

OK, so that's all...Bye.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Wow, July is full of birthdays! Today we went to a park in Kaysville for a BBQ that Ali put together for Jonathan's birthday, which was on Thursday. We had a good time and some good food. Happy Birthday, Jonathan!!!!

Fruit pizza, one of Jonathan's faves, could ya tell?

Ahhh, me and my little bro.

Happy Birthday, Jonny Conny!!!

More Birthdays

In keeping with the new birthday tradition, I took Sarah & Matt's kids out for their birthdays. Since they live in Nevada most of the time and there's a little time crunch while they're here, I combined all three of their birthdays. Carson's (8) is in March, Makana's (10) in June, & Bryce's (11) in August. We met at Chick-fil-a for dinner. I have to just make a comment about Bryce's outfit. It was super cute, but it totally took me back to the 80's, thus my reasoning for calling her 'Funky Fresh'. You can see part of it in the pic below. She had black leggings with white polka dots with a white skirt over it. Then she had these arm cover things. I don't even know what to call them. They're like leg warmers for the arms, so I guess arm warmers would be an appropriate term! The outfit was completed with peace sign earrings. It was sooo cute! Rock on, Bryce!

After dinner, we went to JC Penney's for a bit, then drove to IKEA to pick up Matt to join us. After having dessert there, we headed to The District to see Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D. It was a super good movie! I wish I had a picture of all of us in our stylin' 3D glasses!

Sarah had her hair in these cute twist-braid-like ponytails and this is those cute twist-braid-like ponytails tied in knots.

Carson was having WAY too much fun!

This was so funny! Makana was trying to get out of my car and somehow got stuck between the seats. She was a little worried at first, but then saw the humor in it. That may have had something to do with me and Sarah laughing and grabbing for the camera. Hmm.

Birthdays

Lilah's birthday was on Thursday and Gavin's is next week. They are going to Oregon for the week with the fam, so I went over to give them their gifts this afternoon. It was so fun to watch them open them and get so excited! I love when I see Lilah and she says "Gecca" in her octive-lower voice. Super cute. Here are some pics from that little visit...

These are her new earrings that she got from her mom on her birthday.

Gavin in his cute new outfit and his monkey bank that I got him.

Gavin, me, Lilah. Can you tell they get a lot of pictures taken of them? They have perfected the picture smile. Super cute!

I got Lilah some cute nail decals and some little tattoos. They were really cute and it took her no time to start applying them!

Lilah showin' off her mad piano skills

It was fun to see you guys! Happy Birthday!