Monday, October 20, 2008

Honeymoon Sandal's Negril, Jamaica

I'll be posting some of the pics I have a little backwards. I haven't received my wedding pictures back, so I'll start with the Honeymoon. We had some photos taken by the resort at sunset which was fun, but the poses where a little strange.

This was our first full day of being in Jamaica. We were going for dinner at Kimono's that night which is like a hibachi. It was our favorite place to eat. We started with appetizers, then salads, and then fried rice my favorite. They also made chicken, steak, and then 3 seafoods mixed together.

We also did a lot of snorkeling while we were there. It was my first time ever to snorkel, so I was a little slow at first, but got the hang of it quick. Gib was very good at it. We snorkeled 4 different days to 4 different locations. We had a guide named D.T., double trouble, flava flave, etc. He was Hilarious. And Toby took underwater pics while we were snorkeling.
The sunsets in Negril are beautiful when you get one. We were there during hurricane season, so we had lots of cloudy days, but we did get a few amazing sunsets (5:45pm).





While we were in Jamaica we had to go deep sea fishing. We were so excited to do this. It rained pretty hard the whole night before and was still sprinkling in the morning. There was an amazing rainbow out that morning though. We were the first to arrive to where the small boat would pick us up at so when we got on board we were the first to catch a fish. They had seven lines out at a time and we were on the water for 5 hours. We didn't catch anything! Well, I should take that back we caught a small lizard fish right off shore, but I think that they put this fish on there before we left, or maybe it was just bait. We were kind of bummed, but that's the luck of fishing. Our guide, Martin was very cool and hung out with us the whole time talking about just about anything. And just for your information I was the only girl not to throw up on this trip, Thanks to our neighbor Lisa for getting us Dramamine.


I would have to say my favorite part of the trip was going to Rick's Cafe to cliff jump. I was the first to jump and I chickened out of the 35 foot jump, but did the 25 foot. Gib did the 35 foot jump. It was so much fun after you finally got the nerve to jump. The water was so crystal clear blue. The professional jumpers would jump from 50 foot platforms after doing a handstand for a few minutes and begging for money. And then there was a guy who jumped from a dead tree that is 70 feet high, but he would only jump once he was given $20 from the crowd. It was so worth it.


I'm not sure if what I'm about to say next was Gib's favorite, but it had to be at the top of his list. We found out from some other guests that you could kayak out to this little island that was not part of Sandal's property. The island was completly untouched. No buildings or restrooms. Over there was some fisherman that trapped fresh lobster. You got to pick out of the cage which lobster you wanted and then they would chop it in half and put it on the grill with butter and garlic. There was a small fee for this, but all the guys over there loved us because we brought a cooler full of beer, wine and water over and shared with them. It was such an experience. Cats roaming all around trying to eat any scraps. And there was a few other couples over there at the same time. Obviously not from the US, they were basically nude. It was very different. And after we were done, we kayaked back by Hedonism, which is a nudey resort, and you won't believe this but the song, I Like Big Butts came on and all we could see was a bunch of naked people shaking what the good lord gave them. It was hilarious. I didn't eat, but I enjoyed drinking and sitting on the beautiful beach. If we would have known about this place earlier, I'm sure we would have been over there everyday.


This was our bus/taxi driver, Perry, that picked us up at the airport and drove us to the hotel. I was his co-pilot and asked him lots of questions during the hour and a half trip.

And last but not least we have a few pics with Norman. Norman is 59 years old and he has been growing his dreads since 1995. Norman was the creator of a few qifts we bought for our friends and family.

More to come when I get some more time and more pics! I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

We are home!

We made it home from Jamaica late Sunday night and we both had Monday off to try and get our lives together for the work week. Our house looks like a bomb went off in it. We had a beautiful day for our wedding and I'm looking forward to sharing pics when I get them. Our reception/dance was awesome we partied all night long. I feel like I didn't get to talk to everyone there, but I tried. I really appreciate all our friends and family who traveled to be with us on our special day. Words can't express what you all mean to us. Jamaica was very nice. We were sad to leave but so excite to be home to eat a great steak and potato and visit our friends. I will start to work on photos as I get them. As of now I only have the sunset pics the resort took and the pics I took the whole week we were there. I'm hoping to see the wedding pics in the next week or two. And if any of you have pics please email them to me.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Getting ready for the Big Day!

So we are almost ready to tie the knot. It's been beautiful here recently so we hope to get a nice day. I've been checking the 10 day forecast everyday, and it's finally showing Saturday. As of now Thursday will be Sunny and 75, Friday Partly Cloudly and 72, and Saturday Partly Cloudy and 69. I really just pray it doesn't rain on Saturday. I know they say it's good luck to rain on your wedding day, but I really want to take pictures outside! Most of the planning is done with just a few little tasks to complete this weekend. Gib & I are very excited to go on our Honeymoon to Jamaica. It really can't come soon enough. Family will start rolling in already on Wednesday so we are very excited. It has been years since Gib has seen his Dad and I've never met him so we will be spending some much deserved time together. I'm very excited to see my two out of town bridesmaids Jen and Karly. It has been what seems like forever since I've seen them.
In other news, I became an Aunt again last week. Her name is Kaylee Sue and she is absolutely adorable. And my best friend from Chiropractic school just had her first baby on Tuesday, Jack. I wish I could see the Hanson family at the wedding, but with the baby just being born, now is not the time for them to travel.

Kaylee Sue Youngstrom
8lbs. 2oz. 20"
Born 9-12-08 @ 8:17am

Jack Lee Hanson

7lbs. 3oz 21"

Born 9-16-08 @ 1:45pm

Monday, June 30, 2008

Donald & Lois Celebrate 60 years

The extended family all came to help Grandpa & Grandma celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary at Cedar Shores in Chamberlain, SD.


Donald & Lois with their kids.


Marie's family.


Raymond's family.


Nancy's family.


Marjorie's family.


Marvin's family.


The old cotton wood trees.


Raymond & Sue's house on the old farm.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Summer Fun

Gib's 30th Birthday was celebrated with a poker party! $50, 50 chips and guess who won....yes it was Gib, and I came in second, but that's only because I thought I better let him win.


We started off the summer with a quick boat ride over Memorial Weekend. It was a beautiful weekend, but the water was still a little cold. The girls (Shantel & Kylie) had a great time.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Crystal's Wedding!

Crystal & Ryan's Wedding Day! What an event it was. I was very privileged to be a part of their very special day. Crystal is one of my best friends in Sioux Falls. She's the best!