Alice's Dance Recital

 

Ladies' Cruise

All the ladies in our 5 bunk room at the bottom of the ship.  We were moved to a less desirable dining time, but Katie's powers of persuasion and Maureen's wheelchair pity landed us the earlier dining time so we could get to the ship shows by 8 PM.

The church turned speakeasy party palace in Ensenada, Mexico.

I am SO glad that Katie, Heather, and I took this segway tour; even if it ended with my bruising my bum.

Ensenada bathroom feeling fresh.

Abby was 20ish weeks pregnant and handled this trip with hilarious flair.  She makes pregnancy seem easy.

We all piled in and met some adorable multi-cruisers and got all the hot tips.  The gentleman sitting by me was a fellow Mormon from SoCal here with his cute family.

Catalina looking for the perfect dress for fancy night.

Catalina Island.

Maureen rolled her ankle pretty severely on Night One of Cruise dancing.  So unfortunate, but she kept her spirits high!

Exploring the Queen Mary in Long Beach before boarding Carnival Inspiration.

All dolled up on fancy night.

He was our favorite server/ exotic dancer.  Seriously his dancing was so sensual.  We were curious about his sexuality, and he surprised us by having a wife and 3 kids.

Messy room shared with 5 women and all our tools for getting ready.  Wouldn't have it any other way.

My friend Jessica Whitaker's amazing friend group from Nevada.  They karaoke'd every night.

Pixelated Prom Photo

A few of us had planned to share the french toast, becuase we weren't too hungry at breakfast the second morning. The waiter said we definitely needed to each have our own..it wasn't TOO big.....

Fate brought us together one last time as we waited in line to reenter the Port in Long Beach, US

 

Eleanor liked her souvenirs the best out of all the kids.  Good thing too, because when I got back she was a little resentful of me being gone for the week.

Natalie Pilates Instructor Background

    I was so grateful that I was able to get certified as a Pilates Instructor in January 2020 before the world turned upside down.  Like any new trade, it demanded a lot of time and energy away from my kids and normal routine to learn and memorize and create Pilates regimens and classes.  However, so fulfilling to learn and grow and complete something hard.  Also, Reformer Pilates is so beneficial and unique compared to any other fitness classes I've experienced.  The emphasis on breathing and core connect is fascinating and as an active fitness instructor with a recurring lower back injury that was near impossible to rest, I found the stretching and safer resistance training to be amazingly healing.  

    I was able to teach one class in Garden Grove weekly until the cases reached the Purple Tier in Orange County mid November 2020 and the gyms were vastly shut down.  We had to modify the way we conducted classes slightly because of coronavirus and of course wear masks while teaching.  This was slightly challenging granted that I was pregnant and nauseaus and would gag in my mask from time to time, but the members were always patient and willing to be pushed to their strength limits. I am one of those instructors who relishes the reputation of being the "hard teacher", and I can't wait to come up with more Pilates workouts that flow through total body strength and flexibility when the pandemic lets up.

This shot was taken after I passed my final exam/tryout and was given the green light to teach.

My reformer room before class 6.5 months pregnant.