I heart the Caribbean.

It’s been a crazy year, so Sean and I agreed that we were in need of a serious vacation this summer. Luckily, our friends, Kyle and Ashley, felt the same way, so we all set off for a seven day Caribbean cruise. We had an amazing time! It was so nice to be detached from phones, emails, work, and just spend an entire week relaxing. It was our first cruise and our first time in the Caribbean. The beaches were incredible. I now officially heart the Caribbean.

Our first stop was Costa Maya. Great food, gorgeous beaches, and a cool Caribbean breeze—what more could a girl ask for?



Our next port was the beautiful island of Roatan. This small island just off the coast of Honduras is covered in green! We couldn’t resist taking a zipline tour of the rain forest. It was so much fun! I am now slightly addicted to the zipline—especially hanging upside down. What a rush!

After the zipline we relaxed at the amazing West Bay Beach.

Our next port was Belize. This was definitely one of my favorite stops. We went snorkeling on the amazing barrier reef just off the coast, and then settled in for some relaxation on this incredible island with white sand beaches and turquoise water. I didn’t want to leave this picturesque setting. The whole day was, yes, you guessed it, “unbelizeable.”

Our final destination was Cozumel, Mexico. It was the perfect end to our amazing week. We spent the day relaxing on the beach and the boys went for a scuba dive. We also had the most amazing tacos I’ve ever tasted. I was this close to missing the boat so I could just stay on this beach forever.

Caribbean, how did you get to be so wonderful? You have certainly won my heart. Thanks for the best week ever! (To view more photos click here)

Dusting Nightmare

Holy cow! Check out this dust storm we had last night in Phoenix. We don't get storms down here too often, but when we do, we don't mess around!


The Phoenix Haboob of July 5th, 2011 from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.

It's so hard to say goodbye.

I’ve been slightly absent from the blogging world the past few weeks. It’s because I’ve have been trying to spend every spare minute with my sister, Leah, and her family. Her husband Ben just graduated from medical school (congratulations Ben!!) and they moved to Ohio for his residency.

We are so proud of Ben, and we are excited for this new chapter in their life, but I can’t tell you how much we’ll miss them and their girls. I’ve been a lucky Auntie to live close to them for so long. I’ve been trying to fill up my tank with lots of hugs and kisses from my adorable nieces.

This is me and my niece Eden—were pretty much best friends. Isn’t she adorable?

Sister picture! Me and my three beautiful sisters. I’m so lucky! This was right before we all started crying. A very tearful goodbye. I mean with four girls, just imagine the waterworks!

We miss you already Coleman family! See you soon!

Take one and call me in the morning

This past weekend my sister and her adorable girls, Eden, Grace, and Clarie spent the weekend at our house. We had a great time playing, reading stories, and swimming. I absolutely love my nieces to death, and they just say the funniest things.

We were in the kitchen fixing a snack with Grace and Eden. Eden accidentally bit her tongue and was understandably upset. To comfort her I told her that I would be the doctor and I would help fix her up. I gave her five jelly beans as medicine and told her to take those to make her feel better. Eden thought that wasn’t a bad deal, but Grace wasn’t falling for it. She confidently said, “You can’t be a doctor—only boys can be doctors.” It was hilarious! See, her dad just graduated from medical school last Friday, so I kind of understand her logic. But I smiled and told her the good news--girls actually can be doctors! In fact, I told her that girls can do everything! So to all of my smart, beautiful nieces don’t ever forget that you can be anything you want to be…even a doctor!

Survivor vs. Bachelor

Last week I was watching the Survivor finale with some friends and we were talking about Survivor couples. There have been quite a few relationships that have formed out of the Survivor franchise, and one of my friends said, “It sounds like Survivor has a better track record than The Bachelor.” We all laughed, but then I thought, “Hmm…I think she’s right!”

So in honor of tonight’s premiere of The Bachelorette, I conducted a little research. And I was shocked to find the following results:

The Bachelor/Bachelorette

Score: 2 marriages, 1.5 couples that are still engaged (Brad & Emily are only hanging on by a thread!)

Survivor

                                     

Score: 3 marriages, 1 couple currently engaged, and 3 couples that have been dating for three years or more

Wow!! Apparently, you can find love on a reality show…just not on The Bachelor. But don’t worry Bachelor, even with that dismal track record, I’ll still watch you. In the meantime, I might email Jeff Probst and tell them to change the Survivor theme song to “On the Wings of Love.”

Zion

A few weeks ago we went to Zion National Park with some friends. I had never been before, and I must say that it definitely surpassed my expectations. It’s absolutely beautiful! The views are just breathtaking, and I loved it. We did several hikes in the park and ate a picnic lunch. It was a perfect day! It felt so good to be out of the city, away from work, away from traffic and just spend the day appreciating nature. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. It’s definitely worth a trip. Here are some of my favorite photos…  

Perfect

My obsession with the royal wedding has been no secret; so of course, everyone’s been asking me what I thought about the big day. I thought it appropriate to write one more blog about the happy couple. Then I promise not to blog about them again…well, until they have an adorable royal baby, or course.

To sum up my thoughts about the royal wedding I can only use one word: PERFECT. Yes, I watched the entire wedding, and yes I thought the whole thing was magical! The dress, the flowers, the carriage, the kiss—it was all perfect. A day fit for a prince and princess.

I also just heard that Will and Kate headed off to a honeymoon in the Seychelles islands. Wow! The pictures of that place are amazing. As a true royal-fanatic, I have officially added this place to my list of places I MUST visit.

And they lived happily ever after…

The Real Will and Kate

You all know about my obsession with the royal wedding, but what many of you don’t know is that I actually attended Kate and Will’s wedding. That’s right, my dear friend Katie, married her very own Prince William, a few weeks ago in Salt Lake City. Their names really are Kate and William—I mean how much better does it get?

We threw a regal Bachelorette Party for the bride-to-be a few days before the wedding. I had a blast catching up with the girls over dinner, games, and chocolate fondue.

The weekend was full of fabulous reunions, catching up with dear friends, and celebrating the union of a truly happy/perfect couple.

To Will and Kate…both the Salt Lake-based and the royal…may you live happily ever after.