Month in Review: April

The biggest things this month were my birthday (is that vain? haha) and the cruise, but here are some other fun tid-bits from April:

• Matt and I finished Winter semester with flying colors, and we are now on to Spring Term, where the classes are longer and the term is shorter. I am taking an introductory computer programming class and a Spanish lit class, and Matt is taking Econ and a religion class.
  
• We got to go to a Salt Lake Bee's game with some friends! Matt and I are so bad at making plans with people, so it's always nice when we finally go out with other couples. The game was a blast, and the hot dogs were delicious!
  
• I got a new job! I was a little concerned about the job search-situation at the end of March, but things quickly turned around for the better. I was hired on as a Student Assistant at LDS Philanthropies, which raises money for all the BYU schools (among other things). So far, it's been a really great job, and I love the people that I work with! The office is right next to campus, which is so convenient. I do have to wear Sunday dress to work everyday. At first I thought this would be fun, since I have so many cute skirts and dresses, but I got kinda tired of it after the first week. Now I'll usually bring some pants to change into before I go to class. Overall, though, I'm excited for this new opportunity!
  
• An update on Lent from last month: we almost lasted!! We went two weeks without cracking, then Matt needed a little celebratory dinner in the form of Cafe Rio. That dinner did us in. Soon he was back to eating out, and I turned on Netflix while folding laundry. I now have a much greater respect for those who participate in Lent! Maybe we'll try again next year and be more successful.

That Cruisin Lyfe

We love cruises. Our cruise to Ensenada was so fun! It was just long enough to feel relaxed, but short enough to keep the boat a novelty. We cruised on the Carnival Inspiration out of Long Beach, down to Ensenada, Mexico.

The first day, we boarded the boat and explored. We had a lovely ocean-view room, and the boat itself was quite pretty. There were many lounges, a big pool, waterslides, mini-golf, and of course, the food! We went to the seated dining room every night for dinner, and it was delicious. There was always a good range of choices, and Matt and I always ordered more than we should eat! The best part was that we got the table to ourselves. Usually on a cruise, you get seated with about 6-8 other people for dinner. I was a little nervous about who we would be seated with, but it turned out that I didn't need to worry! Matt and I were literally the only ones at our table for 10. We definitely enjoyed our nightly gourmet meals for just the two of us. After dinner, we went to one of the musical shows, watched some (unmusical) people try karaoke, and explored the ship some more.

Dinner on the first and second night

The second day was spent at sea! The day began with the most delicious brunch! It was honestly the highlight of my day. I ordered eggs benedict and frosted flake-coated french toast. I just couldn't decide between the two so I got both haha. I couldn't finish either, but I certainly enjoyed them! It was a little cloudy but warm, so we tried out the pool for a while. We also played mini golf, ate lots of ice cream, relaxed, went to a comedy show, and saw another musical performance. It was just the right balance between relaxation and having something to do.

The third day was port day at Ensenada! We quickly ate breakfast then got off the ship as soon as possible. We didn't really have anything planned for the city, so we thought we would just figure it out when we got there. We took a shuttle from the port into town, then we caughtanother bus up to the Bufadora. The Bufadora is a natural blow-hole created by sea water rushing into a cavern, building up pressure, then being released into the air, like the blow-hole of a whale. I guess it's a pretty unique phenomenon. It was cool to see a huge pillar of water rush into the air every 17 seconds, but I did get a little too close one time! I tried to get pictures, but it was hard to catch it in action. There were tons of little shops and stands lining the way to the Bufadora, which Matt and I explored. I got some sandals, and he got candy. There was also a great taco stand which we enjoyed immensely. Best fish and carne asada tacos ever!

After the Bufadora and shopping, we looked around town for a short while and headed back to the ship. We laid by the pool again, then we went to a gameshow that they had on board. It basically takes a bunch of Hasbro board games and turns them into a show, so there was life-size Connect Four, interactive Trivial Pursuit, and Monopoly. It was really fun, especially when I was chosen to go up on stage to participate! The game I played (on a team) was Operation, in the form of skee-ball. I was terrible. I only got point for one out of seven shots, and I completely face-planted as I was running around the stage! It was so embarrassing. Matt got a really good laugh about that one. Later that night, we enjoyed dinner and another comedy show.

I was obsessed with the towel animals that they made each night! Can you blame me?!

We were a little sad that the cruise was over so soon, but Spring classes started the next day. We deboarded the cruise early the next morning and made the long drive back to Provo. The cruise was such a nice diversion from the busy semester we had, and it gave us just enough relaxation time to gear up for the term ahead of us! We'd love to go on another cruise with some friends... any takers?!