**Disclaimer: This is bound to be a really long post. If you don't want to be bored by all the details of our trip, feel free to just look at the pictures. I will not hold it against you**
Well, it's been quite an exciting 3 weeks for us. We left 3 Thursdays ago for our big adventure. Jade had some work to do in Utah, so first the 4 of us flew to Salt Lake for the day. We were able to go see Jerai, Phil, Boyd, and Remy. It was so great to see them. The girls (Tink and Remy) were a little skeptical of each other at first, but as soon as they realized that it really was their best friend, they were so happy to be with each other. They basically played the entire time they were together (unfortunately we were only in Utah for 18 hours, so we didn't get to see any of our other friends, but we will come out for a real visit soon!)
Peyton was so funny- she hated when the dogs would play fight. She would be totally fine one minute, then the second they started to (play) fight, she would start crying. Apparently she's a little sensitive about Tinky. Peyton and Boyd were so funny to watch together. The whole time they just wanted to play with a nasal aspirator and an infant tylenol bottle. They didn't really share them though. 
Boyd would be sitting there, minding his own business, playing with the toy, then Peyton would decide she wanted whatever Boyd had, then she would crawl over and take it. She was being a bully! My little angel (who is 3 months older and over 3 pounds smaller than Boyd) was being a bully! 
It was innocent enough though, I guess, she just better watch out for Boyd when he starts crawling... payback! Friday morning we woke up at 4 to drive to Las Vegas. We made a quick pit stop and had breakfast with our friends the Walls in St. George. Then Jade and my brothers went golfing and I hung out with my momma and sister. Jade's favorite part of the day was dinner. We went to his favorite restaurant: Texas de Brazil. Saturday we left for Miami. Leaving Peyton was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was heartbreaking. Seriously. Although I don't know if my day was half as bad as Jeremy and Kristin's- they had major troubles with their flights, and spent 24 hours in airports. Sunday when Jer and Kris finally got to Miami, our cruise began! We ate lunch, laid out, and ditched the lifejacket drill. Jade and I hid under our bed, so we didn't get caught. Kristin was sitting on her bed when they came to check, so she got caught. Luckily she charmed her way out of it. We also got our first taste of the FlowRider... the coolest invention ever. It's a wave simulator. I can't do it justice in the blog, so if you want a better description, Google it so you can see exactly how cool it is. 
Each of us gave boogie boarding a shot. The good news is: no one got hurt. The bad news is: my top got a little messed up and I flashed Jeremy, Kristin, Jade, an employee, and about 5 other passengers. Oops. Needless to say, I learned my lesson and wore a shirt from then on. At least it was my top and not my bottoms! We also had a formal dinner and met our waiters; Song from China and Marlon from the Philippines. 
We basically fell in love with Song over the course of 8 days. I wish I had Song at my house right now. Monday we cruised the whole day. We worked out, laid out, played at the casino, played shuffleboard (I totally dominated), and saw a magician and acrobats. 
Tuesday was the only day with bad weather. It was overcast with scattered showers and really windy. This became my downfall. I got burned, big time. 
I was burned so bad that it hurt to bend my knees, arms, even fingers. I was still burned when I got back to Vegas 6 days later. It was awful, and it almost ruined my cruise. But I digress. We got to San Juan, Puerto Rico around 5:30 at night, which was weird for us. Out of the 8 cruises I've been on, I've never had a night port before. I actually didn't like the night port. We didn't get to explore Puerto Rico. We did get to shop around old San Juan and have a great dinner. 
Oh also we went to an internet cafe and got to check emails and even call home. It was great to talk to my mom and to Peyton, though it did make me a little homesick. That night we also saw a comedian, which almost soothed the sunburn. Wednesday we were in St. Thomas. 
The port was a little scary, but the beaches were beautiful. Let me go on record and say that I hate snorkeling. I've never had a great experience. It's always cold, and besides that, I've never even seen anything really cool. We went snorkeling on Coki Beach in St. Thomas, and let me tell you: it was awesome. The guys who rented the snorkel gear to us gave us dog biscuits to feed the fish. When we went out in the crystal clear water, by the gorgeous reef, we broke up our biscuits and were swarmed by hundreds and hundreds of fish. It was insane. There were fish literally bumping into me. They ate out of my hands. It was an incredible experience. When we got back to the ship we competed in the ship's "longest drive" tournament in the golf simulator. 
Jade won first place out of a ton of guys. I won first place too, which isn't impressive as it sounds, considering my only competition was a girl who barely golfed at all, and Kristin, who had never before swung a golf club. But still, a gold medal is a gold medal. We also played mini golf and rock climbed. 
Then the boys tried their hands at stand up surfing on the FlowRider. It was really neat- surfing on the end of the ship, 14 stories high, overlooking open ocean with a beautiful sunset behind you... Not an experience you get every day. The boys did really well, and were so fun to watch. 
Thursday we were in St. Marteen. We went to an absolutely beautiful beach and played in the ocean, catching waves and just relaxing. 
We did a little shopping, then headed back to the ship for our most anticipated activity of the trip: the Amazing Race. The 4 of us competed in the ship's version of the show. We totally dominated. We took first place in every single event except for one, and we won first place (by a long shot, if I don't say so myself). 
We also went to an ice skating show, and another formal dinner. Friday we were at sea all day again, so we took advantage of all that our ship had to offer. We went ice skating, went on the FlowRider again, the boys played in a dodgeball tournament, watched the Scintas (yes the Scintas from Las Vegas were performers on our ship!), and went to the Battle of the Sexes game show, which Kristin and I participated in (and both of us scored points for the girls). 
Saturday was a sad day, the last day of our cruise. We did all the things that we hadn't done that we wanted to do before we left. 
We rock climbed again, went to the arcade and had air hockey tournaments and did Dance Dance Revolution, and did the most fun thing we did the whole trip: rented out the FlowRider all to ourselves for an hour. We had SO much fun!! Over the course of the cruise we became friends with the sports staff, and so they let us do all sorts of fun stuff that normally wouldn't be allowed. We did boogie boarding, surfing, and tandem boogie boarding (Jeremy "rode" Jade). 
It was great. Sunday was sad because we left our cruise, but really happy because I got to see my baby. I was so excited. My mom pulled up to the curb at the airport, rolled down Peyton's window, I looked in at her, and... nothing. No reaction at all. I was crushed. Then Jade looked in at her and she smiled at him and kicked her legs. She wouldn't nurse either. My little heart broke. Luckily she started liking me again after about a day and a half, and started nursing (well) after about 2 days. That will to teach me to leave her for 8 days again! Jade and Tink left for Portland on Monday night, and I got to stay in Vegas with my family for another week. We did so many fun things; celebrated my daddy's birthday, visited lots of friends and family, and went to a baby expo. We even met Rachel, as in Rachel from "Signing Time with Alex and Leah". So fun! 
Now we're back, Jade's super busy working, and I'm trying to recover from our vacation. We had such a great trip, but it's good to be home again. A big thank you to my momma for watching Peyton (and Tink). I can't tell you how good it was to leave my baby and not have to worry about her, knowing that she was safe, loved, having fun (and being spoiled) just as much, if not more, than if she were at home with me. You are the best momma.
This picture was taken just seconds later, after she discovered yogurt treats in her basket. She was so excited. "I know what these are. I love these things! This is awesome."
Of course Tink got an Easter bone, too. I only put this picture in because of Peyton. She just loves Tink. She will literally drop everything just to watch Tinky. It's so cute.
Then we showed her the Portland temple, and took her to meet her daughter. It was so fun to see Jade interact with her. She's like a mother figure to him, and he was so sweet with her. And did I mention how hot it is to hear my hubby speak fluent Portuguese? On Thursday morning we flew to Las Vegas for a mini-vacation. As always, we had a great time! Highlights of the trip: a pampering day at The Spa at Southern Highlands on Friday: a facial, lunch, and getting my hair blown out. Friday night we went to Southern Highlands for the Governor's Bash, part of the yearly Governor's Invitational event. It was really cool: a private concert by Huey Lewis and the News, catered by swanky restaurants, and topped off with a candy bar, complete with Candy Girls, or Candy Sluts, as Jade called them. The concert was surprisingly cool considering Huey is older than my parents. There were less than 500 people there, so there was really great energy, and they played their hits. Jade even took me for a spin around the dance floor, which was an unexpected surprise. 
(These pictures were taken with Jade's camera on his phone. There is no zoom. We were seriously about 5 feet away from the band)
Like any important event in my life, this one was not without fiasco. The wedding was at Lake Las Vegas. The venue is beautiful, but there are tons of ducks, which makes for tons of duck poop. Unfortunately I sat in some. I panicked, but my mom told me to stay seated and she would go find something in her car that I could put around my waist. A few minutes later she came back, and I almost died when I saw what she had brought me to change into: my sister's 50's dress that she had worn to her "sock-hop" the night before. Apparently that was the only thing my mom had in her car that I could wear. I'm sure I was quite a sight in my red and black polka dot dress, complete with about 5 layers of toile. Saturday night we saw the movie Taken, which was really good, albeit a little unrealistic. As always, the trip was too short, and now we're back to reality. Last night Jade was checking on Peyton, and he called me into her room, where I saw this:
Apparently our little girl got her leg stuck, and was too tuckered out to "un-stuck" herself. She just accepted her situation and passed out. My sweet little angel... 
She had crawled over to her toy drawer, opened it up, stood up, and was digging around for a toy she wanted. It was so cute. She still makes me laugh every day. Our newest challenge is getting her to stop feeding Tink food off her high chair. I don't think that is a battle I'll ever win. Also, she has decided on a new favorite sleeping position:
That was pretty cool. I have to admit, when I saw him I was pretty glad my schoolgirl dream of marrying him (as George of the Jungle) didn't come true- he hasn't aged well. Saturday night we were so happy to see Tink, but not nearly as happy as she was to see us. She still is following us around, making sure we don't leave without her again. She won't even let us sit down without wanting to sit with us. Last night Jade and I were watching Lost on the computer and our little baby just couldn't resist curling up with Jade. It was so cute I needed to take a picture.
Sunday we were back to life as usual, with only one big event: Peyton started crawling! Not the crawl-climb-roll maneuver she had been doing, but a legitimate crawl. Exciting and scary all at once! Also, before we left Peyton reached a huge milestone: she started signing back to me. So far she does "milk", "up", and "more". All my hard work is starting to pay off!
