Grant's first snow

On Christmas Eve we had snow here in Utah. When we got here there was already snow on the ground. This new, cold, wet substance was quite intriguing to Grant. He quickly learned how to say the word --"snow"--and was very eager to feel it, stomp through it and taste it. He enjoyed snow quite a bit.

As you can see, the more time he spent in the snow the more comfortable he got.

He is always timid at first with new things but then can't get enough.

Christmas in SLC

Today is Christmas and we have spent the day doing virtually nothing. We were up about 8 AM and opened presents. Grant had a great time playing with each toy for awhile after opening it. His Grandma Mellen got him a great wood fire truck from Pottery Barn and a Little People pirate ship. His Oma Glenn got him some good Jesus books and a funny t-shirt. He loved opening presents. After presents and breakfast were done, I'm not sure what we did. We did a lot of nothing. We went to Chad's aunt Carol's home for dinner then tried to enjoy the Temple Square Christmas lights in 9 degree weather. I don't remember the last time I was that cold. Grant was most enthralled with the water fountains and features still flowing on Temple Square. He started saying water and snow over and over again and even got himself out of the stroller to see the water.


Grant trying to find the treasures hiding in his stocking. He didn't totally get the concept and couldn't figure out why there were several matchbox cars in there.
This is Grant trying to open his new fire truck. He opened it one small piece of wrapping paper at a time.

On Saturday, Grant finally got to see Santa Clause. Three tries are a charm I guess. We tried twice before we left Tucson but did not want to wait forever for a 30 second visit that Grant was inevitably going to scream through. We ate dinner and shopped at Trolley Square then went right up to see Santa and Mrs. Clause. We took our own photos but it beats the endless wait.

On Christmas Eve, I had the stomach flu so that put a big damper on things. I was feeling better by night time and we all went swimming in the indoor pool. It was snowing last night so it was fun to watch the snow falling the glass room while we swam. Grant loves the pool. He jumps in, goes under and loves to swim between me and Chad. Unfortunatley, he floats as well as a water logged tree trunk. He hasn't quite grasped the concept of kicking, floating and using your arms. We will start swimming lessons again in a few weeks and hopefully learn the basis. He now tries to blow bubbles in the water by sucking it in. Not a good thing really.

Our Christmas Adventures

Well, after being home for exactly one week from Puerto Rico, we are off again to Salt Lake City to be with Chad's mom, sister and brother for the holidays. Despite my deep and avid protestations (I'm a lawyer, we all know I'm good at that) I lost out and we had to drive to the promised land, which is about 14 hours away. We arrived this evening. We luckily drove to Vegas last night and stayed with Chad's friend Mike and his family for the night and then drove the rest of the way today. We are not so lucky coming home unfortunately. The trip will be made in one day. Thank goodness for laptops and DVDs. They help kill the time with the child but it's still a struggle. I have already decreed that this is the first last and only road trip of its kind for a very long time. Toddlers and car seats for long periods of time just do not mix. We will be here in SLC through Wednesday then begin our pilgrimage home on Thursday. Chad's sister is coming back with us and my sister is flying in for New Years on Friday so the fun doesn't end when we depart SLC.
I'm not really sure what we're going to end up doing here but honestly I really don't care. I'm just happy to be some place wintery for a brief period of time. There is actually snow on the ground and predictions of more snow to come. Coming from Tucson, I get sentimental for those freezing Chicago winters. I have just been looking at some blogs for some of my friends and they have pictures of their kids in the backyard making snowmen. It did snow in Tucson last winter, oddly enough. It even stuck for awhile but it's not the same and what is Christmas without snow. Chad's mom lives in a condo by U of U. Her building has an indoor and heated pool and hot tub, which Chad and I have already made good use of. When Chad's mom took us to go look at it, Grant started to get in. When I told him he couldn't swim because he had his PJs on he actually started trying to take off his shirt. I'm not really sure when or how he got so smart. He blows my mind on a daily basis with the things he knows and understands.
I am looking forward to Christmas morning with Grant. He is already trying to open all of the presents. He got an early lesson in present opening with some early Christmas gifts and now he thinks it's time to open all of them. Sadly, I forgot both my camera and video camera at home and didn't remember until we were half way to Vegas. I am at the mercy of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for pictures and I hate that. Sometimes, I'm just not a good mom.

Cute pictures of Grant

Grant cuddling pillow given to him by his Grammy.

Grant helping mommy make Christmas sugar cookies. It was all I could do to keep him from eating all the dough. He snuck pieces right and left and just ate more without sneaking. He's a sugar freak.

Grant in the "ugly" Christmas sweater his Aunt Kitty bought for him.

Grant bothering and harassing Barry -- on of his favorite things to do.

Pictures of our trip to Puerto Rico

Carols Rosario beach in Isla de Culebra. There is a big coral reef in this bay that we snorkeled around. It is very beautiful.

Me and Chad at the big waterfall in the El Yunque rain forest. I swam in the pools of this waterfall.

Stella beach south of Rinco. There were only about 10 other people on this whole beach when we were there and this is not a postcard.

Street in Old San Juan. All of the houses are brightly painted and have unique and ornate doors.

Puerto Rico - Days 3-5

Sunday:


On Sunday we headed out for a long drive/tour of the western side of the island. We left here about 7:30 AM, with our first stop the Rio Camuy (Cam-oo-ee) Cave Park in the middle of the western side of the island. It is a 268 acre underground cave system and has the third largest underground river in the world. We were told it was always busy so get there early because they only let so many people through each day. It was raining the whole way there and we knew that they didn't even run the tours if it was raining but we went anyway. When we got there it had stopped raining and there were only about 5 other people waiting. It worked out beautifully. We had the tour, which was amazing. You wouldn't believe the size of the cave they took us in and the rivier is just incredible. A definite must see in Puerto Rico. They even have a fountain of youth you can drink from (natural water running from the cave down a rock wall - quite good and I feel younger already).

From Camuy we headed to Rincon, a popular surfing/snorkeling area on the west coast of Puerto Rico. We made it there but not without challenges. It is very difficult to drive in Puerto Rico because all the roads are windy and many not well marked until it's too late. I think every time we drove somewhere we ended up getting lost at least once. We did find the beaches we were looking for and they were beautiful. We watched the surfers at the surf beach, then checked out the snorkel beaches (Steps and Tres Palmas) then headed to the swimming beach. It is crazy how none of these beaches have many people on them and the people that are on them are usually locals. It is almost disconcerting, like we shouldn't be there or something. The swimming beach had very fine, soft sand but the water had rocks all along the bottom so swimming was dificult and sometimes painful. We just relaxed for awhile before heading further south to drive through Ponce, on the southern coast of Puerto Rico.

We just did a lot of driving to see the island. It is unbelievable how green it truly is. We finally cut north and stopped at some thermal springs in a town called Coamo. They were marked on our map so we decided to try it out. When we got there we were the only non-Puerto Ricans there. Again, disconcerting. We stuck around though and got in. There are cement pools built to hold the water and it is nice and warm. I started talking with a woman who has lived in Puerto Rico her whole life. She was telling me about the springs and answering my questions so I started to feel much more comfortable. When we were baked through and red as lobsters we headed back to our car and back to San Juan. It started raining really hard on the way home and visibility was terrible but we made and boy were we exhausted.


Monday:


This was tour Old San Juan day. We were so exhausted from early days on Sautrday and Sunday that we slept in and went to Old San Juan for the day. Our original plan was to go to the island of Culebra for the day and then do the biobay kayaking tour but we changed that plan on Sunday because we were exhausted and needed sleep. Thank goodness for exhaustion. Because of what we now know to be Tropical Storm Olga, it was quite rainy and overcast throughout the day and the ferries to Culebra were closed that day due to 15-20 foot swells.

We took a bus to Old San Juan. It's $.75/person each way and takes about 30-45 minutes. You get to see a lot of the city, even driving through ghettos. It was an adventure, especially coming home during rush hour. In Old San Juan we walked through San Cristobal fort and El Morro castle. They had great views of the ocean and city and we even had a good history lesson in how Puerto Rico came to be. I always enjoy learning about the history of the place I am visiting. Old San Juan is known for its beautifully colored buildings and fancy doorways. They are amazing - pink, periwinkle, sea foam green, orange, you name it they've got it. The streets are also cobblestoned in many places. The area is filled with shopping, food and sites. We stopped for awhile in the San Juan cathedral during one of the several 10 minute rainbursts of the day. Other bursts were waited out in a museum, under a tree in a park and in the doorway of a shop. We were very damp by the time we made it home.

Coming home the bus was so packed and we'd been on it so long, we got off earlier than our actual stop, but it turned out to be earlier than we'd anticipaetd so we had quite a hike home in the rain. Just add it to the already wet day and it wasn't that bad . The food here is quite expensive, which is disappointing and painful on the pocketbook. In the evening we had our free drinks - well Chad did. He loves those virgin pina coladas and then watched a movie. We rented several and brought them with us. Again, I love having a lap top.


Tuesday:


This was the day I was waiting for most. We got up super early and left the hotel by 7 AM to head for the ferry to Culebra in Fajardo about 1 hour 30 mins but only 33 minutes away. We got directions from the front desk and were diligently following them but somehow we ended up on the opposite site of the city than we needed to be on. It was a disaster. We stopped a guy in the residential neighborhood we were in and he gave us directions. Thank goodness other countries want their children to be bilingual. Most know english here. Maybe we should get on that bandwagon and teach spanish but that's for another blog on another day.

Anyway, we hightailed it to the ferry with the guy's directions, which seemed questionable when being given but were actually perfect, (we did confirm them with two other people before we got to the ferry) and made it there with 45 minutes to spare before the 9 AM ferry. We were mostly worried because again we were told it gets packed fast and to get there early. Not so again. I guess it's good not to travel in high season (except you experience things like Tropical Storm Olga).

The ferry ride was torture. Chad took dramamine because he always gets seasick. I don't so I didn't take anything. Bad choice. About 35-40 minutes into the 1 hour 15 min ferry ride I was so sick I just wanted to jump overboard. The storm was still working its way through and the waves were so high. As I write this, thinking about it is making my head light.

When we got to Culebra there was no activity. We went across the street to Culebra Dive where I had gotten information a couple days earlier about snorkeling and equipment rental. Of course, the shop was closed for the day. Then we saw an American woman handing out information about her guesthouse. There are no hotels on the island just privately run guesthouses. She was talking to another guy and his father who were on our ferry. I asked what she suggested we do and she immediately pulled out her cell phone and called Willy. Willy is the taxi driver for this island of 2,700 people and he rents snorkel equipment. He has lived on the island his entire life and even pointed out his mother's home as we drove by on our way to Flamenco Beach.

On the drive, he stopped at a deli so we could purchase sandwiches because he said none of the food places at the beach were open today. What we learned is that no one was expecting ferries or planes because of the storm so our arrival was a complete surprise. Many things had closed for the day because without tourists what's the point.

We got food then stopped at Willy's house to get snorkel gear. On the bus, we started talking with this couple from Minnesota. I told them what I knew about snorkeling on the island from the research I'd done and confirming it with Willy so they asked if they could tag along. When we got to Flamenco Beach, we arranged for Willy to come back at 4 PM to pick us up for the 5 PM ferry back to Fajardo then headed out on a 25 minute hike to Carlos Rosario beach for snorkeling.

Chad was leading and at the end headed left into what we later discovered to be the wrong beach because the waves were huge and unsnorkelable due to the storm. Our friends, Rob and Janet, headed off to see what they could find and Chad suggested we go the other way on the trail. We found the calm part of the beach. I went back to get Rob and Janet and met two nice women, who later we got the privilege of seeing topless, who explained to me about the snorkeling. I guess the presently highwaved beach - Tamarindo - was beautiful glassy water the day before. Go figure.

I took Rob and Janet back to the other beach and we all snorkeled for awhile. Chad and I lounged on the beach to rest and our friends headed back into town. We snorkeled one more time then hiked back to Flamenco Beach to check it out. The sand was beautiful and fine but it was a red flag day so no swimming. The waves were really high and you could see two undertows going two different directions. While sitting on the beach a stray cat came up, loudly meowing and promptly made himself comfortable right next to Chad on his towel. It was quite funny.

Our plan was to go do the biobay kayaking excursion that night after returning from Culebra but while on the beach the guy called and cancelled because of bad weather. We were very disappointed. We met up with Willy at 4 PM and he took us back to the ferry port. We started talking to our friends Rob and Janet and told them about the biobay cancellation because they were also supposed to do the tour, we discovered. They had heard you could just go to the place and hook up with a tour so we decided to do that when we got back to Fajardo. The ferry ride home was much better because I took dramamine and fell asleep and the water was calmer. when we got back we all headed to the park where the biobay excursions start.

Rob and Janet beat us to the park and ran over to our car when we pulled in to tell us that a group was leaving right then and we could join it. Chad and I had changed into normal clothes so that is what we kayaked in. The kayaking was fun but exhausting. The point of the excursion is to see the glow in the dark organisms. When anything moves through it, it glows. We kayaked through this narrow passage of mangrove trees into an open lagoon where we grouped in the middle and heard a little speach on the organisms and the lagoon. It was pretty close to pitch black. All of the fish in the lagoon glow because they move through the organisms. They make glow green paths through the water as they swim and jump. There were tons of them visible in the lagoon. I've never seen anything like it. When we got back to the port we were exhausted and soaked but happy for having been able to do this. After this excursion we headed back to the hotel where we slept like babies.



Wednesday:

Trip is over and it's time to go home. We got up and had breakfast then went to the pool for one last swim/relaxation time. We then got cleaned up, packed and headed for the airport, which turned into an adventure in and of itself. We got the airport very early for our 5:20 flight. Everything was fine at first. We had found a plug outlet, which was more challenging than you'd think by this other couple and had settled in for the wait. We eventually started chatting with the other couple who are about our age. Turns out they're LDS and living on a small island in the Carribean, where the husband is going to med school. Our flight got delayed and delayed again so that we didn't leave until almost 6:30. We only had a 30 minute lay over in Houston on the normal schedule. thanks to bad weather in Houston that flight was supposedly delayed. Basically it was hit or miss whether we were going to make it back to Phoenix that night or have to sleep in Houston. Somehow and I still really don't know how, our flight that left an hour late from San Juan made it to Houston so that our regularly scheduled 8:50 flight out of Houston only had to wait an extra 15 minutes for us. I don't get it but we made it back and the trip ended, sort of. We still had to pick up Grant, say good bye to my mom and sister and drive to Tucson.

Puerto Rico - Day 2

Today was an adventure. We left our hotel at about 9 AM and picked up our rental car. It was right across the street from our hotel. We then headed to El Yunque rain forest for some hiking and exploring. We did a 1.6 mile round trip hike to a beautiful, big waterfall. I swam in the pools around the fall. Chad didn't have his suit on so he didn't go in. It was fun and I felt tough. After we hiked out we drove through the rest of the forest then headed to Fajardo. Our intent was to find Seven Seas beach. We found it but it was not easy and when we got there it was almost completely deserted. There was a parking lot there that we were supposed to park in but it was empty. It looked like it had been abandoned about 35 years ago. We went to the beach and there was no one. I was waiting for zombies to come out of the trees and eat us. That's how creepy it was. We didn't stick around. Instead we headed to Luquillo beach in Luquillo. Thank goodness we found that. It was beautiful. It is lined with palm trees. The waves are small and calm. The sand is so fine even in the ocean. There are no rocks. There were people but not not very many. It has been overcast but not cold. It was that way today while swimming. The water was cold for about 2 seconds and then it was so nice. We swam and relaxed on the beach. By this time it was about 4 PM and we had not eaten all day, so we headed to the kioskos by the beach for some local food. We had mofongo con camarones, pollo empanada, and a friend plaintain filled with beef (I can't remember the spanish name. The mofongo is mashed plaintaines mixed with garlic then formed into a mold and filled with something, in our case shrimp and a yummy sauce. The fried plaintain with carne was the best though. It was home after that. We are tried and doing nothing tonight...oh, of course we had to go get our free drinks from the hotel. Well, Chad did. I don't like them. We are heading to the caves tomorrow and the west coast beaches. We are working on snorkeling on Monday on an island off the east side and kayaking the bio bay at night. More to come.

Puerto Rico - Day 1

We began our weeks vacation in Puerto Rico today - travel was all day yesterday. We left Tucson late Wednesday night and stayed at my aunt's house. Thursday morning we picked up my sister, who dropped us off at the airport and is keeping grant for the week. We left Phoenix at noon (45 minutes late) and arrived in San Juan at aboug 10:45 (right on time). Puerto Rico is 3 hours ahead of AZ right now. Today we took it easy, enjoying the free breakfast buffet. Oddly, Chad woke up before me this morning. This has only happened maybe 3 times in the history of Chad and Lindsay as a couple. After breakfast we took a walk to and down the beach, then came back and swam in the ice cold pool and lounged by the pool for a couple hours. I managed to get a sunburn in a big patch on the top of my left thigh only. Weird sun angle I guess. After swimming we cleaned up and walked to a restaurant recommended by the bartender (a local) I hit up for information while at the pool. The food was good, traditional Puerto Rican, but more expensive than we would have preferred. Chad had this gigantic pork chop thing. I took a picture of him with it and will post it when we get home. I had a yummy Cuban food sampler plate. We then took a walk on the beach in the other direction then came back to our hotel and have been doing nothing all evening. The hotel offers free cocktails from 5:30-7:30 so we took advantage of that (virgin, of course). Chad napped and I watched Grey's Anatomy. I love having a lap top then we enjoyed the hot tub until the pool closed. We rent a car tomorrow and are off to unknown areas of Puerto Rico. More adventures to come...