Caribbean Cruise

So, I know you're all anxiously waiting for some pictures of our fabulous Caribbean cruise last month. These pictures will be the highlight of your day, right? I hate to disappoint for to much longer so I'm going to take the time and actually make your day. Hopefully the post won't be to lengthy and terribly boring; I've tried to narrow down the 100+ pictures we took.

We start off our wonderful vacation in Miami. We stayed overnight in a hotel and next day had to wait until noon to get on the ship.

Here's the lovely Tori patiently waiting to start her adventure.

Evan finally on the fabulous Freedom of the Seas cruise ship enjoying the Miami skyline.

Farewell to Miami.

Evan not wasting any time and starting his fabulous vacation climbing the rock wall on the cruise ship.

A view of the H2O zone. This is a pool for the kiddies. There was actually three pools; a pool for the kids, a pool for anyone, and a pool for adults only. We enjoyed them all.

So, the first night on our cruise we experienced VERY rough seas. What a way to start your first experience cruising. Tori and I were sick and couldn't enjoy the great food they entire first day. I actually crawled in bed early at 6pm and tried to sleep away the sea sickness. While I was sleeping Todd, Evan, and Tori went up on deck and tried to walk in the strong wind. What a way to kick off our adventure.

This is our second night and things are MUCH better. The rocking of the ship has reduced dramatically and I was actually able to enjoy the delicious food they had for dinner.

Up on deck taking in the fresh air and enjoying the sun. I would add pictures of Todd, Evan, and Tori enjoying the fresh air if I had pictures. They were all to busy enjoying the fun on-board activities. Me.... I'm all about chilling by the pool or ocean or whatever.

The chefs on the cruise were amazing. Here's a monkey made entirely from fruit that was displayed on an outdoor midnight buffet table.

A cheesy grin from my hot husband while sitting at a table along the promenade, mall like hallway with shops and restaurants. The kids loved the pizza place.... unlimited pizza and soda... a teenagers dream come true!

That's just a few photos of our time on the lovely Freedom of the Seas. Now we come to my favorite part of the cruise; visiting the islands. Our first stop is on the Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, due to rough seas we were delayed in our arrival to this island so didn't have much time to spend and explore.















Todd and Evan anxiously waiting to disembark and get back on land after two days of rough seas.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Farewell to Puerto Rico.

Hello to St. Thomas, which is our next stop on our fabulous vacation. We loved St. Thomas and the beach Megan's bay, considered one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world. It really was beautiful.

This isn't Megan's bay but the St. Thomas port that our ship was docked in... isn't it gorgeous?

It rained just a little while we were waiting to get off the boat and we were able to capture this beautiful rainbow.

Overlooking Megan's bay.

Awwwww we finally made it to the warm, clear blue waters.

Farewell to St. Thomas, a gorgeous island. Our final stop on our fabulous vacation is the island of St. Maarten. I'll stop boring you for today and finish up with pictures from St. Maarten another day.

Out With a Bang!

The last weeks of December of been filled with excitement and fun for the Glassford family. We have been working hard to send 2008 go out with a bang. We went on a cruise to the Caribbean December 14-21 and lots of fun doing things like this....


Leaving the port of Miami, Florida (Evan is really excited, honestly).

Getting ready to go rock climbing.... on a cruise ship!

Going ice skating.... on a cruise ship!

Going surfing ..... on a cruise ship!

Enjoying Christmas in Puerto Rico! Absolutely gorgeous weather and a beautiful park for the Cruise ship tourists to enjoy.

More on our cruise, the beautiful islands we visited, and the fun times we had at a later time. Back to my original subject, which is sending 2008 out with a bang! Upon our return from our fabulous vacation we came home to this.....

We came home to Christmas and lots and lots of lovely Utah snow. It was a shock for us to land in cold and snowy Utah clothed only in flip-flops and t-shirts but we were still happy to be home and looking forward to Christmas. The kids only received one present this year because we planned to have out present be the cruise (the fabulous cruise); even with just one present the kids had a great Christmas.

Evan was excited because he got the one X-box 360 game he was asking for over the last two months.

Tori loved her present also and was still sporting her lovely hairstyle from our visit to the island of St. Maarten.

We were thrilled to have Spencer home with us; he enjoyed his present also.

My present was to have my hot husband cook breakfast for me and the kids. I love it! Isn't it an awesome sight to see a handsome guy with an apron on?

After breakfast, we went outside to enjoy the snow. Don't know why exactly.... 'cause it was cold... brrrrrrr.

So, you would think all of this is enough to say we are seeing 2008 go out with a bang... but wait... I'm not done yet. A few days after Christmas, Spencer had to have an emergency to surgery to have his appendix removed.

Thank heavens he made it through just fine and is recovering nicely.

To top things off, we all went skiing today at beautiful Sundance ski resort to celebrate the last day of the year.

It was a beautiful day up there. The perfect way to end the year; the Glassford's have done their best to say goodbye to 2008. Out with a bang! Happy New Year to all our family and friends. May 2009 be everything you hope for and we wish you all the best.

Merry Christmas

We're back from the Caribbean and want to wish all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas. While we stay cozy in our home away from the 20 degree temperatures and foot of snow, we'll be dreaming of our Caribbean vacation.

We'll be dreaming of our feet on the soft sands of St. Thomas island....















Catching the waves in the warm Caribbean seas....

and enjoying the sunset on the fabulous boat, Freedom of the Seas.

Merry Christmas from the Glassfords!

Bon Voyage!

We're escaping the cold and headed to the Caribbean! The Glassford family is going on vacation and we leave tomorrow.... AND I'm so stinkin' excited! We decided a few years ago that our kids have just to much dang stuff and it's become almost a chore to figure out what to get them each Christmas, because like I said, they have to much dang stuff. So, we decided instead of presents we would go on a family cruise..... and we're leaving tomorrow!

Christmas Recipe Idea

My cousin-in-law (is that a correct term?) has this great recipe blog I love to visit. Right now she's got this great recipe for Homemade Marshmallows. A great idea to make for Christmas and, IF you're good enough to actually make the marshmallows look appetizing, it's a great idea to give to the neighbors along with her homemade hot cocoa recipe.

Here's a picture of how her marshmallows turned out.... soooo cute... along with the recipe and link to her blog. Her name is Janet Eyring and her blog is called Recipes and More Check it out!

Homemade Marshmallows & Peeps
Ingredients:
2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Method:

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment. Let it stand 30 minutes. Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 cup of water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals.
Clip on a candy thermometer; raise heat to high. Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244 degrees (firm-ball stage). Immediately remove pan from heat. With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into the softened gelatin. Increase speed to high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla; beat to incorporate. Generously dust an 8 x 12-inch glass baking pan with confectioners' sugar. Pour marshmallow mixture into pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar; let stand overnight, uncovered, to dry out. Cut marshmallows with sprayed and dusted cookie cutters for fun shapes. Lightly dust remaining sides with powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

I didn't forget Thanksgiving. My dancing elves post may have distracted me from the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday for a moment but not for long. I absolutely love Thanksgiving. To me it's a holiday that is centered on family and being grateful for all that I have in my life, which is A LOT. I love my husband, my children, my parents, my sisters and brother, my extended family, wonderful friends, and so much more.

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday at my home where we hosted dinner for Mom and Dad, Glen and his family, Kayce and her family, Rebecca, and Carol. I loved every minute of the chaos and house full of kids. I was able to get several pictures of the event but I'm posting my favorite one below.

Can you guess why this is my favorite? ......... It totally makes me laugh.......... Do you see Evan just digging in to that big ol' turkey leg. That is a priceless picture and one that Evan is going to be so mad at me for posting.

Another favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the PIES!!!!

We had all sorts of pies to gorge ourselves with this year. We had the traditional pumpkin pie (thanks Kayce!), yummy chocolate cream pie (thanks Mom!), and delicious pumpkin cheesecake. The pumpkin cheesecake is something I make every year because of all the requests. All year long, all I hear is "Marcy when ya making that yummy pumpkin cheesecake?" I just blush from all the praise I recieve. (you all know I'm just being silly, right?)

Seriously, I can't take the credit for this yummy cheesecake. I wish I could. I got the recipe for this cheesecake from Libby's Pumpkin website, http://www.verybestbaking.com/default.aspx. It has some yummy, yummy recipes. Here's the recipe for the Pumpkin Cheesecake, give it a try.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Ingredients:
CRUST
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar

CHEESECAKE
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz can) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

TOPPING
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:PREHEAT oven to 350° F.FOR CRUST: COMBINE graham cracker crumbs, butter and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes (do not allow to brown). Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.FOR CHEESECAKE: BEAT cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Add cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat well. Pour into crust.BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until edge is set but center still moves slightly.FOR TOPPING: COMBINE sour cream, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in small bowl; mix well. Spread over surface of warm cheesecake. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan.