Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Alaskan Cruise



Ethan and I just got back from the most wonderful vacation...  a 7-day Alaskan cruise!  I have never been on a cruise before, so it was such a new and exciting thing for me.  For those like me who have never been on a cruise before, here are some things that were surprising/exciting:

1. There is an abundance of food.  Anytime you are hungry, you can go get a meal or grab a snack, a slice of pizza, an ice cream/yogurt, etc. and it's FREE... 

2. Every night, we ate at this restaurant called, "The Trellis."  Again, it is FREE because it's part of the cruise package.  Basically, they have a four-course meal each night (appetizer, soup/salad, entree, and dessert).  You sit at the same table each night and you have the same servers.  The food was always served in such a beautiful manner and it was super yummy.  I appreciated that the portions were nice and small so that I didn't get super stuffed.

3. Each night, they would have some kind of show, usually a music production with singing & dancing.  The production cast was very talented.   

4. There were several different music groups that performed each day in various lounges.  Our favorite group was an acapella group of 4 guys.  They were so much fun to listen to!

5. They really spoil you on the ship.  For example, our room attendant cleaned our room twice a day!  I was amazed at how clean they kept the ship.  Everything was always immaculate. 

So, there you have it.  Here are some pictures of our trip:


Seattle
We arrived in Seattle the day before our cruise.  We enjoyed touring Seattle and trying out some yummy restaurants.



Day 1: Departing from Seattle
It was cool to check into our room.  It was a comfy room.  My favorite part was our veranda (balcony).  It was great to be able to go outside and look at the scenery while we were sailing in the privacy of our own veranda.  Ethan and I bought binoculars in Seattle and enjoyed using them, especially from our balcony.

Our room


The view from our veranda as we were docked in Seattle


We were on our way to Alaska!  So exciting!


Day 2: At Sea
We spent a whole day at sea.  We spent the day relaxing, watching T.V., and exploring the ship.  That night at dinner, it was "formal night."  So, I wore a green dress and Ethan wore his suit.  It was fun to dress up and enjoy a nice meal.  After dinner, we went to a musical production called "iBroadway" where the production cast performed all sorts of broadway songs.  It was my favorite show of all.



Day 3: Ketchikan, Alaska 
When we woke up around 7:00, we surprised to see that we had already docked in Ketchikan, Alaska.  It was a beautiful city.  We saw some bald eagles with our binoculars.  Evidently, there are many bald eagles in Alaska.  They are beautiful creatures!  We explored the town and bought some souvenirs.  We also enjoyed some yummy fish & chips and clam chowder at the peer.  That evening, our ship was supposed to leave at 4:00.  However, there were some electrial problems and they had to fix it before we could sail away.  We didn't sail away until after 9:00.  Because of the delay, our captain said we would not be able to sail through the "Tracy Arm Fjords."  Instead, we would head straight to Juneau.  It was disappointing as the Tracy Arm Fjords is supposed to be a beautiful place.  See this link for pictures:  http://travel.webshots.com/album/415976651skhdal  The cruise line gave everyone a $200 credit which I thought was nice.

This was the view of Ketichikan from our veranda when we woke up at 7:00 a.m.  It was a beautiful town!


Creek Street - a touristy shopping area next to a creek where the salmon swim upstream sometime in July/August to lay their eggs.

       Ketchikan, Alaska


Day 4: Juneau, Alaska
We arrived in Juneau around 12:00 p.m.  We had booked an excursion to the Mendelhall Glacier & a Salmon Bake.  So, we got on a bus at 3:00 which took us to the Mendelhall Glacier.  It was really beautiful.  We only had an hour at the glacier because the bus was scheduled to pick us and to take us to a Salmon Bake.  After going to the visitors center and looking around, we decided we should take a walk to "Nugget Falls" which would give us a closer look at the glacier.  However, our "walk" ending up being a "job/run" at times because we were running low on time.  It was worth it though because it was really cool to get closer to the waterfall and glacier.  When we arrived at the Salmon Bake, they served us fresh steaming clam chowder.  The salmon was cooked over a grill.  It was an all-you-can-eat buffet including cornbread, beans, salad, pasta, dessert, clam chowder, and salmon.  After dinner, we took a short walk to a waterfall.  There were pans available next to the river so people could "pan for gold."  Ethan found 3 pieces that ended up being fools gold.  :)  Back at the ship, we went to "Boogie Wonderland" put on by the production cast.  They performed 70's and 80's music...  It isn't my favorite era of music but I enjoyed the show anyway.  It was a great day!

On our way to Juneau


Our first glimpse of Juneau, Alaska


Ethan, using the binoculars we bought in Seattle


Our first picture at the Mendelhall Glacier


Mendelhall Glacier


This is after we jogged to get a closer look at the Mendelhall Glacier and Nugget Falls - notice that Ethan had to take his heavy jacket off.  We were sweating from our workout.  :)


I thought it was so pretty with the large chunks of ice floating in the water.


The Salmon Bake


After dinner, we topped it off by eating roasted marshmallows for dessert.  Yum!


Ethan panning for gold


The beautiful waterfall


Day 5: Skagway, Alaska
Our cruise ship docked in Skagway, Alaska before we even woke up.  It was a tiny town (population 400!).  There was a light rain that day (more of a mist), but nothing bad.  We were still able to walk around town and stay fairly dry.  We ate a Thai Restaurant that was very overpriced - they definately charged tourist prices.  But, we enjoyed our meal.  We also shared a banana split at an ice cream shop for dessert.  We went back to the cruise ship and took a nice long nap (we took a nap almost everyday, it was wonderful!).  Afterward, we went to this "Magic Show."  Ethan and I ended up getting called up on the stage because he asked if anyone was celebrating their anniversary on the cruise.  He took my wedding ring and made it "disappear" and then "reappear" in the bag that Ethan was holding...  It was a pretty cool illusion.  After dinner, we got to hear our favorite musicians - the Acapella group called SoulD Out - perform.  We ordered a decaf mocha ice blended because were were craving some kind of iced coffee drink.  It was super yummy.   

 
Skagway, Alaska


   
Ethan standing in front of our cruise ship - "The Infinity" (Celebrity Cruises)


 
Our yummy mocha ice blended


Day 6: At Sea (3 year Anniversary)
The whole day was spent at sea.  The waves were a little rough that day, so Ethan and I had to lay down at times.  But, it wasn't so bad that we got sick.  We heard that the week before it was much more rough, so I'm glad we didn't experience that...  In the evening, it was "formal night" again so I wore my green dress and Ethan wore his suit.  We went to a specialty restaurant called "SS United States."  It was super fancy and was a special way to celebrate our 3 year anniversary.  I ordered escargot (snail) as an appetizer (it was actually quite yummy!) and lobster (which I've never had before).  They surprised us with a cake for our anniversary.  After dinner, we went to another musical production called "Celebrate the World."  They performed songs from several different countries.  The part that was funny to me was when they were singing a country song by Shania Twain with their British accents (they were fron England).  After the show we got to hear SoulD Out again (the acapella group).  It was another great day.

Our anniversay dinner at the SS United States Restaurant


The anniversary cake they surprised us with


Day 7: Victoria, British Columbia
We spent another day at sea.  At 11:00, we went to "Star Chef's Cooking Competition."  Basically, Ethan had struck up a conversation with the "foodie" (Wes - he was the man in charge of food/wine related events on the ship) earlier in the week. When Wes and Ethan talked, he could tell that Ethan appreciated food so he asked if Ethan would be willing to be a judge for the Star Chef's Cooking Competition.  Of course, Ethan was more than happy to do it.  They chose two people from the cruise ship (who were not chefs) to volunteer to cook a meal at the competion.  Afterward, they brought up the judges.  It was fun to watch Ethan up on the stage.  Several people turned to me during the show and asked questions like, "Is he a connoiseur?" because they could tell that he was really into it.  Later in the day, we watched "The Proposal" in the movie theater on the ship.  It was a cute movie (I've always loved Sandra Bullock).  We arrived in Victoria, British Columbia at 7:30 p.m.  We walked around the city.  It was a beautiful city.  Our cruise ship left at midnight to head back to Seattle.

Wes introducing the 3 judges




5 was the highest score


David and Alicia were a nice couple we met on the first day of the cruise.  We saw them periodically on the cruise. 

Parliament


The Empress Hotel



These are pictures I took of our cruise ship.  The first one I took before we took a bus to downtown.  The second picture was when we got back from downtown.  It was a huge ship!


So, that sums up our 7 day cruise.  It was such a wonderful vacation for both us.  If I had to tell someone what the highlights of the trip were, I would probably have to say:

- Seeing bald eagles, whales spouting in the ocean, and a porcupine.  Those are animals that I just don't see in California...

- Going to Mendelhall Glacier (it was beautiful)

- Taking naps almost every day

- Climbing into bed at night and watching t.v. until I fell asleep (I know that sounds silly, but since we don't have a t.v. at home, it is always a treat to watch t.v. while we're on vacation)

- Going to the music productions on the cruise ship

- Spending quality time with my hubby! 

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Picnic with my good friends

A little more than a week ago, I went to the park with my dear friends: Angie, Joanna, and Johanna.  The 4 of us have decided that we need to get together once a month because it's always such a joy to spend time together.  Here are a few pictures of our time together.


Angie with her two girls: Katie and Lauren


Joanna with 2/3 of her kids: Vineetha and Vijay (Tirzah was asleep in her stroller.)


Johanna with Nehemiah


Johanna's other little one: Naomi

Saturday, June 12, 2010

New Bedroom Set

With the baby coming, we got to talking about some changes we need to make in our place. First of all, the office will need to be turned into a baby room. That means the computers, bookshelves, and all the stuff in the closet will need to go... somewhere else. With that in mind, we started thinking it might be nice to have some dressers in our room to store clothes so that we can store other stuff in our closets...

Just before Memorial Day, we thought we would look at bedroom sets since there would be plenty of great sales. After hunting for a few days, we were able to settle on a price range for what we wanted. We found a beautiful bedroom set and got it for a great deal! We also got a new mattress with it too - something we have wanted for over a year now as our old mattress is extremely uncomforable... It was so exciting purchasing a bedroom set as we knew it would transform our bedroom. I was most excited about having a dresser for my clothes! (No more cramming my socks into this tiny plastic thing in my closet...)

I took some "before" and "after" pictures.


Notice one of our side tables - a t.v. tray. It worked for 3 years just fine, but we are so thankful to have nice sturdy side tables with drawers...


These pictures are take at a different angle from each other. Notice Ethan's chest in the corner. It is from his childhood. It worked fine, but it is quite old and the drawers didn't work too well. His new chest is bigger and the drawers slide out so smoothly. Also, notice my dresser - the one in the corner with the mirror on it. I'm soooooooooo excited to have drawers! The last time I had a dresser with drawers was in college. I'm so thankful. :)



One more funny thing I have to point out... See the blue thing under the window? Well, that is our Christmas Tree in its box. We weren't quite sure where to store it (and still have to figure it out) so we put a sheet on it and it functioned as a little table where I could store stuff.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Announcing...



We are going to have a baby!  Yup.  I am 15 weeks along.  Ethan and I are super excited that God has blessed us with a dear little one that is due November 30.  So far, my pregnancy has been pretty good.  I have been exhausted and feel nausea quite a bit, but I feel quite blessed as I haven't thrown up or been too sick to work.  I'm really looking forward to summer break (one week from now!) as I will get to take naps and rest...  Weekends have been a huge blessing for me as school has really been wearing me out.

It's funny that they often refer to prenant women as having "morning sickness."  I have talked to many women who are like me - we feel fine in the morning but fill the most nausea at night...  I'm thankful for that though because it would be hard to work if I felt sick at school.  God is so gracious.

Please pray for the little one who is growing inside me.  It is exciting to see my little belly get a little bigger as my little one is starting to grow.  I can't wait to feel him/her kick!  I hear that is one of the most amazing experiences.

Many of you have asked if we will find out if we are having a boy or girl.  The answer is "yes."  We will probably find out in a month or so and I promise to let you know via our blog... so stay posted.  :)

Brunch with my dear friends

Angie invited Johanna, Joanna, and me over for a Saturday brunch. It was such a blessing to spend time with them (thank you husbands who sacrificed and watched kids so that all of us could spend quality time together!).


Joanna and Johanna

me and Angie

Johanna, Noami, Angie, and Lauren


The youngest ones at our brunch that day - Lauren and Naomi (both so sweet!)

LOST Party


Ethan and I have been "LOST" fans for the past 3 years.  We watched the first 5 seasons on DVD.  For the 6th season, we decided to watch it online since we don't have t.v.  A few times we even got to watch it live at Jared & Lisa's house (Ethan's brother).  We wanted to keep up with it rather than wait until it comes on DVD since season 6 was going to be the final season. 

Our friends, Michael and Caroline, hosted a "LOST" party ont the series finale night in May.  Caroline was so creative.  Her invitation for the party was a boarding pass for "Oceanic Flight 815."  (For those of you who have watched the show know the significance of that...).  She was also so creative with all the decorations. 

They invited some friends over.  We enjoyed some time of eating, fellowship, speculating about how the series would end, and then staying up until midnight watching the final minutes of LOST.  It was a fun evening.




Caroline asked Ethan to pretend to be "Dr. Pierre Chang" from the DHARMA Initiative.  Notice his vest...  It was quite tight on him and was quite a challenge to get it on.  It was quite funny.  Also, notice my t-shirt.  Caroline made us all t-shirts.  She really did a great job at making everything so creative...