Sunday Morning Session

So Kayla and I went to the Sunday morning session of General Conference. It was certainly a long morning. I had a member from one of the ward that I served in on my mission coming to watch conference and I wanted to make sure she got a seat. So i asked my bishop if the ward had any tickets. He told me to ask the stake. I asked the stake but they didn't so i wasn't sure how i was going to get any tickets so she would for sure be able to go. The bishop then told me that his wife, who is in the Tabernacle Choir, always gets two tickets so he would check with her. Sure enough she had two and was willing to give them to me and my friend Lourdes from Argentina. We had pretty good seats. We were in the plaza but all the way to the side but it was still nice to sit there and feel the spirit. So while i was waiting to go to the Priesthood Session my bishop's wife called Kayla and said she had two more tickets. So Kayla was able to come with us. The other ticket we gave to a lady in the parking lot. She rushed over to us and said do you happen to have an extra ticket to conference? We gave it to her and she started to sob and said "God does answer prayers." OK, he certainly does.
After the session we walked around and took a few photos, then Jeanie came out and met my Argentine friend. Lourdes was so excited to meet her she could hardly stand still. Jeanie, in her broken Spanish, tried to tell her how she learned to speak and how she loved to sing in the choir. After a few minutes of chatting Jeanie gave Lourdes two CDs of the choir and Lourdes started to cry. I think she was so grateful that somebody who didn't even know her would do something like that. Anyway long story short, time was running out for Jeanie because she had to get back to her seat and Lourdes had to go inside for the last session. But before i left Lourdes thanked me a million times over and said how grateful she was to have had that experience. All in all for both of us it was definitely one for the memory books.

Easter

Easter was great! We actually pulled out the Easter baskets and eggs this year. Last year it came and went before we realized it. They were on the coffee table for a while until Mr. Wyatt got a hold of them and poured them out all over the place. The stupid grass stuff is a pain to clean up. Easter morning was calm yet Wyatt had fun picking up the eggs and he would throw them in his basket. The clothes he got he could have cared less about. He just wanted all the candies that were in all the eggs. We went to church then we went to my parents for dinner but he would only eat candy. So on the way home he barfed in his car seat. I know it is gross but i am pretty sure he ate way to much sugar. The shorts and tee shirts we bought are just in time for spring. He certainly needs them because he is growing so fast!

A little white mule named Blue

So you can obviously see i changed the design of the blog. It's actually all original. I made the background picture but i was inspired by a template i found online. It was actually quite easy.

Now for the post about Wyatt, Jaxon, My Dad and the white mule named Blue. Not confusing one bit is it? So Wyatt gets watched by Kayla's mom during the week and then every other Friday he goes to my parents house. Well two weeks ago was that day. There must have been spring fever in the air because Wyatt and Jaxon played outside for a lot of the afternoon. Jaxon was with Wyatt because he too gets babysat by Kayla's mom when Natalie has to work. It was actually really cool because they both love to play with each other. I don't think either of them have ever been on a horse but they both really liked it. My dad loved this. He always loves to tell Wyatt he is going to go on a horse ride.

For a beginner they rode the right mule. Blue (the little white mule) is my dad's very first horse. So needless to say he has been around for a long time and he is really old. Nobody ever rides him because it would probably kill him but for a little kid it is probably exhilarating and for the mule that always gets overlooked probably felt wanted once again. I know that he is around just because it was the first that we owned and he would not be really useful for anything else. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Farewell to Grandma Steed

Seems like just yesterday that I posted about my Great Grandma Steed turning 87 years old. Today I post a farewell post in her memory. I remember her always telling me she never expected to live this long. For the most part she was a very independent and healthy woman. She lived on her own up until the day she passed. On Sunday night my mom called and told me I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible to give her a blessing. So we packed up and went there immediately. My dad anointed her with oil and I gave her a blessing. I told her she had lived a good life, she was a choice spirit of our Heavenly Father and that she would be comforted. Amidst all the tears, emotions and noises from the hospital machines I think she felt comforted. When we were done she took my hand, looked up at me and said in the most faint voice “you take care of yourself, OK” I couldn’t say anything. I knew and I am positive that she knew too this was it. All of my family made it up to see her as well as Betsy’s family. I think we are all glad we did. The doctors tried several times to keep her heart rate down but to no avail. Kayla, Wyatt and I left the Intensive Care Unit at about 9:05 pm. Mom called at about 4:45 am Monday morning and said she had passed about 20 minutes ago. I again was overcome with emotions. They were filled with tears but I was excited for her because she could finally rest, feel no pain and see Great Grandpa Steed, my Grandma Farr (her daughter) and all the others she has been waiting to see for a long time. The viewing will be Friday night and the funeral Saturday morning. I am sure it will be emotional again but I am honored to be a pallbearer and a speaker. Grandma Steed – I love you and you will be greatly missed by everyone.

http://www.webfh.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=171881&fh_id=11049

Back to Reality

So i know it has been a few weeks since I have posted but relax I finally updated with all the fun things we have done the last month. A lot of our pictures are posted below of the cruise and all the fun stops. The reason I labeled this back to reality is because since we are back I have to cook my own food, make my own bed, find my own entertainment and work. I don't mind doing all of that stuff but when you are pampered it is hard to let it go.

I just finished my second to last class for my Masters degree yesterday so come May I will be finished with school and i will be able to post more often. So don't worry we are alive and well just busy with everyday life and trying not to let our tans fade too much before summer hits.

If you get tired of hearing my song then go to the Cozumel post and click the speaker in the bottom left corner!

What we did while aboard the Carnival Liberty

For the last 3 years we have been on a cruise with Kayla's work. They are very generous in taking us places and rewarding their employees. It is very nice of them and we are glad they take us with. I would have to say this is the best cruise we have been on as far as the boat but last years stops were better. See the pictures below about our stops. As far as the boat we enjoyed the food, entertainment, and actives much more this time than in the previous two years. We were on the Carnival Liberty. It is only two years old, the length of 3 football fields and taller than the statue of liberty. I enjoyed going down the water slide and Kayla really liked the Karaoke Bar. She did even get up to sing Walk Like and Egyptian. We went to a few of the different Las Vegas style shows and one of Kayla's co-workers performed as James Brown in the Carnival Legends show. The ship puts on a production of famous music artist like James Brown, Madonna, Garth Brooks ... It was pretty good. We went to the Midnight buffet which was really cool. The chefs on board are culinary geniuses. They have some amazing talent. I wish I could prepare food like they do. Flowers out of vegetables, amazing cakes, and squash shaped like birds. I think because we involved ourselves more with what the boat had to offer, and not play cards for hours like we did the last two times, we enjoyed it a lot better. One night we even stayed up late and danced. It was so fun because you would go from bar to bar then they ended up on the Lido deck, (top floor) and danced some more in the Mardi Gras celebration. It was a BLAST! Kayla participated in some group called "Ocean of Gratitude" when the lunar eclipse came they got out some drums and chanted to the moon. I thought it was really weird but she said it was actually quite fun! Anyway we had an awesome time on the cruise but reality hit us like a ton of bricks on Monday when we got home so I took an extra day off. Now that I am back I will be more frequent with the posts.

Panama

The last stop of the cruise was in Panama. We of course went to see the Panama Canal. It was only a 2 hour bus ride, one way, to get there but it was worth it. We did however, start off with some trouble. Our group of 40 went out to find the tour guide a little early. If you have ever been on a Cruise you know that the locals swarm you when you get off the Pier because that is how they make a living. Well our tour guide was not there so we asked for some help. BIG MISTAKE. The company that helped us tried to sabotage the other company that we actually went with because i am sure they wanted our business. Needless to say we sat in our bus for about 45 minutes waiting for them to negotiate with the Panamanian police and the other company. Well, we finally got to the Panama Canal and it is very Americanized because it was part of the US until December 1999. The locks though are really not that big. I was thinking huge but a cruise ship could never fit in it. But it really does save time for the cargo haulers. The toll is really expensive but they save time and gasoline by using it. After we saw the canal we went to the capital city and saw their version of the White House. What a dump and the city surround it is the same way. We also saw the set of the new James Bond movie that is coming out this year. It was also a dump but they had tried to clean it up a little for that. That is all we had time to do in Panama because of the length of time it took to get back to the ship. We arrived back right on time but the ship did leave two hours late because of one of the ship tours was delayed. Overall it was really cool to see the Panama Canal but everywhere else was very dirty and i don't think i would want to just fly there for a vacation.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica was the second stop on our cruise. Here we had booked a tour with the majority of Kayla's office. It started off on a river boat tour where we saw some monkeys, sloths and caiman (small crocodiles). Then we went to Cahuita National Park where we got to walk on the beach again. Here we saw the Howler monkeys much closer and even heard them howl. SCARY because when they howl then throw thier poo at you. We ate some lunch and saw many different parts of the country. We spent a lot of time driving but as we did our tour guide kept us informed about the culture and animals. As an FYI a male snake has two penises and a female bat gives birth to her young while upside down so she has little catcher thingies to help out. Our guide was actually really smart but she could have been a little more tactful and not so racist against the Nicaraguans. The first thing she did tell us though was to watch out for the little kids because they are the ones that will rob you. So we were nervous from the get go but overall we had an enjoyable time and did our souviner shoping inside the port.

Cozumel

Our first stop on the cruise was Cozumel Mexico. We decided to just go to the beach and then to some Mayan Ruins. It was a really fun stop. The beach could have been a little bigger and less rocky but the weather was excellent and the resort was actually really clean. After we went snorkeling we got our bus driver to take us to the Mayan Ruins. They were really cool and old. It was supposed to be some sort of temple where people would go to get married or pregnant. We did stand under the fertility arch but we are NOT going to have another baby. We shopped for a couple of hours before going back to the ship. It was fun just to hang out and be on vacation.

A quick trip to Idaho

February was a month of vacations. The 8th – 10th we drove up to Kuna Idaho (by Boise) to visit our friends Justin and Megan Patterson. The drive is sooooooo long but it was worth it. We watched movies, hung out, ate and found me some new shoes. Kayla and Megan have been friends for a long time and Justin and I have been friend for a long time too. In fact, it was them who set us up on our first blind date. And here we are married now for almost 4 years. It is good to have such fine friends. My other good friend Brady came with us. The pictures are mostly of Jaca, their dog who was named after the Brazilian fruit. It was a great weekend I just wish they didn’t live so far away.

Wyatt was certainly not a fan of riding Jaca

Brady is not much of a dog fan either but he seemed to like Jaca