Scuba!

Bahamas scuba diving!

Courtnie's parents came with us on vacation to the island of Grand Bahama. We stayed in a nice resort and spent most of the time on the beach and in the pools. One day I skipped out on sunbathing and went scuba diving.

I was getting Nitrox and Wreck certifications.

The first dive was a WW2 landing craft turned log hauler turned artificial reef. There were a couple sharks and a stingray in the distance.

There was a lot of marine life including a bunch of lion fish.

The second dive was Shark Junction and we spotted 12 reef sharks.

Some sharks swam so close I could almost touch them. They didn't seem interested in tasing any people, just hoping for some carry out.

Apparently some tours feed the sharks while the divers sit still on the sand bar at the bottom. So we went down and sat still on the sand and the sharks came in hoping they would get a free lunch.

There was some remainder of a wreck at the second location as well, but it was just the bottom of a ship with the props poking up. The rest was scattered across the area.

If the video below works for you, you'll get a good feeling of how the sharks were swimming all around us.

Vacation!

Vacation! So I answered a political survey and won a free(ish) cruise. We set sail from Ft. Lauderdale and had an extra day before we left so we went on a tour of the Everglades. We took an air boat tour and saw some gators.

Mom and Luke held a baby gator. Dad and I were too chicken even though his mouth was taped shut. 

Our cruise took us to Grand Bahama Island where we got to stay for a few days. The weather was in the 70s so not super warm, but definitely warmer than Wyoming!



After our hotel in Ft Lauderdale we were a little nervous about what the resort would be like. It was awesome! This was the view back to the main lobby area.

They had a giant chess set outside for us to play with. Luke won because I have no skills at chess.

The pool was right on the beach. It was the off season and a section of the resort was being renovated so we basically had the pool all to ourselves. It was pretty cold so we liked the hot tub better than the pool.

Beautiful white sandy beaches.

The resort was right across the street from the Port Lucaya market. This is where we ate most of the time.

We took a banana boat tour with our boat captain Boots. This was apparently one of the ships they used in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We lived with some tour guides in Alaska and they told us they made up a lot of the stuff they told people. So knowing this, I am a little sceptical of tour guides.

Mom and Dad with Cpt. Boots. We did this while Luke was scuba diving. A new post to follow to tell all about it.

At the cruise ship port.

After the cruise we went up to Orlando and spent a couple of days at Universal studios. Yay!



This is the Rockit roller coaster. You got to pick out the song that played while you rode. I pick "I Will Survive" and Luke picked "Born to be Wild." It was pretty intense. At one point I almost blacked out but didn't throw up!



Day 2 was the Island of Adventure. Home of Harry Potter World!



Another intense roller coaster. Again I did not throw up. Another victory for me.

Jurassic Park always reminds me of my brother Brett. He loved the movie when he was little. We went to Universal in California but he was too short to ride the ride and he was devastated. It was sad and funny all at the same time. Now it will forever be Brett's ride.

We got a little wet. 

Our next ride was the Dudley Doo-Right log ride. We figured since we were already wet, why not? By the time we were finished it was like we had gone swimming in our clothes! So wet! Just when we thought that we were safe and done and about to be unloaded, by-standers shot us in the face with water cannons! Oh the injustice!

Yes, we did pay for the people dryer.

Dad thought the people drenching cannons were the best thing ever. Retribution is a sweet and a vicious cycle.

Once we were thoroughly drenched we moved on to Harry Potter World! Hello Hogwarts.

We enjoyed some pumpkin juice and butterbeer. The butterbeer was delicious the pumpkin juice was only OK.

Hogsmead was very busy.

The Hogs Head and the Three Broomsticks.

Hogwarts Express.

Luke in Zonko's Joke Shop.

Me in Olivander's. The wand picks the wizard, and yes it was Bellatrix's.

 We had an awesome vacation but it is always nice to get home. We landed in Denver to cold and snow. Welcome home!

Halloween

 Happy Halloween! I love Halloween. Possibly because I feel it is the kick off to the holiday season or because it is a holiday that lets a grown up play dress up. This year we decided to get Baxter in on the dressing up. Our library offered free pictures for pets dressed up in costume. Here is Baxter as the Headless Horseman's Horse outside the library. The costume came with a headpiece but he did not like it at all! He laid down and wouldn't move until we took it off, but he didn't mind wearing the rest.

 We had our ward Halloween party the Saturday before. It was out at a ward member's farm in their barn. We enjoyed some tastey chili and cornbread, games and dancing (though it was to country music). Luke had a good time showing all the young men how to swing dance. Our "trunk or treating" consisted of the adults sitting in a big circle on hay bales while the kids walked around and around until all the candy was gone. Plenty of superheros to be seen this year. We also dressed up for work on Halloween day. Everbody had a difficult time guessing who we were. I thought we looked pretty great as Mary Poppins and Bert.

Happy Anniversary

 Yesterday we celebrated our fifth anniversary! It is hard to believe we have been married for so long. Time flies when you are having fun :) We were married on Saturday October 13, 2007 in the Logan, UT temple.

 Many of our family and friends were able to join us and help us celebrate.

We have been very blessed in our lives. We have both graduated from college and started our careers and have had many adventures together in the meantime. We have not been blessed with any children yet but we are so grateful to have our Baxter bug to keep us busy and entertained.

We kept yesterday pretty low key. The day before we had gone to see Taken 2 and got to go to Target (which is a big deal when you live somewhere with no shopping!). Saturday we slept in and made each other breakfast. Then we played some Frisbee golf with some friends. Then we went out and enjoyed a nice dinner.

We are really celebrating in a few weeks when we are going to cruise to the Bahamas! Hooray for warm weather and a week off of work!

I am married to the best husband ever. He is so kind and patient and a lot of fun. So glad he married me 5 years ago and looking forward to eternity!!



Conference Project

 This weekend was conference. I love to hear the messages of President Monson and the apostles. This conference I felt that the messages focused a lot on strengthening testimonies and overcoming trials. This could be because it was what I needed to hear personally. If you ask someone else they might tell you something different. I like to do something with my hands to help me concentrate on the talks while I listen.

Since Halloween is coming up I found a felt flower wreath to make on Pinterest. I cut about a hundred of these circles, then cut them into spirals to make the flowers. 

If you roll from the inside your flowers will be skinnier and if you start from the outside they will be fatter. I went with the skinny flowers. I didn't notice when I started that they used a grapevine wreath, which would have worked much better. I don't live anywhere near a craft store so I went with a foam wreath that I already had.

I ended cutting the wreath in half so I didn't have to put so many flowers on to cover up the wreath. Luke drew the pattern for the bats and helped me to finish up some flowers. I glued the bats to some wire and stuck it into the foam. I just tied on the bow so it can be changed for Thanksgiving.



 The finished product!

This was one of my favorite talks which was given by Elder Perry. A beautiful message and I love his smile!

Wedding!

This weekend we went to my Aunt Char's wedding. Yay! It was lots of fun to see her so happy and to get to see all the family.

The girls.

 All the siblings.

 Family picture minus the missionary.

 The happy bride and groom.

 Eric brought his new puppy Gambit to the party.

After the wedding we had the luncheon which was a delicious waffle and omlete bar. The reception was at a park that Char got a grant to create. It was a great weekend.