April 8, 2013 Panama Canal Cruise; Day 4 Aruba- Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Can you believe it?  Two Years already!  Wow!

Fernando, our steward, put this up

Brett and I woke up in Aruba for our anniversary.  The Island Princess docked in the port of Oranjestad and we were off the ship an hour later.  I had heard great things about Aruba especially from my sister, Tara, who vacations there frequently.  Unfortunately, we wouldn't have time to explore the city of Oranjestad because the ship was only there for 5 hours and we had an excursion to go snorkeling that would take about 4. hours.  That's okay, because we had a great time with our excursion.

Definitely Dutch influence

We boarded a catamaran boat that took us along the coast to a very nice coral reef.  When I jumped in, I was thinking the water would be bath temperature like Belize, but I was a little mistaken and may have hyperventilated.  If you give me 5 minutes though, I'll warm up and be fine.  Brett makes fun of me because I always do this...the ocean is scary, okay!  The water was about 4-12 ft deep, depending on where you went.  It was very relaxing and quite enjoyable. While snorkeling there were lots of fish, eels, sea urchins, and coral.  We had some crackers and it was funny to see the fish get all crazy and then disappear.  After a half hour, they called us back to the boat and we headed to our second stop.

The second stop was the Antilla Shipwreck.  Now Aruba was originally founded by the Dutch and during World War II in the early 1940's, the Dutch did not want the Germans to find this cargo ship, the Antilla.  So what did the Dutch do, they sunk it in 40 ft deep water.  Years later, the Antilla has become a popular snorkeling site in the Caribbean Sea.  I must admit that snorkeling in 40 ft deep water with some crazy waves was a little scary.  It was hard to see the ship because the waves made the water murky.  At one point I noticed there were bubbles floating from the ship and I was hoping the ship wasn't going to blow or that some shark was coming to eat me.  In the end, it was some scuba divers.  Ha!  After 20 minutes, Brett and I thought we had seen enough and headed back to the boat.

(We took pictures with the water camera, but I don't have digital copies to share...sorry)

The Island Princess

Before leaving port, I snapped this shot of Oranjestad, Aruba

That night, Brett and I had a wonderful 5 course dinner to celebrate.  Our waiter even sang "Happy Anniversary" to us which was quite enjoyable.  Now, I just want to note that I deserve to be "wife of the year" because I let Brett watch the NCAA Championship game on our anniversary night.  We watched the game with the Movie Under the Stars screen, so Brett was a happy camper.  We even enjoyed a delicious mock-tail.

Happy Anniversary, my love!

April 5-7, 2013 Panama Canal Cruise Day 1- Fort Lauderdale; Day 2-3 Sea Days

Thursday night, April 4th, had finally arrived!  Brett and I finished work, ate a delicious Acai Banana Berry Bowl, dropped off our Siamese Cats to my In-law's, and went on our way to LAX.  We were both ready to start this Panama Canal Cruise adventure.

My delicious and healthy dinner

The worst part about traveling is probably waiting to get on the plane.  At this point, I'm pretty antsy to just be at my destination.  I was also mentally preparing myself that A) I most likely would not get any sleep on the red-eye and B) was probably going to be grumpy due to the jet lag when we arrived at Fort Lauderdale.  I know myself too well! ;)

Pre-flight picture:

purple skinnies, my polka dot Keds, and carry on luggage

Our flight was with Virgin America and it was ok.  I thought they were better than Delta, but I still love Air New Zealand the best (selection of shows and the cuddle seat).  I don't want to sound like a complainer, but their head rest was uncomfortable because it stuck out more and forced you to sleep sitting up and I can't do that. Also, their satellite TV kept going out which was disappointing especially when you couldn't sleep.  I did make the best of the situation, but Brett agrees with me 100% that it wasn't the best for us.   

Brett and I arrived in Fort Lauderdale at 6 a.m. and had to hang out at the airport for 5 hours until we could board the ship in Port Everglades.  We made the best of it and ate breakfast at Chili's and slipped in a few cat naps as well.  When it was finally 11 a.m., we hailed a taxi and went to the Port.  The Port was probably 3 miles from the airport which was about a $15 taxi ride.  Brett was getting a little upset because the guy took $20 and didn't give us any change back.  He pretty much ripped us off, but I told Brett just to let it go. No need to get in any arguments with the taxi guy!

We eventually boarded the Island Princess, settled ourselves into our stateroom, met some people, ate some lunch, and then took a two hour nap.  That nap was much needed because then I felt I had energy to explore the ship and get ready for my 5 course dinner.  I love cruising because of all the seafood I can eat.  My favorite is shrimp cocktail for an appetizer every night!  Such good food!

We spent the next two days at sea. We kept ourselves busy with Zumba, reading, relaxing, swimming, eating, napping, more working out, Movies Under the Stars, etc.  Brett and I did begin to notice that 85% of the people on this ship were 70 and over.  We were thinking that we may be the youngest couple on the cruise, which ended up being pretty accurate.  That didn't bother us and that's why I like Princess (not a drunk party ship).  This cruise was already great!

Back from the Cruise

Brett and I came home on Monday after a wonderful 10 day cruise to the Panama Canal.  We had a great time and loved spending our anniversary this way.  This has been our third cruise with Princess Cruise since we were married two years ago. We seriously love them!  The service is exceptional, the food is great, and they have one of the best itineraries in the world.
I love vacations and I am really grateful to have a husband who shares the same goal as me to see the world.  This may sound cheesy, but I really think that seeing the world makes me feel more accomplished and well rounded.  I love learning the history and seeing how people live in their environments.  It makes me appreciate what I have in America.  I also find it a great opportunity to share with others what I believe is true, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It's so wonderful to travel!
I know a lot of people probably wonder how we afford to travel so much.  It's simple, we save the money and we have the time to do it.  We don't have any children yet and until we do, we are traveling as much as we can.  But, I think even when the kids do come, we will still make the time. :)

Anyway, just wanted to give an update and let you know that some more posts will be coming your way about our fantastic trip!

Happy Easter!

I am very grateful for Easter and the reminder of my Savior's Atonement, Crucifixion, and Resurrection.  The fact that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again because of Jesus is beautiful and a wonderful gift.  I am so grateful to have the restored Gospel and the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. Families are Eternal!  

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter!

Happy Easter from myself and the Easter Bunny (Chip)

Disclaimer: He was one angry Siamese Cat! :)

New Obsession-Nekter Juice Bar

I've been making my own green smoothies the last year and I absolutely love them.  I know that I always feel good, feel more energized, and am actually getting the nutrients that I may not be always getting. 

Well, there is a place called Nekter Juice Bar that is starting to become big here in SoCal and they just opened a new location in Brea.  Nekter Juice Bar is all about cleansing and detoxing your body the right way with your daily fruits and vegetable.   They have juices, smoothies, and the Acai Bowls which are so delicious!

Check out their website :http://www.nekterjuicebar.com/

My favorite: Tropical Cooler

(kale, spinach, pineapple, banana, coconut butter, and coconut water)

Let's just say that I am obsessed with this place!

City of Hope 2013

The past couple of days, Brett and Avery Dennison had their yearly event with the City of Hope.  This meant we could go down to Monarch Beach in Dana Point and have a mini staycation at the 5 Star St. Regis for a couple of days.

Our view from our room this year

We had a really nice and relaxing time.  Brett was mainly busy with the event, but I enjoyed myself with laying out at the pool and taking yoga classes.  I was able to go to the closing dinner that is after the golfing event and enjoy a nice dinner.  Brett golfed this year and his team did fairly well. At the end of the dinner, they had the big raffle. We were hoping that we would win some airline tickets again like we did last year, but we didn't.  I guess our luck ran out this year!  We did hear great news that Avery Dennison helped the City of Hope raise $235,000.  That is a tremendous amount of money and I hope it helps with the cancer research. 

Momentum's Gala

On March 16th,  Momentum Dance of Performing Arts Center had their 10th Anniversary.  To celebrate there was an Interactive Hearts Gala to help raise money for the kids less fortunate that do not have access to the arts in their communities.

A lot of work went into the gala and it turned out really nice.  There were two shows and yes, I performed a duet called "Passion Moves" with Kaitlin Wright choreographed by Michelle Hamilton.  I love the dance because it's a lot of fun and Kaitlin and I finally had a chance to dance together.

Happy 10 Years, Momentum!