An abundance of April activity

Back in April, Hannah walked during the graduation ceremony at BYU-Idaho. She still has her internship to finish up, which she will be done with in a few short weeks, but it was a huge milestone for her to reach and I am so proud of her and how well she has done in school. 

Needless to say, my wife is smoking hot! :) It was really great that she was able to be surrounded by friends and family at this marker in her life. My parents, sister, and niece were able to some up for graduation as well as Hannah's aunt Shawna, and her parents flew out from Tennessee. It was great to get to spend some time with everyone at graduation and dinner before graduation. For dinner we went to McKenzie River in Idaho Falls, Hannah has been dying for it to open so she could go.

After graduation, Hannah and I went up to my parents' cabin in Island Park along with Shawna and Hannah's parents. It was great to get to relax and spend some more time with everyone. Hannah's dad has been dying to go snowmobiling so we found him some snow and took him out for a ride. He had a blast.

   We really loved having Hannah's parents out here for a few days and wish that they could have stayed longer. Maybe one day we can convince them to move out West!

   The weekend after graduation, I happened to have the weekend off again so Hannah and I headed down to my parents house so we could change the oil in the Explorer and go camping with our friends Dave and Kylee. We didn't go very far away to camp, we just went down to some property on the river bottoms owned by my cousin Garth. Even though it is only a few miles away from my parents' house, it is like being miles and miles away. There are trees all over so it is very secluded and makes for a nice retreat not far from home. 

   Not only did we want to go camping with Dave and Kylee, we also had to make some plans for our next big adventure. Dave and Kylee are our go-to friends when we want to do something outdoorsy or way fun. They are a super fun couple and are always game for whatever plan we can come up with. Back around October or November, Hannah and I had looked into going on a cruise after she graduated. We've wanted to go on one since we got married but haven't had the time with school and work. So we decided that we would go after she graduated in April. As it turned out, Dave was graduating at the same time as Hannah and he and Kylee were game for going on a cruise down to Mexico with us. 

   The last Sunday in April, we took off bright and early on the first leg of our journey. We drove from Blackfoot to Las Vegas on Sunday and we were able to stay with Hannah's uncle Jason and aunt Angie. As an added bonus, Grandma Ruth and Papa Mike happened to be in town so we got to see them too! After a wonderful dinner with everyone, the four of us decided to head down to the strip to experience the fountains at the Bellagio and see what all the fuss was about. Dave and Kylee had been before but it was a first for both Hannah and I.

      While it was neat to see some of the things that Vegas had to offer, I think I am okay to miss the strip for quite a while to come. Part of it might have been the second hand smoke from which I think I developed lung cancer, or part of it might have been the overall dirtyness of the place. All the glam is more than this country boy could handle.

   On Monday morning we left Jason and Angie's and drove the rest of the way to Long Beach for our cruise departure. After a quick stop at Wal-mart (Hannah is Veronica's daughter so we had to make a stop), we made it to the port our ship was at. For our cruise we were on the Carnival Inspiration. Now as a first time cruiser, I thought the Inspiration was HUGE! It only has room for like 2000 passengers and 900 crew. Turns out, the Inspiration is one of the smaller ships they have. . .

   Even though we had already eaten lunch on our way to Long Beach, we heard they had lunch going when we got aboard so of course we had to try some of the food. A quick safety briefing and then the ship was underway and it was time for our first dinner in the main dining room.

   Now you'll notice that I got the yogurt, fruit something or other for dessert the first night because I was trying to be healthy. Don't worry, that didn't last after that meal. Something about being able to eat as much as I wanted and it not costing any more called out to the fatty side of me and I was a goner. Couple that with the fact we found out we could get more than one entree, appetizer, and dessert and it's easy to see how I gained 8 pounds on the cruise even running in the mornings.

   On Tuesday morning, we stopped at Catalina Island, which is still part of the U.S. and is actually only about 26 miles away from Long Beach. The ship didn't dock at Catalina so we got to head to shore on a little boat called a Tender. Once on shore, we rented some tandem bikes so we could see more of the island.

   The bikes were a blast to ride around on. Neither Hannah nor I had ever been on one so it was neat to get to ride one with such beautiful surroundings.

   After riding around the island a little bit to see where things were, we decided to try some snorkeling with the gear Dave and Kylee had brought with them. It was a little cold for Hannah and Kylee to want to go at first but Dave and I jumped in and had a great time. After lunch, Kylee decided she would snorkel some too.

   That night we went back to the boat and ate entirely too much food all over again, sat in the hot tub, and hit the sack so we could be ready for a day out and about in Mexico.

   The next morning we got up early and rather than pay for the bus to take us to the center of town, we started walking because it wasn't too far away. On the way, we found a cab driver who we paid to take us out to La Bufadora, which is a blowhole where the tide sends water flying up in the air as it crashes against the rocks. The pictures don't do it any justice.

   There was a lady at the market at La Bufadora who said she had the best tacos in town. When someone says that, you can't just ignore it. So we tried some of her tacos and they were actually really good. Hannah had never had a real Mexican taco so it was great that she got to try some.

   After La Bufadora, we rode back into town, had some lunch, and then headed to the beach for a little fun. The water at the beach was even colder than it had been at Catalina so we didn't spend too much time in the water. I did find a place to sling up the hammocks and rest for a bit out of the sun so I didn't completely fry that day.

   The next day was a day all out at sea. Kylee wasn't feeling the best so Hannah and I went to brunch without Dave and Kylee. Needless to say, we ate too much yet again. After stuffing our gullets, we decided to enjoy some sun out on the back deck and read our Kindles. It was so peacefully and relaxing back on the Serenity deck. (Kids aren't allowed back there!)

The view while on the Serenity deck. What a way to live.

Hannah being a babe yet again.

   We met up with Dave and Kylee and ate some more, hung out around the pool, and watched classy people like this. . .

   She kept standing there doing some air-bending or something weird like that. And there was a guy who was so drunk he passed out and vomited on the deck. Makes me glad that I'm a sheltered little farm boy.

   The last night at dinner, the wait staff did a little show and part of it was that they did the Gangham Style dance and tried to get cruise goers to come up and dance. I happen to know the Gangham Style dance because I am a complete nerd so I had a great time dancing and making a fool of myself. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the music video HERE.

   While we were eating, the sun was going down and it was gorgeous, so Dave and I both take off to get a picture from the deck without the water spots on the windows. This picture doesn't do it justice but it was pretty!

   With our cruise over the next day, we drove to St. George and stayed with Kylee's grandparents for the night. The next day we headed back up to Rexburg and our adventure was over.

   Just realized how long with post is. Let me know if anyone actually makes it to the end!