St. Lucia Jan 20 Day 1

Our first day really began the night before. We headed out to LAX on Tuesday, the 19^th of January around 7 o’clock. We had a tremendous amount of rain that day but it cleared up in the evening, so it was a good trip to LAX. We had a lot of time since our flight didn’t leave until 11:30 that night. We found a Chilis and had a couple of drinks and chips & salsa. Perfect way to start relaxing!!! The flight was good, but long and we didn’t sleep very real, especially Tom.

We arrived in Miami around 7:30 in the morning. We had a couple hour layover, got a light breakfast and coffee.
We boarded the plane on time, had a good catnap and arrived in St. Lucia at 2:30 in the afternoon. The air was warm and heavy, but not unbearable. We went thru customs and decided to take a helicopter ride to the resort.
The ride was amazing and fast. It was a 15 minute ride to the resort area, by car about two hours!!!.




We took a taxi to the hotel and our vacation finally arrived! We were greeted in a beautiful lobby with champagne and a cool towel to cool us off! We booked a couple of dinner reservations and photo shoot and were shown our room. We got a room with a balcony, which overlooks the pool area and the Caribbean ocean. The room was great and we couldn’t wait to kick it and lay down for a while. We were also given a whole bottle of champagne and some cheese and crackers – it was perfect!
We had to wait for our luggage because it arrived by car from the airport. Soon it was here, we changed our clothes, walked around a little bit. We enjoyed an amazing sunset and ended up going to an English Pub, had a great dinner. I had mahi, mahi, Tom had a pork roast, dessert buffet, we were stuffed and exhausted. We soon fell asleep around 8 o’clock!

I was really looking forward to this week!

St. Lucia - Here We Come!!!

bags are packed

been tanning

got pedicure

nails are done

oh, yah, lost about 30 lbs...

...I'm so ready for St. Lucia!!!!!

Christmas Day 2009

One Christmas Day we had Rog, Glenda, Isaac, my mother-in-law, and our friend, Steve Aranda over for a Christmas Brunch. I made all the food, including Mimosas!! Yumm. It was a very relaxing morning that quickly rolled into the afternoon. Ben came over later on and opened a few presents. We drew names and had to get a gift that started with the first letter of that person's name. So Ben got a "Blaster"!

It was a marshmallow blaster!

Of course, we have to give it a try...

How about taking it outside!

I gave Ben & Kimberly, private dancing lessons at a dance studio, here in Redlands, called, "Shake It Up!"

I also gave Ben a photo book on the night they went to the Laker game.

Later on that evening, we did Rock Band...notice the concentration...

more concentration....

It was a great day! Until next year! Merry Christmas!

It's Been A While... Christmas Eve 2009

Wedding Plans Begins!

Kimberly is finally finished with finals and enjoying her Christmas vacation from school. We didn't waste a day and headed out looking for that special dress she's been dreaming of. Kimberly & I had an appointment at a bridal dress shop yesterday and tried on quite a few dresses. The first one made me a bit teary eyed since it was the first wedding dress I saw her in! She must have tried on about a half a dozen dresses, every one would have worked but there was one that seemed to fit her the best. We kept it in the back of our minds knowing we were going to another place the next day. Today we ventured out in the pouring rain to Riverside to another bridal boutique. This time we had Ben's sister, Steffany, and mother, Brenda, along for some insightful advice. Again, Kimberly tried on another half a dozen dresses, but there was one that made me cry! We all agreed on THE ONE!!!! She looked stunning! It's so surreal, but happy to be a part of this joyous occasion. Both Brenda & myself got married the same year (1984). We compared dresses and experiences. Things have changed so much. I moved out to California when I was 19 and my mom was in Minnesota, so was unable to be with me to pick out a wedding dress. I'm having a ball helping Kimberly with the wedding plans and want to cherish every moment. Sometimes I really can't believe I'm in this stage of my life. I thank God for my life. He has blessed me so!

Thanksgiving in Phoenix

We headed out to Phoenix on Wednesday. It was an amazing time. One of the best part was being in the car for five hours with our kids. We had great conversations. I think we talked the whole time. There was a lot of wedding talking and/or planning going on. It was great! We arrived at Lon & Sandy's in the evening, had a great meal, sat by the fire pit in the backyard and then spent the remainder of the night in the spa. Just heavenly!!

The next day, we went to Jan & Clare's for the "BIG" meal of the year! My Aunt Jan out did herself, and everything was unbelievable delicious!! I was so excited to just regular food and not worry about counting calories! Of course, I over did it - but who doesn't??

Here, we are working on round two...

Played a new game of "Skip-Bo" called "Golf" It was fun!

The next day we went for a hike. It was a good way to burn off some of those Thanksgiving calories. Just a beautiful day!

After our hike, we journeyed back to Lon & Sandy, where Lon prepared an incredible breakfast, only Arizona style, on the outdoor grill in their beautiful backyard.

The amazing chef, Lon, at work...

After "brunch" we headed to the "Retirement Fun Zone". Some went bowling, worked out, sat in the giant spa, walked in the walking pool, played miniature golf, or lounge around. I opt for lounging around!!

After all that lounging, of course, we had to eat again! We enjoyed Glenda's homemade chili and Lon's famous Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches! Yummmm!

Kevin had his turn at the grill. Lon made it look so easy!

The night ended with "Seasoned" musicians having their hand at Rock Band. It's a lot harder than it looks! It was a BLAST!

Can't wait until next year!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Wow! It's Been A While!

The month of October began with a call from my cousin (from Az) asking if they could come out for a "Fall Break", stay at our house, do Disney, (her husband has never been) and attend her alumni Homecoming football game. Of course, we were game! We love Lon & Sandy and it was a great excuse to go to Disney and renew our annual passes!

We met Sandy's brother, Jeffrey, at Disney. The last time they were there was at their "grad night" in the "80's. That's a loooong time ago and things have changed!

I love Disney around Halloween. The decore is awesome! We went on a Friday, and it was extremely busy, which was a bummer. Ben & Kimberly were going to meet us in the evening but it was "sold out", so they ended up going back home.

We got to go on all the rides that "count". Saw Fantastic, and the fireworks. It was a great time!