DIY Loft Bed

Sullivan has been asking for a bunk bed for Christmas for at least the past four months. I kept expecting it to change, but he was relentless about having a bunk bed at the top of his list, and wanting to share a room with Eliza. I shared a room growing up and loved it, so I'm all about supporting this room-sharing scenario while the kids are young. And a bunk bed's an easy and practical request to grant, right?? Well, after perusing bunk beds online, and determining that even the cheapest ones were going to cost us $200-$300, but that the awesome ones I really wanted cost well over $500 and as much as $2,000 (yeah, right!?), I started looking at some DIY options on pinterest and google. Maybe I could make something better for less money??

The inspiration for this Loft came when I stumbled across this blog, The Handmade Home. Their loft bed was pretty awesome. Perhaps I could build a loft bed too!? And the wall in Sullivan's room just happened to long enough for two normal-sized twin beds, end-to-end....fantastic luck! So, I read through every last comment on that loft bed project, which had a lot of good suggestions for building it better and sturdier. Then I spent hours googling DIY bunk beds, and reading and looking at blogs and bunk beds/loft ideas to tweak it a bit. The Ana White Website was extremely helpful, and is where I got the idea and super easy instructions for the stairs.

I also did a quick consultation with Eric's BFF construction expert, Darin, showing him a rough sketch of what I planned to do and asking him how I should build it. He gave me great ideas for making it sturdier and better and supported my vision that it could be done. I also consulted my cousin, Tami, who had recently made a loft bed for her boys, exactly like what I wanted to make. So, with their reliable recommendations, I sketched, measured, calculated and came up with a plan.

What we ended up with is an awesome loft bad that will fit two normal twin-sized mattresses, end to end, with an 18-inch gap in between the ends of the two beds. Sullivan sleeps on one side (and loves it!), and the other side is just additional play space right now (which both our kids love). but when Eliza outgrows her crib in the next 6 months or so, she'll have a bed up there as well. Sullivan can not wait to share a room. He's a social creature and really hates to be alone...but then again, what kid doesn't!?



The kids love this loft bed, and I must admit, I do too. It's fun, functional, and I think, quite pretty. It is a little on the bulky side, and does take up 1/3 of  the visual space in his room, but we now have 100% of the floor space to play with. Good trade. And with the addition of the curtains, it's their own private fort, any time of day. They LOVE the curtain feature.

So here's how it all came together:

I purchased all my lumber at Burton Lumber, and they were fantastic. It was so easy to go in, tell them exactly what I wanted, pay for it, and then just load the lumber right into my car, unlike at Lowe's or Home Depot, where you wander around maneuvering long pieces of lumber onto your cart, check those awkward pieces out, then try to load it all into your car by yourself. So, I'd highly recommend Burtons (or any lumber yard) for any big projects where a lot of different lumber is required. They also delivered (for free since they were dropping off in my direction anyway!?) my 14' pieces of wood and the wafer boards that wouldn't fit in my Mazda 5. Bless them forever! They were the bomb.com.

Buy and Cut List for The Loft:
1 - 14' - 2x6 - cut at 167" - to be bolted into the studs along the back wall.
1 - 8' - 2x6 - cut 2 pieces at 37" each - to bebolted into the studs on the side walls.
1 - 8' - 4x4 - cut into 2, at 4' each, for added leg support on both ends of loft.
1 - 14' - 1.75" x 9.5" Microlam - cut at 167" - front support beam. This item was suggested by contractor Darin, and is a special, loadbearing beam that would ensure the middle of the loft wouldn't sag or break. I called up Burton Lumber and gave them my project description and measurements, and they calculated what size of microlam I would need to span the front of my loft. Easy peasy. The cost for this one piece of lumber was $50, but was totally worth it to ensure safety and support.
1 - 10' - 2x4 - cut into three pieces at 37" each - joists
1 - 8' - 2x4 - cut into two pieces at 37" each - joists
2 - 8' - Wafer boards, cut to 40"x 83.5" each - flooring of the loft

Buy and Cut list for the Rails:
2 - 10' - 2x4 - cut each board into 3 pieces at 34" with each end angled at 45 degrees - for the 6 vertical supports.
2 - 6' - 1x6 - cut each board at 70", with one end angled at 45 degrees - for the bottom, horizontal rail.
6 - 6' - 1x4 - cut each board at 70", with one end angled at 45 degrees - for the top three, horizontal rails (3 rails on each side, totaling 6 rails).

Buy and Cut list for the Stairs:
2 - 8' - 2x6 - each cut at  68" - then cut each end at 45 degrees, these are the sides of the steps that span the four feet from the top of the loft to the ground.
3 - 8' - 2x4 - each cut length into 4 pieces, at 24" each - these are your stair steps. This will give you 12 pieces of wood, or enough for 6 steps (at 2 pieces per step). I only used 5 steps, which I think are perfect. My first attempt at stairs only had four steps. I later added one more step, which ended up being much more doable for little legs.
1 - 8' - 1-1 - cut into 10 pieces at 7.75" each, with each end angled at 45 degrees, with the angles parallel to each other -  these are your stair cleats.

Once the lumber was bought, I (yes, me, not my husband) cut each piece to size, then spent a significant amount of time sanding, priming, and painting BEFORE assembling it. Eric clearly helped with the painting (proof below), as did Sullivan, and Eric's co-worker, Sally. :) I was a little nervous that we were spending all this time sanding, priming, and painting and that it wasn't all going to fit together right, and I'd end up having to recut something, somewhere and do the whole process over again. But every last piece ended up fitting together like a perfect puzzle. Glory Hallejuah! Hooray for math and correct calculations...measure twice, cut once! 



Assembling the Loft:

Assembling is definitely a two-person job, And I have to give Eric credit for putting in nearly every last screw (he loves a good powertool). And this took us ALL weekend long. Cutting, sanding, painting, assembling...repeat.

We put the loft itself together using 28 lag bolts and washers, in two sizes, 5" and 4". We used 8 lag bolts to attach our long 2x6 into the studs along the back wall. Then we used 8 lag bolts to attached the side pieces into the studs along the side wall (4 bolts per side). Then we bolted the 4x4 posts into the 2x6 end pieces, using 2 lag bolts per post. Then 2 lag bolts were bolted into each end of the front beam, into the 4x4 post.



Then we used 10 deck brackets to hang our 5 joists, with normal wood screws. Then we set the wafer boards on top, and screwed those down by placing a wood screw in each joist.



Note: A decent screw drive is imperative to the success of this project. Our 12v was worthless. The 24V we borrowed was amazing.

Assembling the Railing:
We measured and spaced the 3 - 34" vertical rails (per side) and used two lag bolts each to secure them in place from the backside of the front beam...except for the vertical rails near the walls. Those we had two screw in from the front using 4 wood screws each (which I later covered with wood plugs), and we had to chisel out some notches to cover the lag bolts that were in the way. Then we used wood screws to attach the 1x6 board horizontally along the bottom of the loft (from the inside). Then we screwed in the very top rail with wood screws (again from the inside), then measured and evenly spaced for the remaining two rails, screwed them in (from the inside), and were done. Then we repeated on the other side. Super simple, and super sturdy.




Assembling the Stairs:
To assemble the stairs we really just followed Ana White's stair instructions and diagrams. We layed out our 2x6 boards on our counter top, evenly spaced and positioned our cleats on the board so the angles of the cleats were parallel to the edge of the board and centered in the middle of the board, and screwed them in. Then we screwed in the cleats in identical positions on the other board (we eyeballed it), then we screwed the stair steps into the cleats, then screwed the entire stairway into the loft from the backside of our microlam beam, using 4 lag bolts and washers (two per side). Surprisingly easy. Eric was SO skeptical about the stairs and kept asking me if I was sure I wanted him to just screw in the cleats where I told him to, shooting me incredibly skeptical glances the whole time. I think he was definitely surprised that it was actually so easy, and that it actually turned out like Ana White told me it would. To be honest, I was pretty surprised, myself!? :) Thank you Ana White!



Once everything was assembled and screwed into place, I filled in all the wood screw holes in the railing and stairway with wood putty, then went over everything with some touch-up paint.

Well, while I'd claim it's better than your average, store bought bunk bed, it still cost a substantial sum. Here's the breakdown:

Lumber: $200
Bolts/Screws/Washers/Deck Brackets: $100.00. Don't ask me how screws and bolts added up to this amount, but it sure did over the course of the weekend. (though we still have lots of screws left over in varying sizes from 3", 2.5", and 2" sizes, and we did use the premium wood screws that were self-piloting...but totally worth the extra $2 per pack!)
Paint/Primer: $40...one gallon primer, one gallon white paint, though we still around a half gallon of each left.
Copper Pipe Curtain Rod: $30 (includes 2 rods, pipe-cutter, 2 end caps, 3 brackets) 
Material for Curtains: $15 (for 8 yards of fabric at $1.69/yard on black Friday Sale at JoAnns)
Total Cost: $385

So, maybe not cheaper, but definitely better. Let me know if you have any question or want to do something like this in your house! This project is proof that you can do anything with the help of Pinterest and Google and a few hand-me-down power tools. If I could manage to pull this off, you certainly could too!

Disneyland

We spent September 20-25, on a Californian Vacation. We spent one day at the beach, three days at Disneyland, and a day on each end traveling. We had SO much fun with our kids and the Chattertons, some of our favorite family friends who we planned the trip with.

 

The kids were SO excited to go to Disneyland and to fly on an airplane. They were perfect little angels on our 1.5 hour flight into LAX. They ate snacks, played with all their toys, and watched movies on the tablet. And even though our flight was strategically scheduled smack-dab during naptime, they showed no signs of being the slightest bit weary. They lasted until we picked up our rental car (at Midway Car Rental...highly recommend!), and then slept the hour-long drive to Anaheim. That night we checked into our room at the Sheraton Park Anaheim, had dinner down the street at IHOP (kids eat free after 4pm!), and went for a swim, as the kids were DYING to swim in the big pool we could see from our itty-bitty balcony. It was a pretty great day of travel.  

 

 

The next day, Sunday, was spent at Huntington Beach. Eliza was frighteningly fearless of the waves in the beginning, until one bowled her over and she got a face-full of salt water. Then her tactic was to avoid the waves at all cost...thank goodness!? She then had the best time playing and lounging on the beach, and covering every inch of her body with sand...nice and close to the safety of her momma. :) Sullivan was sturdy enough to withstand a few waves and had the time of his life wave jumping with his buddy, Ayden, and collecting every seashell on the seashore. Eric and Jared rented boogie boards, and they spent most the afternoon doing that, giving Sullivan and Ayden rides every now and again. The weather was perfect, the sand was amazing, the water was lovely, and it was a day I will file away in my memory and cherish forever as one of those lovely, perfect days of happiness, sunshine, and relaxation.

 

 

On Sunday evening we all had reservations for a Character Dining at Goofy's Kitchen. It was definitely a bit of a splurge ($110 for our family of four, and Eliza was free!?), but to see the look on Eliza's face every time a new character would come into the room was pretty priceless, so I'd say it was worth it. Plus, the food was amazing, for both the adults AND the kids. Disney definitely knows how to feed a family of all ages.

 

Eliza gets super hangry (hungry + angry), when she needs fed, and there were many angry tears of hunger shed while waiting to be seated. Not a happy camper...

 

 

But as soon as we got to the buffet, she was stuffing her little face as fast as I was filling her plate...grapes, watermelon, strawberry, cheese...all of her favorites, and all straight from the buffet, to the plate, to her mouth...no waiting to sit down for her!? We no sooner got to our table, where she was really able to dig in, when Pluto snuck up behind her and Ayden, and scared the living daylights out of her. She was NOT happy. I'm not sure if she was more ticked about her eating being interrupted, or just being faced with a giant dog...most likely the giant dog. :) The bottom-left picture below was taken a split-second before the wailing started. Poor little thing. :)

 

 

But after the trauma of Pluto, her favorites came into the room. First it was Minnie Mouse. Eliza was out of her skin excited about it. She couldn't stop looking at her, pointing and saying, "Minnie Mouse, Minnie Mouse!" Unfortunately ours was the last table in the room the characters would visit, so there was lots time for the anticipation to build. Eliza loves Minnie, but when it was finally our turn to visit with her, Eliza didn't want to get too close. Then Cinderella came into the room, and we heard non-stop, "Cinderella, Cinderella!" until it was our turn to be visited. When Eliza met Cinderella, Eliza was smitten. No sense of fear at all towards this unmasked princess character. :) Cinderella waved her finger and said "bibbity, bobbity, boo!" and then touched her finger to Eliza's nose. Well, Eliza thought that was the coolest thing ever, and for the rest of the night and for days after would say, "bobbity boo," and touch her finger to her nose, over and over again. It was pretty adorable. Eliza clearly loved the experience.  

 

Sullivan was really excited to meet Mickey Mouse, but unfortunately Mickey wasn't there that night...bummer. Sully wasn't especially impressed with Minnie or Cinderella, but he was angel at dinner, and I'd say the pictures above prove that he had a good time, despite the lack of Mickey.   

  

 

We spent Monday through Wednesday playing at Disneyland and California Adventure with our 3-day Park Hopper Tickets. Monday was spent at California Adventure, playing all over park. I love most everything about California Adventure. Each land is amazing, and they have something for everyone. We loved taking Sullivan on his first rides to Soaring Over California and Radiator Racers. That night we also watched the World of Color, which is always a favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday was spent mostly at Disneyland. We had a magic morning admission (where you're admitted one hour earlier than guests without magic morning admittance), so we were there bright and early, but there was nothing magic about it. It was still SO crowded, probably because half of the lands were closed for that magic hour...so don't too excited about that magic morning perk. We're convinced it's just a crowd control tactic/scam.

 

 Eric insists his expression above is because the sun was in his eyes...likely excuse!? But this is the best family pic we got in front of the castle...hilariously pathetic! :)

 

But guess who came to join us for Tuesday and Wednesday!? Aunt Heather!! We were so excited that she was able to come and play with us. She loves my kids, and loves Disneyland with kids, so she couldn't resist hopping a flight over from Houston to spend a couple days with us. We're SOOO glad she did!

 

 

Sullivan and Ayden discovered the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and fell in LOVE. They had the best time going on that over and over again. They're the cutest little friends...

 

 

And Eric had one of his beloved turkey legs, and Eric and I got to go on Splash Mountain for the first time in over 10 years!? It was super fun!

 

 

On Tuesday afternoon Heather, Eliza, and I snuck over to California Adventure to watch the Aladdin show, which is one of my favorites. It was the 4pm show, and I figured Eliza would be tired out enough sleep through it, but she didn't sleep a wink. She just sat on Heather's lap and watched the entire thing, fully entertained until the last five minutes. It was a miracle of miracles!? That, or Aladdin is really just that good. :)  

 

 Day three was spent hopping between Disneyland and California Adventure. When the lines seemed long in CalAdv, they were short over in Disneyland, and vice versa (we had ride time wait apps on our phone), so we hopped back and forth a bit.

 

 

We got to do all our favorite rides multiple times. Sully's favorite rides were the Toy Story Shooters, Radiator Racers in California Adventure and Splash Mountain, which we were finally able to convince him to go on. :) 

 

 

Eliza's favorite was The Little Mermaid. I don't think she had ever seen the movie The Little Mermaid before this trip, but here we are months later and she is still completely obsessed with the Little Mermaid. We watch it almost daily and a Little Mermaid Doll is all she wants for Christmas. 

 

 

And after all was said and done on day three, Sullivan and Eliza got to pick out their very own Disney Toy. Sullivan knew he could get a toy on the last day, so he spent an ample amount of time perusing many gift shops in search of his perfect toy. After three days of searching and deciding and then changing his mind again and again, he finally settled on this gigantic $80 dusty the plane...yep, #Iamasucker. Eliza is a lover of all plush, and was on her way to gathering quite the collection in the store, but was completely smitten when she found this Anna doll, and all the gathered plush...forgotten. They were two happy kids!

 

 

On Thursday we slept in a bit, spent the morning relaxing by the pool, and then caught our flight home that afternoon.

  The kids were so good and so fun during the entire trip (minus a small meltdown here or there...they're still kids!?). It was a busy, whirlwind vacation of nonstop (and sometimes exhausting!?) fun. And it was three straights days of 23,000+ steps (for you step counters, like me...that's 9-10 miles walked per day!?). I realize that our small kids may not even remember how much fun they had with us at Disneyland, but I'll remember. And I'll cherish these memories, and stories, and experiences forever.

 

And as for the cost of this grand vacation? A whopping $600, which includes flights, Disneyland tickets, car rental, hotel, parking, and any and all food. To read up on exactly how I did it (and how you can too!), see the link below: 

 

http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/10/reader-success-story-2.html

Sullivan (4.25 years) and Eliza (20 months)

I had pictures taken of the kids back at the beginning of July. I meant to get pictures taken when Eliza was 18 months, but she was a good 20 2months by the time we got around to it. Story of my life!? I'm just glad I finally got it done, because these pictures make me so happy and capture Eliza and Sullivan quite perfectly. Oh, how I adore them!

 

Eliza is actually now 21 months old. She is our cuddle bug and likes us to rock her to sleep at naptime and bedtime, while she lays her head on our shoulder and wraps her arms around our neck. Is that not a dream come true for any mom/dad!? If only ALL toddlers knew how much they could get away with, as long as they slow down for a cuddle every now and again!? :) Her putting her fingerprints all over my freshly painted project yesterday was quickly forgiven as I rocked her precious little body to sleep last night. Her cuddliness is such a dream.  

 

She is such a good little talker, with great enunciation. Where Sullivan lacked in the talking department, Eliza seems to be making up for. Some of our favorites out of her little mouth are mommy, daddy, nack (snack), granny, uh-huh (with a nod of the head), huh? (her adorable, quizzical, trouble-making response), too-loo (turtle), binky, color, poop, Spike, Minnie, mine, no, moo-moo (cow), hello, swim, and bath. 

 

And speaking of swimming and the bath, she absolutely loves to do both. They're her favorite things to do. She also loves to color and play outside. 

 

She's got a great head of hair, but will only keep elastics in until naptime, and then she wants it "out!" So, then she looks completely homeless for the remainder of the day.

 

She gets called "Baby" more than she gets called "Eliza."

 

She likes to sit on the potty for 2 seconds, and then calls it good. While I'm in no rush to potty train,  Eric is determined to potty train her single-handedly, and soon. Yes please!! :)  

 

She is sweet, and fun, and independent, and is just the best little girl in the world.     

 

Sullivan is our bug-loving, love bug. He is obsessed with bugs and all things creepy crawly right now, and has been for the past 3-4 months. He'll spend hours outside digging in the dirt trying to find bugs and worms, and we've come home from daycare on more than one occasion with a cricket, or roly poly, or moth, other gross bug gripped safely in his little hand. They eventually find a home in a canning jar, and then die a day or two later. If I had a nickel for every bug we've killed with love.

About a month ago we got our first pet, a bearded dragon, which we named Spike. And the kids LOVE him! We found him on KSL classifieds, and when we went to pick him up, we inherited a self-sustaining Dubai Cockroach colony as well. Super gross. But Sullivan and Eric love those cockroaches, perhaps as much as they love Spike!? They are Sullivan's dream come true and he thinks they're the coolest bugs ever. And I have to admit, I'm getting used to them. They're no longer quite as disgusting as they were at the beginning, and they live outside in the garage where I rarely notice them. But Sullivan is so fun with Spike. He turns on his lights every morning and night and makes sure he's safe and happy multiple times every day. The kids love bringing him outside on a hot afternoon, and saying good morning and goodnight to him. And on the spectrum of easy pets, all the rumors are true...bearded dragons are the best. The kids adore him. And I adore that he's safe and happy and content in a terrarium 99% of the time. :)

Sully is also such a love bug. He loves to cuddle when he's really tired, and is happy to give a kiss and hug at any time. He loves to play with play dough, watch shows, and play with friends. He just started an online preschool program (which we call computer games!), which he's happy to do so far (only 20 minutes a day).

He's been in speech therapy for the past year and half (though he's currently off for summer), and he's come leaps and bounds with his talking and enunciating, but there are still plenty of times when I still just can't understand what he's saying. Sully gets very frustrated with me and will exasperatedly exclaim, "Mommy, your really not listening!?!" It is so sad. Eventually I'll rhyme enough words to it that I'll hit the write one. :) Or Sullivan will offer some descriptors that help me nail it. 
  
He is such a handsome, good, loving, sweet, little boy, and we love him to bits and pieces...

These two are the best brother and sister to each other. We have rare moments of cat fighting and squabbling over toys, but 95% of the time they play so nicely and are so sweet and loving to each other. We love and adore these two...

 

Caribbean Getaway

Back in January I got a mass e-mail from my favorite cruise travel agent, Peggy Webb. She lives in Utah (and is actually Sally Teichert's sister for any Cokevillians), and e-mails out hot cruise deals once or twice a year, and only sends seriously hot deals.

 

Well, this time was no exception...on her list was a 7-day Caribbean cruise out of Galveston, Texas, for $445 inside, $545 balcony. Now, $545 for a 7-day cruise is a good deal for even an inside cabin on a 7-day cruise, but for a balcony cabin!? And for a balcony cabin to only be $100 more than an inside cabin? Unreal. Usually balconies are around double the price of an inside room. This was definitely a screaming deal. So I called Heather, and the price and the sailing dates were perfect. So we immediately booked ourselves a cabin. Then we recruited our two best girlfriends to join us, Ashley and Hillary, and booked another cabin. Then I told my parents about it, and they wanted in, so add one more cabin. Then Heather had two newly-wedded gay couple friends from SLC who were in the market for a honeymoon vacation...so add two more cabins! Five cabins in all. Party ship, here we come!

 

I look back on that week in paradise and I have nothing but fabulous, happy, hilarious, carefree memories. These fun girls make me so happy.

 

Hillary, Heather, Me and Ashley on our first flight to paradise.

 

Cole, Sawyer, Hillary, Heather, Me, and Ashley...first day on the ship!

 

Our first port was Cozumel, Mexico. We rented scooters ($60 per scooter, so $30pp since we rode double...could have gotten some for $35 per scooter outside the main gate!? Argh!?! Next time...) and scootered ourselves around the island. Thirty minutes into our ride we stopped off at a random beach bar to get some beverage refreshment. We had the most amazing pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris I'd ever had (virgin, of course), and we all sprung for a plate of nachos, salsa, and guacamole. AND we all got $10 fifteen minute massages on the beach. It was an amazing way to spend a morning. Complete paradise!

 

On the other side of the island we stopped at the amazing Coconuts Restaurant and Bar and continued our pina colada and nacho tour...such amazing food! Coconuts was so much fun...I definitely recommend a stop there if you're ever on the island of Cozumel. It's up on a hill, so you climb a stone staircase through beautiful jungle and vegetation and hilarious signs, and at the top is the most beautiful views of the water and the island, which you enjoy while you eat in the entirely outdoor space.

 

The island of Cozumel is absolutely beautiful. The water is the most beautiful clear turquoise, and the lush, green, scenery is gorgeous, as well as diverse, from one side of the island to the other. We had so much fun on the scooters exploring the island and enjoying the amazing scenery. Cozumel stole all our hearts that day.    

 

 

 

Our second port was Grand Cayman, where our entire group of ten bartered for some tickets to Sting Ray City and snorkeling.  We ended up paying $30/pp, which was a steal compared to the pre-booked tour price of $60/pp.  Everyone loved the stingrays and we all kissed one so that we'd have 7 years of good luck. Then we snorkeled and swam, and saw endless amounts of coral and fish, and even a  barracuda!? Then I made the girls hop off the bus at 7-mile beach, so they could experience my favorite beach in the world. Beautiful, white, sandy beaches and clear, turquoise water...complete with another pina colada. This is paradise!

 

 

Our third and final port was in Falmouth, Jamaica. Heather really wanted to do the Dunn's River Falls, so we did. We found ourselves a taxi driver and he drove us all over the island. We climbed Dunn's River Falls, which everyone loved. It's a series of cascading pools and waterfalls that you can climb up. And it's absolutely beautiful. And it's so much fun. We all loved it.

 

Then, since we had lots of daylight left before we had to be back on the boat, we had our cabi, Maurice, take us over to Montego Bay, famous for it's beautiful beaches and scenery. Well, when we got to Montego Bay you could see a storm rolling in off in the distance. So our time was limited (a whopping 30 minutes before it started raining!?), as was our scenic view, as clouds and rain were already blocking the far view of the bay. The beach Maurice took us to was not the beach Montego Bay is known for. It was small, a bit dirty, and the water was a bit murky for my liking. We were the only tourists in sight, and there were a dozen or so Jamaican kids taking a bath in the bay. Maurice obviously just knew people there, which is why he took us there...that sneaky cabi! Heather and I got another $10 massage, while Hillary and Ashley made friends with Jamaicans in the men's bathroom. Ooh boy! :)

 

 

I don't have many pics from our port in Jamaica, as the best part of the day was spent in the water hiking the falls...snapping pics with Hillary's waterproof disposable camera that has to be developed. Hopefully I'll update if those fun pics ever surface!? :)

 

Our life on the boat was so much fun! Since four of our five rooms were right by each other we were able to open all our balcony partitions for one giant four-room balcony. It was fabulous! Definitely worth the extra money. Our boat had a rock wall, and a flow rider, which was super fun. And we all got together for dinner, and entertainment, and dancing each night. I watched three in-cabin movies, I worked out twice, hot tubbed twice, spent hours on the balcony, read one book, and never had to cook or wash a dish. It was a week of pure heaven! So many fun memories.

 

 

Proof that my parents were there! Love them! 

 

Our hilarious shuttle ride to the airport from the cruise ship...we were packed like sardines... 

 

These fun girls, on our flight home... 

 

Pina Colada Heaven...

 

We sailed on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas. While the ship was over ten years old, it had been in dry dock for a month this last spring getting refurbished. They did an amazing job, as this was by far the fanciest, nicest, most luxurious boat I'd ever been on. It was beautiful and the food was fabulous. The dining room food is always great, but even the buffet was to die for. So many options, all of which looked and tasted amazing, and never a line, even during the busiest of times. Our cabin was the best cabin I'd ever had. It was your usual cabin with modest space and tiny bathroom, but the additional storage this room had was unreal. Two grown adults females with all their clothes and accessories and toiletries couldn't even fill all the storage space available to us. It was amazing. And we also loved the flat screen tv with pay-per-view movies. The only downside (and a minor one at that), was no self-serve laundry facilities. When traveling anywhere over 5 days (especially with kids!), I like the option of doing some laundry. Luckily I had no kids in sight, so I made do, though I still would have loved to have done a load.  

 

Ashley and I frequently got asked how/why our husband would let us go on vacation without them!? One answer we gave was, "We have no idea!? We sure wouldn't let them leave on a 7-day cruise without us!?" But the other answer we gave was "Because they are freaking amazing!!" Seriously, we have the best husbands in the world. Eric is my usual go-to vacation partner, and I absolutely love traveling with him, however, leaving the hubby behind has its perks...#1 being that I know my kids are in the BEST possible hands. I hate leaving my kids behind. I worry about them, AND I worry about the sanity of grandma and grandpa!? I know they're fine and dandy and safe and all, but I still worry...it's what mom's do!? So leaving them at home with their dad eliminated 99.9% of the mommy guilt associated with leaving my kids behind. I knew that with their dad around, they'd probably not even notice I was gone. Such peace of mind was priceless! The #2 perk was that my time was all mine. No kids. No husband. No compromising. Just selfish, do what you want when you want to do it, indulgence. I didn't have to play shuffleboard once!? 

 

So, the big question is, how did we afford all this fun!? Eric and I had plenty of Southwest points between us after I signed up for two cards and Eric signed up for one (160,000 to be exact). But after flying to Vegas (10k) and Seattle (12k) we had 138,000 points left between us. We used 17,000 points +$10 in fees for my roundtrip flight to Houston. And since I have a Southwest Companion Pass, I designated Heather as my companion and her flight was free (her graduation present from me), except for that $10 in fees. So, two roundtrip flights cost us 17,000 points and $20 in fees. And Eric and I still have 121,000 points left to use for future flights. Not bad.

 

So with flights taken care of, I needed to figure out a way to subsidize our actual cruise cost. Hello Barclay Arrival. The Barclay Arrival Card was offering a 40,000 point sign-up bonus after spending a mere $1000 on the card within 3 months (you now have to spend $3,000 within 3 months to get the same bonus). Those 40,000 points ended up being worth $475 in statement credits when reimbursed for travel related expenses. So, Heather and I both picked up one of those cards. Our cruise ended up totaling $635 per person once taxes and fees were added in, but by using our points, we each got a $475 statement credit for the cruise purchase, making our final cost only $160 each for the cruise. So, for the cruise and flight, the total cost came to $160cruise+$10flightfees=$170.00...not too shabby.

 

Now, of course we had other incidental charges...there were shuttles to ride, cruise tips to pay, excursions to experience, and pay-per-view movies to watch. But when your main vacation cost is so minimal, the rest is no big deal.

 

The only thing better than a 7-day luxury cruise vacation? A 7-day luxury cruise vacation that doesn't break the bank! 

  

Heather's Graduation

Two years ago my sister, Heather, came up with a grand scheme to finish her bachelor's degree by joining the U.S. Army. It sounded like a long, hard, crazy, horrible road, and I'm sure she'd attest that it was at times. But it was also an absolutely  brilliant idea, which I always supported 110%. If anyone could do it, Heather could! On May 17, 2014 she graduated from Boise State University with her Bachelor's Degree, and commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the United State's Army, after finishing the Boise State ROTC program. She did it! And I am so incredibly proud of her. She is amazing!

 

So, to celebrate her accomplishments, we had a weekend o' fun in Boise. My mom and I and the kids drove down on Thursday afternoon. That evening Heather put us to work in the yard. The kids loved playing in the dirt and getting wheelbarrow rides.

 

On Friday we went to the hot springs up in Idaho City. The hot springs were amazing, and the dinner afterward at Trudy's Kitchen was delicious.  

 

On Saturday morning my mom and I took the kids to the zoo. They loved feeding the goats!

 

 

And on Saturday afternoon we attended Heather's commissioning. And we celebrated with a fancy, delicious dinner afterwards. It was so awesome! We're all so proud of her!

 

 

Congratulations, Heather! If anyone deserves a Caribbean vacation, it's definitely you! :) 

On Friendship

 Friends are very important to me. They are a major priority in my life. I have a poster of "Life's Little Instructions" that hangs in my half bathroom downstairs that lists all sorts of good advice to live by. One of the snippets is "make new friends, but cherish the old ones." I love this and live by this. Since we all have busy lives and can't get together all that often anyway, the once or twice a year I do get to meet up with old friends, I make sure I'm there.

 

The girl's below are my first college roommates that I just happened to be placed with my first year down at Dixie State College...Chelsea, Jamie, me and Crystal. They all grew up with each other in Layton, but allowed me to sneak in and join their posse, and made me one of their own. We had SO much fun that first year at Dixie, and I will love these girl's forever. Our group of roomies grew the second year, and there are more of us scattered along the Wasatch front and up into Idaho. And whenever one of them plans a get-together, I make sure I don't miss it. I grew up driving an hour just to get to Walmart, so driving one or two hours is totally worth it to reunite with old friends. I want them to know that I value our friendship and don't want it to die or fade away into oblivion. And lucky for me, while I'm not great and planning get-togethers (they are!), I'm really good at showing up (which some of them aren't so good at!?).

 

In mid-May the four of us below got together to eat dinner at Olive Garden in Layton, and then we went to Chelsea's house and talked until midnight. It was so much fun. I just love these girls so much...and I absolutely cherish our friendships.