Family Pictures

A few weeks ago we asked one of our friends to take some pictures of our family. Here are some of them.

P*R*E*S*T*O*N

K~A~R~I



B*R*A*D*E*N

S~T~E~V~E~N~~~~~J~I~L~L

K*A*R*I*****J*I*L*L

Braden Baptism

So, I just realized that I never posted about Braden getting baptized this summer. He turned 8 in May, but he waited to be baptized until July so that he could do it with lots of family around. He got baptized in North Dakota on July 31, 2010 by his father, Steve Swenson. He was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Papa Riskedahl. I was so happy that he waited until we went to North Dakota so that my whole family could be there and even some aunts, uncles, and cousins. Thanks everyone for supporting Braden on his special day.
Of course while we were all together we had to get group family pictures. There are now 12 little grandchildren for my parents and picture taking was a bit tricky.

I promised Preston a new car if he listened and smiled nicely and Aunt Ronda promised everyone candy. These two know how to work the system.
My little family.

Steve and Braden right after his baptism.
Braden with Nana and Papa Riskedahl.
All (or most of) the children sang 'I am a Child of God" between the baptism of Braden and the blessing of Andrew.Thanks to Leesa who played the piano for us.

Braden and Steve right before the baptismal service.
Grandpa Gietzen and Braden

July 31st was also my mother's birthday. It was a busy day for us.

Because Grandma wasn't feeling up to coming to the baptism, we went and saw her at the nursing home. We were so grateful to be able to visit with her one last time before she passed away. Thank you Grandma for your good life and all your love. We miss you.


Aunt Donna and Braden. Donna taught my kiddos all about dipping Oreos in milk and having Cheetos's to accompany that. Everytime my kids see her they always eat oreos and Cheetos's. So, for Braden's baptism luncheon we had Oreo's and Cheetos's (Donna style as Braden put it.)

Braden

Top 11 Things I Learned on our Cruise

11. Ordering appetizers IS fun when I'm not paying extra for them.

10. Swimming in salt water is not as fun as it appears, and it really burns your throat when swallowed.

9. Reading a book by the pool without having to look up to spot kids every 5 seconds is actually enjoyable.

8. Steve and I have a lot of fun together when real life doesn't get in the way.

7. I love having my bed made for me.

6. Dressing up and looking nice can be fun and I actually like jewelry.

5. SPF 15 is NOT strong enough in the Caribbean.

4. Drunk people should NOT try to dance on a moving ship.

3. Shaving legs is IMPOSSIBLE in a 2 1/2 foot by 2 1/2 foot shower stall.

2. Salsa dancing is MUCH more fun in heels than in tennis shoes (Zumba aerobics class).

1. And finally, a vacation without children (though I did miss them) is FABULOUS!!

Day 5-CoCo Cay Bahamas

CoCo Cay is an island in the Bahamas that is privately owned by Royal Caribbean. You can walk from one end to the other in about 10 minutes. We were lucky to be able to go to the island because the winds were pretty strong that day and we had to be tendered in from the ship. It was still a beautiful day and I'm so glad that we were able to go.

We went snorkeling here but I don't have any pictures. It was too tricky to walk with giant flippers on your feet. I don't think this beach was the best spot to go snorkeling, but we did see some pretty cool fish. Because of the wind, the water was really choppy which made snorkeling a bit difficult. I drank way too much sea water this day. In the picture below, you can see how windy it is by looking at the trees.
While our husbands slept in the hammocks we enjoyed some ocean time. I put my glasses on top of my head for this picture and never saw them again.

This is the hammock where Steve DID NOT want to leave, ever. Apparently it was very comfortable.

This picture was taken right before we left the island. I LOVED all the palm trees. We also tried parasailing this day, but due to the high winds it wasn't safe to be 400 feet in the air.

I actually didn't get a picture of our evening dining experience, but we did get some afterwards. This is my cruise outfit that I bought......and finally wore on the last night.

And just for fun, I had to take a ride down the banister. So lady-like.

Well, I must say this was the best vacation I have ever been on. I don't know if it was because (a) I was in tropical climate, (b) I had no kids to worry about or (c) all my food was paid for and I could eat all I wanted. Whatever the reason, I loved it and hope to go again before another 10 years. And THANK YOU SALLY for watching the kiddos for us. We truly appreciated it and know that you will probably never do it again!

.........................Happy 10th Anniversary Steve.........................

Day 4- Day at Sea

Our fourth day was spent at sea. We had to sail from Cozumel to the Bahamas, which apparantly takes a while. This day had its pluses and minuses. I loved doing absolutely nothing but sitting by the pool for the majority of the day. We watched a fun belly flop contest and a few other random contests by the pool. I did get a bit seasick by the end of the day and ended up going to bed early that night. And because of that I missed the midnight buffet. As if 3 buffets all day long aren't enough they had to do one at night too.

This is a picture of the Centrum, or middle of the ship. I'm probably on the 8 or 9th floor.

In the centrum there was always live music playing. Sometimes people would get up and dance or just watch from the different levels. And yes, the pianist is playing a keyboard on top of a baby grand. Apparantly a baby grand isn't cool enough so he added the keyboard as well.
Here's another nightly shot from the deck. It was always fun to look over the ship to see how fast or slow we were moving.

This is the Palladium, where most of the shows were held. We saw a few comedy acts and the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers. We always went to the early comedian shows because the night ones were a bit much for us.

Day 3;Cozumel Mexico

On our third day we stopped at Cozumel, Mexico. The port was a busy little shopping market with highly annoying salesmen. We first went on the Push, Pull, Swim Dolphin Encounter. We were taken to a 'state park' where the dolphins live. There were 10-12 people per dolphin. We were able to hug, kiss, and pet the dolphin while standing in the water by the dock. We also were pushed on our feet while riding a boogie board by the dolphin. Lastly we were able to swim out a bit and ride on the dolphin while she swam back to the dock. Our dolphins name was Scarlett and she really was amazing. For anyone who knows me, you know that I am really, um....frugal. Yes, that's the right word. We were not able to take our cameras with, so the tourist guide person took lots of pictures for us......and then tried to sell each of them for $20.00. Of course we didn't buy any which is a little sad, but oh well. Anyways, this is a picture of the enclosure where the dolphins are kept. If you look closely you can see a dolphins head peaking out of the water on the right hand side.

After swimming with the dolphins were just wandered around the beach area. I LOVE the beach and I wish I could've taken my kiddos. The water is so beautiful and the sand so nice and fair. Basically picture perfect.
While wandering around we found a row of hammocks to chill in. You can't really tell in the picture, but we are pulling our hammocks together without trying to look like we are straining too hard.

This is Steve with the Cozumel port in the background. We walked around the crazy market area for a while, but due to the heat and the obnoxious men who live there we didn't stay long. Plus, we were hungry and wanted to get back on the ship to eat. Yea, I know, we're in Mexico and should try some authentic food, but..........the food on the ship was already paid for!!

These are my beautiful pedicured toes. Last year when I was talking to Lisa Montes, my friend we went with, she mentioned something about needing to get a pedicure before the cruise. My typical answer was, "no way, I'm not paying for that!" So, for my birthday she sent me cute flip flops, this pink nail polish, and some money to get a pedicure because she knew I really would be too cheap to buy it myself. She also bought the same color for her nails, so we had cute little matching toenails. Thanks Lisa! I loved it and I might even have to get another one on my own.

This the state park that we went to to see the dolphins.

These two are our waiter and assistant waiter. They were extremely good at their jobs. Roshan, on the right is from India and Jorge, on the left, was from the Dominican Republic. It was fun for Steve to be able to talk about the Dominican Republic with someone who knew the area. (That is where Steve went on his mission.) We made these two work pretty hard. We always ordered multiple desserts, entrees, and appetizers. And after every dinner Jorge tried his hardest to give us coffee. We should've just told him at the beginning that we don't drink coffee. His smile was so contagious and friendly.

We asked them about their jobs and Jorge said he hasn't been home in 7 months! But, he loves his job. Hmm, where do you vacation when you work on a cruise ship?

Our nightly picture. You can see that we got a bit burnt while lounging around the beach at Cozumel. This is outside on the deck. It was pretty cool to look out and see absolutely nothing!

Here is the upper pool deck. And for some strange reason it is filled with SALT WATER! We didn't swim much in there.