Spring Break 2010

A great perk about being a teacher is the ten week break called 'summer vacation.' A student last year gave me a plaque that said '3 Reasons for Teaching: June, July, and August.' I didn't quite know how to respond to that considering it came from a student (nor where I was supposed to hang it - certainly not in my classroom).

However, besides the 10 week long summer break, there are 4 additional weeks of vacation that come in the course of the year. One of those is the greatly awaited Spring Break! March always seems to be one of the longest months of the school year because it is the only month that we get NO days off. I know, sounds ridiculous because in every 'real' job that is a reality for almost every month of the year. But, I think that teachers need days off because the students need days off. When the kids don't get a break, they start going crazy...especially when Spring hits.

All to say, I was definitely ready for Spring Break this year and eagerly awaiting my 9 days off of teaching. Last year I spent my Spring Break in Taiwan.

While that was a great trip (but no, I don't need to be going back to Asia anytime soon), it was also somewhat exhausting due to the long hours of traveling (and being in a completely different time zone). This Spring Break, I was excited to stay local. And, I had a lot of fun things planned. Here are my Spring Break 2010 highlights.

1. Easter Tradition Resurrected - Ever since I can remember, we spent our Easter with a handful of close family friends from our church. It was something that I always looked forward to. Unfortunately, that tradition took a three year hiatus from 2007-2009. But, we officially resurrected the tradition this year, and it was so fun to celebrate Easter with great family friends.

2. Pebble Beach at the Valdez House - My dad has a connection to a house in Pebble Beach, which we spent time at during my 2008 Thanksgiving Break and this past July. We went back again last week for two nights, and it was a great get away. I LOVE this house! It is right off of 17 Mile Drive and just a few minutes walk down to the beach. The house itself is adorable, with an amazing backyard. I would love to live in this house if I could! Here are some pictures from our time in Pebble Beach.

With my niece Kate (above), niece Claire (right), and Jason (below).

3. Monterey Bay Aquarium - See my post about this. Of course I'm all about checking another item off my '30 Things Before 30' list.

4. A's Game - While I'm no huge A's fan, Jason's mom has AMAZING season tickets. We literally sat in the two best seats in the stadium - no two seats are closer to home plate. It was incredible. We were directly behind the A's dugout. You can practically hear their conversations. Too bad I'm not a bigger fan (I'm more of a Giants fan, but the A's are one of the only sports teams that Jason and I at least both somewhat like. He's a Dodgers, Cowboys, and Lakers fan. Seriously?)

The pictures above are from Rajai Davis' home run hit.

Picture taken at our seats - practically on the field!

5. Jason's brother's wedding - I finally got to meet a majority of Jason's extended family. They are great, and we both had a lot of fun at the wedding - apart from the BRIGHT red vest Jason had to wear as a groomsman...


While Spring Break 2010 was great and I was a bit sad to go back to work, I only have 37 more days of teaching until Summer Break!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

I definitely was not a deprived child growing up and my parents did a lot of fun things with us when we were younger (Tahoe, Grand Canyon, Hawaii, DC, New York, The Olympics...I could go on). However, one thing my parents neglected to expose me to was anything involving animals. Let's just say we're not huge animal lovers in the Cartmell family. The first time I ever went to the zoo was when I was 13. And my parents didn't even take me. My sister Elyse took me to the zoo in Albuquerque, New Mexico while we were there for our sister Mel's soccer tournament. So, it is no surprise that at the age of 26, I still had never been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (despite living only an hour and half away from it my whole life).

Well, that all changed yesterday! Because my sister Mel and I are both teachers, we're pretty good at getting the rest of our family to take vacations during our long holiday breaks. My dad has a connection to a house in Pebble Beach, so we spent Monday-Wednesday of Spring Break down there. I figured this would be a perfect opportunity to check the aquarium off my list since we were just a few miles away.

Jason came down to Pebble Beach, too, so he agreed to come with me (even though he has been many times and the great white shark exhibit was no longer there...). After planning our route (he is so perfect for me), we started off in the Kelp Forrest. The leopard shark was totally my highlight here - they were totally cool. We then saw 'The Giant Pacific Octopus'. I couldn't 'flash the octopus', so I wasn't able to get a picture, but that thing was unreal. Huge. Kinda gross. But definitely cool. We then ventured to the pools and saw some more leopard sharks and some sting rays. I refused to put my hands in the touch pools. I prefer to experience with sight, not touch. Jason was a little more adventurous than me, but definitely still 'purell-ed' after.

Leopard Shark!

Next up were the sea otters. These were one of my favorites! They were so adorable. I felt like (and probably looked like) one of the little kids pressed up against the glass staring at the otters. They were like little puppies swimming around. I took lots of pictures of them (this is probably where I killed most of my battery).

Look at him rubbing up against the window - I think he's trying to say hi to me.

Little guys playing with each other.

Next were the jelly fish - another highlight for sure! Jelly fish are so cool to look at. I was captivated.

Moon Jelly - look at the cool flower design on them!


Wouldn't want to be in that tank! That's an invitation for death. Ouch.

We then visited the Outer Layer - a tank full of huge fish (I never knew how big tuna fish could get), and also with hammerhead sharks. This tank was one of Jason's highlights! I tried to get a picture of a hammerhead. Not too successful.


Finally we arrived at one of the exhibits I was so excited to see - The Hot Pink Flamingos! No, they are no great white shark, but I thought they were pretty fun!


And how cute are these penguins. I've always thought penguins are adorable. My mom used to wrap our Christmas presents in penguin wrapping paper because she thought they were pretty darling. I guess she passed it on to me... These two little guys bellow were hysterical. They guy on the right (Salsa), really had no personality and just stood there. He looked dead standing up. But the guy on the left (Dulce) was all about his life behind a glass wall. At one point they started scratching each other's ears for one another. What great little buddies. I tried to get a picture of it, but my camera died right as I went to take the pic (Note to self - If you bring a spare battery, don't leave it in the car...)

Dulce and Salsa: Buddies for Life.

Tango out for a little swim.

My battery was dead for the sea horse exhibit, but truthfully, I wasn't thoroughly impressed with the sea horses. I think that the sea horses that I've seen in pictures were a lot cooler than the ones they had there. Or maybe I just had high expectations or am hard to please. We also saw some more penguins (African, opposed the the Brazilian ones above).

All in all, it was a great visit to the aquarium. I am excited to go back when I have kids (unlike my parents, I will take my children to the aquarium), but I don't think I'll be back before then...

26...And Still Celebrating With Hearts...

I have the wonderful 'privilege' of being born exactly one week before Valentine's Day. Now, to most of you that doesn't sound too awful, right? One could understand someones annoyance in being born ON Valentine's Day...or on Christmas...or even anywhere near Christmas. But, a week before Valentine's Day...that doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Wrong. You see...around Valentine's Day, the stores are filled with an over-abundance of heart decor. And when I was a little girl, my mom could never resist these adorable heart-themed decorations. Ever. So, while many little girls usually get to experience their Disney-themed birthday parties with their favorite character, I enjoyed a heart-themed party. Every single year.

Here is a preview of my first twelve birthdays.

(1st birthday - The Classic Heart Cake - to be displayed in the next 10 pictures)

(2nd birthday - Heart cake, heart cups, downcast child)

(3rd birthday - Heart cake, heart cups, heart plates, heart table cloth, heart dress)

(4th birthday - hearts all around...those are also heart balloons hanging at the top)

(5th birthday)

(6th birthday - hearts - and my dress also has a big heart on the front)

(7th birthday - hearts and bowling)

(8th birthday)

(10th birthday - I don't have any pics from my 9th birthday)

(11th birthday - we are making Valentines)

(12th birthday - I think this is the last year of the heart cake...but not the hearts)

I got a break from the hearts throughout most of middle school, high school, and college. But, take a look at my post-college birthdays...

(23rd birthday - Kate a few weeks old in hearts to celebrate my birthday)

(24th birthday - and now my friends are in on it, too)

(25th birthday - the regular heart bag. Claire was also dressed in hearts this day)

To my defeat, it's still going on today. On Sunday, I turned 26. I was hoping the Super Bowl might distract from the hearts. Maybe a football themed birthday instead? Wrong. Alas, a football themed birthday party wasn't going to cut it for my family. My sister Mel loves to rub in my face my aversion for hearts by dressing my nieces in hearts around (and on) my birthday, so they showed up wearing heart shirts (as always). I also received a birthday card from my niece Kate with a big heart outlined on the front for her to color. And of course, we can't have a birthday without the classic heart paper plates and napkins. I was also fortunate enough to receive a heart balloon from my friend Jenn. Here are some pics from my 26th birthday.

(Kate and I opening my presents - note the heart outfit; Claire had the exact same one)

(Heart cookies made during my birthday party - lying on the same heart plates we ate cake on)

(I have had victory over the heart cake, though - yummy mud pie ice cream cake instead!)

While I whine and complain about all the hearts, I am totally thankful for my mom and the many birthday parties she gave me - and for my family and friends who constantly remind me of this by allowing (forcing?) me to continue to celebrate my birthday with hearts.

Cruisin'

I've always been bewildered by the idea of a cruise - fascinated about how a boat could encompass so much - restaurants, casinos, pools, spas, theaters, miniature golf, hundreds of rooms to house thousands of people. I just couldn't wrap my brain around it. Well, last weekend my wonder became a reality as I embarked on my first cruise.

After a 5am wake-up call and four hours of sleep (good thing we stopped at Coffee Bean on the drive down), we arrived in Long Beach for our cruise to beautiful, tropical Mexico. Oh wait, we were only going to Ensenada, so replace beautiful and tropical with ugly and booze saturated. Nonetheless, we were all excited for our adventure!

Everyone except Josh. Ready to board our ship.

Welcome to Carnival's Paradise

We encountered a few mishaps prior to actually being able to board the ship - such as me and Ray not being on the master list of people for the cruise. So, we were held behind as the rest continued on through security. After a short wait, they found us in the computer, and we were able to continue onward. However, as soon as we caught up with our friends, we were once again at a standstill. One of our friends (I won't mention names) was flying down from Seattle and meeting us on the cruise, so he had us carry on a backpack for him. Well, he didn't mention to us that he would also be carrying a knife in that backpack. Let's just say security won that one, and Kari (what a good friend) had to take the knife back to the car, and then go back through the entire security process. But, eventually we all made it onto the boat!

Our dungeon...I mean, room...

We boarded the ship on Friday late afternoon in Long Beach and woke up in Ensenada on Saturday morning. Everyone but Jess and I rented dune buggies and spent the morning exploring Ensenada in such fashion. Jess and I chose to wander around downtown Ensenada instead. After being jipped into paying $2 to take a shuttle a whole two blocks, we arrived in downtown Ensenada. We lasted about 30 minutes before we realized we had seen it all. There are only so many shops you can wander into before you realize that they are all selling the exact same cheap jewelry. So we walked back to the ship and spent the rest of the morning lying on lounge chairs eating soft serve ice cream. We later met up with everyone else for lunch in downtown Ensenada. Let me just say, it can get crazy down there.

Hello Mexico

Those palm trees are about as tropical as it got...

Mango Mango - where we had lunch on Saturday

Authentic Mexican Food

Prior to going on one, I had heard two main things about cruises: the rooms are really small and you will eat a lot of food. Both turned out to be true. While I won't say that it was the most amazing food I have ever had, I will say that the dinners were probably my favorite part of the cruise. We dressed up every night (us girls, excitedly...the boys, begrudgingly) and feasted like royalty! Um, can I just say how much I loved the fact that you could order whatever you wanted on the menu. For free. Well, I guess I paid for my food when I paid for the cruise, but there's something about not paying when you are actually eating. And for an indecisive person like me, the ordering process is perfect. Oh, so that Mahi Mahi looks good on the menu...but that steak also sounds delicious. Hmm...don't know which one to choose. Oh wait, I don't have to pick because I can just order BOTH entrees. Amazing. Yes, same process works for appetizers and dessert. I definitely loved being able to double dip at dinner. The first night I had Mahi Mahi and this pumpkin pot pie (it had some fancier name). Second night was lobster and shrimp (with some spectacular mashed potatoes - I may have overreacted when I had my first bite of them). Third night was a crusted veal and a seafood pasta. And let's not forget to mention the chocolate melting cake that we all indulged in every night. Here are some pictures from dinner each night.

Dinner - First Night

Dinner Night Two - Formal Night

Last night's dinner

Apart from the food, the other great part about dinner is the servers. You have the same two servers every night, so you totally build a relationship with them. They know your name after asking you your beverage choice the first night. Plus, they dance for you every night, which I must say was quite entertaining. So, meet Nelo from the Philippines and Gregery from Romania - they totally completed my dining experience on the Paradise cruise ship. (To see their dance from the last night, click here)

Dancing on the first night

Sunday, our last day on the ship, was spent at sea and was all-together relaxing. We spent the morning reading on lounge chairs on the deck of the boat. Unfortunately, there was no sun to tan us. We also soaked in the spa and just hung-out (oh, and ate...of course). It was a great day spent with friends.

All in all, the cruise was a great time. I'm so glad I went. However, I don't know how much of a 'cruise person' I am, and I'm not dying to go on another one anytime soon. Maybe if the weather was warmer or the destination was nicer, I might say differently. But, while I loved going with my friends and had so much fun with them, I wasn't that into the entertainment the ship provided. I like having more freedom to do whatever I want and go wherever I want and being on a boat limits that to an extent. But now I know...and my questions about how they cram so much onto one ship are finally answered!

Oh, and I just bought my plane ticket to Austin - will check that one off my list on June 4th - 6th!