January 2023

 We started the New Year still on our cruise. Our first stop was Cabo San Lucas. As the boat pulled into the port we were able to see the famous Arc de Cabo San Lucas. We were only given a few hours at this stop so we decided to spend most of the time at the beach. Getting to the port required taking a small ferry boat and there were harbor seals waiting to greet us at the port. We walked through some of the city and spent the rest of the time playing in the water. Addy and I decided we wanted to do some more exploring, so we climbed around the surrounding cliffs. We headed back to the ship just as the sun was setting.  

    

 

Stop 2 was in Mazatlan. Right off of the ship we jumped on a trolley that took us to the main part of the town. We had some ideas of things we wanted to do but really didn't know how we would be getting anywhere. From the moment we got off the trolley we were bombarded with people offering to drive us places, but with 4 little girls we were being extra cautious. Once we got away from the main area we walked past a guy named Miguel. He called to us offering to take us anywhere we wanted to go for a good price. Devin said he immediately had a good feeling about him and started speaking to him in Spanish and continued to feel good about going with him. Miguel was awesome. He took us to all the main sights, got us the local treats, made sure we got fair prices, and took us to get the BEST street tacos we have ever had. (Literally... I ate the extra tacos we bought to take back to Miguel, they were so good) He spent the whole day with us, turned on the Spanish music that Devin requested, and drove us all over Mazatlan in an open truck bed. Mazatlan ended up being our favorite stop of the trip and I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that we basically had a personal chauffeur who could take us to the best that Mazatlan had to offer. 

               

        

       
       

Our final stop was Puerto Vallarta. Once again, we headed to the main part of the city to explore all that we could. We walked down the beach where Quincy caught a tiny crab. We found large wooden rocking horses that the girls had a blast on. We saw an awesome aerial performance and came upon a a beautiful cathedral. Outside of the cathedral we saw some disabled people asking for money. Tess, with her sweet heart, decided that she wanted to take some of the money she had for souvenirs and give it to them. It really was the sweetest thing ever. We finished up the day doing some final souvenir shopping. 

After our last stop we a couple of days on the boat traveling back home. So we tried everything we could do on the boat. So many activities, so much food, and so many amazing sunsets. The ocean was a bit more rough heading back and there was some seasickness going on so we had some down time as well to recover. 

                 

                 

On our very last night they had a special dinner and our waiters did the cutest things for us. The younger girls got light up ears, he showed us a balancing act with the silverware, and made me a ring from a dollar.  Then all the waiters performed a song and dance for us. It was a fun way to close out such a memorable trip. 

Once we got back from our trip we had our usual routine to get back to. In between the routine we had a few random things taking place. Some were just cute pictures. Others were mission companions meeting up. 

We also finally took the opportunity to go inside the Jacob Hamblin Home. Because of Covid, it had been closed for quite awhile. It was fun to see how the early pioneers who settled Santa Clara built there homes and lived. Outside of the house, we came across a roadrunner. These little creatures are so fun to see. 

One day we heard a large bang against the window. When we went to figure out what had caused it, we saw a bird laying on the ground struggling. I quickly put on some gloves and picked up the bird to see if it was injured. It laid in my hands for awhile as it was really disoriented. But after a minute it was able to fly up to our tree and eventually fly away. 

We rarely see snow in St. George so its exciting 

when we do.                           

             All of the CTR 8 class in their baptism clothes. 

Cute best friends celebrating Ell's birthday. These 3 are peas in a pod. 

Grandpa Payne came down for a visit to bring gifts for the approaching birthdays.  It was fun to have him stay with us. He got to see Quincy play a volleyball game. We took him to see the outside of the new temple being built in St. George. And then he took us to our first Sea Food Boil... AMAZING!

     

 We got to see Tess receive an award at school. So proud of her. 

More randomness...

Tess also had surgery to fix the slit in her ear. She was ready to have this fixed and it was pretty funny to see her come off of anesthesia. She was pretty out of it and just kept saying the most random things. 
                   

                   

    

Made this cute bulletin board for Young Womens.