SURPRISE!

For the past 2 years I have worked every Saturday. So needless to say, I was so excited about a month ago when my work changed my schedule to working every other weekend! oh happy day! That meant two things- I could actually do things on Saturday with the rest of the world- and I would have a 3 day weekend every other week! Could life get any better- I submit that it can not!

As soon as I realized this, I got online to find a flight home for a weekend. And I decided to do it as a surprise to my parents. Why not visit Utah in February? Sounded like a good plan to me!

It took everything in me to not let it slip! Each time I talked to my parents I had to bite my tongue. I also didn't tell a lot of people because I was afraid they would find out.

As the days got closer, I was ready for a vacation. I had a really rough week at work and was ready for a break from life. I had 2 goals for when I got home...

1)Not do anything

2) Stay in my pajamas.

I wanted to spend as much time with my family as I could- When I was home for Christmas I was able to see a few other people- but this time- I was ready for family time!

I debated many different scenarios about how to break the surprise to them. Should I call in the week and tell them that I was coming so that they wouldn't plan anything else? Should I call from the airport and say "Guess what I'm doing tonight? I'm coming to see you!" or should I just ring the doorbell and see what they do? I went back and forth all week and one day as I was driving to work- it hit me! The best idea ever! I was so excited!

Unfortunantly, I did have to work all day that Friday so I didn't leave for the grand state of Utah until about 7:15 at night. However, we were delayed a bit. And the panic set in. Didn't they know that there was a possibility that my parents would be sleeping when I arrived! I wanted to tell the captain that we had to get a move on! We had to arrive to Utah on time! :)

Somehow we left 30 min late but arrived to Utah only 10 minutes behind schedule. (I like to think that he could see the worry on my face and maybe stepped on it and went a little above the speed limit in the air!) I didn't check a bag so I was out the airport door and into the Utah cold as fast as my legs would carry me!

Joanna picked me up and on the way, I called home. My heart was pounding as I heard the phone ringing. "Just don't mess it up!" I could just see myself saying something like --Oh I love this road/building/restaurant or something like that and give it all away! Also- I had to just sound calm- as I would have been if I had been in AZ talking to them.

My parents had been sick and so I didn't talk to them at all that week. Which gave us a lot to talk about. THANKFULLY-- Because we hit every red light on the way!

We pulled up and I just kept talking and walked in. I saw Joanna's dog waiting for us and my parents heard us come in. However, my dad didn't look to see who came in, because they were expecting Joanna. As I walked up the stairs, my mom asked how work was. I could barely speak because I was so excited. My heart was pounding. I kinda felt like a little girl on Christmas morning! I could hear my mom down the hall and on the phone. I was so excited! I headed down the hall and then into the room where my mom was laying down. As I turned the corner...she screamed and jumped out of bed. She kept looking at the phone and then at me- as though I had just came out of the phone! She was mostly shocked because she was expecting Joanna to be there and then it wasn't. Her brain had to do some shifting as she realized who it was that was coming in.

We laughed, talked and I thoroughly enjoyed just being home! I went to bed that night- very content with my decision to be at home! No stress...no worries... just happiness! (However my poor mom was so excited that she didn't sleep at all that night! oops--- I sure didn't think about that!)

Somehow I was able to accomplish my 2 goals. I didn't change out of my PJs (except for church) and just hung out. We did a puzzle, watched the olumpics, and just rested. Amazing!

Yep- thats right. We did an entire puzzle in one day. We are pretty amazing. Janelle and Andre got a babysitter that night and so it was just us adults. We laughed until we cried and our sides hurt! It was the best!

"What work?! I'm just going to read these comics and maybe take a nap!" No cares in the world!

I headed over to Janelle's house the next day after church, so that I could see my cute nephews. (As you can see I was still wearing the same sweatshirt! ) They are too cute!

My eyes are kinda closed in this one- see I was really accomplishing my goal of sleeping! Even while playing!

I did get out a little bit on Monday-- Just a little Nickelcade memory before I flew home. We had a grand ole time having fun! (And yes... I am wearing a jacket and a scarf inside! It was freezing!- I'm a wimp!) Lets thank Amy's cell phone for these fabulous pictures!)

We did ask ourselves why Nickelcade was open on a Monday afternoon- because who would be there? What kind of people go at that time? Well, we quickly found out! As we were playing air hockey this guy came up and started giggling at us. Not only did he start giggling...but he didn't stop. He was just laughing and laughing which made us laugh so hard. I could barley see the puck because I was crying with my laughing! He had one of those laughs that killed me! He proceeded in following us around- which made for quite the adventurous Nickelcade experience! He laughed at my basketball form- played side by side with us at air hockey, watched me shoot at Aliens...It was kind of like having a Shadow. (A really loud shadow with a really fun giggle!)

Later on Amy and I tried to play air hockey left handed.. which our new friend thought was HILLARIOUS! He asked if he could play the winner. To which Amy graciously "let me win" so he could play me. Wasn't that nice of her?! Well- it was kind of nice- so that she could take a picture...

I will now- never forget this moment... nor his giggle (Is that even the proper usage of the word nor?!)

And we played and played and played and no one was getting any goals! So...I decided to stop guarding my goal and let him win! I mean- I had a plane to catch!

It was such a great weekend! I felt so rejuvenated and just enjoyed every minute!!! Now that I am back in AZ- I think that I could really get used to traveling home a lot more often!

Thanks everyone for a great time! :)

PS- why did I not get a picture with mom and dad?! Lame! I guess I better go back home and get one! :)

The giggles

First of all, I do recognize the need that I have to apologize to the few of you who read this blog and wonder where I have been for the last few months! Well- here I am- Back and ready to share more adventures! Are you ready... buckle up!

The giggles.

You know those moments when you KNOW that you aren't supposed to laugh, but something that just happened is so funny, and wouldn't have been that funny, except for the part that you need to by quiet- therefore making it all the more funny?

Dont deny it- because I know you've all been there.

Like the time when the sacrament program had a misspelling of American Fork. It read American Pork and my dad and I couldn't look at each other throughout the rest of the meeting because it was making us laugh too much.

Or the time while at a Ricks devotional. In the middle of the opening musical number- while the rest of the student body seemed to have perfect reverence and were not talking, I was minding my own business when my friend leaned over and looked at my scriptures. They had my middle initial V on them and he asked what my middle name was. I whispered "guess" to which he proceeded to give the typical guesses that I was used to, Veronica? Vivian? Victoria?Recognizing that I should not be talking- I decided to give him the one clue that always gives it away. "Its a state." I said, but soon realized that this wasn't going to end the conversation quickly because a very strange look on his face appeared on his face. Then with that very serious and quite appalled look he replied "You middle name is Vermont?!" At that time, in all my 19 years of life, I had never heard anyone come to that conclusion after having been given that clue!

Then came the giggles... I started and could not stop. The bench was shaking with me and tears rolled down my face as my held my hands over my mouth- I did everything to hold it in. Because he was still stuck on the fact that my parents had named me Vermont, he did not know the reason for my laughter until I was able to calm down just enough and whisper "Virginia!" Which at that moment, he said "Oh thats funny" and joined me in trying to find anyway to keep the laughter from disturbing those around us. It was very unfortunate that that was at the beginning of the program!

Or the time in the MTC when I was teaching a set of Elders. We were paired off in a large group, each set of missionaries teaching the first discussion to another set. (In Spanish- obviously)I was testifying about prophets and asked one of them to read a scripture. Meaning to give them Amos 3:7 but not knowing Spanish well enough at that point, I had actually given them another one to read. As he struggled through reading it, the thought did occur to me- How come I haven't heard the one familiar word "profetas"that I would recognize? And did he just read ""pies"? meaning feet. When he finished, pushing those thoughts out of my head, I just carried on with the script and asked "So what does that tell us about prophets?" and he replied with a very blank and confused look "um... I don't know. Except it did say something about feet!" As I looked closer, I realized that I had given him the wrong scripture- and then it hit me. You would have thought that he had just told me the funniest joke in the world. I started giggling and could not stop. The four of us were laughing together, but after a few minutes, they stopped but I could not get it together. My companion took over and began teaching as I did everything in my power to distract myself and calm down. Each time I thought I had composure and I looked up to begin again, The "funniness" of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks and the laughter all came back full force.

In the end, the teacher actually asked me to leave the classroom (with my comp) to see if I could calm down. Oddly enough it still took about 10 min to be able to walk back in without having to turn around just to laugh again.

I could keep going- because I know that my laugh book in heaven is overflowing with similar situations. And a few days ago- I had yet another one of these experiences. Except I was on the flip side of it.

We are hiring for 2 new positions in our Emergency Room. I am very excited about this new growth on our department! However we have received 22 applications for the position- and had interviewed 3 of them. Each one had interviewed quite well and I was thinking "If they all interview like this- we are not going to be able to decide". As we waited to call for the phone interview for the last one of the day, I said to my coworkers "I kind of hope she bombs, just because it will make it easier for us!" (Rude, I know!)

And I think that I jinxed her.

When we finally called and heard her say "hello" which sounded a lot like Eeyore, we knew this interview may not be so good. During the first 5 questions, I found myself really confused at her answers and wondered if she had even heard of child life before. I looked at my boss and co-worker and could see on their faces that they agreed. Then on questions 6 things got really weird. The question stated that a 3 yr old and a 12 yr old come to the ER for stitches. How do you prepare each one of them? As she began and I started writing her answers down, to say the least I was shocked at what she was saying. Nothing fit the "typical" child life answers. As I looked up at my boss (who is VERY professional and VERY serious during things like this) I saw that she had a different emotion than shock. She had her head down with her hands over her mouth. Something the girl had said had hit her as funny- so funny in fact that she could not stop. I knew that if I looked at her- and especially if we made eye contact- I would be a goner. So I focused on my paper and did everything to hold it together (thank goodness it was a phone interview!) I turned my head to the other side and saw my co worker point to the door and mouth the words "OUT!" because she knew as well as I did that in a matter of moments, the funniness of the situation- added to the fact that we could not laugh, would catch up to us and we would all be dying.

My poor boss did everything to keep it together. She did get up and walk to the door and for the remainder of the interview had her back to us. I took over the interview and continued to ask the questions. I would watch her start to walk back and then have to turn and run back to the door because those giggles would sneak back up to her. Thankfully, the girl kept talking without a hiccup, which made me think that she really had no idea what was happening in the room. When we were done my boss apologized profusely about being so "unprofessional". However, I quite enjoyed it! And was grateful that it was someone else this time!

Thank goodness for the tender mercies of laughter! To be honest, I can't wait for the next time that this happens to me!

Is it bad?

Is it bad that I am posting many weeks after the 31st about Halloween?! I sure hope not! Just go with it! Life has been busy but I really wanted to get these pictures up!

I loved Halloween as a child! Therefore I decided to get back into the child feel and make Halloween fun again! The guests had to order out of a menu full of all sorts of wacky names and were left wondering what they ordered. (It was pretty hard keeping my roommate out of the kitchen so that she wouldn't cheat!)

The pumpkin Pub featured many appetizing entrees on this frightful night

Christy ended up ordering:

Monsters Toes, Monsters teeth and Frankensteins fingers and had lion's blood to drink

Andy Chose

Mummy's Heads

Bat's brains

and Dracula's death

With Witches Brew to drink

The only thing left that I forgot to get a picture of was the Witches intestine(Spaghetti with meat sauce).

Here are some close ups so that you can all see the ghouly delight!

Mummy Heads

Monster Toes

Monsters teeth and Frankensteins fingers

Bat Brains were just cottage cheese. Witches brew was Sherbet and 7-up and Lions blood was Hawaiian Punch.

Good times were had by all! :)

One day more

We actually had one more day in Rome after our cruise...and we needed it. We were much more relaxed (since there wasn't a baggage issue anymore) and felt like we could fully enjoy ourselves!

Just a recap of why we love Rome-

Fountains!

There are fountains like these around every corner. Safe to drink and constantly running- I think that Rome should market that slogan "You'll never go thirsty in our town!"

Apart from the little fountains like these...there are also massive ones everywhere as well. (What can I say- Romans like water! Aqueducts sound familiar?!) The Trevi fountain is one of the most popular in Rome (as apparent from the masses of tourists seen here!)

I was so hot that it looked so appealing to dive into, but I refrained because I'm sure that is frowned upon!

Legend has it that if you throw money over your shoulder, you will again return to Rome!

Here I go! Looks like I'll be heading back in the future!

Tobacco!

We stayed in an apartment in a very Italian neighborhood where English speakers were few and far between. However we are fast learners and found that the one word in English that they knew was "Tobacco"! Any question we would ask "Phone card?" "Bus pass?" etc. would be answered with them saying "Tobacco!" Why? You ask- well because everything you need is found in the Tobacco shop! Pretty soon we learned that, like the fountains, they are found on every corner. We got a kick out of yelling out, in our newly acquired Italian accents, "Tobacco" whenever spotted the T. We are fun- I know.

Little Tiny Itty Bitty Smart Cars!

Everywhere. They speed around every corner and park wherever they like! I gotta get me one of these!

Gelato!

A lot of Gelato was consumed by the 4 of us. We figured that it doesn't count when you're on vacation right! I mean it's only the world BEST ice cream ever! :) Even when the cute old Italian man misunderstood me and thought I said black licorice instead of Nutella (a horrible an awful mix up I know!) couldn't even understand me to know that he had misunderstood me to begin with- so I ate it anyway- and it wasn't half bad!

Spanish Steps!

Seems to be the hang out place for most tourists and Italians alike. The last night we were there, we bought some Gelato and enjoyed feeling like Italians as we sat on the steps getting ready to say our goodbyes to the town. Some nice Italian man sat by us and told us the history of the steps! I'll let you Wikipedia it- if you're interested! :)

Scusa!



We learned this Italian word very quickly. "Excuse me". and we used it often. We laughed when we saw it spray painted on this wall. Simply because, like the "Tobacco" we used it as often as we could!

The Tiber!

It was just fun to see a river that I do actually remember hearing about in History class! (I guess I didn't sleep as much as I had thought!)

Bridges and Castles!

We were just walking around (Probably eating Gelato) and minding our business when we saw some awesome bridges

that led to a castle!

Food!

Restaurants galore in this town! I probably gained 10 pounds alone with the amount of mouth watering pasta that I ate! (And I would again too!)

Apartments!

We did an apartment rent by owner service and I would do it again in a heart beat. Its cheaper than a hotel, they bought us breakfast the first day we were there. They are safe, clean and the owners are super helpful! Not to mention cute! Ours was kind of like a pent house with such a great view!

This picture was taken in the courtyard of our apartment right before our Taxi picked us up to go to the airport! In all honesty we were sad to say goodbye!

We love ya Italy! And like the fountain says- We'll be back!

The love boat- exciting and new

Well no true romance was found with any person upon this boat- however I did fall in love... with the boat itself! Royal Caribbean Cruise line was AMAZING! 12 floors of pure fun is what we liked to call it!

Remember how we almost missed the ship on the first day? Okay not almost- but we were there right at the time they said "Do not arrive past this point" so we were a little bit stressed to say the least . Therefore when I first saw our Ms. Navigator of the Seas, aka our ship, I didn't really focus on how great she was. Instead it was more- get inside so it wont leave us!( After that, at each port, I truly was able to admire the beauty! Ü)

However, once inside I was shocked. I think we just stood there for a moment. I even said- is this really a ship? Its like a city in here!

Because I'm kinda cheap- we booked the least expensive room on the ship. Therefore, I really didn't have too many expectations. After getting all checked in, I was ready to collapse out of exhaustion! We opened our door and I was again surprised. Our room was much larger and spacious than I was picturing! It even had a couch- Just in case you wanted company I guess! :)

The two nights before our "at sea" days we did not set a wake up call. We were sure that we would wake up around 9 or so. However, our bodies had a different agenda. Because we didn't have a window- which meant no sun coming in to sing us good morning, we slept in until 10:30 or 11! The first morning I looked at the clock and was sure it was wrong! I think that I have now figured out how to have my children sleep late!

Since the ship is a little on the massive side, they had this map to help remind you where things are.

However sometimes we still got turned around. But all we had to do was look for Campbells and we knew we were just a few doors away! It really does do a body good!

The first time we walked through the Casino I almost lost my balance because the floor was one big pinball machine thing. It played tricks on your eyes so I can only imagine what that would be like if you were drunk! (Since most of the people in there were unfortunately!)

Royal Caribbean went ABOVE AND BEYOND to make us comfortable since we lost our luggage. They gave us toiletries, as many laundry vouchers as we needed, and T-shirts. Here we were on the first day with our newly acquired things!

So what do you do on a ship for so many hours? How about I take you on a little tour...

Maybe you could try a little mini golf.

Those of you who have played miniature golf with me may know that at at least one point in the game my ball ends up in some water. Whether it be the stream or pond etc. Therefore I was a little worried that the ball would end up in the water on this occasion as well- however, that water would equal the Mediterranean Sea. Which would have made it a little harder to retrieve! So I toned in down and really focused on not using my muscles too much!

After that you could head down a few floors and perhaps go ice skating.

It was the most international skating rink that I have ever been on! Not one other person spoke English while we were there! Therefore, getting someone to take these pictures was quite entertaining!

They even had an ice show later on that night. It was kinda like a "so you think you can dance" but on ice!

Then to a place for the kiddos! (Or for me!)

Video Games!

Now in all honesty, we did not actually play these. Unlike everything else that was free- they were expensive!!! About 1.25 per game. (Remember I'm cheap!) I WAS going to come back and play at least one time, but I was too occupied with other things that I actually forgot about it! I know! Shocking stuff.

So if you're really ready for an adventure you could try rock climbing or just skip on over to the basketball court.

Of course a cruise wouldn't be a cruise without some chairs to lay out and enjoy yourself! (I do not have a picture of myself doing this. Again, you are welcome!)

I didn't take a picture during the day either because there were lots of speedos and barely covered woman! I figured it was better to remember it this way!

Plus, I think that the clouds looked awesome!

On our first day at sea I decided to try out one of those chairs. I was so comfortable and so exhausted from the previous days stress in Rome that fell sound asleep for over an hour. I didn't move an inch. Which is weird since there were so many people around me- normally I am a little more self conscience than that!

When I woke up, I knew I was in trouble! I had major burn lines. But they weren't the normal burn lines. One of my legs was crossed over the other one- so only half of it got burned. Plus, my head was down over one side of my neck so there was a line on my neck where my shadow was. Half my neck was white and half was red! There was also some random white line that ran down my arm. I think there was some shadow from a part of the ship.

Lets just say that I stayed out of the sun for the rest of the time! You can see the funny burn lines in all the previous posts (Dad even mentioned it! You are super observant daddy-o!)

We made sure to watch the sunset on the ship! (Since we were never up in time to watch the sun rise!)

Tiffany and I went exploring one day and found something very different. Shuffleboard! We had never played it and decided that we would become pros. We found Nate and Larisa and gave it a try. Have you played this deceiving game before? One that looks so easy but turns out to not be so?

I may look like I know what I am doing, but turns out that I do not! You need a certain type of muscle that I apparently do not have! I would push with all my might and maybe get it 3/4th of the way! I tried to blame it on the forceful wind that decided to blow that day. However, it isn't a very good excuse when other people who are playing have no problem! Oh well! I guess I'll have to take up shuffleboard and practice getting those muscles.

Then the captain came on a said something that none of us understood expect for one word- Sicily. We looked up and there she was! We were floating by our beloved Sicily! It was fun to see her again!

I had to add this picture simply because it was so unbelievable windy that day - Tiffany's hair looks awesome!

So there you have it! A lot to do in the day- but then comes the evenings! That's when things get rocking! The main deck was always having something going on. From Mardi Gras, to fashion shows etc...

Since we don't drink, we didn't do the whole "bar thing" that I think everyone else on the boat did. Therefore, we made our own fun!

One night we went outside to take some pictures. It was SO windy that it took everything in us to stand! Unfortunately that is something that you cant capture in pictures. We were almost knocked into those chairs behind us. We were running with the wind pushing behind us and I thought for sure that I wasn't going to be able to stop and that I would go directly overboard!

Then there are the shows!

And lucky me to get the thrill of my life when it turns out that the FAB 4 were going to perform for us! I know!!! "How?" You ask since John and Goerge have long since left us? Well maybe they weren't the reals ones, but from where I was sitting you would have never been able to tell.

If you know me -even a little- you know that I love love love the Beatles. I figured that it was my one and only chance to feel like I actually got to see them perform. I was jumping around and singing every word to every song. It was a dream come true! I loved it! (Dont worry! I wasn't dancing alone! I'm not that weird!)


Feeling as though my life was complete after going to a Beatles concert- we were walking down a hallway that we had never gone down and look what we saw... My cute beatles (the real ones!) It was a perfect night!

I think that one of the best thing about Cruise ships were the surprises at night. Each night our beds were turned down and our room attended had made something out of our towells. Now that is a talent! I loved each one!

Elephant

Dog

Bat

Eskimo

Monkey

Swan

This wouldnt be a complete blog post had I not mentioned the dining room!

3 floors of beauty. I kinda felt like I was on the Titanic!

Two of the nights all the waiters sang to us on the stairs!

The best thing about the dining room was our table friends. Maureen and Brownwen from Wales. Oh how we loved these ladies. Really, I love anyone from the UK, but these ladies grabbed a special place in our hearts. They had us rolling on the table with laughter! Wether it was about how "dishy" our waiter was or how "sickly" the dessert was. They kept us laughing!

They made us promise to come visit them in Wales. It really didnt take much encouraging for us!I guess thats where the next vacation will be! UK here we come!

The first formal night occured before we got our luggage back. So the nicest ship ever- Royal Caribbean- loaned us formal dresses and a Tux for Nate. So nice. They were sleeveless so we had to do some fixing up. We had a shawl for Larissa and I had a black shirt to put under mine. We pulled it off, but I was kinda dreading having to do it again!

However, we didnt have to because our luggage came in time for the second one! I could wear my own clothes and do my hair normal! It was a glorious evening together!

I was always pretty skeptical about Cruises, but after this one, I am a fan! I never once got sea sick, I enjoyed having food around every corner, and the people were over the top with customer service! I can't wait to go back! :) (But maybe with all my luggage next time!)