Fri. 1st--I survived teaching a month of 8th grade science. And not just any month. The FIRST month of school! Hopefully I didn't make it worse for Emma to come back to after Labor Day. With the back-to-school inservice days, I only taught for 17 days. But they were looonnnnng. Most the classes were pretty good. But 5th period (WIN class for teaching social/emotional things) was challenging and then it kind of went down hill from there. 6th was okay because there was another adult in there. But 7th was ridiculously disrespectful and 8th was a little bit better. Exhausting. Middle School/Junior High teachers are ah.may.zing. I was fortunate to have a fantastic team teacher, Eric Deleon. He helped support and treated me like his equal, and I couldn't have made it through the month without him.
Sat. 2nd--Kevin and Christina drove all of us to Lubbock for a trip to do temple baptisms. Jared had to work. When we were done, they were kind enough to drop me off at the airport so I could fly out to Vegas and take the shuttle up to St. George to await the arrival of my FIRST and new grandbaby!!
I did tell Trina that I'm good at what I do and I'll be helpful to have around, but not to compare me to my mom. I don't come anywhere close to her talents, goodness, and expertise. She is solid gold!
*The mountains near my parents' home. I just love the mountains and canyons of southern Utah.
Mon. 4th--Labor Day! A great day for a baby to arrive...just sayin'! I predicted this would be when baby would make his entrance. No baby, but it was a fun and productive day! I bought Jake and Trina a new part for their fridge, made them breakfast in bed, helped hang curtains with my dad, consolidated keepsake items into bins, and reorganized their outside storage closet.
Then we spent a fabulous afternoon and evening with my parents at their house for a poolside BBQ with ribs, lots of games, and football of course. They said it was the first beautiful day where they could actually eat without it being horribly hot. 85 degrees, sunny, and no wind.
Playing HORSE in the pool and out for those with foot injuries.
*Jake rooting for the Duke underdogs.
*The backyard at night. I love how the pool lights change periodically.
Fri. 8th--Still no baby! So I borrowed the kids' car and drove about an hour north to Parowan (just beyond Cedar City) to visit my dear friends, the Scoresbys. They lived in our neighborhood in College Station--about 9 months before we got there and became some of our closest friends.
My mom made that shot...and it was all net!
*Duke won! A big upset.
Tues. 5th--Trina and I did a lot of errands to try and get food stamps updated and to look for more affordable housing. Their tiny 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment, with only enough room for a love seat couch in their living room was costing them over $1700 a month. And rent was going to be going up. Unbelievable. We paid $1400 a month for a mortgage on a 2 story, 2700 sq. ft. home in College Station. I don't know how society expects these young adults to go to school and work and afford these outlandish housing prices.
It's about the same distance from St. George to Parowan as it is from Snyder to Lubbock. Oh, but the views!! Incredible! I didn't realize how much I missed the mountains. I think Southern Utah might be calling to me after retirement...
*After a couple hours of catching up, they took me out to lunch at the best place in town--the Chevron station! The owners built a small restaurant off to the side of the gas station. A pretty smart move, I'd say, because there was a crowd. It was delicious food for an even better price. I was impressed.
*The house the Scoresbys are renting until they can build on the property nextdoor.
Future site of the Scoresbys house.
Me and my bestie, Natassia. I love their little farm town nestled between the hills. And I love her and her sweet family.
P for Parowan.
Sat. 9th--I snuck out in the early morning hours to drive north again, this time to attend the temple in Cedar City with my parents. Time spent in the temple with family is always special. Afterwards, we had a delicious breakfast at the All American Diner and ran a few errands before heading back to Santa Clara.
*Reading books poolside!
Jared and I were a bit concerned and decided it should be evaluated. Especially since Jake's ankle surgery was scheduled for Tuesday morning at 8am. We didn't want anything to get in the way of that. Except a baby. ;) Fortunately, the provider on-call at the Foot and Ankle Institute was Jake's surgeon. So we were about to dodge the bullet of spending our evening in the ER as he walked us through the process of what to watch for in the coming hours.
*I brought all of the laundry from Jake and Trina's place and did it at my parents' house in between playing in the pool and helping JJ with some make-up math homework from his recent (pink eye) absences via FaceTime. The latter was taking a little longer than I had hoped, so I wasn't going to make it back in time for Jake and Trina's Saturday night session of Stake Conference. I was pretty bummed about missing this particular meeting because our dear friends (Kevin and Sonja Staples) from our Kalamazoo, MI days are serving as the current mission president and wife and would be speaking at the meeting.
Jake, who was just barely 4 years old when we left Michigan, said he'd say hi to the Staples for me. Then he sent me a picture of his leg before getting his suit on. The same leg with the ankle injury. It was swelling and purple!!
Since we all missed the opportunity to attend Stake Conference, we decided to drive up to the ridge for a view of the fast-setting sun and then Trina made some incredible, homemade beignets. Delish!!
Any day now!!
The St. George Temple on the bottom right.
Just as good as the ones in New Orleans! Yummy!
Sun. 10th--I saw rain today!! We haven't had rain in my part of Texas for months! Hopefully these storms will make their way toward Snyder. We really need it.
Today is Grandparents Day and Trina's due date. It would be a perfect time for baby to show up. But he didn't. Trina sees the OB tomorrow to talk about induction dates and Jake's ankle surgery is Tuesday morning. It's going to be an eventful week!
*Meanwhile, back in Snyder....Calvin was invited to attend a Texas Tech football game with John Gregory's family. Griffin Cypert went as well.
Funny that the Raiders were playing Oregon since that's where Calvin was born. ;)
We went to my parents' ward for church. Trina said she felt baby get a little lower. After Sacrament Meeting, we walked around the building a couple of times. When Relief Society was over, I suggested she walk the 1/4 mile to the grandparents' house. I was teasing of course, but Jake said he'd join her. Crutches and all. He wanted to scope out the clouds for more potential storms.
Dad being kissed by Kuky.
JJ saying hello.
Kuky going back and forth between my parents. My mom made yet another delicious meal and we played games and hung out for a few hours. It feels so good being at my parents' home with them.
Mon. 11th--Unless this baby decides to come on his own, the induction isn't scheduled until Sunday, 9/17 and I leave next Tuesday morning. *sigh* So much for being able to give round-the-clock help with baby those first couple of weeks.
*My parent's house on Rachel Drive.
Since Jake's ankle surgery is tomorrow morning and I'll be the one going with him, I decided to spend my time making freezer meals in an effort to do *something* to help since my time in Utah is drawing to a close.
It took me 6 hours (with Mom's help at the end) and hijacking my parents' kitchen, but I made 10 freezer meal recipes (two of which I was able to divide into two separate batches giving them four more meals) and there's enough that the kids will easily get 2+ meals out of each recipe. That could be close to 28 days worth of dinners. Hopefully, those will be a blessing when they need them.
The best part of my day is that I got to spend bonus time with my parents. It hasn't been just me and them since before I graduated from high school. They took me out to dinner and then my mom and I went for a swim in the pool under the stars. So even though baby isn't here--I'm having a blast with my mom and dad.
Tues. 12th--Time to get this ankle repaired and on the road to recovery. I love Jake's surgeon. He was doing us a solid to get him in early on this day in hopes that we could get it done before baby arrived. I just can't believe that these kind of injuries are not more of an emergency among the orthopedic community. Jake can't drive and can barely make it up and down the stairs at his job when he wasn't in excruciating pain. It's been three weeks since he injured himself. I just don't understand why there isn't more urgency when dealing with broken bones/tendons.
The surgery went well. There was a loose piece of bone fragment floating around, so that was taken out and the ligaments/tendons repaired and a pin put in his ankle, all through the same incision, thankfully. Jake had a harder time coming out of anesthesia. We're wondering if the narcolepsy had something to do with that.
*I spent most of the day tending to Jake, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping, vacuuming, and outlining 3 1/2 months of menus as possibilities for Jake and Trina. Sometimes that's the hardest part for me...just trying to figure out what to make.
Thurs. 14th--Since there wasn't really anything else for me to do today and all's quiet on the baby front, my parents kidnapped me for an adventure. First, they took me to see the new Red Cliffs Temple.
Dad is 81 1/2 years old and not just going--winning!!
Mom is 78 years old and killing it in her bowling leagues!
I liked the different scenery screens that randomly popped up on the back drop.
Making memories!!
Fri. 15th--Today was a very special day! No--our grandbaby still hasn't arrived. But that's okay! I was one of the first 1,000 people in the first hour of the first day to participate in the St. George Utah Temple open house. This temple was dedicated in 1877 by the pioneers, making it the first completed temple in Utah. But in an effort to renew and restore it for many, many more years to come, the Church closed it for renovations and updates nearly 4 years ago. Today, its doors opened for free tours to the public for the next 8 weeks (except on Sundays, of course) before it will be dedicated for sacred work on December 10th.
*Jake is two days post-op from his ankle surgery. It went well, but he's in a LOT of pain. It's really hard to stay on top of his pain and the meds are making him feel worse. Perhaps baby boy is waiting for his daddy to feel better before making his big debut...
Sitting at church on Sunday, I listened to a lot of discussion about the temple. Apparently there have ben so many changes, it's hardly recongizable to some. I had never been in this temple prior to the renovations, so I didn't know what it looked like previously. However, that did not mean I could not appreciate what I beheld today. the work is exquisite. They did an incredible job keeping the furniture and woodwork from the original era while giving it a modern flair as well. The artwork! The lighting! The grand staircase! The green and blue velvet chairs! The arches! The tables! The murals! The carpets! The windows! Just stunning! A perfect offering to the Lord and tribute to our pioneer forebears who came to this beautiful desert and built the St. George temple. I can't believe I was able to be here for such a historic event.
*Meanwhile, in St. George...I decided to move over to my parents' house for the next few days, otherwise, I'd be alone at Jake's once Trina went into the hospital. They wanted to do the labor and birthing just the two of them, which was fine with me. First babies can take awhile to make their entrance into the world, so I was happy to let them do their thing and just get updates via text. I was grateful to at least be in town.
This was a hummingbird I managed to capture eating at one of their feeders on the back patio.
*For my angler husband. :)
Sun. 17th--Jake sent me this picture. He and Trina are at the hospital, ready to get this show on the road! I attended church with Mom and Dad and we all anxiously waited to hear any news.
Time marched on with no real news. Jake updated us every few hours. She wasn't progressing much. So we played games and enjoyed our time together at home.
Around 9:30 or 10pm, I decided to lie down on the couch to rest until we got some baby news. It was actually my mom who came and woke me up right around midnight to tell me my grandson was finally here!
Little THOMAS OLIVER--7 lbs. 6 oz. and 21 inches long.
Trina had to deliver him via c-section. Mom was still dressed, too, so she and I jumped in her car and drove the 20 minutes to the hospital to go see the new little family.
Mon. 18th--EARLY (around 1am)
This was his first picture...officially meeting mommy. And that dominant Hough chin.
*Great Grandma Lee (Gigi) getting little Thomas from Trina.
GRANDMA'S TURN!! But from here on out, you can call me Eema.
He was SO alert when we got there. And made adorable little cooing sounds.
Trina after all her hard work...a whole DAY'S worth!
Sweet baby boy.
Haha, Jake! Who scooted around in a rolling chair because he was still recovering from his ankle surgery. (He started feeling better, actually, once he got off the dumb narcotic pain meds and used motrin instead).
Eema is so happy she got to see her first grandbaby before flying home.
Getting all the newborn attention and tests.
His skin is just beautiful.
Not happy!!
Rolling towards Daddy's voice.
While we were there, the nurse discovered his blood sugar levels were a bit low, so he had to stay under the warmer and received mature milk donations to give him more of what he needed.
LATER Monday morning...(during normal hours) we learned that the nurses took Thomas to the NICU because they think he might have an infection and are only able to deliver antibiotics through his cord. Jake and Trina heard them say that only Mom and Dad can see Thomas. Which was heartbreaking because I had to fly out Tuesday morning. But we later learned other visitors could come but only WITH Mom and or Dad with them. So we got to go see him again (but not hold him--saddies) and we brought Great Grandpa Lee with us!
The NICU team.
Great Grandpa Lee meeting his great-grandson.
The super GREAT Grandparents!!
This picture cracks me up. Thomas is giving Nurse Shauna a crusty look in response to the oral meds she had to give him.
I didn't get to hold Thomas again, but I did get to gaze at him, touch his little toes, and stroke his sweet little head.
The wheelchair parade! Jake in the lead, followed closely by Trina!
First family picture! Both parents in wheelchairs while elevating their legs! Definitely one for the books!
Bye-bye, Sweet Thomas! Don't forget your Eema loves you!
*My Aunt Vickie and Uncle Paul (Dad's brother) swung by my parents' house to stay the night. They were on their way back home. Apparently, Uncle Paul isn't a fan of the water, but he got in the pool anyway!
I sat poolside with my legs in the water. We were chatting and Aunt Vickie suddenly said, "Hey! We're all grandparents out here!" :)
Tues. 19th--Jake's ankle post-op. Looks really good. I think he's sticking to climbing with ropes and harness only from now on. He was really good at bouldering, too. But aside from the injury, it has been a royal pain for him and them. He was sentenced to the crutches for at least 6 weeks and Trina can't drive post-surgery either. This is why I was hoping to be around when the baby was born...to help them with all these things. I guess they'll have to rely on their ward family to help instead.
Thomas with a feeding tube--this was added midday Monday because he started not being interested in eating.
*Cooper learned some things while working at O'Reilly's and decided to start detailing cars on the side. We paid him to do the burb for us and I asked Jared not to bring it to pick me up from the airport because I didn't want it getting dirty from the drive. These are the pictures Cooper sent. Looks awesome!
This was Jared's--it had some heat.
This was mine.
A west Texas sunset.
The sun setting behind the clouds. That water tower is just west of our house by the Junior High.
Wed. 20th--Calvin and his buddies, John and Nethan dressing up for School Spirit.
*Finally got our solar panels on. My sister-in-law, Christina, thinks they're ugly on the roofs of houses. But with our gross orange roof, I think the panels actually improve the look of ours!
*This is a picture of me and Jake after I had him 23 years ago, via C-section. I think Thomas looks similar to his Daddy.
Thurs. 21st--Jared and I were leaving for our trip to Aruba on Friday, so we felt very fortunate that we were able to watch Calvin's District match against Greenwood in Snyder. This was just a head to head. We had missed his doubles match but caught his singles.
The kid he was up against kept saying Calvin was making bad calls about whether or not the ball was in bounds, so he called for line judges. Which is fine. Calvin's done that, too. Took about 10 minutes before they could come to his court. As soon as they arrived, Calvin aced him on a serve. And another time, the kid verified with the judges if the ball was in because Calvin said it wasn't and they said, "Yeah, it was out."
Calvin won 7-5 and again 7-5. Snyder won 19-0.
Fri. 22nd--Before we left town to drive to Dallas for our early morning flight to Aruba, we decided to grab McDonalds and surprise JJ for lunch before we took off. He was definitely surprised. And only at the fries. *sigh* He's staying with the cousins while we are gone since they all go to school together. Karole agreed to stay at our house to hold down the fort and keep an eye on Karcyn and Calvin.
*Thomas still in the NICU. Seems like he's improving one day and then not the next.
Sat. 23rd--We flew from Dallas to North Carolina just ahead of Hurricane Ophelia. Fortunately, we were inland enough and heading south that our flights weren't impacted.
*Good Morning, Dallas.
*Flying into North Carolina. We only had 15 minutes to make our connecting flight to Aruba and ran most of the way to our gate. You could say we were "Hough-ing and Puffing" the whole way. :) But we made it and feel so blessed that our luggage made it, too!
Look at that water.
Waiting for our rental car.
Thank goodness we are well versed in roundabouts because that's all they have here.
Stained glass in the lobby of our condo property.
We were also blessed to have a condo with an ocean view! But it was a bit of a walk to get there...all the way down at the furthest end of the property.
The 1 bedroom set up was kind of funky. You walk in from the hall and you're at the bedroom.
You walk past the bedroom and the bathroom is on the right. Then you walk into the living room/dining room/kitchenette combo. It's not very big, but it suits our needs for just the two of us.
*We enjoyed an amazing dinner of grilled Mahi Mahi and shrimp with deep fried calamari at a poolside restaurant on the property before walking down the road to the grocery store.
Lobby of our condo property.
We walked back to our condo from the store around 7:15pm and it was dark, dark, dark. It felt SO much later than it was. But since it was still early, we went down to the pool and took a refreshing swim. Since we didn't get our pool towels before the hut closed, we just let the warm wind dry us off. It was perfect! So was the mint chocolate gelato and zeppole we got on the way back to our room.
*Meanwhile, back in Snyder, Karcyn went to Homecoming with her buddy, Skyler. (Going to Homecoming in Snyder means you go to the football game together. No dance.)
Sun. 24th--There is one small congregation or branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the island of Aruba. So we set out to find it this morning. It's Spanish-speaking, but that wouldn't be a problem because Jared speaks Spanish and I can pick up un poco.
*Almost to Aruba!
We need to brush up on our Dutch, though, because it's a tad tricky buying food when 90% of the labels are in a language you don't know. Even with pictures!
The crazy price of food reminds me of food prices in Alaska--where everything has to be shipped. $11 for a gallon of milk.
We punched in the address of the meeting house in Google Maps and at the end of the directions, we came to a literal dead end, with a couple of houses (we think) nearby. The structures in this particular area are nondescript and the doors are not readily visible from the road. There was no meeting house or building that we could identify. Maybe the church members meet in someone's home? Except we could not see a traditional church sign that we are used to. Even more than that, there was no sign of people walking in somewhere or getting out of cars in church clothes, etc. And as immensely kind and helpful as the Aruban people are, we decided against knocking on random doors to find our fellow church members.
We found the boat we're going to be taking on our half day fishing charter at the end of the week.
I want this flowering bus in my front yard. I think someone said they thought it was bougainvillea--thorny, but pretty.
The pool at the condo.
When we got back to our condo, we changed into our bathing suits and went to the beach. Jared got into the ocean. I went partway. At the time, I didn't want to get fully wet. But the water was beautiful. We made our way back under our little palapa to read our books and nap. It was heavenly.
A couple hours later, we made our way back to our condo across the street for lunch, stopping for a dip in the pool and hot tub first.
While our quest left us disappointed that we couldn't worship or take the Sacrament today, I marvel and thank my Heavenly Father for revealing the fulness of His gospel in this dispensation. This church is a *worldwide* church organized and administered in the same way anywhere you go. Once you join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you become part of a family. And if you happen to relocate in town or across the other side of the world, you never have to worry about finding another church home because you already have one. You can look it up before you get there. And if you reach out to your new ward or branch before arriving, they will be there to help you unload your moving truck, or bring you meals, or help with your kids, or give you local tips and suggestions because they want to help and serve their ward/branch members. I don't know of any other church or religion that spans the globe, under the same organization, that teaches and administers to its members in the same manner the way our church does. It's truly remarkable!
So church was a bust. But we tried and I know Heavenly Father is happy that we made an effort. We drove around this general area--about a 5 mile radius taking note of different places...the hospital, the cruise ship port, the IMAX theater, some tourist spots, etc.
*One of our yummy treats we got at the storre.
*This afternoon we went to the pool deck for popcorn hour. We were a little early, so we checked out the souvenir shops. One was an aloe store. Jared was a bit ahead of me and while I was focused on reading a label, I heard him make a noise. As I turned in his general direction, I vaguely noticed he pointed to the door and walked by quickly. It was a bit odd. Maybe he got a text? Maybe he saw something questionable? I eventually walked over to where he had been. It was a display with sugar cubes.
*This afternoon we went to the pool deck for popcorn hour. We were a little early, so we checked out the souvenir shops. One was an aloe store. Jared was a bit ahead of me and while I was focused on reading a label, I heard him make a noise. As I turned in his general direction, I vaguely noticed he pointed to the door and walked by quickly. It was a bit odd. Maybe he got a text? Maybe he saw something questionable? I eventually walked over to where he had been. It was a display with sugar cubes.
Huh. I couldn't see anything offensive. The lady working at the store engaged in some small talk with me and when I was done browsing, I told her I'd better go find my husband. I exited the boutique and looked to my right down the hall. No Jared. I looked to the left. No Jared there. I looked through the window of the store nextdoor, but he wasn't in there. So I started walking back to the lobby and did a full turn. No sign of Jared anywhere. Strange.
I was about to try texting him, thinking maybe he needed to use the facilities. As I turned toward the restrooms, I saw him walking in my direction. When he got close enough I asked, "Did you need to use the restroom?" He replied, "Sort of." I noticed a spot where there had been a dribble of water down his shirt. He explained, "So there's a table in that store that said, 'sugar cubes'." He paused for a second before continuing, but I had already connected the dots...leaving the store quickly, the water stain on his shirt, his sweet tooth..."Did you EAT one?!" I asked incredulously. Defensively he said, "It SAID 'sugar cubes'! But as soon as I popped it in my mouth, I knew it wasn't. That's false advertising of the worst kind!"
I doubled over and laughed SO hard I couldn't speak. Jared said he made a bee line to the door so he could get to the bathroom and rinse his mouth out. Repeatedly. Hahaha. And he was really grateful he didn't bite down on the cube. Oh my gosh. I laughed til I cried. I wonder if the security cameras got that on record. What a show that would have been. Best part of my day!
Actually, it became the second best part of my day when we found out Thomas graduated from the NICU and went home today.
Our crazy guide was Donny! And Uncle Johnny was driving the car in front of us.
Buckle up, Buttercup!
We drove by a school...
a church...
a cemetary...
where there are 4 coffins to a vault.
We drove by the Ayo Rock formations. They are a cluster of huge monolithic boulders that are a bit of an enigma on a relatively flat island. There are also rock paintings or petroglyphs dating back thousands of years.
Crazy Donny!
We were on our way to the Natural Bridge.
The gift shop.
On to the Bushiribana Gold Mill.
The mill was built like a fort in 1872 concealing the fact that it was refining and processing gold due to the presence of pirate ships along the rugged coast. Ultimately, the island produce more than 3 million pounds of gold that was "secretly" shipped back to the Netherlands.
Driving back through town. This is a house with many random things in the yard.
I love this picture. Screams "island life" to me.
I spotted a lighthouse!
This looks like a postcard. The turquoise ocean water meeting the white sands with a divi divi tree on the beach. But I took that snapshot from the jeep!
This is the California Lighthouse--built and named after the SS California that was sailing from Liverpool to South America and ran into Aruba instead--sinking and taking lives with it.
The lighthouse is on the northwestern tip of the island and offers amazing views of the western coastline.
I love lighthouses! I was hoping to go up inside, but there was already a group going in and we didn't have time.
We went back to ABC Tour's headquarters and restaurant for lunch. We were really excited about this! We love island food!
Of course I told our guide and everyone in our jeep that it was Jared's 50th birthday. :) Donny brought Jared a virgin Aruba Arriba drink and tropical cake in honor of his birthday. It was extremely thoughtful. Especially because he remembered that we don't drink alcohol.
Our group sand "Happy Birthday" to Jared, which, of course, he "loved." Haha.
Jared's lunch: BBQ chicken, black beans, coleslaw and rice.
My lunch: fried grouper with rice, funchi (Aruba's version of polenta), a sweet plantain, and salad. Soooo gooooood!!!
The second half of the day was spent extreme off-roading as we traveled to the Natural Pool by way of Arikok National Park.
Aruba's climate is unique. It's a very arid island, yet humid, too.
Hold on tight! We were tossed to and fro!
At the peak of the park.
A picture at the summit of Arikok National Park.
Making our way down to the Natural Pool.
Walking down LOTS of steps to get to the Natural Pool.
Along the northern shore, there are many natural bridges. For thousands of years, pounding waves and strong wings have slowly chiseled away at the limestone cliffs to create several nature bridges along the northern shore. The original bridge, and most photographed, was 25 feet above water and 100 feet long. It collapsed in September 2005. We are standing on the baby bridge nearby.
In 1824, gold was discovered on the island by a shepherd boy. These are the remnants of the Bushiribana Gold Mill on the northeastern coast.
In a unique formation, volcanic rocks and stone circle a small depression creating a pool in a remote part of eastern Aruba. It is also known as "Conchi" (bowl) or "Cura di Tortuga" (Turtles Cove). It's surrounded by some very rugged terrain and is only accessible by foot, horseback, or 4 wheel drive.
It is well known for its Arawak drawings which were etched by the Amerindians in a brownish red color. This is a fish.
Beautiful.
Fascinating to see the different paths and formations.
The birthday boy.
Donny said he had a treat for us. We stopped at the spring Garra Rufa and several of us stuck our feet in for a fish pedicure...where they nibble the dry skin off your feet!
The other truck got attacked by donkeys!
Jared spending his 50th on a beach. I can think of worse ways to celebrate a birthday!
Once we got to Baby Beach, Donny took the strong swimmers to the Lazy River that ran parallel to the beach where the current (very strong current) pushed us along for a good quarter mile or so while we snorkeled. Jared and I stuck close to each other, but we got scrunched out of our "lane" by another person in the group while dodging a big round coral formation. Trying to get around the coral, Jared flung his left hand out to steer himself and his wedding band slipped right off! I saw didn't know what happened, but saw him frantically go swim the opposite direction against the current, which was futile. He was so upset. He couldn't see it though and didn't even see it fall. :(
So that now marks the second time he lost his wedding band today and the second time he's lost his wedding ring for good...in the water. (The first time was 6 weeks after we were married in Skilak Lake, Alaska). Jared was so mad at himself for not taking it off after the close call at the Natural Pool. But I reminded him it IS just a ring. It is replaceable. He is not. Above all, I didn't want it to ruin his special day. Donny heard what happened and went back to go find it for us. He wasn't successful but said he'd keep trying. What a guide!
Sunset at 6:37pm.
When I was in Utah, my mom sent Jared's birthday gifts with me to give to him. He got a hat and this book. :)
When you want to harvest a spiny aloe leaf, you take one from the outside of the plant because it blooms and grows from the inside out. First, you cut off the end and soak it in water for 10-15 minutes. There is a sticky, yellow substance called latex that needs to drip out. It was formerly used for digestion and laxative needs, but not anymore.
Next, you skin the tough outer leaf along one flat side, then using a spoon, push or scoop out the clear gel strip. Our guide showed us this process.
As we made our way into deeper waters about 5 miles off the coast, the barracuda was the fish of the hour. Jared reeled one in and insisted that I have a turn.
We arrived in Dallas after midnight as expected and grabbed a shuttle to take us back to our Park and Fly hotel where we stayed before leaving. Except when we arrived, they didn't have our reservation. WHAT? This was the second part of our stay. Our car was in the parking lot. It eventually got sorted out...we never did find out what was going on or why. But it made me grumpy. Thankfully Jared was there to keep me calm.
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