Random Days...

This morning I was thinking to myself that since we got back from Colombia our lives have been kinda quiet and non eventful... then I thought... wait a second... the hell it is.. haha. Our "quiet" is very busy compared to others I know. Here are some random pics with a few words about the last couple of weeks since we got back from vacation.

Debbie has always wanted to paint our bedroom and bathroom. We finally broke down and painted what she calls "sand" color and gloss white trim and flat white ceilings. Whatever color it is it looks wonderful... she has quite the eye and incredible taste... I have none so we make a great match lol. The 2 pictures below she just had matted and framed a couple of weeks ago and now we have a home for them. The first one is one we bought in Colombia... tons of art work with chubby people for some reason down there. The second picture is artwork from a trip Debbie made to Fiji several years ago.

Our lil Brock had his 13th birthday!!! He is now officially a teenager... man how time flies. He is quite spoiled.... he got a flat screen TV from us and his dad bought him a Kinect for his Xbox so he has been playing video games for weeks with that new set up. Debbie took him to IFly in Ogden Utah. Its a wind tunnel and they teach you how to fly... so to speak. Here is the link.. it is the coolest thing. Ifly Link

Of course its St Patties day in March and we always celebrate with our buddies up in Logan. We love our little pocket of friends up there. It makes for a great date night to run up and have dinner with the buds.

Its starting to get a little warmer so I took the flannel nighty off my little yellow rocket (Victory Hammer), cleaned it up and shot around the neighborhood for 10 minutes vibrating every window as I roared by. LOVE IT... but it was too cold for this fair weather rider... back in the garage it went.

Poor Cassidi had an accident a few days ago and crashed her car. Cass is fine, thank goodness, but her car is NOT. She called me crying right after it happened and I said "have you called your mom" she said "NO" so I called Debbie and she drove down to the accident.. it was only a mile down the road by Brock's school. I found out later she called me first because "I am nicer and was afraid of mom" haha. So Cass is driving Debbie's Yukon for now and poor Debbie is stuck at home with out transportation. But tonight, we go get the Mercedes. Super fast car with a big V8 stuffed under the hood. Debbie wants to race me on the bike... she thinks she could take me... I laugh in her face.. bring it on...

So last night, Monday, we were sitting in the living room and decided to go shopping at Costco. We bought a few things and we lost Cass for a few minutes. She was hiding from us as you can see... crazy girl. Quick note about Costco.... I dont think we have EVER left that place with out spending at least 100 bucks... we are suckers when we go here.

After Costco and after Sushi... Cassidi and her boyfriend Alex said "lets all go bowling" so we went and Cassidi kicked some ass and Debbie tied me at 120. The W is Debbie.... she has a stage name.. Wanda haha and I call her Wicked Wanda. Everywhere we go where they ask her name for food or whatever she says "Wanda" so when the clerks come out with food and yell "WANDA!!" we know its her... she cracks me up. (we have a friend named Wanda so if you read this it has nothing to do with you) :)

In March every year gas prices go CRAZY and so does my work. Debbie calls it "Maverik March Madness". She found a couple of places she wants to send me to during this time every year... one of them is a man convent up in Eden that she threatens me with HA. My phone rings constantly and I work 7 days a week for a month or two. I feel bad but it is what it is and always happens this time of year... and I probably have hitmen in 8 states after me. Debbie has actually been very patient with my work this year and its been UGLY as you know.

So this last picture is a depiction of exactly how we feel after the last number of weeks. Winnie... we feel the same way!!

In other News.

This and That...

• We painted our Master Bedroom and Bathroom. LOOKS FABULOUS
• Brock turn 13. For 10 months of my life all 3 of my kids are teenagers.
• I have had a bad bad stomach since we have been home from Colombia. I probably have a tape worm.
• My hair is blond again and I got my Spring injections. Feels so good! :-)
• For dinner tonight we are going to the Brazilian grill at the Gateway in Salt Lake. It's a business thing.
• We are trying a new church this Sunday with some friends from Layton.
• I have eaten Sushi 3 times this week. Maybe I have been poisoned and that is why my stomach is so bad.. Nope I am back to the tape worm from Colombia.
• Cassidi got her itinerary for Costa Rica. She is going to have the best time.
• For Brocks Birthday we took him to Ifly in Ogden, Utah and it was the bomb. It is a wind tunnel and you kinda sky dive.. COOL.
• My Mom has to have back surgery on April 11th. I am going to go spend a couple weeks with her and Nolan to help her out. My poor Mom.
• George may be the World Worst Dog.
• Steven Tyler is really really sexy on American Idol. He is my guilty pleasure.
• We got all new door knobs and light fixtures for our bedroom and they also look FAB.
• It feels SO SO SO SO SO SO Good to be at home for a couple weeks and not do ANYTHING.
• BYU plays tonight against Florida in the NCAA. and it is hard for me NOT to cheer for BYU because they are a Utah team but I really dislike them enough that I am on the fence.
• I went to lunch with my cousins and my childhood friends yesterday. It was so fun.
• I walked through Lowe's with my zipper undone on Sunday. I mean I walked ALL THE WAY THROUGH LOWE'S FOR QUITE SOMETIME.

so now you know!

Name Change.

So, I waited about 3 years to legally change my name to Campbell, because I wanted to make sure Sam and I worked out.. ha ha. That is not the reason, it was because we are always going out of the Country and I didn't want to send my passport in and not be able to go on a trip. Well little did I know if you wait longer then 2 years after you are married it is just a bigger headache. So now I am knee deep in Social Security, Passport, Bank, and DMV paperwork...

I know don't be jealous!!

Welcome to Fantasy Island.

and the trip continues. The last leg of our trip was on the Island of Mucura, at a resort call Punta Faro. It an entire different blog to tell you of the adventure of getting there in a boat. We got soaked and let me tell you. If you EVER find yourself going on a small boat for 2.5 hours to an island with 40 of your husbands co workers and on a sheet of paper you read sometime it mentioned "you may want a rain coat for the boat ride", by all means take a rain coat and DON'T wear ALL WHITE WITH NO UNDER GARMENTS!! It is a little too Spring Break 1987!

Sam and I getting ready to ride a boat to PARADISE. Me in my shiny cloroxed white nautical outfit looking all fresh and ready for a beautiful small boat ride. HA HA HA LITTLE DID I KNOW!UMMM, about 4 minutes into the boat ride!! :-) The other thing to remember is we took this boat ride to the island during the day but our return boat ride was at 4 in the morning in a pitch black ocean and 8 foot waves!!! Now that was even more interesting! and OMYGOD, Welcome to every dream you ever have about an Island getaway. I seriously could not quite talk when we stepped off this boat! It is THAT gorgeous! The service in Colombia was the best I have ever had. I did not EVER touch my luggage once it was packed. It was put in our rooms for us, taken out of our room and just magically appeared where ever we were. It was the bomb.

Our first few minutes onto he island. We didn't even get our luggage before everyone hit the beach and had our first happy hour. We were the first Americans to be at this resort. It was AMAZING. there were bells on our cabanas that we rang and they brought us drinks. PARADISE! They have a no key policy at this resort. NO locks on your room doors, loved it. No keys to worry about and we had NO problem at all!A LITTLE MORE PARADISE!

The culture. This island is in the Guiness Book of World Records for the most densely populated island in the World. 1500 people on an acre YES, an acre!!. It is a little hard to look at and a little hard to imagine living like these people but they are happy and they don't know a difference. Most of the people that live on this island work on the surrounding islands at the resorts. It is a lot more bizarre to see it in person. 800 kids live on this island...

The food, MORE SEAFOOD... lol. Some of our group did not like seafood, I have no idea what they ate for 2 weeks! The local village.

My sweet husband. I have to say right now that Sam and I have spent A LOT of time together the last month. On top of this trip remember we did Amtrak through Colorado so in 3 weeks we spent almost every day ALL day together and Not one argument, not one dis agreement. We are the best traveling partners you have ever seen not to mention life partners!

Sam went and toured the island with out me. I don't want to complain because I was in Paradise but I got SICK on this trip, Pneumonia sick. So I was in bed coughing up a toe nail and Sam was off kissing this turtle somewhere.

the rooms!!!

So without going on and on and on about this vacation I will end it here. I seriously could write for weeks about our experiences and the fun stories and the beautiful scenery and the great people but I think you probably get the point. Priceless vacation, priceless people, and priceless memories. Thank you Maverik, what a GREAT experience!

Cartagena?

Who would have thought Colombia, fun as hell, spectacular food, architectural wonder, SAFE?

Yea, NOT what we thought when they threw Colombia out of their hat. We thought, drug lords, guns, kidnappings, etc.. etc. about every bad thing you could think of a place. Ten years ago that was a pretty vivid picture of Colombia but now it is pretty much a mecca of everything you want. I have simply never been so surprised of how charming and up to date and wonderful a place could be. It was far better then I EVER imagined. However it is hard to communicate, order food, or shop because it is few and far between to find someone that speaks English but who cares when you are in paradise! The 3 nights we spent in Cartagena was by far the most up scaled. The hotel we stayed at was the nicest in town, it was like a 5 star hotel in Los Angeles. Had EVERYthing and then some.

It was Amazing because we would be walking down the street and think this is the neatest street in the entire place and we would turn the corner and it was even more charming and more beautiful. Seriously!!! Colombia!!!

this is a picture of Sam and I with the "new city" of Cartagena behind us. We stayed in the "old city" which is surrounded by walls. The new city is a CITY, a HUGE city and we were told that it would be safest if we stayed in the old part of town. So we did and it is so charming and unbelievable. What a great, luxurious 3 nights we stayed here. LOVED IT! I seriously felt like I was in Spain, these really small streets with vibrant building on them. I walked down these streets and tried to picture it back in the pirate days and how rough it could have been. It has a real New Orleans feel to it.
Tracey and Larry at La Cevicheria. I loved this food.

The pool 2 the Sofitel. It was so darn hot during the day this is the only place to hang out. Cartagena is on the ocean and has a HUGE beach all along it but we did not venture to the beach. They say that you get so harassed by vendors that it is not worth going to the beach in Cartagena. So this part of the trip we pooled in!

the food was to DIE for..Colombia has a real African feel. So take Spain, Africa, and New Orleans and mix it all together. I have never been any where I have felt so foreign. There are very few white people around and the women in Colombia are GORGEOUS. It is hard not to stare at these people because they are so pretty. The Merchandising group at the Yacht club for the last lunch in Cartagena before we went to Punta Faro!

The "old city" of Cartagena is surrounded by a wall. With forts and cannons and stuff all around it. It was to protect it from pirates in the old days. Now they say if you stay within the "old city" of Cartagena you are safe and when you go out side the walls it is a HUGE city.

More pictures of our hotel. In the 1600's it was a monastery. Carriage ride around Old City Cartagena at night. Was one of my favorite things to do. The city comes ALIVE 2 night. People ALL over just walking and eating and drinking and dancing and sitting in parks.

I am leaving so much out of this blog but how do you put into a blog of one of the best places I have ever been and tell everyone how wonderful it is. If you ever get the chance to go to Cartagena, Colombia don't just go... GO and marvel at every second spent!

the difference between all three places we went was so broad that it seriously felt like we had been on 3 different vacations. The bus ride between the first place we were at and Cartagena was brutal, 6 hours, but it wouldn't be an Adventure if it was easy!

Voted off the Island!

We leave for Colombia at 1:00 a.m. in the morning, fly to Atlanta, fly to Miami, have a HUGE layover in Miami and then fly to Baranquilla Colombia, so I don't need to tell you there was a LOT of exhausted people. So we get to Baranquilla and we find out we have to go by BUS in the dark in Colombia 3 fricken hours to Santa Marta where we will be staying the first night. Let me tell you there were some melt downs, I love a good melt down as long as it is not me. :-) So, we make it to a great beach in Santa Marta have dinner, sleep, have breakfast and get back on a bus to tour Santa Marta and go by bus another "who the hell knows how long" to Tayrona. So we make it to Tayrona and to make a long story really short. They have 8 huts @ Tayrona and we have 10 couples. So 2 couples volunteered to go to some UNKNOWN location in Colombia. So everyone that knows Sam and I knows that we are always up for an ADVENTURE so we volunteered and we were lead off like 4 outcast members to a alternate location. After we PUSH started the car that was taking us to where ever we were going and with a driver that did not speak a any English we were off like a wedding dress.

We ended up here at Playa Koralia. I am the first to say that this resort is not for EVERYONE but it was for Sam and I. WE LOVED it. It was very remote (so much for staying with the group for safety reasons while in Colombia). It has NO hot water. The toilets and showers are OUTSIDE of your room. It was seriously one of the neatest experiences we have ever had. Now Maverik feeling bad about the mix up compensated us VERY well for this stay. I wont go into details but we pretty much got paid to stay at this place for 3 days. SERIOUSLY?

A hut or room where people stayed. They were painted all cute!

This is the reception center. You can not wear shoes into any building and most people that come to this resort is looking for a "nature" experience. They said a lot of Yoga retreats.

I fell in love with this little doll. It was not for sale! :-( This was our outdoor shower. Seriously your head was just outside.. If I can pick the worst part of the 3 days it would be that we had NO hot water, and I am not talking cool water I am talking COLD. The beach!!!! No one around for miles and miles and miles. You better enjoy each other's company because that is pretty much all you got! a River that runs through the resort. You did not order off a menu, You ate what they brought you! Big breakfast and lunches and very small dinner. It was the best food of the trip! The food in Colombia is to die for, but I can't believe I am about to say these words. "I am quite sick of seafood"

The bathrooms off the dining tent.. How cute are they.

Our hut. I love hammocks.. LOVE hammocks!! Give me a hammock and a drink and an ocean and I am a happy girl.

Well this is a strange perk of our trip. We had FROGS everywhere. I mean everywhere. I lifted up the toilet many times to find a frog in the toilet. So Sam wanted me to just pee on the frog and I told him NO WAY.. So the shower drain became the bathroom for me for a couple days.. LOVELY!Our bed, with bug net included. The bug nets work. At night we would let the bug nets out and sleep inside them. We saw FIREFLIES. We watched one the first night weave in and out of our thatched roof of our hut. LOVED it. Made me so happy! This leg of our trip was the most romantic by far. Just Sam and I and Larry and Tracy and the ocean roaring and fireflies, coconut drinks from a fabulous outside bar (picture of Larry, Tracy, and I at the bar). So it was Marvelous, It was not what we had planned those 3 days but non the less marvelous. Sam and I had massages, Tracy and Larry floated down some river.

The hard thing about Colombia is NO ONE speaks English. NO ONE. But how much Spanish do you need to know when sitting on a beach eating, and ordering drinks. NOT VERY!

To be continued...

p.s. When I was packing for this trip I threw in a little flashlight. Brock said to me "Why would you pack that?" my response. "I guess I never know where I am going to end up!" ha. That flashlight saved our lives. It was the darkest I had ever seen it. You could not see an inch in front of your face. It was quite unnerving how fricken dark it was.. Did I mention it was DARK!

Adventure

remember that Maverik's slogan is... "ADVENTURE'S FIRST STOP". and boy did they give us an adventure, or an ADVENTURE!

I am exhausted from the travel of getting there and getting back, however would not be a surreal experience if it was easy. I will blog a little each day about the trip rather than doing one huge blog so I am starting with the trip there.

We had a flight to Atlanta, a flight to Miami, and than the flight to Baranquilla Colombia, and that was just the way there. The layover in Miami was VERY long so we went to South Beach. I had never been to Miami and I am so glad we did this.

South Beach walking trail!

Johnny Walkers on Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive with cute little boutique hotels

Jeff and Carrie at the airport, Do they look tired. I think we did not sleep for about 30 hours!

after Miami we went back to the airport and got ready for the most wonderful two week! There were some bumps in the road, some experiences that I will never forget, and friendships that will span a lifetime.to be continued...