Eagle Rock

Darian, Leslie and I drove out to Warner Springs this morning for the 5 mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail to Eagle Rock.  We walked along this stream

 and into this open landscape for a picnic lunch

 atop Eagle Rock!

White Elephant Annual Party

 It was a Mexican food theme this year at the Joyce's house.

We couldn't find a date pre-Christmas together, but finally got the crew together tonight.

 Some funny gifts as always...a Danny DaVito sequin pillow...

 a poop-shaped drone and umbrella hat...

a penis nose/glasses set...

"I Pee In Pools" trucker hat...

an inappropriate apron...

and the winner goes to the Blumenthal's for making the "Find My Toenail" cake.  Darian thought it was hilarious, but certainly wasn't going to take any chances seeing if we would really be so crazy as to put a real toenail inside...HaHa!

KU Winter Reception

Taylor and I attended the KU Winter Reception at Kansas City BBQ in downtown SD today.

 The event is organized to welcome newly accepted students from the local area and see if they have any questions regarding coming to KU.

 Taylor worked the event as an Ambassador and she brought me along as "parent perspective".

KU has been the perfect place for Taylor and I hope we were able to show prospective students/families that it would be the perfect school for them too!

Carnival Panorama Day #6 & #7

We spent our last 2 days at sea enjoying lots of sunshine with time to relax.  I actually finished a book,

we took naps and drank fruity drinks,

ate a lot of yummy treats

and just enjoyed the view!

We made a few more stops for Southern Peaches at Pig and Anchor,

saw more shows and comedy acts

and had one last dinner with our favorite server Maysae.

It was a wonderful week away from school/work and a great time to have the four of us together!

Carnival Panorama Day #5

 Today we arrived in our last port of Puerto Vallarta.  Unfortunately it rained the entire day, but we made the most of out it.  We took a taxi to the waterfront downtown

 and checked out the beaches.

These were definitely the best beaches of the trip so we were bummed we couldn't enjoy them.

 Taylor made friends with a shop owner's cat

 and we went in and out of the local shops to stay dry and check out some really cool art and souvenirs.

The town square and church were decorated with such beautiful color and we hope to get back to this spot for sure!

We had lunch under a covered patio

and then back on the boat to dry off.  We spent the rest of the day in the gym and seeing some comedy shows after dinner.  Allison also met some really nice teenagers in the Club 02 teen club so she spent some time with them too.