A Much Needed Vacation

Crystal and Lance at Mexican night!

On of my best friends, Crystal, called me about two months ago now and said, "We'd like to invite you come to Mexico with us! Can you come?" I of course accepted, and by the end of that week already had my plane ticket booked. It was a family vacation with her parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces and nephews. There were 18 of us total. Enough of us to hold out layover plane for when our first flight had some 'technical' problems and we had over an hour delay at the SLC Airport. 

Found this little guy on the beach one night. 

I love traveling, I especially love traveling to places where I get to see a new way of life. I think I'm glad we don't have Puerto Vallarta s way of left hand turns though...from the furthest right hand lane  through two or three lanes of traffic and and island to shoot onto the other side of the highway. They may need to work on that...We even loaded up a seven passenger mini van with fifteen people and all our luggage, and no one even cared. 

Playing in the waves

We stayed at Paradise Village, and they must not have very many big family groups that come to stay because they had a hard time understanding the room situation. I stayed in a room with Crystal and her husband, Lance, and her little sister Hailey. We had to check in three different times and slept in three different beds during the trip. Every time we checked in, we'd come in from the pool or beach and the people at the front desk would be oh so confused at how we'd got on the property.

They closed down the resort every night before 10:00 pm (I guess maybe that's an old people thing) so our group was the group breaking all the rules, swimming late at night, playing cards out by the pool, stealing vollyball's for a late night game or bodyboards for night surfing. (seriously, all that closes at 5pm) 

Pina Colada and Pink Dolphin in each hand! 

Hanging on the beach

For four of the days we were there, we had 'the golden wristband'. At least, Lance, Crystal and I did. So we got treated to the all inclusive package, we felt like celebrities! Workers would ask us as soon as we sat down at the beach or the pool, what they could bring us. We got food, drinks, exclusive dinners, pretty much the works. But then they cut them off and it was as if we were reduced to poverty. Once you live that life, it's just not the same anymore....Even right now, sitting in a freezing cold basement with snow outside, I'm dreaming of the beach and a Pink Dolphin or Freeze Willy drink...those were the days. 

The sun, the sand, the waves and the fun were all amazing. I'm so excited that I went and wish I was back there now! 

One of my favorite things was on Sunday, we flew out around 7 in the evening, but that afternoon we went to an Orphanage that my friends family  had visited before. We had brought some candy and toys, but really we wanted to just go in and see the kids. They let us go in and play with the toddlers, there is about 20 of them and one or two workers so these kids don't get a lot of one on one attention. It was so amazing. They all just ran up to us and wanted us to hold them. Some of them picked favorites and we had a blast! 

Anyway...the trip was a blast and I'm so glad I got to go

Road Trip

First of all, I'm not a slacker.  Let's get that cleared up:-) I am several days late in my post, but I'm sure you can forgive me. 
Secondly, last week had me thinking of the crazy year it has been.  One year ago last week, my husband and I woke up in Anchorage, Alaska for the first time.  Now I know what you are thinking.  All this girl talks about is freaking Alaska!  Well, you are correct.  That is because I live in this amazing place that is completely out of this world. 

Good bye, Utah!

Now. Back to the story.  It took us several days to get from Utah to Alaska, and it was quite the road trip. 
Picture this.  Thanksgiving morning.  You are supposed to wake up to amazing smells, yummy treats, and a parade, right?  Well, we woke up, had breakfast, and got into our crammed vehicle and started to drive.  We made it to Seattle that night, (no thanks to the random blizzard in Washington) completely starved.  We had been so focused on getting to Seattle in time that we didn't stop anywhere for food.  We started to walk through the area directly around our hotel and realized something.  No one was open because, yes, it was still Thanksgiving.  Luckily we had a loaf of banana bread with us in the car.  Banana bread and hotel lobby hot chocolate.  The Thanksgiving feast of champions. 

Driving onto our boat...

The next few days sailed by, literally, because we were on a boat.  We drove our vehicle onto the Malaspina, and sailed to Haines, Alaska.  Those were some fun days.  If you have ever been on a cruise, picture it.  Then think back 50 years and add an attendant named Smiley, and that is the boat we were on.  It was a great time, filled with Alaska documentaries in the 'theater', stopping at a grocery store in port to get some 'real' food,  and some sea sickness.   But we won't get into that. 

This creek, Sanpete Creek, was named for our
Sanpete County in Utah!! Yay, Canada is cool sometimes:-)

Finally we docked in Haines.  There had been a whopper of a snowstorm earlier that day, so our first impression of this part of Alaska was SNOW!!!!  Our destination was a charming little town in Canada called Haines Junction.  Although it was only a mere 150 miles, the journey took 5-6 hours.  We left the HJ the next morning and traveled to Tok, Alaska.  We met the nicest Chevron attendant, and were so happy to be paying for gas by the gallon instead of the liter. After resting in Tok for a little too long, (we had our own little cabin and Bailee thought it was her knew home) we drove to Anchorage.  As we dropped into the Mat-Su valley, we were greeted by the most amazing view of just one of the many very large mountains in the area.  What a welcoming sight! 
Yay for being in Alaska, tune in next time when we will debunk Alaskan myths!! Fun, huh? 

Where to go from here

I’ve decided to take my portion of the blog into a specific direction (or three).  So my future posts should follow one of these topics: Go Green, Get Clean, Try it!

Go Green: I am currently trying to save money and be healthier by making some of my own cleaning products… And whatever else I manage to accomplish that I think falls under this category!

 

Get Clean: I am horrible at my house-wifely duty of keeping the house clean, it’s mundane, and tiring, and there’s just always something else to do, and do again! But it’s not just that (cause honestly, how boring would such a blog be?) I am also a bit of a pack-rat, a horder, a person who just cannot throw random things away… So my home tends to have MANY ‘piles’ of stuff that I just don’t know what to do with. Quite frankly it’s getting to be a bit much. I found a post called ‘8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home’ on KeeperoftheHome.org and I think her plan is pretty awesome, so I’ll be trying it out! Keep in mind I can’t get myself to even clean my house (or a room) every day, so I won’t be accomplishing her de-junking in the ideal 2 months.

Try it!: oh the joys of Pinterest. Whether it’s a craft, a snack, or a meal, I find many wonderful ideas on pinterest, but it’s not so easy to follow through and actually make something! So whenever I get that ‘hoo-ray, I did it!’ I will share with you whether it was a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. I can hear your excitement already. :)

-Angela