Un-BELIZE-able!!!

Second port, Belize. Here we are on our tender...still a little groggy. We had been to belize before and snorkeled the reef so we wanted to go more inland this time and learn about it. So we did!

We took an hour long bus ride and learned all about Belize until we arrived in this jungle! We hiked about a mile or so to get to this HUGE set of natural caves made by the river full of stilagmites and stilagtites and a few small waterfalls. It was amazing!!! Wish we could have brought our camera. :/

afterward, we ate these yummy mayan tacos that were being cooked over this open fire pit. Yum!

Here we are that night with Justin and his assistant from "Justin Illusion" magic show. It was great!!

We also celebrated a few bdays that night at dinner!

Jon trying to dance with our waitress... :)

Then we capped the night with kareoke! Our family rocked this 3 x's during the course of the cruise! I did gangsta's paradise and waterfalls by TLC.:

Jon and the boys rocked AC/DC

Fun day!

Feliz Cozumel, Mexico!!

Arriving at our first port. Cute town!

Chips n' salsa @ Fat Tuesdays

Mariachis sang to us "honeymooners". :)

Ron Jon surf shop

Mid day we went horseback riding to some Mayan ruins! So fun! Jon's horse, "Chato" was lazy. My horse was a go-getter and I actually raced the guide for a while full sprint! So fun!

here are some Mayan homes they would make from natural caves or overhangings.

We saw these iguanas EVERYWHERE on the trail and the whole trip. The locals eat them.

The coolest cave of all...this was HUGE and the Mayans had chipped the whole thing out for approx. 5-6 families. AMAZING.

in the middle of the cave was this altar with the god of fertility. Our guide said if I looked into it, I would have a baby within the next year. I told him I felt he was right. ;) Ironic?

About to get back on our ship. Here it is in all of it's "Glory"...

The CRUISE: first 2 days

(L to R BtoF: Spike, Tim, Tom, Andrew, Tyler, Dusty, A.J., Jonny

Brett, Liz, Brooke, Cassie, Mikin, Angie, Jean, Steve, Brynne)

First of all, thanks to my parents for this awesome Christmas/bday gift to all of us. There's nothing like spending time with 9 siblings, their spouses and our parents with no kids!

We flew on a red eye to Miami, FL after spending the day driving to Portland, OR to drop of our kids with Brandon and Sherry (THANK YOU) so when we got on the boat we'd had about 1 hr. of sleep. :)

first night of yummy dinners! Steak, shrimp, ribs, prime rib, filet mignon, lobster...you name it.

Angie was in a competition on the big stage and won it! Way to be aggressive. ;)

First day @ sea deck party. We watched football games on this big screen @ night.

A.J. rockin' the hairy chest contest...!

My workout buddies (my dad, too)

Our family got a little crazy when they'd sing @ dinner:

Spike had the ladies in the dining room drooling. ;)

First formal night.

my sissies

Mikin, Brynne, Cassie

Jon riding a camel in the casino. :)

Bring on 2011!!

On New Year's eve, Jon bought tickets to see this in imax 3D in River Park Square, then we were gonna hit PF changs and the downtown new year's party! For once, we got a sitter! But....she canceled last minute, so we took the boys (hey...it's only PG!)!! They LOVED it and they were so cute wearing their little 3D glasses and eating their movie snacks. They did awesome. I wish I had a picture.

But, needless to say, we cut the night short after that and went home to watch Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest (and all the performers) to ring in the new year in our sweats. :)

Happy New Year everyone!!

Resolutions:

BRYNNE: read the Book of Mormon again

have a healthy pregnancy

be slower to anger

never skip on a chance to serve.

Read and study with my kids more

de-junk (since we're more than likely stuck in our house for a while, with the baby coming).

JON:

do LOTOJA again (206 mile bike race from Logan to Jackson)

get to a healthy weight

hit quota for work

fulfill calling

read scriptures individually

continue to date wife weekly

quality time with our little family

CHRIST mas.

This Christmas was a little more quiet than usual and we loved it!

It was so much fun with our boys being a little older.

We spent Christmas Eve with just our little family of 4.5.

*luke 2 (and explaining to our kids the true meaning of Christmas)

*it's a wonderful life

*finger foods and sparkling cider

*santa claus 3

*opened first present of PJ's.

Then Santa came that night....

and here is Christmas morning:

Each of the boys got one present and a stocking full from Santa, the rest was to and from eachother...and gift exchanges from family members came later. Watching the boys get SO excited on each gift was such a treat. It was so fun!

Jon (still a little groggy)

me and my spoildness...

our boys love chocolate chips, so when they found these in their stockings they said, "WOA, look at these BIG chocolate CHIPS!" So cute.

We then had a big breakfast of breakfast burritos, waffles, sausage, orange juice, etc. and Nana and Papa Gatten stopped by to eat, share their company and generosity with us.

Later that evening, we went to Grammie and Grandpa Ericksons for a fancy 3 course meal!

"CHEERS!"

of course, we also got in some pool, and board games...

and more gift exchanges. The boys loved their new sled!

We really enjoyed our couple of days together as a family, and the chance to reflect on the birth of our savior. We also were able to teach the boys about giving and they helped shop for others in need. We feel so blessed to have the gospel and know that our Savior lived.