ALASKA

For Christmas last year, my parents got all the adults in the family a cruise to Alaska. It was one of the best trips we've ever taken, mostly because my family is so awesome. We had such a blast together...eating, listening to live music, reading, dancing, playing games, swimming, talking...it was just an amazing time to share with my family before everyone heads off in different directions. I admire my parents and each one of my siblings and Spencer so much, I can hardly believe my fortune in having a family where we all enjoy each other's company like friends. My mom says, "You can always forget a gift, but you'll never forget a vacation and the time we spent together." For them, it was money well spent, and I am so grateful. It was a blissful week.

My mom took all the following pictures (except Seattle). She is a great photographer, so all kudos should go to her.

Mike and I spent a day and night in Seattle before we boarded the boat. He loved seeing his high school friends and fell right back into the groove. We spent the day with Jordan and the evening with 3 other guys and their wives. I would have liked that group; by the end of the night my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. Before we got on the ship, we had lunch with Ty and his girlfriend. There is nothing quite as fun as connecting with the past.

As we boarded the ship, we could just tell it was going to be a fantastic voyage. We sipped on hot chocolate and waved good-bye to Seattle. We were ready for a great vacay!

The ship we were on was full of fun. On our days at sea the schedule was packed with trivia games, shows and ballroom dance classes, which I absolutely fell in love with, and Mike was impressively suave. We worked out each day to make ourselves feel better about gorging at night. We spent the nights watching comedians, dancing to live music, or doing karaoke. Mike did a great Maroon 5 song that made us proud. Late nights and slow days were spent playing 5 deck (a new, crazy fun game Katie taught us) or reading on the deck. A cruise is the perfect place to force you to relax.

Our first port was Juneau. While it was nice to get off the boat, it's not a place I'm hoping to go again. It was beautiful and the wildlife was incredible, but it was freeeeezing. I haven't been that cold in at least 4 years. We went on a whale watching tour and saw tons of humpback whales, sea lions, lighthouses and bald eagles. I couldn't believe all that nature was so close to us. After whale watching, we went to a glacier park where we watched the salmon run and witnessed a gigantic glacier. It was one of the most beautiful spots I've ever been to. We enjoyed every cold minute. On our way out, there was a bear cub, literally one foot in front of us. We watched him scour for food and I couldn't believe there was a bear right next to us. We don't see them very often in Arizona.

Our second port was Skagway, and in my opinion, the most beautiful spot in Alaska we stopped at. The weather was just right and we shopped in a cute little town. After a few purchases for the kids we took a scenic train ride through the white pass mountains. The scenery was incredible and so varied. I've never dreamed anything could be so verdant. There were no cars or people around and it was like we were transported to a time where everyone traveled together through an undiscovered country. What a blast!

Though Skagway was the most beautiful, Ketchican was the most fun. There we went on a zipline and sky bridge tour where we zipped 8 lines at 30 mph 140 feet high. We also walked on 2 skybridges. It was scary but such a rush. My mom, who is known as extremely cautious even went with us and did a bang up job, and Mike was the bravest and trickiest zipper. We looked around the city a bit and ate some fresh Alaskan salmon. Yum!

On a cruise you get to dress up a few times for dinner. I need to post the pictures the cruise took, but for now I'll do the formal ones my mom took with her camera. It's kind of fun to be dressy and not feel out of place. On the last formal night, there was a gorgeous sunset we had to capture. Another great part of the cruise was having 8 carefree days with Mike. He gets better every year and is so kind and selfless. He finds so much joy in watching me have a great time and do things I love. After 8 1/2 years, he's still the man of my dreams...it was nice to be alone for 8 days and remember why!

When we pulled into Victoria, British Columbia, Canada it was so nice to see tall buildings and a thriving city. What we didn't know was all the beauty that city had in store for us. The place is kept impeccably clean and there are parks and marinas everywhere. It seems any real estate there would be prime since the entire island felt like a little bit of chilly paradise. I can't wait to go back and see more. All we had time for was a visit to Butchardt Gardens. I was not too excited about spending all my time looking at flowers, but once I walked in, it completely took my breath away. There was a Celtic singer entertaining that night, and she had a very modern, funky sound which was the perfect backdrop to gardens only pictures can explain. Palace of Versailles eat your heart out. My mom did some of her best photography there. I plan on blowing some of the images up and using them as art in my house. I think they are gorgeous. There are a million pictures, so enjoy and plan a visit.

So here's to the most fabulous 8 days I've had in a very long time and to my family, mom, dad, Katie, Spencer, Mike, Mitch and Beau who made it so wonderful. If you weren't my family, I'd seek you out to be my best friends. I love you guys!