Please watch above video to find out why I now have a newfound gratitude for warm showers, warm good food, working toilets, windows, good smells and flashlights.
Jason and I had been planning to take our two oldest children on a fun warm vacation for some time now when my mother suggested we join her, her siblings and her cousins for a family reunion aboard a 7 night Mexican Riviera Carnival Cruise. We boarded the ship on the late afternoon of Sunday, November 7th and at 6 am the following morning we heard a loud grinding sound that vibrated the whole ship and it immediately started smelling like smoke and the power went out. We found out later that there had been a fire in the engine room but we were informed that they were working on it and would get the power back on asap and we would continue towards our destination. We did not find out until Tuesday that they would be unable to start the ship up again and that two tugboats would be arriving the next day to pull us back to San Diego. Because we had drifted even farther in the last 24 hours and because the tugboats could only pull us at a speed of 7 mph we would not get into San Diego until Thursday afternoon. In the meantime we had no warm showers, no light in our cabins or throughout the ship, no working toilets and no avenue to cook food. The stench became unbearable…the combo of smoke, rotten food, overflowing toilets…you can imagine. The food was less than desirable…green bean sandwiches, beet sandwiches, cold meatballs, hot dog salad… and the lack of light was not only difficult to find our way around but very depressing as well. We made the best of it by reading and playing cards when the sun was out and engaging in conversation when the sun went down. On the upside it was exciting to see an aircraft carrier up close as well as a navy seahawk as it dropped necessary supplies onto our ship.
Cousin Madeline came all the way from Idaho for Clara's birthday. Just kidding. We just managed to celebrate her birthday on the same weekend that my brother Adam and his family were on there way to moving to northern California. They stopped in Oregon on their way and we got a couple of days to play. Can you beleive Clara and Madeline only have a month and half difference in age?
The beautiful Logan Temple
Next stop: Bear Lake for Heder Family Reunion
Highlights included playing in the hot tub and playing with Uncle Matt
Hiking through the Minnetonka Caves
Enjoying yummy ice cream after playing all day in the lake.
Ethan
Jaykob
Clara
One day we made the long drive to see the historical Mt. St. Helens. Very...(here it is again, Jen)...Awesome!
Max was AWOL for the group picture, so here he is.
Jaykob turned 9 while we were there. Mary and Rachael made him some cupcakes and he got a rocket which we had fun launching at the local high school football field.
Clara thoroughly enjoyed the cupcakes! YUM!Apparently, this is the summer to take a stand! After our family ran the Cancer Awareness 5K on 4th of July we participated the next weekend in the American Cancer Association's Relay for Life where our team helped raise over $70, 000 for cancer awareness and research. My brother also helped the cause by participating in this ad.
Enjoy and Take a Stand!
