The Texas Caspers

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Yet another calling...

We have lived in this area for over 14 years now...and in those 14 years, I have had too many Church callings to count (No really. I considered trying to count them and decided I couldn't.) I have loved my current assignment of teaching Gospel Doctrine...although I feel very inadequate most of the time:( The teacher does always learn more than the student. But a week ago I was called to serve in the Stake Relief Society presidency...I know the calling came from the Lord and I am looking forward to the learning and growing that always come from new challenges...I will miss teaching in our ward on Sundays though...not to mention being in Sacrament meetings with our boys on the Sundays I need to be at other wards...It will be a blessing to meet the women of the Stake though. Our area has grown from 3 wards when we moved here, to 6 wards and a branch! It will be a fun experience. Of this I am certain:)

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

A Fantasy...:)

We started out with a couple of nights at the Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom Resort...we think we live the "good life" staying at Marriott hotels...well, our 2-bedroom villa at Kidani Village was much nicer than any Marriott we've stayed at...well, it rivals the Marriott Marquis suites in Times Square...we were pampered and felt blessed.

Behind the kids you can see what the view looks like from some of the rooms at Kidani and also from the resort lobby...we saw zebras and giraffes and birds and many other animals, whose names I can't remember :) simply unreal~

We spent a day at the Magic Kingdom

Garrett made a friend:)

A view of what the lobby looks like at the Kidani Village.

We made it! On the top deck of the Disney Fantasy!

Every night our bed was filled with goodies and marketing paraphenalia:) Oh, and a towel animal.

Bill, Christine and Mom (the adults of the group) ate at Palo...one of the ship's "adults only" restaurants...YUMMO!

A little Denzel Washington and Remember the Titans on the "Funnelvision"...the GINORMOUS screen on deck 11 above the pool. Nothing like it:)

First stop. Grand Cayman.

That sign says $5.85 for a gallon of gas. Yikes!

A windy ride on the tender boat to shore.

Stingray City! Look at that water...it was amazing.

One of our guides holding a huge Ray...we loved it!

Stop two. Costa Maya, Mexico

Our servers...Mircea and Ivica...(out of order:)

More Costa Maya...a real dump of a town:(

Fun with some of the characters on board...

Stop three. Cozumel, Mexico

It was HOT and HUMID...we did a little shopping before we went on our excursion...Mom scored a couple of Mexican blouses, Garrett got a cool backpack and Christine got a surfer poncho thingy:) The vendors could smell us from a mile away...we didn't disappoint:)

Some Mayan Ruins...this is the temple of the hands??? Interesting...but it was hot and the bugs were biting...ugh.

We stopped at a beach...didn't take any pictures of the beach area...pretty commercialized:( but we did order some yummy nachos:)

Christine and Grant riding the awesome Aquaduck...so cool.

This group, the Caspians, performed the entire cruise on and off in the ship's atrium...Christine knows their names and enjoyed spending time with them.

Stop four. Castaway Cay...here we are at Serenity Bay...the adult area of the little island. Bill and I never have been there in all of our trips to Castaway, so this trip we took advantage of the kids being old enough to entertain and look out for themselves...it was serene and beautiful:)

We had wonderful servers...this is Mircea...he was our favorite...he is from Romania and we loved him...his accent made him sound a little like Herman Munster...but he spoke well and was so kind to all of us...We had a wonderful time on the Fantasy and we know we will return again...:)

Gainfully Employed

Garrett landed his first job several weeks ago...and I am just now posting a picture. He works at one of the local Chick-fil-As. He is loving the money and when he works with his best friend Caulin, the job isn't too bad either. We love visiting him while he is working because we get 50% off our food...not a bad deal. Looking good Garrett...

Another Year Older, And Wiser Too

I tell you, these kids just keep having birthdays! Garrett turned 17 on the 2nd...not a lot of fanfare...just some presents ($$$) a little cake (lemon-jello) and dinner out (Cheesecake Factory)...we did share the cake and ice cream with the Cottrells and the Tanners...thank goodness for friends and family. Happy Birthday Bear....we LOVE you.

I Love Surprises:)

Several months ago I knew I wanted to be in Kentucky for Jill Jenkin's missionary farewell. We had a lot going on with the wedding and all, and I wasn't sure I could squeeze it in...but, as usual, I threw caution to the wind and booked my flight. The really awesome part was that Jill would be speaking on Jennie's 45th birthday(May 27)...well then, of course I would need to be there:) And it would all be a surprise. I couldn't even tell James, for fear of him slipping and ruining the surprise. I walked in their house and Jennie could not believe her eyes...she was shocked and it was great! I loved being able to be in Georgetown to share in the Jenkin's family festivities...Jennie has an amazing family and it was a blessing to be with so many of them...sometimes these special ocassions just can't be missed. Jill is off to the great Mississippi Jackson Mission!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Follow the Signs

A few weeks ago, Bill and I traveled to Utah to deliver a few random things for the soon-to-be-married William and NaKya. We wanted to arrive in time to be in the temple with them when NaKya went through for the first time...to make this happen we would need to leave on a Thursday night and drive straight through...19 or so hours. We loaded a U-Haul trailer and pulled out of our driveway about 7pm. We switched off driving and made great time, stopping only for gas and to use the restroom. William and NaKya were going to meet us in Cedar City at their storage unit...everything was falling nicely into place. We were following a little different route because we had never traveled from Texas to Cedar...so we let the GPS do the navigating...and then, there it was. A big sign that said "Road Closed", followed closely by another sign which read "All Roads Open"...so of course, we continued on down the "road closed/all roads open" road. We came to at least 4 gates that said "road closed", but half of the gate was always wide open...so of course, we continued on...it did seem a little odd that we never saw any traffic...I mean NONE. The temperature was dropping...when we left Dallas, it was about 85 degrees...our car was registering about 42 degrees as we traveled up the "road closed/ all roads open" canyon road. Once we started our decent into what we hoped would be Cedar City...the tire pressure on one of the tires dropped drastically and in less than a minute we were sitting on the side of the road with a completely flat tire...did I mention all of the snow around us? And did I mention we were dressed for summer...not a jacket in sight? Our car is pretty new and we had not changed a tire on it since we bought it...after consulting the owner's manual a few times, Bill was able to lower the spare and eventually change the tire...holy cow what a process! I need to mention that I am married to the most patient guy ever...he kept his cool perfectly which made a potentially miserable situation bearable:) This story could really go on for a while...I will cut to the chase...we did not turn around even at that point...we continued until we came to a concrete barricade, talked to a worker who was finishing up for the day who said the road was CLOSED, shocking, I know---he said the mountainside had covered the road...it was in fact impassable:)...lucky us...dumb us...now Bill got to back the rather large, YukonXL, pulling a U-Haul trailer up several hundred feet to a "pull-out" so we could turn around and get off this "definitely CLOSED road". (Did I mention that we had no cell service during this delay and that William and sweet NaKya were waiting and worrying in Cedar?) Anyway....about potentially going on forever...we did finally make it to Cedar City...3-4 hours later than planned...unloaded the stuff...returned the U-Haul and made it to St. George in time for some Cafe Rio and a nice night's rest, followed by a wonderful day at the St. George Temple...the moral to the story?...if the sign says "Road Closed"...the road is probably closed:)