Eastern Caribbean Cruise

WELCOME TO PRINCESS CRUISES
DESTINATION: EASTERN CARIBBEAN
DATE: APRIL 12th - APRIL 19th
WHO: MOM, DAD, DEANNA, BRITTNEY

Mom & dad flew into to Miami a day earlier than Brittney and I. It was a close flight out of Seattle but the two of us made it safely and were so tired by the time dad picked us up at the airport with the hotel shuttle guy.

We got on the ship Easter afternoon. After checking in this is was greeted us in the Piazza. It's chocolate Easter Eggs. So cool!

The display....

This one was my FAVORITE!

As the boat left Miami, I could resist a picture opportunity.

Brittney and I awaiting to leave Port Everglades, FL

As we left the port, we waved goodbye. As you can see everyone else had the same idea. It felt like the Titanic! Who doesn't think of the Titanic while getting on a ship...there is always a possibility things will go wrong... But luckily we though positive and we made it home safe and sound...

We didn't waste any time. We hit the pools only an hour into the cruise!

One of the large pools. This one played live music, and the pool in front of it you can see a large TV screen, it played movies and concerts all day long.

The first night of dinner was AMAZING! Brittney and I had to skip out early so our serve Amorn from Thailand wrapped up our desserts. Below is a picture of the amazing treat:) We loved Amorn & her assistant Pong so much we returned to their tables 4 times. Truly amazing individuals and excellent service. By the 3rd visit they already had our drinks memorized and ready for us when we sat down! Usually it took like 10 minutes to get our beverages. Upon our return home we nominated Amorn as our choice for 'Employee of the Month.' She's been with Princess for 6 years, and loves her job. That is evident through her excellent service.

Day 1. Princess Cays. A privately owned island in the Bahamas. We had to board the life boats to be tendered into shore.

Me with the Crown Princess in the background!

Brittney and I. As you can see she is starting to burn.

One of the life boats. Similar to those that the captain of the ship was captured in by Somalian pirates.

In all her glory!

Mom and dad ready for dinner at the Michelangelo

Who could go on a cruise without a picture on the stairs:)

We told Brittney all day in the Princess Cays that she should apply sunblock, here you can see she suffered the consequence of no SPF.

And she was in PAIN! aloe soothing her aches and pains.

OUCH! later it blistered!

Formal Night. This is the captains welcome party to the boat. It's a champagne glass waterfall. Dad got to pour some on it as he had to get in line in order to get off the bottom level of the Piazza to find Brittney and I.

We stood out though.

Our puffy dresses were the staring objects of the night. Everyone commented on how beautiful they are, and how that's how formal night should be.

Mom dad and I:)

Brittney wasn't feeling well and excused herself from dinner. Poor thing got really sick for 2 days!

Dad, Me, And mom. Aren't we a lovely bunch?!

Mom's Souffle. Nummy!

My dessert!:)

After dinner we went and watched the Princess dancers on stage!

Mom and dad at dinner!

Day 3: St. Martin.

We were one of FOUR ships at the port. Needless to say the small town was busy!

From the ship we took a water taxi!

Brittney still didn't feel well so she paid $20 to sit in a beach chair all day and sleep. She was so out of it. But after a harsh sunburn anyone would be wore out!

Of course....captain morgan.

Dad was so kind to be the HUSBAND OF THE DAY (one of many) to buy their wives a new ring. It's absolutely gorgeous!:)

Blue Diamond.

Day 4 : St Thomas
Agenda : POWER SNORKLING:)

Brittney and I before jumping in the water

St. Thomas

The pirates ship we rode out to Turtle Cove

The crown

The snorkling crew put tattoos on everyone. I just so happend to have mine slapped on my chest? wierd.

Our Texas snorkling instructer:) Brittney had a little love-crush on Jason.

My dad and I with out temporary tattooes. There was a water spot of something:(

IGGY!

Day 5: Grand Turk. Another princess owned beach. It was gorgeous!

Mom and dad sun tanning

Brittney and I at Margaritaville:)

A pretty fountain!

Boarding the ship for the last time!

Mom and I on Deck 7 (promenade) on the last day of the cruise. It was an "AT SEA" day and we had rough waters.

Isn't mom just adorable!

Meet Atanis. From Bulgaria. He had the most gorgeous eyes ever! So cute, But all foreigners smile funny so this picture does him NO JUSTICE!

Dad ordered a dessert but had joked he wanted a banana split from the kids menu. Pong and Amorn were so funny they brought him both, here is them with his banana split!

Brittney and I on the last night of the cruise!





Well everyone, we're home safe. We're actively counting down days till the next opportunity for a cruise will arise. Mom Dad and I just loved the ship and the experience! Bring on the 107 day world cruise:O

Flying Standby

I'm going to try and make this short. So I'll break down my itenerary from these past couple days...

April 7th -

3 AM - wake up shower
4 AM - Leave Andrew and Stephanies headed for Idaho Falls International Airport.
5AM - Check into 6 o'clock flight
6AM - Depart Idaho Falls headed for Boise.
9AM - Receive the last seat on the Boise ---> Seattle Flight.
10:20 AM - Arrive in Seattle and attempt to work my way up a standby list 40 people long.
1PM- At last, Alaska flights clear the revenue passengers off the standby list, I can relax and enjoy a frosty.
2PM- "You're never going to get out of here. Well not till thursday night atleast. Go back to Boise"
3:45 PM - Back to Boise I fly to catch the 9:40 flight Boise ---> Spokane. It had 11 open seats and they said I had a GREAT Chance.
7 PM - I wait...
9:30PM: Boarding
9:50PM: No seat for me, I'm the only one left standing. (tears)...Phone calls, confusion.
10 PM Allyia comes to my rescue and I stay at her Boyfriends Parents house with her.

April 8th

7AM: Wake up
7:30 AM: Go to airport.
8 AM: YAY THEY GAVE ME A SEAT ALL THE WAY THROUGH FOR BEING SO COOPERATIVE.
11:50 AM : I'M HOME!
3PM: Finally a shower:)

Congrats Stephanie!

Test Drive

Dad and I thought it'd be an excellent idea for me to bring my electric scooter I inherited from Grandpa Scouller to Rexburg... Let me tell you of my adventure.



I was nervous it wouldn't make it up the hills around the area, so Stephanie, Andrew and David took me for a test run. Our family home evening last week consisted of the following:



We put the scooter in the trunk of the Grand Prix, and drove down the hill next to the Smith building. After a quick seat adjustment, I started my journey back up the hills towards The Ridge. Of course, right away the battery went from full to ONE BAR, and the guts on it were ridiculous. I was coming to a creeping stop....i kept having to use my foot to push me along. I got past by a cyclist...and 2 joggers. I have a feeling that every car that past that evening also was dieing in laughter. I KNOW I WOULD BE IF I SAW MYSELF! All in all, listening to David yell "SCOOTER!" was a thrill...and his mom even let him go for a short ride in the (flat) parking lot. What a fun family home evening. I was the laughing stock of Rexburg. So now, it'll remain in a closet for the time being.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf - CREATE

A friend sent this to me an email. It's so inspirational. It encourages everyone to share their creativitiy to make this world a better place. When Uchtdorf came to speak in our stake it was one of the most memorable experience. I will forever remember his desire to shake every single youths hand before extending out to the adults. He stressed the importance of todays youth, and the effect the world will have on them. He is so right, the more we trust and rely on the spirit, the greater compacity we have to create.

Home Sweet Home?

I left Sandpoint around Noon yesterday. I made really good timing until about Dillon, when it began to look like sketchy. I pulled off to get gas, and by the time I had returned to the highway there was at least and inch. I wasn't too worried, only that it was getting dark and colder. As I progressed the snow got deeper and Deeper and DEEPER. Soon cars were pulling over and letting me pass so that they could follow my plowed tracks. By this time I was beginning to stress, as I'm no experienced driver to be leading others down I-15? hahah. Sooner or later, we caught up to other cars and semi's and then I wasn't so nervous about leading the way in low visibility. A plow came by for a bit, and plowed only a section. At the time I was yelling at the plow man to get back on the road, i was so frustrated that he pulled over and started going back the other direction. By now there had to be about a foot of snow on the road, and I was thanking my lucky stars to not be in the front. It took me an hour and a half to go just 36 miles. How irritating. I couldn't even really listen to music it was too distracting. When I finally got service I sent a picture to most all my friends of why I wasn't in Rexburg yet. Curious, they were all texting me to make sure I made it safely. Too their surprise this is what had been holding up traffic....

A semi that had jackknifed in he median. I was so concerned about getting a picture I didn't even see which direction the truck had been traveling. Finally the weather and traffic cleared up just off Monida. It turned to rain, and then about Dubios I had clear roads. When I was stuck in the weather all these thoughts ran through my head....one: I should have asked dad to come....two: just my luck for traveling on Sunday, and three: I need to get to my interview tomorrow! I got to Stephanie's and she had made me some corn dogs. So thoughtful of her to think of me! I was so hungry considering the last thing in my belly was from mom's breakfast she had made before I left home. Good thing she's a wonderful mother and thought to do that or I quite literally might have starved by the time I got to Rexburg.

Today, I awoke to David repeating HI DANNA! Since I didn't get in till late last night, I really hadn't gotten to see him yet! He was thrilled and probably repeated my name a million times. After some laundry and relaxation I got ready for my interview. It went well I suppose. I don't know when I start till he does the schedule Wednesday. But I did get my cool "the Rex" polo and all my I9 and W4 forms. I'm pretty excited to get started there. They will be starting me downstairs to learn all the basics of the bowling alley, concessions, ticket sales, arcade, pizza shop, and Ice cream makers, then gradually they'll move me upstairs when a position comes open a couple months. I can't be too picky here in Rexburg, I would think anything is better than being a waitress or housekeeping. After my interview I returned to Stephanie and Andrews to play with David some. Here some pictures of our crazy fun afternoon!

He's so Kissable, Huggable, Lovable, UNBELIEVABLE! (he is so smart!)

Is he not the cutest kid ever?!

He even got to push the button on this one. Oh how I love David!

When we were done David even helped pick up the mess we made in the hallway. Oh we had so much fun playing together. It'll be an eventful few months. Look forward to many posts with pictures! I miss Sandpoint, and my friends there. But I have a feeling this experience is something I need in my life right now.

Registering for classes

Last night at midnight I got on to register for classes. I had the ones picked out that I wanted to take. Big surprise, nothing left. Lucky for me though, there was a lot of room in a few of the classes I need to take, but didn't necessarily want to do it this semester. Like writing foundations? Gross. But anyhow, since its the first semester back, and I'm going to see how juggling school, work, and social life...I'm only taking 10 credits. That will be good so that I can figure out how to do it all.

North Idaho Law Enforcement

Some of you may recall me complaining about a specific chubby officer who pulled me over for going too slow for conditions. Do to the recent occurrence I'm going to blog about my past experience with Officer ____________.

It was a Friday night (I think) and I was on my way home from work. Mom and Dad were a little ahead of me, but I had to drop the bank deposit by Wells Fargo before heading home. As I come across the long bridge heading South out of Sandpoint, the first road on the right is Lakeshore Drive. A police officer in an SUV was parked there. He pulled out soon after I passed by. The road was terrible. It had snowed quite a bit and the visibility was terrible. I was probably traveling at about 35 mph coming across the bridge. When I slowed down to turn on Bottle Bay rd I noticed he flipped on his blinker also. [side note : he was not following me closely, in fact he was a little ways behind me probably traveling slower than I, and I was in the neon.] As I went to turn, he flipped on his lights. "GREAT!" He walked up to my window, and I knew i surely wasn't speeding. When he asked if I knew how fast I was going I said yes right around 35. He then began to criticize that if there had been traffic, at that speed I would have been holding up other road users. He wanted to warn me that yes due to conditions speed should decrease, but my rate of travel was too slow. Therefore, he was suggesting that in the next winter storm warning I speed up, or pull over to let others by. OK HAD THERE BEEN ANYONE BEHIND ME AT ALL I WOULD HAVE. He was a real jerk. He let me go threatening that he could write me a ticket, but never did. Ohh, police think they have all the power in the world.

Now, Last night....

It was right around 1 am, and I was exhausted. I was returning from a hot tubbing trip out at Carsons parents with Robby, Marissa, Del and Carson. My hair was wet, I was cold...and I just wanted to get home. Once again, it had been snowing quite a bit, and the roads were very slushy on the way out of town. As I was traveling south across the long bridge out of Sandpoint, I once again must have past Officer __________ on Lakeshore. I was following behind a Car, and Semi. I noticed headlights appear in my rear view mirror soon before I moved over into the turn lane to head around Bottle Bay. Once again as I followed through with my turn, here are the red and blue lights. I wasn't even nervous, I knew I wasn't speeding, and my blinkers worked. The only thing I could think of was I got my license plates 2 days ago when my temporary registration expired. I haven't had time to put the plates on, but they are on my front seat. I even went and got screws for them! Knowing I could probably get away with a warning I wasn't too worried. THEN....Same guy. Here is our conversation:

Officer: Good evening?
Me: It is!
Officer: Where are you coming from?
Me: Hot tubbing
Officer: Are you sure it wasn't clubbing?
Me: IN SANDPOINT HAHAHA. No.
Officer: Are you sure you haven't been drinking? I smell alcohol.
Me: I'm positive sir, I haven't drank a thing.
Officer: Do you know why I'm pulling you over?
Me: Nope.
Officer: Well you were going too FAST for conditions. It's trucks like you who think they are invisible and cause accidents in weather like this.
Me: I was following traffic, and the road was clear?
Officer: I'm going to need to see license and registration.

[when he come back]

Officer: do you know you don't have license plates?
Me: Yes I do, there here on my front seat, I just haven't put them on.
Officer: you need to do that.
Me: Yep I know.
Officer: With your bad attitude I want you to know I could write you a ticket for traveling at excess speeds for conditions.
Me: and your not?
Officer: Slow down going around bottle bay, it can be sketchy sometimes.
Me: I know I drive it twice a day!
Officer: Well I go around there twice a day on my rounds so I would know.
Me: Have a great night.

OH MY HECK! Just my luck, are you kidding?! Why!? Trucks like me, OK...all of you know that I drive like a grandma...Especially in bad weather. How ironic is it that he got me for going too slow, and not even a month later too fast? Goodness. On a Saturday and Friday night I'm sure he was just trying to find someone to get on a DUI. Unfortunately for him, I was a waste of time. Haha I was irritated at the time, but after talking to Del and Carson, I laughed it off. It's now a great story.