Viva Las Vegas

Dave surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas!! Actually, his boss surprised both of us with flights, a hotel stay, and gift cards! 3 days full of spa visits, shopping, gourmet eating, and roller coasters- we felt like we were in the lap of luxury...

On their way to California, A&D remarked, "What do you Svay we stop in Las Vegas?" Yeah!

El San Juan

Thanks to dave's super-cool boss, we were able to spend a few extra days in Puerto Rico... just to relax after a week of stressful cruising :)

What a way to end a vacation- massages on the beach, brunch overlooking the ocean, enjoying the ocean breeze with pina coladas in hand.

This cruise was a long time coming, but definitely well worth the wait, some of our favorite days we've spent together.

St. Croix and St. Maarten

St. Croix was full of swimming, snorkeling, seashell hunting, and sailboats,

while St. Maarten gave us parasailing, scooter rides, and "interesting" beaches...

Antigua & St. Lucia

a little birdie told me that St. Lucia is one of the most awesome places in the world!

can you spot dave in this picture?

always in search of a good shell, especially a conch!

Antigua reminded me alot of LOST

see what I mean?

the view from the top of Bird Island, St. Lucia

Antigua had tropical fruit just falling from the sky, like these baby bananas. that girl on youtube that says breastmilk is "better than a mango even" must have never tried one from Antigua; those suckers had our mouths watering all day.

we really got a dark tan... just kidding. Made famous by The Bachelor, these mineral mud baths and waterfalls were not only loads of fun but also the best natural spa treatment out there!

i love it when we're cruisin together

can you spot dave in this picture of our ship?
Dave felt right at home with all the people speaking creole... i was totally out of the loop.

only moments after this picture was taken, this monkey jumped on dave's face, which made me jump about 15 feet!

and only moments after this picture, dave decided to jump off the pier and swim back to land. good thing he has a caring wife who will carry his hat, wallet, and shoes for him...

Beautiful Barbados!

signs of spring:

signs of spring fever:

I-da-ho?

2 of my favorite travel buddies- we've traveled across the seas, but this is our first time to Idaho together. And the Duncan farm* potato-growers did not disappoint.

My lifetime travel partner, together through the peaks and valleys.


*look for the "Mart Produce" label at your local Harmon's to find family owned and family grown potatoes from Rupert Idaho. And althrough "cane sugar" sounds nice, "beet sugar" is actually more local and delivers the same quality, again coming from Idaho.

girls getaway

one man with about 16 girls? grandpa stander is a lucky guy!

dave's aunt jeanette was kind enough to invite all the girls in the family down to st. george for a weekend o' fun. we shopped, talked, got massages, relaxed, ate, and most importantly did lots of crafts!!
judy surprised megan and i with matching valentine's pajamas- oh, so comfy!
thomas, ashley, marianne, joan, judy

grandma stander collected thousands of buttons, so we decided to put them to use. you can't be upset in heaven, right?
just a glimpse of our many crafts- think bracelets, headbands, blankets, cake stands and more. you would think our last name was etsy.

our winter stay-cation

We need not travel far to have a good time! We spent a day at the Homestead in Midway and had a blast. We started off with some tubing, lazy style- where the rope tow drags you up the hill. But the rides up were half the fun~

The mineral water natural crater served as our warm water destination. Oh how I love swimming when the water is warm!
These ice sculptures were quite the sight- the pictures don't do them justice. It made me want to be an ice princess and live in a castle like that.
I wish we could make a tradition of this and do it every year! I wanted to stay longer and go snowshoeing, x-country skiing, relax with a good book, and sleep in for a few more days. What a great way to start Dave's birthday celebrations.

Flaming Gorge

Anyone that has ever been to Flaming Gorge knows how absolutely beautiful it is. I had never experienced its splendor until last month when we made a trip up there with Bob & Peg and their friends.

We loved the wakeboarding, waterskiing, tubing, and swimming mixed in with some naps, sunbathing, and time to delve into a page-turning novel.

The mountains surrounding us were a mix between desert red rock and green forest hills, with serene glass-like water in between. We had such a great time, we wish we could have extended the 3 days into many, many more!

The Happiest Place on Earth

While in California, we met up with Dave's family in Disneyland! Now you haven't really experienced Disneyland if you haven't gone with Todd and Allyson Bushman. Todd majored in statistics, so let's just say he knows how to work it. We were on about 50 rides a day, with no wait time longer than 10 minutes. We had 4 non-stop, action-packed, fun-filled days. Here's an average day in the life of a Disneyland Fan...

6:45 am- cut in line with Todd who has already been there for 30 minutes. Receive "Honorary Citizen of Disneyland" pins. Open the park with the workers by jumping up and down, counting down 10..9..8.. and shouting "Let the magic begin!"
7:01-9:58: Peter Pan, Dumbo, Small World, Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Storybook Land, Teacups, Alice in Wonderland, Buzz Lightyear. No bathroom breaks. Todd gets fast-passes to big-ticket rides.9:59-11:17: Breakfast in the Park for Tanner's 5th birthday. See such stars as Minnie, Chip and Dale, Tigger, Alice and the Mad Hatter, and Captain Hook. All the girls are in their matching Minnie shirts, of course. Enjoy mickey-shaped waffles and all-you-can-drink chocolate milk.

11:17-1:42: Catch rides on Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Listen to all the birds in the Tiki Room.
1:43-3:08: Head back to the Grand Californian Hotel to catch a nap and get our second wind.

3:09-5:51: Explore California Adventure. Jump on Soarin' Over California, Tower of Terror, California Screamin', Toy Story Mania, Orange Swingers, Mali-boomer, and Bear River Rapids. Tour the Mission Tortilla Factory and the Boudin Sourdough Bread Factory.
5:52-6:01: Get a churro (or two.) Catch your breath.
6:02-8:44: Catch our second round of rides in Disneyland.

8:45-9:24: Wait for the sun to set so that fireworks can start. Contemplate the awesome day we've had and tell Todd and Allyson thank you a million times over for making this possible! Look at Sleeping Beauty's castle and wonder if Mr. Walt Disney himself ever knew what an impact he would have on kids and adults around the world.

9:25-9:47: Enjoy the firework show, complete with a flying Dumbo and soaring Tinkerbell.

9:48: Head back to the hotel. Order pizza to the room, zonk out, and dream of another magical day in store for tomorrow!