All Aboard the Fun Ship!

We just returned from what ranks among the most wonderful vacations of our married lives! On June 8, 2010 we will celebrate nine fantastic years of marriage! We decided that it was time for us to go do something really fun for our anniversary. Seeing as how our month of June is so busy we decided to go in May. This was also the best time for my sweet sister-in-law Andrea who has been offering to watch our kids so we could take a little getaway! Andrea was an angel and took incredible care of our kids which made the difficulty of leaving them a little bit easier!

 

Lydia and Emmett are the sweetest children (not to mention adorable)and thus I was feeling a lot of anxiety about leaving them. I just love my children so much that I was nervous about being away. Of course I resolved not to cry in front of them when we dropped them off as it would only make it harder on them. Before leaving we got them all settled and then gave our hugs goodbye. As soon as I had walked out the front door I burst into tears! Dan reassured me that everything was going to be fine and that this cruise was going to be great for the two of us. I knew it was true but couldn't help missing my babies like crazy. We had just gotten back on the freeway and I was still taking deep breaths and drying my tears when I got a text from Andrea saying, "Emmett didn't cry at all. We are outside playing. They thought Bandit(the dog) chasing bubbles was quite funny. Don't cry, it won't solve anything! I promise to love them just like you do :) have fun, it will fly by. Love You, Andrea." Somehow that was exactly what I needed to hear. I dried my eyes and didn't cry again! Although we prayed for our kiddos many times each day I never once felt worried about them again.

 

And with good reason, only a few hours later we were in Long Beach, CA checking our passports and climbing aboard this huge cruise ship. We spent the next few days on the Carnival Paradise Cruise Ship. Of course they always called it the "Fun Ship!" Monday evening we left Long Beach and the next morning we arrived in Catalina.

 

These little boats took us from our ship to the Catalina dock and board walk.

 

We walked around a little bit and then decided to go rent bicycles so we could ride around the Island. Little did we know that the Island was full of really big hills. That meant we got a killer work out as we spent the next four hours riding around and exploring the island, but we also got to see some gorgeous and unforgettable views! Looking back we've decided that riding bikes together on Catalina was our favorite part of this vacation!

 

Check out that view. The first picture of our cruise ship up above was also taken from this peak.

 

We then rode through the streets admiring all the quaint little Island homes and loving the fact that almost everyone just drives golf carts around instead of cars. We rode pass their beautiful golf course but never saw any of the 200 Bison living on the island. We did however see the Botanical Gardens.

 

Here are some pictures of my favorite parts. Truthfully the rest of the gardens reminded me of the desert in St. George! Somehow when I heard botanical gardens I was picturing the ones we used to go to in Albuquerque with many beautiful flowers and lovely landscaping, or the pictures my sister in Singapore always sends of lush and exotic looking flowers. Thus when we started walking around the botanical gardens on Catalina Island I was a little surprised to only find four lovely plants surrounded by dirt, dry trees and lots and lots of cactus! There was a nice memorial made for Wrigley (the gum guy who had made important contributions to the island).

 

After the gardens we rode over to the opposite side of the island once again climbing incredilby steep hills! I was exhausted when we reached the top but it was the most beautiful of all the views and worth the sweat! On the way back down we passed the zip line course and kayaking and it was all down hill!
That night was our evening of elegance in the Destiny Dining Room

 

I guess you can't really talk about a cruise with out mentioning the food! Yes, the food was fabulous. It always tasted delicious, especially our dinner time restaurant dining. Our waitress for the week was a dear woman from Indonesia named Ratu. Her assistant was June from the Phillipines. They were a riot and would entertain us with each meal. Singing us songs and even dancing for us. Two nights Ratu even talked our table into getting up and dancing. One night I joined another girl in the electric slide because we were the only two who knew it. But one night our entire table (Dan included) was up dancing the Macarana in the isle, who doesn't know the macarana! Another aspect of dinner that I enjoyed was being assigned to eat with two other couples.

 

Each night we ate with Ngazi & Trevor, and Scott & Anna. Scott and Anna were newley weds celebrating their honeymoon. The first night Dan asked them how they met and they said at church. They are a delightful Christian couple. After telling us their story they asked how we met, to which we replied, "At church while we were in college. . ." Scott later asked Trevor how they'd met, to which he laughed, "Not at Church!" It was great comic timing and we sure enjoyed making nice friends on our trip. We were very fortunate to have met such kind couples.

Besides the food being delicious, I think what I loved most about the meal times was just coming and sitting down and being pampered by having someone cook all our meals and clean up after us too! We truly enjoyed eating but we made certain that we exercised daily so that we wouldn't come home regretting that we had eaten all that good food! Tuesday's bike ride was our hardest work out but the boat also had a nice gym with machines and weights as well as a track up on the top deck that ran around the mini golf course. We enjoyed utilizing all of the fun facilities!

 

Speaking of pampering the pictures above are some of the towel animals that we would find waiting on our bed with chocolates each day after they had cleaned our room and made our bed for us! I'm really going to miss someone making my bed and cleaning my bathroom for me everyday!

Wednesday morning we docked in Ensenada, Mexico. We decided we'd like to go see La Bufadora (one of three blow holes in the world). The tour buses were a rip off so we decided to put Dan's Spanish to work and found our own taxi. Luckily we also ran into our dinner friends Scott and Anna and the taxi gave us a better deal with four of us. It was a thirty minute drive out there but I was so happy we took the taxi because we got to see what most of the people there in Mexico lived like. We left what they call "little America" and drove through beautiful farm lands, sad neighborhoods, and breathtaking ocean views. Dan chatted with the taxi driver in Spanish and our new friends were super impressed with Dan's fluency. I was so proud of him! He really is amazing with the language!

 

So above is what La Bufadora looks like while the ocean is still. Then once the water moves in . . . Wa La . . . Bufadora!

 

I thought it was pretty cool. In a couple of the pictures below you can see Dan in the corner. He actually got wet when the water went surprisingly high one time!

 

Dan and Cassie at La Bufadora!

 

After the blow hole we did a little shopping at the Mexican flea market. Again I felt lucky to have Dan by my side as people gave him better deals because he spoke Spanish. He was also more effective at getting pushy vendors to leave us alone. They kept saying, "Hey Honeymooners we have a special for you!" It made us laugh, I guess I should be flattered that we still look like honeymooners after nine years of marriage!

 

It just so happens that we were in Mexico on Cinco de Mayo! They don't make a big deal out of it in Mexico like they do here in the States but I still found it fun to be in Mexico that day!

 

Dan was really excited that they had a Sushi bar one night and even limited what he ate at dinner so we could go get sushi afterward! Other fun things we did on the ship included entertainment each evening after dinner. We saw two "musicals" where the Paradise dancers and two stellar vocalists sang and danced. We also laughed our heads off at two of their family friendly comedian shows. We played mini golf, watched a man sculpt a block of ice, played checkers in the library, watched movies in our room and ate frozen yogurt as we walked around the deck of the ship! We sat on the deck eating breakfast while soaking in the fresh air and watching a sea otter (or sea lion) do flips in the ocean. We also saw two dolphins diving around together and relaxed in the ship's library while reading books uninterrupted! That was lovely! I hesitate to mention that we played ping pong because we actually played three games and Dan won every time! This is a big deal because in the last nine years of marriage every time we've played ping pong I have won. Until Thursday!

 

More than all the pampering and great entertainment, I loved just being together as Husband and Wife. We had so much time to just completely focus on each other. Everyday we read scriptures together, talked a lot together and laughed together. We also took time to reflect on the strengths in our marriage as well as on areas that we could improve. Each night we read a different article that we had printed out about marriage and then discussed it and applied it to our marriage.

When Dan and I first got married he shared this quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley that says, "I believe in the family where there is a Husband who regards his companion as his greatest asset and treats her accordingly; where there is a wife who looks upon her husband as her anchor and strength. . . The cultivation of such a home requires effort and energy, forgiveness and patience, love and endurance and sacrifice; but it is worth all of these and more." We typed it up and hung it in our bathroom so that we can remind our selves what kind of a home and marriage we want to have.

 

Although it was difficult to leave our children it was essential for us to strengthen and build our marriage as much as we did this last week. Besides having so much fun together I think we also gave a great gift to our children by providing them with a stronger foundation as their parents! We also gave them an unforgettable week of fun with their Aunt Andrea! After all that she did for them they are sure to be begging us to go on another vacation so they can go play with Aunt Andrea again!

 

Thank You Andrea for making this all possible!

My Brother is The Man, "The IRONMAN!"

If you know my brother Elijah you know that he is "The Man!" Really I don't think there is anything he can't do and everything he does do he does very well! I have always looked up to my brother Elijah as he is only 18 months older than me and we were just a grade apart growing up in school. He'd stick up for me, he'd support me in whatever I was doing and would even let me tag along with his friends. I have so many wonderful memories of growing up and trying to keep up with him and always being so blessed by his great example to me. Elijah has always been one of my Hero's.

Now Elijah lives in Germany with his wonderful wife and beautiful children while he works towards his PhD in international relations. A week ago he was finally able to take to the skies(after delays due to the volcano in Iceland) and Today he became an IRONMAN!

 

In case you're not sure what an Ironman is, it is the most difficult Triathlon in the world! Beginning with a 2.4 mile swim, then a 112 mile bike ride and finishing with a full 26.2 mile marathon! That's a total of 140.6 miles! Elijah learned about the Ironman as a young man and decided that it was a goal he'd like to accomplish before he turned 30 (he'll be 30 in November)! All the Ironman races take place on a Sunday but this year my very own city of St.George, Utah was hosting it's first ever Ironman on the first Saturday in May! Before today I thought you'd have to be Crazy to compete in an Ironman, but after what I saw today, I've decided you have to be very Courageous!

The picture above is of Elijah, his gorgeous wife Marinda and their three beautiful boys, Jacob, Joseph, and Hyrum. I must say that there is no way he could have done this without all of their love and support. Little Hyrum is only three months old and Elijah has been training for a long time. Although he worked very hard to train in a "family friendly" way, I still think Marinda deserves the mother of the year award!

I wish I had a picture of the over 2,400 athletes entering the water for the swim and especially of my brother who swam the 2.4 miles at his fastest time ever (1:27)in the freezing cold water but I don't. I'll have to get on line and upload a picture later. But here's when we first saw him on the Bike course!

 

I love how excited he looks as he flashes his "Hang Loose" sign. This was fitting with his approach to the race as every single time we saw him he was smiling and optimistic!

 

See there he is Smiling!

 

Go #758!

 

Here we are, his Adoring Fans! I couldn't live in a better location for the Ironman. We were able to walk a block from my house and watch the loop where the bikers came pass three times! Later we walked three blocks to where we could see the runners come by 4 different times!

 

Elijah was amazing on the bike and completed the 112 miles in 6:31. Just to demonstrate how much he rocked on the bike, after the swim he was ranked in the 1,299 place. After the bike he had moved up to the 561 place! Not to mention that the bike course was unbelievably difficult and considered possibly the hardest Ironman bike course in the world!

 

Here's a great shot of his Support Crew!

 

Even little Hyrum was always there to cheer him on!

 

This was the third time we saw him, still going strong!

 

Look at that good attitude! Later during the Marathon we saw one of our neighbors who had been helping at an aid station by the Gunlock loop. He said that he saw my brother twice and asked if he was the guy on the pink bike(I'll explain the pink bike in a minute)? He said that he was so impressed by my brother as he heard him thanking every single volunteer and aid person that he passed. He said he was so polite and appreciative. Isn't Lig awesome! That's just the kind of man that he is!

 

Ok, so now I have to pause and explain the pink bike. Elijah bought a sweet Triathlon bike from a guy in Germany but it was pink because in Deutschland at the time T-mobile was sponsoring all the professional bikers. Thus they were tough bikers riding around on hot pink bikes and wearing pink clothes. Lig wanted to paint the bike blue but wasn't able to before the race. . . it is in his plans for when he returns home! But until then it sure made for some fun comments and Lydia especially loved it as she told him that pink is her favorite color!

 

Just a cool shot from above!

 

Imagine that, He's still smiling after riding over 100 miles!

 

A couple of times when we saw Elijah go by it was pretty fast. After one of them his son Jakey started crying because he said he didn't get to see Daddy good enough because he was going too fast. Lig was really wonderful to wave and even give high fives to his sons during the marathon!

 

One of Dan's co-workers was at a bike aid station and sent us a text after she saw Elijah pass. She said he was doing great and was really lucky because he had missed a big bike wreck by about 20 seconds. When I heard that I felt a sudden surge of gratitude that he had been safe thus far and realized that He had family members and friends praying for him all over the world. Prayers are answered!

 

The last climb of the bike course!

 

Swim check, Bike check, Run Elijah Run! If you notice all of his cool body markings you'll see his airbrushed race #758 on his arms, his age on his calf, a smiley face on the other and then with marker he had a J on each hand for Jakey & Joey as well as an H & M for Hyrum and Marinda! He really was running it for his family!

 

He never stopped running, not once!

 

I love this picture of Marinda waving on the other side of the road with an "I Love You" sign and a big smile for her hubby!

 

He's going the distance!

 

 

 

And of course he's still smiling as he passes many people and keeps on running what is considered among the hardest Ironman Marathons. It is literally uphill both ways!

 

It was so exciting to watch all of the Athletes and there was an adrenaline in the air. You couldn't help but be enthused and cheer on everyone who went by! Especially when we'd see Elijah, we'd go nuts screaming and whistling at the top of our lungs and even holding back tears of pride at moments!

 

Especially this moment!

 

Here he comes across the Finish Line! He finished the marathon in just over 4 hours and completed the entire race (including transitions) in 12:27. Ranked the 375th (341 in his age group)person to cross the line! Isn't that remarkable! His goal was to complete the Ironman in 12 - 14 hours and HE DID IT!

 

Can you feel the excitement?!!!

 

"Elijah Bush all the way from Bremen, Germany!"

 

There he is on the Big screen!

 

 

He did it! 140.6 Miles!

 

Elijah . . . THE IRONMAN!!!

 

Elijah Exhausted & Elated!

 

Walking with his Wifey!

 

A classic Elijah shot! He was so excited to eat food and said he doesn't want any more goo or bananas for a while!

 

Now there is a proud Mama and Papa for you!

 

Our siblings in other states and other parts of the country were able to watch him cross the finish line online at ironman.com. They were so anxious to call and congratulate him, almost as excited as his boys were to finally be right next to him!

 

These boys know their daddy is a superman!

 

And this picture demonstrates the Real Man that he is as he finishes and focuses on being a Father!

 

I'm so Proud of You Big Bro!

 

Awwwww!

 

What a dynamite couple Marinda and Elijah are! Supporting each other every step of the way!

 

I couldn't believe all the bikes, this was just one of the pick up spots! I must say three cheers to an incredible volunteer staff who was super organized and helpful!

 

Three more cheers for a remarkable Brother who FINISHED the race!

 

What a day!

 

 

Congratulations Elijah! You are the Man, The IRONMAN!