Christmas Flowers?

Around Thanksgiving we received a "Holiday" Amaryllis gift basket from Melinda.  We started watering it as soon as we got home from Missoula after Thanksgiving, thinking it would bloom for Christmas.  Melinda said she thought it would be fun to have it for a decoration for Christmas.  Well, we kept waiting for it to grow.  We waited and waited.  It finally started to put up some small shoots. Then they kept growing and growing. And, it is just now starting to bloom!! Yeah!!

A few days ago this is what they looked like. 

 

This  is what they look like today.  

Melinda also got some for her.  They started growing a little earlier than ours.  Here is a picture of hers.

 

It is interesting that hers put up more than one shoot.  But, the flowers are really pretty and we can see what ours will looks like soon.  

More of Mexico

We had lots of fun on our Cruise to Mexico.  Here are more pictures of things we did.  And, you can check out Sarah's blog to see more pictures:  http://sarahida.blogspot.com/
On the day Paul went on the zip lines in the jungles of Puerto Vallarta, Karen, Doyle, Norma and I took a taxi into the city and walked along the boardwalk by the beach etc.

 

  

We saw an interesting sculpture, sand sculptures, etc. 

  

  

 

I already shared things in Mazatlan, so I will go on to Cabo San Lucas.

Loralee and I took a boat out to the lands end of Baja California and saw Los Archos 

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We then went on a bus tour and saw some of the area.  The country side was different from the other ports.  Here it reminded me lots of Arizona.  There were Sahuaro cactus, etc, but it was still beautiful.  

Paul and Vernon had had such a great time on the zip lines, they went again.  Sarah, Melinda, and Staci had a great time on the beach and activities there.  

 

  

  

Melinda and Sarah road ATV along the beach and through a coconut grove.

 

   

The girls went on jet skis

 

And Staci even went parasailing

 

  

Pretty view of our ship and the arch of Los Archos 

 

  

The girls even held a baby tiger!

 

The Sapphire Princess was a beautiful ship and we really enjoyed it.  It was fun to be with a big group.  We loved the shows we saw each night and the dinners were fun trying each others food so we could taste everything!

  

  

  

Waiting for the show!

We look forward to our next cruise!  I wonder when it will be. 

Cruisin

We had a nice time on the Sapphire Princess.  It is a beautiful ship.  And, probably one of the largest we've been on. 

It was a nice time to head south when it is cold in Utah and warm in Mexico.  Our group was all on deck 10 (the Caribe Deck).  We left Salt Lake on Saturday, January 30th and flew to Los Angeles where we boarded the ship.  It is always an exciting time as the ship sails away!

 

  

We were at sea Sunday and Monday.  The weather was great.  

 

  

We had fun sitting by the pools, reading books, playing games, sipping drinks, and eating.  It seems like we were always eating!                                      

                                              

Puerto Vallarta was our first stop.  It was a beautiful area -- so very green, but it was a rainy day that day. 
Paul and Vernon went on a exciting excursion on zip lines through the jungle canopy.  They had a great time even in the rain.

 

They had to ride mules to get up to the area.

They did several zip lines and several places of rappelling.  It was quite the adventure!

 

  

  

Karen, Doyle, Norma and I took a taxi and went into town and walked around saw the area etc.  I don't have any pictures since I didn't have the camera.  I'm hoping to get some pictures later.  

After Puerto Vallarta, we were off to Mazatlan.  

We took an excursion around the area.  We saw divers, a church, and a program at the Aztec Theater.

                      

 

  

  

 

                                              Looking back at our ship is a pretty site.

 

Our rooms on the ship.  

We'll continue at Cabo San Lucas later.

 

Fun in the Sun

We have been looking forward to it for a long time.  On January 30th we flew to Los Angeles, met family and friends there, and boarded the beautiful Sapphire Princess cruise ship to go to the Mexican Riviera. 

Sarah went with us.  We met Melinda and Staci, my sister Karen and her husband Doyle, Paul's sister Loralee, Doyle's nephew Vernon (who was one of Paul's good friends in High School) and his wife Norma, and two friends of Staci's.  We all had cabins pretty close together.  We were placed at two tables by each other for evening dining. 

 

This is one of the formal nights where we all got together for a picture.  It was a fun time.  

Watch for more pictures later.