My brother Matt wrote,
"All,
They say all good things must come to an end. I am not sure I entirely buy into that. I'd jump at the chance to keep cruisin' the Caribbean with you all. Even if the rough seas, cheesy greetings from the cruise director, and gaining 3 pounds a day grew old--hanging with you all never would. We created so many wonderful memories. The whole drive home, and now here at home, I just keep thinking about all that we crammed into our week on the high seas. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. If I had a wish, I'd wish that we could turn back time a week. A week ago we were cruising though the Gulf, and just getting ready to sit down to our first dinner in the dining room--full of anticipation, and soon to be very full of warm chocolate melting cake!! I am sure all week long, as I sit in my office I will be thinking about what we were doing exactly a week prior. My mind seems to work that way, and it will be a great way to re-live all of the memories.
It was so great to see you all. I don't feel like I was able to spend the one-on-one time with each of you that I would have liked, but I am grateful for the time I was able to spend with each of you. I love and admire you all so much. I wish that circumstances allowed for us to spend more time together. But I am grateful for the time we are able to spend.
A special thanks to Mom and Dad for making this all possible. You both are the greatest. We are all lucky to have you. Thank you for your generosity, and your commitment to creating experiences like this. Also, thank you to Rob, Rach, Dan, and all others that were involved in planning such great excursions. Melissa, for the shirts. And, we mustn't forgot Helaman's little buddy that smuggled us back to the big boat--otherwise we might be languishing somewhere on the Yucatan peninsula . . . on second thought, that might beat the alternative . . . going to work tomorrow.
Root 'n Wings Est. 1972.
Love and miss you all, Matt"
And as a follow up he wrote, "'I'm standing on the street corner, and just got a big whiff of second-hand smoke. It made me miss the cruise.;)"
Nana wrote, "Matt and All,
And from sister Natalie, " Dear Family,No one can say it better than Matt. I am sitting here on the couch at Justin's with ice packs on my knees and grabbed Dad's laptop for a quick peak at my emails. The week together was wonderful and last night I kept thinking that the times I have all my children together are too few and too seldom but I will treasure the memories forever. I second Matt's thanks and appreciation to Rachel and Rob for all their time and effort in getting us organized and lining up such great excursions. I have to admit our trip to Tulum and the ferry situation caused me some stress but once we got to Tulum I felt calm and decided that the Lord would provide........thanks to Helaman and his connections! Love you all more than words can tell...........Miles and Siena and Cyrus are on their way to the other side of the world. We definitely have to get together and make it happen without too much time passing. The shirts..........Roots and Wings Est. 1972 truly reflects what Dad and I did our best (however imperfect) to accomplish through the years. Thanks to Melissa for coming up with our family theme.......Couldn't be more proud or grateful for all of you!!Dad kept telling me how happy he was to see you all together. The interaction between the cousins was a highlight for him and for both of us. We have a wonderful family!!Good night for now and lots of love to all!
Mom"
I too agree with Matt, Mom and Rach. What a wonderful adventure we all experienced. Someone in our ward asked me yesterday if I had any "magical" moments. I thought back and really the magical moments for me were the times we were all together enjoying each others company whether playing games in the conference center, catching and getting stingray massages, scrambling up a waterfall with 5,453 other people, eating, smuggling on boats, boarding the "Sea Fire" with Captain Gleeson and Carl (whom I called Kerry) while speculating why Captain Crosby was in court, eating, snorkeling*, doing the conga line while wearing mardi gras beads and masks, more eating, the list goes on...eating... But, for me the truly magical, magical moment was all of us together at Tulum. I felt a peace there and I am so glad we had that chance to be there and experience that together as a family. So, the person that asked me about that...said, "when you get stressed or overwhelmed close your eyes and go back to Tulum....what did you feel, see, smell, hear...I have put it to the test and you know what... I can't help but smile. So, think of your magical moment or maybe even food...:) and go there when you get stressed or bogged down. Thank you to each of you. Thank you deeply to Mom and Dad for giving us the opportunity to create these memories.
Love you all and miss you already....Bren- I haven't stopped missing you...I'm glad Jorgen was there-he reminds me of you in many ways (doll) !
Natalie
* I did a little research on my coral reef scratch. It is called "reef rash" and it itches like crazy!!! Apparently it can take up to weeks (I hope that means 2) to heal completely. I hope the rest of you are peeling evenly. ;) For those of you who used waterproof sunscreen this doesn't apply..."
And finally, one more from Nana,"This will be short because my modem died so I can't access internet except via phone. I loved reading Natalie's magical moments. I regret I let the anxiety of being left behind in Mexico impact my experience. However, it is true that once we arrived in Tulum I felt a peace and that I should trust all would be well as it turned out to be. Even though I had been to Tulum before I was amazed by the beauty of the setting and Helaman's insights impressed me even though I don't remember them word for word.
I agree the best part was just being together. Dinner every night and seeing our dancers is what I like to close my eyes and see again. The picture taken of us all when we boarded is on my night stand and both Dad and I looked at it last night just before we turned out the light. Now I wish I had splurged and bought you all a copy. It is a great picture! At the eye doctor. Love you all so much!
We need to make a commitment to all get together. Dad kept saying how seeing the cousins together made it all worthwhile. I agreed. Plus for me anytime i am with all our children I feel complete. Missed Bren!! One day I was walking behind Jorgen who was skipping along and I thought "there goes Bren"
Love you all,
Mom"
It really was such a great trip!!!! Hopefully some pictures will be coming!
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