Anniversary Cruise to Mexico

I'm not sure where to start and feel somewhat overwhelmed to try to describe a fun-filled week of vacation into a small blog. So, I don't want to bore you, and will spare you the details...as I'm sure I'll be able to tell most of you in person anyways.

In short: The cruise was super rocky the first two days of our cruise and I'm not sure if it has to do with the ever so fun hurricane "Dolly." Either way, it was definitely rocky at first but definitely got better as the week went on (thank goodness).

Our first stop was Cabo San Lucas, which was a lot of fun but incredibly HOT! We took a catamaran down to Chileno Bay where we snorkeled. Plenty of fish, sting rays, jelly fish, and an octopus later, we headed back just in time (10 minutes later after the LAST tender boat was to leave for the ship). Ooops!

Mazatlan followed Cabo; where we just took a tour of the town, ate at a "World Famous Shrimp" restaurant and did some shopping. It was a very nice day in Mazatlan which was a nice break after a scorching hot day in Cabo.

Puerto Vallarta was SO much fun! We zip lined from 12 platforms, some 75 ft. high, taking about an hour to get through, in a forest of Puerto Vallarta. Super fun! I've worked the zip lines at Forest Home before so I was a little familiar where Jeff has never done it before. We both loved it! Not a fan of the walk back though...

The days of cruising (3 total) were fun but we did get a little "cabin fever" at the end. It did help though to see the vast marine life in the ocean; whales, sea lions, and dolphins, which often swam along with the ship. Definitely entertaining!

Overall, it was SUCH a relaxing time! It's crazy to think it's been a year already! I love it!

Some pics: Our Ship: Vision of the Seas, taken as we were tendering back to the ship in Cabo.

Cabo San Lucas: "Los Arcos," which is the very tip of Baja California (for those who don't know)



Mazatlan: The rocks in the picture below are called the "Two Brothers." They say that the Pelicans come out at night and "paint" the rocks...also known as bird poo...

Yep, that's one of the 5 divers that dive off this platform everyday. The platform is about 45 ft. high and that water below is only 6 ft deep. There were 6 (not joking), one died 6 months ago doing this, yet they continue to do this and make a living off of tips from those watching below. CRAZY!!


Puerto Vallarta: This bird gave kisses. The tongue felt like leather against the skin. Good times!
Picture in front of our ship, waiting to go on our Canopy Tour (zip line). Just to the right is the Disney Magic ship. Both ships were always in port together.
This is SUCH a great picture, considering this line was a free spin, meaning you sat back in your harness as they spun you going across the line. This picture was in mid spin :)
Our friend JackWe were delayed 3+ hours in Puerto Vallarta because they routinely had to clean the bottom of the ship getting rid of barnacles, etc. Apparently there was a lot more than anticipated so they had divers cleaning the bottom of the ship for hours, causing a major delay. No worries though, as we waited we saw a huge storm come in which was awesome. Lots of thunder and a great lightning show!


I had to include these. Every night, you come back to a towel animal on your bed. The elephant was my favorite, and the second one...well, the verdict is still out on what that is. But it has the appropriate attire on it's head.

It's 9 days away!!!!

WOW!! I can't believe our one year anniversary is just 9 days away! ONE YEAR! It truly has gone by so fast!! I'm excited that we get to celebrate our one year on a 7 day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. Definitely looking forward to that!!! I'm also looking forward to the many years to come :)!! This last year has been awesome and I am so incredibly blessed to be Jeff's wife! He truly is an amazing man of God, patience, kindness and love! Jeff, I'll love you always!! Happy anniversary!

Our first 4th of July!

A little late, but here's some pictures of our 4th of July. The Cowell's got together as usual to play games, hangout, and watch fireworks at Hurless park. They set the fireworks off at the park, so needless to say, there's always a great view of the fireworks. 4th of July is, by far, one of my favorite holidays and look forward to it every year. Yep, I'm one of those that tear up every now and then while they play those familiar patriotic signs while they set off fireworks. I just love it!!

Here's a few pictures of the night:


Kristy and I

Hmmmm......

This is how our nephew, Judah, watches fireworks. He's not a big fan of them but these "big ears" as he calls them or actually his grandpa's ear protection when he works, makes him feel better.

Micah...super cute pic!

The fireworks

Let the sewing begin!

Ok, so some of you know that I'm getting back into sewing...which I haven't done since high school, which is over 10 years ago so I'm a little rusty. Not to mention, I've had to reteach myself on some of the very basics. But, anyways, I've thoroughly enjoyed it and have a renewed love for sewing.

With it, has come a whirlwind of craziness; in that, my sister-in-law and I have an online shop now of dresses and accessories, called "MooBabies." Ashlee, being the one who does the super cute accessories (hair bands, barretts, and so on). The shop definitely needs some work, but overall, I'm super excited! The shop's on a site where you can buy and sell handmade items, called "Etsy."

Out of all this dress making and accessory making comes modeling....which Ashlee's girls do so well at! We got together last week and had them model while my other sister-in-law, Kristy, took pictures. A lot of super cute pictures! Thanks Kristy!

Here are a few pictures. Feel free to visit our Etsy shop if you like, but remember, our online shop needs a lot of work still :). www.MooBabies.etsy.com


Fun white and beige linen outfits

Red and white gingham sun dress

I just love this picture! This top can also be a dress for the littler ones.

Super fun ladybug sun dress that can be reversible :)

Matching hair band. I love this!! Ashlee does such a good job!

Cute halter dress!

Family Outings

My family was able to come out to Cali and visit!! It was a last minute trip which worked out really well, as they got to be here for a full week vs. just a couple of days (I'll spare you the details). So, we visited the typical locations...or attractions, I should say; Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. SO much fun and SO very hot :)

In between the days of Knott's and Disney, my Aunt took us all out to "Pirates Dinner Adventure" in Buena Park, which is similar to "Medieval Times." All in all, it was fun. Good dinner, good entertainment...not much of a story line to watch but great acrobatics and good times.

I've put up a couple pictures from the rides. My family, particularly my brother, always does something funny for the camera...as you can see.

The other hilarious thing is the truly terrified look on virtually every ride from my nephew Chad. He got to be a "big boy" this year and ride most of the rides as he barely met the height requirement. He met his challenge of experiencing new rides...but I have to say, he was a little nervous most every ride but ended up loving them at the end. Of course, you can't tell that from the pics and video. I laughed at these for hours!!


This video is from a fairly new ride at Knott's, called "Sierra Sidewinder". You are put in these little "pods" that rotate throughout the whole ride. On each of these pods is a camera which videos the whole thing. The beginning part of the video is a small intro to the ride itself...eventually you can see Chad...having the time of his life. Don't worry about the stuff after they ride...as it's just more info about Knott's.

(Quality of video is low...sorry about that. You can't get Chad's true reaction but you can kind of see the fear in his face)

Personalities in Pictures

So, Jeff's Sister-in-law, Kristy, got this from her friend's blog and now I am putting it on mine :). This was too fun! I recommend that you do it!

The concept:
a. Go to flickr.com
b. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
c. Using ONLY the first page, pick an image.
d. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.


The Questions :
1. What is your first name? Heather
2. What is your favorite food? Mashed Potatoes (baked...french fries...I like it all)
3. What high school did you go to? Yucaipa High School
4. What is your favorite color? Red
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Patrick Dempsey
6. Favorite drink? Diet Coke
7. Dream vacation? Bora Bora
8. Favorite dessert? Brownies and Ice Cream
9. What you want to be when you grow up? A Teacher
10. What do you love most in life? Love
11. One Word to describe you. Compassionate
12. Your flickr name. Buckeye fan

Here are Jeff's:



1. What is your first name? Jeff
2. What is your favorite food? Pasta
3. What high school did you go to? El Dorado High School
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Will Ferrell
6. Favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
7. Dream vacation? Ireland
8. Favorite dessert? German Chocolate Cake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? A dad
10. What do you love most in life? Learning
11. One Word to describe you. Funny
12. Your flickr name. Luckyboots

Ohio Trip

Jeff and I got to go back to Ohio to spend time with family, but more importantly, see my cousin get married. It was SO great to see everyone, I just can't get enough of Ohio!! Nothing like being at Grandma and Grandpa's beautiful house with all of us together. We don't get the chance to see each other a lot but when we do, it is so much fun. Plus, I laugh a lot!!

It was a little crazy the first night as storms delayed my brother and sister-in-law in Chicago. There's a joke now that if you want to go anywhere, don't travel with my sister-in-law. For some reason, when she travels there is always something that goes wrong and it typically is delayed or cancelled flights. This vacation was no different as there flight was cancelled coming into Ohio and flying back home (there flight was cancelled keeping them in Denver for the night). Anyways, there was a huge storm in Ohio the night we got in. All night long we listened to rain and thunder and saw tons of lightning.

I apologize in advance for all the pictures :). Here's a few pictures of G and G's house:

The front of the house

The pond, looking toward their neighbors house

The good ol' tire swing

The backside of the house

Just part of the backyard

Some pics of the wedding:

The happy couple

The wedding cupcakes

Jeff and I (one of the MANY weddings we've been to in the last year)

Before the wedding, my brother wanted to visit a few grave sites of my Grandma's family...since he hadn't been in awhile. This particular grave site is my Grandma's brother who fought in World War II. He died about 2 weeks after his 20th birthday.

So, my cousin's daughter Ava is super cute and is a Buckeye fan in training. Seriously, every time she comes in the house, she seeks out Brutus the Buckeye. This one plays music, which she just loves to the point that she cries when it stops. Oh, and the family is training her on giving Brutus a high five and kissing Brutus the Buckeye...which she does. We're so proud!!

What can I say.....priceless!