Las Vegas

On Monday, we headed to Las Vegas. We went to the Aladdin shops and the Hard Rock Cafe. On Tuesday, we dropped Dad off at the Rio for his conference. Mom and I went shopping. After we picked up Dad, we went to the Factory outlet mall. Then we went and ate a Mexican restaurant called Que Pasa and drove around the strip.

On Wednesday, Mom and I went to the Fashion Show Mall, Treasure Island, and then back over to the hotel. We are staying at the Venetian. When Dad was done with his class, we went and checked out the Wynn Hotel and walked around the Grand Canal Shops. They dragged me to a gross Chinese buffet for dinner.

On Thursday, Mom and I walked around the Grand Canal shops again. We also walked around the shop at the Boulevard mall and ate prime rib at the California Hotel for supper. We walked around the Forum shop at Caesar's Palace. We also drove past the temple.

Today, we checked out of our hotel and drove home.

Spirit Lake

Mom, Dad, and I went to Spirit Lake in the Uintahs. We stopped in Evanston, Wyoming on our way and on the way back. My aunt Susan and my uncle Cliff went camping with us as well. I finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while we were there.

Flying Home

This afternoon, we checked out of hotel and went to the Ward Entertainment Center. Dad and Ryan saw War of the Worlds, while Mom and I saw Bewitched. After the movies, we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Mom and I waited at the mall, while Dad and Ryan took the luggage to the airport. While Ryan waited with the luggage, Dad drove back to pick us up. We then dropped off the rental car and took the shuttle to the airport. We almost missed the plane because we were so late! When we were the last ones on the plane and had to ask two girls to move out of our seats.

Taking in the View

I'm sat on the balcony this morning that faces lots of hotels and palm trees to the East. This is the first time I've sat out here since we got here. It's an amazing view. Oahu is gorgeous! I'm going to miss the palm trees and the flowers. I wish they had scenery lik this in Utah. Mom and I went to the Kahala mall while Dad and Ryan hiked Diamond Head. We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner and then to the ABC store.

Shopping in Waikiki

This morning, we went to Kmart and Hilo Hattie and then we went to the Aloha Tower Marketplace. We went and got a pizza at Costco and then walked down the main street of Waikiki. We went to the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, the King's Market, The International Market Place, and the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.

Swap Meet and Luau

This morning, we went to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium, I got a new backpack, some t-shirts, and a couple of necklaces. After we woke up from our nap, we head to the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. They had good food and the Horizons show was good as well, especially the fire dancers portion. I fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Shopping, Driving, and the Temple

This morning Dad and Ryan dropped Mom and I off at the Ala Moana shopping center while they went and looked at a World War II Submarine. We drove to the Polynesian Cultural Center and bought our tickets for the luau. Then we stopped at the temple and watched a video on families.

Hanauma Bay

We went to Hanauma Bay Park this morning. They make you watch an eight minute video before they allow to go down to the beach. Ryan and Dad snorkeled while Mom and I sat on the beach. We ate dinner at Red Lobster and then drove around Wakiki.

North Shore

This morning, we drove to the North Shore. Ryan's making us listed to his Jack Johnson cd. We stopped at the Dole Plantation. I got some pineapple juice and Mom got a pineapple ice cream cone. We went to Kua' Aina for lunch. It is a great sandwich shop. I had a turkey club sandwich and some lemonade. After our nap, we went to the Ward Warehouse mall again.

Waikiki Beach

When we got to the airport and went to get our luggage, Dad looked at the Alamo reservation and realized Alamo was closed from 1 am to 5 am. We go to the airport at 2:30 am Hawaiian time, so we had to take the Budget shuttle and rent a car from them for one day. The we got to our hotel which is called Marc Suites. When we woke up this morning, we changed rooms because there wasn't enough beds for all of us. We went to Jamba Juice for breakfast and walked to Waikiki Beach and we saw an old guy in a pink speedo. We also went and got groceries at Wal-Mart. Dad and Ruam went to the beach while Mom and I took a nap. They got pretty burnt from the sun.

When they came back, we went to Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It is at the Ward Warehouse mall. Dad dropped us off as one of the other malls nearby why he went and changed rental cars. When he came back, we walked down the main street of shops in Waikiki and went to the International Market Place. Just before we went to bed, Mom realized her Visa Check card was missing, so Dad called the company and reported it lost. She thinks she lost it and the airprort.

Plane Ride to Honolulu

I'm on the plane, flying from Los Angeles to Honolulu. LAX was a surprise detour. We were supposed to have a direct flight from Phoenix, but our plane was having electrical problems and they made us wait on the plane for 45 minutes without any air conditioning, so we had to fly on another plane. We are four hours behind schedule with 3 flights instead of two. On the plane they showed the movie The Pacifier. It was okay, but I wouldn't run out and buy a copy of it. Mom and Dad are asleep and Ryan is watching Elf on his laptop. I cannot wait till I'm able to get off this plane.

Las Vegas

On Wednesday, we drove to Vegas after Dad got off work. We stayed at the Hampton Inn on Tropicana.

On Thursday, most of the stores were closed because of Thanksgiving. We drove around then went to the Stardust buffet and we went to the Forum Shops.

On Friday, we went to Sam's Club and the Boulevard mall. We walked through the Desert Passage shops at the Aladdin. We saw Legends in Concert at the Imperial Palace, which had impersonators dressed up as Elton John, Barry White, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Aretha Franklin, and Elvis Presley.

On Saturday, we went to the Fashion Show Mall, that is right on the Strip. Dad bought Mom an Opal ring and necklace for Christmas. We ate dinner at the Palm's coffee shop and went to the Bellagio shops.

On Sunday, when we drove home, it was a blizzard.

Carnival Inspiration

This was my second cruise. My other cruise was on the Carnival Spirit in December of 2003. This was my parents’ 5th cruise (4th with Carnival).

October 9th:  We had a layover in Kansas City, where if you want to use the restroom, you have go out of security and back through it.  Then we had to fly to Nashville and let people off the plane.  We got to Tampa about 10 pm and stayed at the Hilton.

October 10th: Embarkation was a long and dull process of going through security and waiting in line for at least 2 hours. When we got there, they gave us a paper with itinerary changes (Grand Cayman to Progreso, and Cozumel to Calica/Playa Del Carmen).  We had a lifeboat drill in the Rock and Roll disco which had a guitar theme.  Our cruise director, Maraschahl Staton gave a shore excursion talk.  Since we had the 8:00 dinner seating, it seemed like all the activities were going on while we were eating and they didn’t have much going on for the late sitting crowd while the early sitting crowd was eating.   We were seated in the dining room with a lady named Tracy, her son Chris, and his stepbrother Ryan, from Tampa.  After dinner, we went to the Welcome Aboard show.

October 11th: Our first full day at sea.  We went and saw Maraschahl give another shore excursion talk and we watched the Austin Powers Dance class.  It was our first formal night and I wore my red dress.  I accidentally spilled butter on the front of my dress.  We went and watched Karaoke and Bingo. The show was "La Nuevo Caribe" dedicated to Caribbean and Spanish music.

October 12th:  We docked in Progreso, Mexico.  We took the shopping and city tour to Merida. They have a lot of stuff (like Chili’s, Sears, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Mercedes and Jaguar dealerships) that we have at home. We visited the governor’s house and a church that was built in the 1500s (the oldest church on the American continent). The vendors were absolutely obnoxious. I told this guy like 5 times I didn’t want to buy one of his fans and he would not leave me alone. I pretended I was asleep until the bus came back. We tried some authentic nachos at one of our stops. They were delicious, but very hot. My dad ordered the escargots and thought they tasted like cheese pizza.   We went to Karaoke and this guy got up and sang "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."  The show was a juggler and a comedian.

October 13th: It was raining when we got off the boat in Calica, which is next to Playa Del Carmen. We took a bus tour to Cancun. At our first stop at a flea market, the bus driver hit the windshield into a tree branch and broke the glass. Besides hotel row by the beach, Cancun is really grungy. We got to go to a couple of malls and to the beach. They have remnants of Mayan ruins right on the golf course. The water is light blue and really pretty.  The show was fire Gauchos and a comedian.

October 14th: We had to take a tender into Belize, because they don’t have a pier big enough for the ship. Then we took a bus city tour to some Mayan ruins called Altun-Ha. The tour guide said it existed between 250 AD and 500 AD. It was a neat experience to walk through the circle of temples and imagine where the people worshipped.  I videotaped Dad climbing up to the temple and his walking around up there.  It was our second formal night and I wore my blue dress.  I had an appetizer that was shrimp, mussel, and squid, which tasted like a pasta noodle.  The show was "Shout," a tribute to rock and roll.

October 15th:  We docked in Costa Maya, Mexico.  My Dad had a snorkeling excursion, while Mom and I went through the shopping village in Costa Maya. I didn’t buy anything. Most of the goods they have are hammocks, blankets, and sundials or silver-platted jewelry.  When he came back, we went and sat on the lido deck and watched the water.

October 16th:  In the morning, we went and played trivia.  We heard the disembarkation talk.  Later they were playing the video on TV and it showed Mom and I clapping.  After dinner, we watched The Newlywed Game and the Guest Talent Show.

October 17th: We got off the ship today.  We did early disembarkation when we were on the Spirit, and knew it was a painful experience, so this time we waited for our luggage number to be called in the Paris Lounge and got off the boat around 10 in the morning.  After we got our rental car, we went to the International Mall in Tampa that had some really nice stores in it. For dinner, we went to Tia's Tex Mex and the waitress spilled my soda on me when she brought it to me. We stayed the night at Amerisuites.

October 18th: we went to the airport and flew home.

Robert Dana

On Tuesday, a poet named Robert Dana, whose book Morning of the Red Admirals, I have been studying for class, came and talked at Weber State during my class and that same night at the Stewart Library. It was cool to get some insight on why he wrote certain poems in the book.

Spirit Lake

We spent two nights camping up at Spirit Lake in the Uintahs this week. My family went with my aunt Susan's family. I spent most of the time we were up there, reading and walking around. Dad likes to make Dutch oven cobbler and potatoes. When we went to the Lodge, we ran into our neighbor Torch and his family. When we came home, we learned that Hurricane Charley had hit Florida. We haven't heard anything from Ryan yet, so hopefully, he is okay.

Orlando

On Saturday, we flew to Orlando, via St. Louis. It's funny that I've flown into that airport 3 times and still haven't seen the arch that goes over the city. Taking off and landing was pretty hard for Mom and her vertigo, because of her ears. We didn't get to our hotel till 2 am. We had 2 separate rooms. In my room, it looked like there was blood splatted all over the carpet and the bathtub was cracked, so it felt like I was surfing when I took a shower.

On Sunday, it rained most of the day. We went to the Magic Kingdom. Mom was sad she couldn't go on Splash Mountain and It's A Small World, her favorite rides, because of her vertigo. After our nap, we went to Epcot. We went around the World Showcase to shop.

On Monday, we got an email from Ryan, telling us he loves Gainesville where he is currently serving. It was raining again, so we went to Wal-Mart to get groceries. We went to Sonic for lunch and tried to order fry sauce, LOL. After our nap, we went to Downtown Disney and it was packed. Mom bought 5 antenna toppers.

On Tuesday, we went to the 192 flea Market and bought Ryan an "I [heart] Florida" t-shirt and mug. At night, we went to Old Town. It's this cool place with old fashioned shops and rides. In one of the shops I found a sticker that said, "I like poetry, long walks on the beach, and poking dead things with a stick." Mom was craving Chinese food so we found one, but it cost about 50 dollars for three of us, because the soup and the rice were extra.

On Wednesday, we went back to Epcot. Dad got sick, riding Mission Space. It didn't help that he decided to on Test Track right after that. Mom bought a passport book and we had to go to all the countries to get it stamped. We also went back to the Magic Kingdom. We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride, saw Mickey's Philharmagic, rode the Haunted Mansion and the people mover. On the tram ride back to our car, a lady was discussing with her family, "If they're both dogs, why can Goofy talk and Pluto can't?" We ate at Taco Bell for dinner.

On Thursday, We ate at Chick-Fil-A on our way to Typhoon Lagoon. Mom and I had a double tube on the river run and I pulled her the whole way around. Then we went to the Festival Bay Mall and bought stuff from Ron Jon's surf shop and Hilo Hattie.

Yesterday, we flew home, via Phoenix. When we were walking the baggage claim area, there was a missionary hugging his mom. Mom got teary-eyed and I told her in 10 months, she would be hugging Ryan at the airport.

John Mayer Concert

Last night, we went to the John Mayer concert at the USANA amphitheater in West Valley City. My  favorite band, Maroon 5 opened for him. It was awesome. We were there for 5 hours.

California

After church, we drove to Vegas. We stayed at Circus Circus and walked around the midway.

On Monday, we drove to California. We got to attend a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The guests were Snoop Dogg, Ashlee Simpson, and two eighty year old women who are wrestlers. Snoop's microphone wouldn't work, so while they were trying to get him a new one, he did an improv rap for us. It was pretty cool. Ashlee perfromed her new single, "Pieces of Me."

On Tuesday, we went shopping at the Block at Orange, Downtown Disney, and went to Knott's berry farm to get chicken and mashed potatoes.

On Wednesday, we went on The Warner Bros. studio tour. They had a Harry Potter exhibit, and I got to try on the sorting hat, who told me "Griffindor!" We got to see the sets of Friends, ER, Gilmore Girls, and Joey. The tour guide, Johnny kept asking me what moisturizer I use. After the tour, we went back to the hotel and watched the American Idol 3 finale.

On Thursday, we went to Sea World and ate dinner at the Spaghetti Factory at Newport Beach.

On Friday, it was raining. We went shopping and ate at the Crab Cooker at Newport Beach.

On Saturday, we went to the O.C. Swapmeet and drove back to Vegas.

Today, we drove home, stopping in Mesquite for breakfast.

Las Vegas

I went to Las Vegas with my parents last week. We shopped a lot at the many malls. We also went and saw V: The Ultimate Variety Show at the Venetian.

Carnival Spirit

On December 17th, we got on the Carnival Spirit in Miami and went to Karaoke and the Welcome Aboard show.

For the first formal night, I wore my blue dress and we went to the comedy show, newlywed game and the travel plan talk. We also went to the Piano bar and sang songs. The cruise directors are Michael and Jeni Mullane, a husband and wife team, both excellent singers.

On December 20th, we docked in St. Maarten and went on the island tour bus ride and shopping. Vendors kept bothering me, asking me if I wanted my hair braided. The evening show was Singin' with the Big Band, a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra with Christopher Alan Graves.

On December 21st, we docked in Barbados and took an island tour bus. We saw the Knobby knees competition, the guest talent show and went to the Midnight buffet on the lido deck where we danced the Macarena, and Los Ketchup dance.

On December 22nd, we docked in Martinique. Dad went snorkeling while Mom and I walked into town and went shopping. We saw the Village Idiots Comedy show. For the second formal night, I wore my red dress. . We also watched Survivor and the "High Spirits" musical.

On Christmas Eve, Dad got picked to play trivia and got a ship on the stick for second place. They had a Christmas show with Santa and a comedian.

Today, we disembarked the ship and sat on Miami Beach. We also talked to Ryan on the phone on our way to the airport. It was the first time we got to talk to him since he left on his mission.