On Board Entertainment

Aboard our cruise ship there was a lot of on-board entertainment. Lots of shows and plenty of things to do!

On the first night of the cruise there was a really fun parade! I don't remember what it was supposed to be, but looking back at it, it seems kind of mardi-gras-ish.

(Yes, that is a Ben and Jerry's you see in the background.)

 One of the funniest parts of the first parade was actually watching the production guy having his own little dance party up above everyone else. He was shaking his hips like crazy!!

Go Grandma!

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There was a performance by Mosaic (terrible picture, I know) , which was awesome! They are an acapella group who was on America's Got Talent. I am pretty sure they came in second place during the season they were on.

There were also a few funny comedians, a production show, and also an Ice Show. Yes, there was an ice rink on our ship! Wild, huh? There's nothing like ice skating in the middle of the Caribbean...

We had a hilarious cruise director who was a little bald guy from Australia, he was very energetic and entertaining. He was at pretty much every event, and he also hosted a few shows, one of them being a live version of The Newlywed Game. They picked people right out of the audience, we were laughing hysterically at some of the things he asked, but more at the answers that people gave.

There was also an adult scavenger hunt which involved men wearing high heels, a bra, lipstick and carrying a purse. There were also some false teeth involved at some point. Need I say more?

So there was a 70's dance party on the Royal Promenade. We originally weren't going to go to it because we were all crazy tired, but when we were there it was so much fun!! And why in the heaven's does the amazingly attractive black man with the HOT body have to dance with the old lady?!? Hello!! I'm young and single and I was standing right there! That was totally unfair. I guess, if nothing else, I got some good eye candy.

Here is a picture of the theater where most of the shows happened. Also included is a picture of Arla snoozing away. We were trying to play a little joke on her and leave her in the theater for a minute but some lady woke her up! She wasn't too thrilled with our little joke, and we eventually got used to her sleeping everywhere we went... usually with her mouth hanging open.

By far one of the best employees/entertainers was a guy named Darryl Dyball.We met him the first day we got on the ship! We ran in to him several times during our trip and he would stay and chat with us forever! He was really funny and we all got along with him really well. Too bad he's from Niagara Falls, Canada....

Welcome to Miami

After our long layover in Minneapolis we flew through a ton of bad weather and finally made it to Miami pretty late Saturday night. I was hoping to see more of Miami but since our flight got pushed back so many times the most I got to see was the Walgreen's next to our hotel and the city from a distance while driving on the freeway.

Here is a view of the massive ship from the road. It doesn't look that big in this picture, but when you are close to the ship it is larger than life. Our ship had 14 decks!! It featured a Flow Rider, an Ice Skating Rink, Rock climbing wall, Mini Golf Course, Spa and Gym (hahaha one of the nicest gyms I have ever seen, but one that I never used...)several pools and hot tubs, restaurants, etc. It was sooo nice.

When we got on the ship we went to sign the waivers for all of the "extreme" sports, and got a little lost. The inside of the ship was a little bit confusing, and it only took about 4 days for us to get it all figured out.

We went to the top deck of the ship so we could watch it take off. Along with that we got to see some AMAZING houses that I am sure were ridiculously expensive. Here is the one that I would like to own one day (boat and all):

All of the huge houses were all on their private island, It was seriously amazing.

Here is a pic of My mom and I... and Arla in the background.

The Coast Guard drives around with their HUGE guns propped on the front of their boats. It's quite intimidating actually.

So here is a breakdown of everyone I went with...

From Left to Right... Candice (Cousin) Grandma Shila, Sandy (Aunt) Me! Mindy (Cousin-in-Law) & Arla (Great Aunt). My mom was there also, as pictured previously, but she was behind the camera on this one.

Mall Madness

I know it's about time that I blog about my cruise... only about 6 weeks after wards, but here it is nonetheless!

On the way to Miami we had a 6 hour layover in Minneapolis, so what do 5 girls do when they are stuck in a city for 6 hours? They go to the Mall of America! My opinion of the mall is that it's nothing spectacular. Take an average American mall, times the size of the mall by about 10, add a billion people that won't get out of your way, lots of expensive stores, and there you have it! Oh yeah... add a huge percentage of ghetto people too.

So we went to a few stores that we don't have in Utah, such as Bloomingdale's. I found this hideous shirt there, for a mere $200.00!!!!! Really? I'm pretty sure that I could find something more attractive on the clearance rack at Wal-Mart!

We stopped off at the Rainforest Cafe in the Mall for lunch. It wasn't too bad. I wouldn't run out in a hurry to go there again though.

The day we were at the mall was the Minnesota Vikings day, so there were players there signing autographs and what not, so needless to say that added about a million extra people to the mall that day.

So.... my final thought... if you're ever stuck in Minnesota, go ahead and stop by, but don't go out of your way to go there!

SugarLand

This year for mothers' day a few of my siblings and I decided to buy my mom a ticket to the SugarLand concert! She said that she was going to try to make my Dad go, but I love SugarLand, so I said no way to that! So I went!

 Opening act Danny Gokey. I haven't heard much of his music, but I really did enjoy his songs and his performance.

Second opener Julianne Hough. She wasn't too bad except she talks and sounds exactly like Miley Cyrus Who I'm not a big fan of.

 

The concert was really awesome and I had a great time with my Mom!

Sad Day...

I have been waiting to post my cruise blogs for a few reasons, but don't worry, I'm sure NONE of them were procrastination... ;) However, I took some videos on my Flip Video on the cruise, and my flip worked fine this weekend... and when I went to put the videos on my laptop last night, it wouldn't turn on!! I had hope that my videos would all be saved, however, that did not happen.

I went back to Best Buy and they said it's not fixable, and that they can't get my videos off the camera. I am really disappointed because I had some great videos. It really sucks, but oh well, what can ya do? Looking on the bright side, I did get a new Flip Video, with the cover that I had lost... and I also got a new laptop! Not at the same time, but my new computer will make me much more motivated to do it from my bed... or in front of the TV. Pathetic, I know.


I have wanted a Laptop for a really long time, so I am pretty excited about it! Hopefully I will keep you all up to date.

Bon Voyage!

So I've been working on a few blogs for about a week, trying out videos and what not, but in all the craziness I haven't been able to get them finished.... sorry about that!

Anyway... I'm off to here: (AKA Paradise) for a week!


I feel you all in on my adventures when I return!

Ben & Moab

Last weekend I wanted to go to Park City.... well, Ben had a different idea in mind. He wanted to go to Moab... I'm pretty adventurous, so I figured, what the heck? We went to Moab and several other places in one day, and it was awesome! We had a ton of fun, and surprisingly, didn't kill each other... or yell at each other, which is quite a record for us. (and no, we are not siblings, dating, or married... although you might think some of those things with the way we argue.

Ben and I went to the San Rafael Swell, which is also called "Little Grand Canyon." One of the biggest benefits of going on trips like this with Ben is that he has seen quite a lot in Utah, for more than anyone else I know, and knows the very best places to go.

After the swell we went to Canyonlands and I hadn't been there before either. We took a road that goes from Canyonlands to Moab.... it is AMAZING!

Okay, I quit. I have been trying and trying and trying to load more of my videos, but for some reason it will not load. It is so frustrating. So, you get half a post because frankly, I'm done fighting with the whole thing. I'm a little OCD about my blog though, so I'm sure at some point I will add more pictures and MAYBE videos and also finish the story. But, for now, I am tired of trying to finish the blog I have started weeks ago, that is still staring me in the face.

Are ya freakin kidding me?!?!

I walked out the door this morning and saw THIS!!!!!

Okay, seriously, it's April Fools' Day and Mother Nature must really be playing a cruel joke on me... so I thought. I started my car, and went back inside hoping that when I came back out it would be a nice spring morning, just like the day before... but when I went back out, it looked the same, and then it continued to snow the ENTIRE DAY!!!!  This is so NOT funny! It's Spring... come on now!

At the end of the day it still looked like this:

At least I'm not this guys parents... hahahaha.

 

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS -- Tracy Hawkins was expecting his son Todd to do something on April 1st -- he says he got his prankster spirit from his mother -- but he didn't expect to have to use his garage door to get in and out of his house.

Hawkins awoke early Thursday morning and decided to a have a look outside his house near 1700 East and 7400 South to see how much snow had fallen.

"I tried to look out the sidelight window, and it was all dark," he said. "So I opened the door, and I saw a brick wall."

The wall was made with cinder blocks, bricks and mortar. It covered all but the very top of the front door entrance. But this isn't the first time Todd Hawkins, 26, has pulled April Fools' Day prank.

Tracy said, "Two years ago, he put up a temporary fence. He put three goats in our backyard and a bunch of chickens. He put a duck in every bathtub in the house and a goldfish in every sink in the house."

Hawkins found himself explaining to his neighbors what happened. "They got a little antsy when the goats got out," he said.

Todd Hawkins rents a basement room from his parents, but he blocked the door to discourage any kind of payback.

"He's getting married soon, so he's finally leaving the nest, so the sooner the better," Tracy Hawkins joked.

Best Ever Oreo Cookies

I will warn you now... these are VERY ADDICTING!!! But if you think you can handle it, here's how to make them!! 

Ingredients:

Outstanding Oreo Cookies
1 box devil's food cake mix
3/4 cup butter of margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

 

 In a large bowl combine cake mix, the 3/4 cup butter, and eggs.  Chill about 10 minutes. 

 Roll into small balls. 

  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes.

Place on cooling rack.

 Get ready to frost...

To prepare filling, beat cream cheese, the 1/2 cup butter, and vanilla together.  Add powdered sugar and mix together.  Spread filling on top of cookie, and then top with another cookie.

Amazing!!