Jaiden's Bridal Shower

Today we had Jaiden's bridal shower! We had it at Shane and Alicia's house and everything went really well! Alicia did the decorations, which turned out really nice. She had cute little jars with yellow rose buds and baby's breath and a cute bouquet of baby's breath and greenery. Since the shower was BEE-themed "Jaiden found her honey," and "Bride to BEE," I thought it would be fun to get little honey jars for party favors. Jenna's friend, Anna Ence, has a little bee business where they harvest their own honey and so I ordered the cute bears from them. I ordered cute little bee-themed thank you stickers to add to the lids of the bears and added the rest of the stickers to mini recess peanut butter cups. 

The girls and I picked up all of the food at Costco (and Walmart) the night before. We had chicken salad on croissants, yummy brazilian cheese rolls that Jen made, watermelon, grapes, strawberries, veggie trays, chips, and tuxedo cake and cheese cake for dessert. I was going to go to Trader Joe's to get gluten free cookies while we were in Orem, but we ran out of time. Costco only had three containers of chicken salad and I wanted four and so we ran to Walmart and I picked up a couple more there and ended up liking theirs better than Costcos.  

Funny story: An hour before the shower my mom said that someone posted on their Relief Society GroupMe asking if anyone wanted a balloon arch that they were finished using. She showed me the picture and it was light blue and light yellow -- Jaiden's wedding colors! The timing was absolutely perfect!! We said we were interested and the girls walked down and carried it to the house and set it up. It looked so cute and was the absolute perfect touch for the shower!  

We had a great turn out at the shower. There were several from Jason's family too. I was able to meet two of his sisters and several of his aunts. Jaiden put together a fun Kahoot, like Janelle did at hers. I like that because everyone can get involved and it helps to get to know the couple better. Janelle answered the most questions correctly. Janelle was a bridesmaid at Esther's (her former roomie) wedding today and so she went to her sealing in the morning and then the bridal shower and then left for the wedding luncheon and reception tonight. So she had a busy day! Jason came at the very end and so Grandma Jensen and Julie were able to meet him and I was able to get some cute pictures of him and Jaiden in front of the balloon arch. They received lots of lovely gifts! I feel so grateful for everyone who came to support Jaiden and for all of the help received for the shower! The wedding is just two weeks away!! 

Jaiden's sisters and sisters-in-law!! 

Three of Jaiden's bridesmaids were able to come (Lizzie, Kierra, and Emily)

Jaiden's Missionary Books!

I gave Jaiden her missionary books! I made them through Pixxibook.com. I had to split it up into two different volumes since she had so many pictures!! It was a ton of work editing the books! You actually can't edit the books directly, but since the books come from a blog (in this case, her missionary blog) I was able to edit various pages by editing the blog. So I was constantly going back and forth between the blog and the book preview until it looked close to what I wanted! It took a lot of time, but they turned out really nice! They were also really expensive -- $300.00, yikes! Thankfully Grandma Westra helped pay for them, which was a huge blessing! I hope they will be a treasured keepsake from her mission! 

Spring Break Cruise!

Monday, March 10: This morning we left at 6:30 a.m. to head to Long Beach, California! Rick wanted to take his new Toyota, since it has such great gas mileage, but we couldn't fit all of the suitcases and so we had to switch to my car, since it has a bigger trunk. Mine is more roomy and so it was probably a more comfortable ride anyway. The traffic was good most of the way. There was a bit of traffic through Vegas, but other than that it was okay. 

Jenna slept a good portion of the way there Jaiden slept for a bit too. I tried to, but couldn't really fall asleep. We arrived and were able to park in a parking garage, which is really nice. It seems like in the past we just had to park in an outdoor parking lot. I feel like the car is more protected in a parking garage. 

We ran into some people from St. George, which is not a surprise since it is our spring break and so it seems like we always run into others who booked the same cruise. We had to wait in a very long line to get on the ship and the girls complained that they were starving. We finally got on and went to the lido deck to get some lunch. 

We headed to our rooms -- Rick and I in one and the girls in another -- with a connecting door, which is nice. Rick and I took a nap, which was very nice, except for the constant ship announcements, which kept waking us up. That is one thing that we don't like about Carnival. But after today, there were very little announcements, unlike most Carnival ships. So that was nice! 

Rick and I like this ship. It is an Italian ship called, the Firenze FAH-RENZ-AY. It doesn't have all of the loud, bright, garish colors of other Carnival ships, and the mood is more subdued, rather than the party-feel atmosphere of other Carnival ships. It seems more geared to adults. Rick and I like these changes, but I don't know if the girls do. After all. They are here to PAR-TAY!! 

They went to the ship dance party while Rick and I took a nap. The main pool area is all enclosed with a roof, instead of being outside. We aren't sure if we like that. I love having a solarium, but not as the main hangout, party area. I prefer a smaller, quiet, more private area as the solarium. Jaiden said that it was so hot for the welcome aboard dance party since it was enclosed, instead of outside, and so she said she was totally sweating.

Later on we all went to the dining room for dinner. Two other couples were seated at a table adjoining ours and it was fun to get to know them. There was a Jewish couple from Long Beach, who goes on cruises all of the time next to us and then next to them was another LDS couple who were also from St. George!! So it was fun getting to know them! Their last names were Runia, and Sister Tamara Runia, of the General Young Women presidency is his aunt! It was their first cruise and they were telling Jaiden that they have a cute son her age who is also going to SUU. They were hoping that he and Jaiden could get together, ha ha!

Rick and I were finally able to wear the shirts that Grandma Jensen got us for Christmas a year or two ago. We can't wear them on work cruises and so Rick suggested that we wear them today! 

After dinner the girls went to go to Karaoke. Most of the Karaoke acts were absolutely terrible, and horribly off key, and so it was a breath of fresh air when Jaiden and Jenna started singing and sounded awesome!! They sang, "Dear Future Husband," by Meghan Trainor." The audience seemed to really like their number and we had people come up to us that night and also later on throughout the cruise telling them what a great job they did! They were looking forward to performing again at the Karaoke competition on Thursday, but it was a random drawing and unfortunately their names did not get chosen. 

After Karoake Rick and I came back to the room and watched, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," the movie about Whitney Houston. Rick and I both loved Whitney Houston and would often listen to her music when we were dating and first married. The movie was very good, but so sad. It is nice that they have free movies on this ship! That is a perk that most of the ships don't have. 

Then we went to the Welcome Aboard show in the auditorium. It was SO funny! Jaiden was excited to find out that the cruise director was Joey, who was the same cruise director from when he went on her cruise from her Senior trip. In a few weeks Rick and I are going on this exact cruise soon to interpret and so I am glad that we are going now so that we can become acquainted with the ship and the shows. But we were seated next to someone who said that he is going to be the next cruise director, taking over for Joey, so I guess he will be the director on this ship when we go in April.

We watched the playlist performers. They were okay, not the best. Plus I was getting so tired by this time and so I was having trouble staying awake. We went back to our rooms after the show and Rick and I finished our Whitney Houston movie and then went to bed. The girls started a movie, but got tired and went to bed too. 

Tuesday, March 11: This morning Rick woke up early, as usual, and went for a walk, but it was raining and really cold, and so he came back and went to bed. I chose to sleep in I mean, we are on vacation, why should I get up early if I don't have to?  

Jaiden knocked on our door and said that her stomach was bothering her and that she kept waking up every hour last night. She also said that she could feel the boat rocking. She wasn't sure why it was bothering her because she has never had problems with motion sickness before. I gave her a motion sickness pill and hoped that it would help.  

Rick found a table somewhere out on the ship to write in his journal. I decided to check out the fitness center. It was crowded, but there was enough available equipment for a good workout. It did the step machine, treadmill, chest press, leg press, and rowing machine. It kind of made me want to get a gym membership when we get back home. It is just so darn expensive though! Plus I prefer to walk outside, rather than on a treadmill, and I like to workout in my own home. 

After working out I came back to the room to take a shower and get ready. Then the girls and I went to the burger place for lunch. The girls were SO disappointed about the weather today. They REALLY wanted to lay out today. Tonight was "Elegant Night" for dinner. It was still windy and chilly outside, but at least the rain stopped. The girls got dressed up and we took a bunch of pictures before dinner. 

We were trying to re-create this photo from our honeymoon. We had the wind, but that is about it. We will have to try recreating this photo another time with a sunset. We look so old -- we definitely don't look like the young couple in the picture below! 

 

 

Rick and Jaiden re-created this photo from her Senior Trip in 2022: 

We enjoyed a nice dinner together (LOVE that Carnival Chocolate Melting Cake! They even do a gluten free version and so I got that for dessert pretty much every night!) We went to see the show from the Playlist performers called "Dear Future Husband." It was really good! We enjoyed it a lot better than their show last night!

Wednesday March 12: Today the ship arrived in Cabo. The girls had been looking forward to going to the beach for weeks! Thankfully the weather was gorgeous!! We had a mix up with the girls on where to meet this morning, and there were huge lines to get off of the ship, so much so that we couldn't even get out of our room. We couldn't get a hold of the girls because none of our texts were going through and we didn't know where they were and that was really stressful. But we finally connected and got on the shuttle boat to head to Cabo. 

We had decided just to walk to the beach since it was close. It was quite a long walk though and the girls said that their feet were killing them since they we wearing shoes that were good for the beach, but not good for a mile long walk. I was glad that I wore my running shoes instead of sandals. The beach is fairly close, but you have to walk this big circle through the town in order to access it. Maybe they do that so that people will buy things at the shops, I don't know. We finally got to the beach and put down our towels. It wasn't that great of a beach, but it was okay. The girls still had their hair curled from last night and so I took a bunch of pictures of them before they got in the water.   

I usually like to go swimming for a good portion of the time when we are at the beach, but the water was way too cold for me. I only went in once and didn't get my hair wet. Both girls swam and laid out and had a great time. I had told the girls when we arrived to make sure to put on sunscreen and Jenna said she brought her own stuff. We were constantly bombarded from the locals trying to sell everything you can think of: jewelry, massages, hair braids, blankets, ponchos, and so on. I really don't like that about Mexico. It is so annoying. Unless of course you do want something, then it is convenient. But they could just walk up and down and wait for people to approach them instead of constantly coming up to you and bugging you to buy things. 

After a couple of hours we were getting hungry and so I bought some cups of fruit from the locals, and the girls decided to buy some ankle bracelets. With everything they were selling, there wasn't anyone selling food (other than the cups of fruit). And food is the one thing I did want to buy since we couldn't take any food off the ship. I finally walked clear back to the closest store to buy some snacks. There wasn't much to choose from and so I just got chips, a candy bar, and some water. Then as soon as I got back there were people selling snacks on the beach. They were just fifteen minutes too late, ha ha. 

Rick and I would have left after just a couple of hours, but the girls wanted to stay as long as possible. Halfway through our stay I told Jaiden that it looked like she was getting red and should put on more sunscreen. I think she did, but apparently it was way too late. By the time we were heading back to the ship it was becoming apparent that both girls were completely fried! The "stuff" Jenna had brought turned out to be tanning oil, without a lick of SFP. Jaiden had also used Jenna's "lotion" instead of the sunscreen that Rick and I had brought. At least Jaiden put sunscreen on her face. They were both in so much pain. 

We went back to the ship and I bought some aloe vera spray for $20.00, which seemed pretty pricey. When we got to our rooms I sprayed the girls with the aloe and got the towels and wash rags wet with cool water and put them all over the girls.  The towels quickly got warm from their skin and so I had to keep switching them out with cool wet towels. The girls were absolutely miserable! I gave them some ibuprofin and told them to drink lots of water. I felt really bad too and wished that I had forced them to use the sunscreen that I had brought instead of whatever Jenna had brought.

Their sunburn really put a damper on the rest of the trip. Jenna kept saying how much she regretted not using sunscreen. This is an unfortunate lesson that they most likely will NEVER forget! I had a similar experience when I was about her age and it is certainly something that I have never forgotten! 

Thursday, March 13: This morning I went and went and walked a couple of miles on the track and then went to the fitness center. The girls were still suffering from their sunburn. It was kind of cold out again. We all met together in the afternoon to play Clue and enjoyed dinner together tonight. After dinner we went to the Comedy show and that was pretty good! We ran into Megan Seamons and her new husband, who were on their honeymoon. We went to their reception last Saturday night! 

After the comedy show, Rick went back to the room with his book (Scythe). The girls and I went to the Playlist performers show, "The Color of Love," or something like that. The weather was a little rough and the ship was rocking and so they changed the musical to a "concert style" show where they all just sat on stools to sing the songs (instead of the typical singing and dancing.) So that was disappointing. Plus I felt so tired I could barely stay awake. The girls went to the "white out" party and I met up with Rick to finish the movie we started yesterday. 

(The girls sunburns aren't really showing up in these pictures, but they were definitely still there! Rick was quite red too! I just had a couple patches here and there where I must have not spread the sunscreen very well.) 

Friday, March 14: Today we were in Ensenada! There isn't much to do in Ensenada, besides shopping, and there isn't a beach, but we had found an excursion that included zip lining. We purchased that a few weeks ago. But then we got a notice yesterday saying that due to recent rains, the zip line excursion was cancelled. Bummer! They refunded our money and we ended up giving each of the girls $50.00 to go shopping instead. 

When we got off the ship there were some people advertising various excursions, including one to La Bufadora, a natural marine geyser. It is considered to be the second largest marin geyser in the world (the largest is in Hawaii). It can shoot water over 60 feet in the air. We decided to buy the excursion and go check it out. The bus ride to get there was kind of long, but less than an hour. When you arrive you walk through a street of shops. The blow hole was actually pretty cool and we took a bunch of pictures. We then walked around and shopped a little and got some lunch. The tacos should have been gluten free, but I did get somewhat sick from them for a couple of hours. The girls said that they really enjoyed the excursion and were glad they went. 

When we got back to the ship we rested for a bit and then went to dinner. They had the closing show where all of the staff comes out and sings to the tune of "Leaving on a Jet Plane," only they change the words to "Leaving, our fun ship." The girls had been practicing a number for Karaoke, and Jaiden scanned the QR code, but for some reason it didn't work, which they didn't realize until we had waited around for almost an hour waiting to be called up. So they were a little disappointed. Rick and I and Rick went to a game show called "What's age got to do with it?" Or something like that. They had several parents with their child and they each answered question how they think their mom (or son or daughter) would answer. Then we headed back to our room and packed up our things while we watched a movie. The girls went and got more food, just for fun, since it was our last night. 

Saturday, March 15: We got up early and went and got breakfast and then finished packing up and headed out! We got off the ship pretty quickly and then drove home! 

Overall it was a great trip (minus the sunburns). Rick kept emphasizing before the trip that we wouldn't have the Internet (except while in port) and then he was the one who had the hardest time without the internet! Probably because he would receive work emails, but then couldn't open them. I can see how that would be frustrating, ha ha. Better to not even see them at all than to see them and not be able to open them! But a few times we DID get texts, even though we were on airplane mode. I am not sure why. It only worked on my phone and Rick's phone, not the girls. I was glad about that because FSY registration for Jenna opened on Thursday and so I asked Janika if she could register Jenna since we wouldn't have the internet. Janika tried all day and said it was quite the frustrating process, with so many people trying to register at the same time and the system continually crashing. She finally got Jenna in that night and Grace's mom got Grace in so that those two can be roommates. So that was a relief. I felt bad that it was such a headache though! 

I thought it would be really hard without the internet, but it was spring break for my SUU job and I had let the other agencies know I would be out of town, and taken care of stuff related to my church calling before I left, and so I really didn't receive many texts or emails anyway. It was hard not being able to check in on Ellen and the kids though.

Ellen had just gotten her new job and drove down with all three kids Thursday night, a few days before we left. Jase had to stay in South Jordan so that he could finish up his job and put in his two weeks notice. Ellen started her job on Monday (the same day we left for the cruise). She got her friend, Shantell, to watch the kids all week. I was a little worried about that because Shantell has two kids of her own. So she had two pre-schoolers, a toddler, and two babies to take care of all day for several days! I was stressed just thinking about it! But she seemed to handle everything fine and posted some funny pictures and videos later on. 

I was glad when Jase could come down on Thursday night to be with Ellen and the kids. And so that they could be together for their five year anniversary on Friday!! They spent their anniversary house hunting and also went out to dinner at Sakura! 

We arrived home Saturday afternoon and unpacked and did our laundry. We took Jase and Ellen out to dinner at Burger Theory while Jaiden watched the kids. Then Rick packed up again to head back on another cruise tomorrow! Only this one would be a work cruise. I don't see how he can do two cruises in a row like that! I guess I am too much of a homebody!!