Playing with the grandchildren!

Dayton is helping me do the Box trick.

Dayton is a great flyer!

I love to play "airplane" with the grandchildren.  It reminds me of how I used to play with my own children.  Little Afton likes it too!

               Click Here! to view the cartoon

In January, Doug Sharp created a cartoon and invited us one by one to come into the computer to read it.  After Doug went in to read it, they asked Marcie to come in.  She got so excited she ran out of the the room screaming, "They're going to have a baby!!" before they could even stop her.  So that's how I found out the news!  We are so excited for them.  The baby is due about the middle of Sept.   Carly hasn't been very sick, just more headaches than usual.   They are so excited about the chance to begin their family.

Marcie going to the winter Ball with Brett Bartholomew!

Marcie and her friends tried to hike Timpanogos in the Fall but the snow made it difficult to find the trail.   They came home muddy and very tired.

Fun with Philbert!

Doug and Carly got a new puppy.  They named him Philbert.  He is a cute little Patter-dale terrier/lab mix.  Ryan and Mary Ann's kids got to see him and play with him.  They both love him.  Dayton loved having Phil chase him.   Afton would squeal and run away and then go right back for more loving.

Cozumel

Six of the couples rented motor scooters and explored the island of Cozumel.  We had fun just driving to the end,  where we saw a lighthouse and took pictures of us by a blowhole next to the ocean. We ate lunch at a local cafe named "coconuts" and the food was really good.  Three couples went to tour the ruins of San Gervacio.  It was really interesting to see the ancient Mayan ruins that were built between 300 AD and 1500 AD.  Someday I would like to know more about how all the ruins fit in with the Book of Mormon records.  On the way back into town we accidently got onto a one way road and had quite the adventure before we figured it out and got onto the right road. 

Brooke, Liz, Lisa, Kathy, Patty, and Julie show off on the scooters.  Actually the men drove, but I did enjoy driving for part of the time.

Doug and Julie beside a blowhole by the ocean. 

The Mayan ruins of San Gervacio

Swimming with the stingrays

We sailed for two nights and a day and looked out over the beautiful Carribean waters that were so huge.  We loved exploring the ship. We went on a tour of the kitchen and saw the huge amount of food they had to prepare each day   

Louine with Alan, Doug and Lynn.

Louine and her three daughters

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The first stop was at the Cayman Islands.  Here we hired a group to take us swimming with the stingrays.  Doug got to hold one of the stingrays and then I got brave and let them give me a back rub with their fins.  Grandma Shields even got into the water and explored the stingrays also.  We got back into the boat, but by this time Doug was getting sick.  We went to a another spot and got out to do some snorkling.  I felt bad for Doug because he was getting greener.  He finally fed the fish with the contents of his stomach and then he started feeling a little better. 

Patty, Jeff , Jeff Shuwway,(In front) watch as the tour guide lets us touch the stingray.  In back are Scott and Brooke, Julie, Louine, Liz and Zach.

Carribean Cruise on the Celebrity Solstice

 One of the formal nights eating in the fancy restaurant.  The food was so good and we ate so much!

The Celebrity solstice was an amazing ship.  It was 15 decks high and had so much on it.  We got on the ocean liner on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012.  We were impressed with the logistics of getting everyone and all the luggage off the ship in the morning and then loading all the passengers, food, luggage and supplies for a new week and be ready to take off again by 4:30 p.m.  We were glad that we had the safety drill before we left the dock, especially after we heard about the Italian cruise ship that hit a rock and tipped on its side!