Freedom of the Seas Cruise

In a whirlwind of fun our family set out on a last minute cruise to the Caribbean!   In less than 5 days we booked tickets, rooms, and our adventure began by flying to Florida to board the Freedom of the Seas Royal Caribbean cruise-line.     Our family of four was joined by Uncle Kai and Auntie A.   It was a great time to spend with them.     

Our adventure began out of Fort Lauderdale and we started our cruising on Mother's Day.    Couldn't beat that!  The ship was amazing.  They had a great children's program and how our children's ages fell they were in the same room together so it was perfect!   They both enjoyed the program which gave mom and dad probably the most babysitting we've ever had!     

Day 2 we were at sea and we enjoyed  spending time with the fun the ship had to offer.  We kicked it off with a Character Breakfast and the kids had a good time with that - then enjoyed the pools, an ice skating show, and relaxing.   That night was the first formal night and the kids enjoyed getting dressed up and eating the fancy meal.   Though after that meal we got smarter and we elected to feed the kids around 5:30pm, drop them in the kids area for the evening and the four of us adults enjoyed a later dinner by ourselves at 7pm for the remainder of the cruise. 

Our first stop was Labadee, Haiti.   It was beautiful and as it turned out - our favorite port.  We spent a few hours at a beach with the kids and played with them - and then we took them to childcare beach area that is provided by the cruise ship and the 4 adults went to another beach and enjoyed swimming and relaxing in some shade for another couple of hours before we gathered the kiddos and headed back to the ship.

Day 4  was a stop at Falmouth, Jamaica.  I spent the morning not feeling great so the family headed off the ship and walked around the shopping areas.  After lunch time I was feeling back amid the living and we all got off the ship in search of a beach.  We took an overpriced cab and found a local bit of sand and spent a couple of hours splashing in another beach.  It rained on us a bit and back to the ship.

Next up was the Grand Caymans where we got to enjoy swimming with the dolphins and more beach fun!

 

There was a final stop in Cozumel, Mexico but our family of four decided to stay on the ship and just enjoy the fun that was offered around the ship.     However Uncle Kai and Auntie A did get off the ship and had much fun! 

The other fun feature that we utilized throughout the cruise was the babysitting that was for a large fee - but you got 2 babysitters that would come to your room for about $19 an hour (steep, but worth it!)   So the adults on several nights were able to go out all together and enjoy the various shows, bars, etc., while the kids slept happily in their beds.  We had a good time hanging out - going to the club on the ship and generally enjoying the kid free time.  :)      A and I had met one morning Sergio a bartender who introduced us to Ocean Mimosas and aside from his tasty mixology he was really fun to hang out with - and at least once each night we found time to stop by and hang out!

Overall it was a great great time with family and a lot of fun!   We'd certainly love to do it again! 

To My Children

 Dear Ace and Mae,

It's been a while yet again since I last wrote a letter to you.   So much has changed in just one year.     The phrase the days are long but the years are short is the mantra that we live by around here.     Your giggles fill the house, as the piles, forts, and imagination spread throughout it as you play and run and chase each other.    You are so loud and yet (most of the time) so happy.   

Spring has arrived and so has the sunshine.  Trips to parks, walks, and playing in the backyard has returned as possibilities without frostbite and being soggy from the rain.   I am so looking forward to more of the fun outdoor adventures that we'll have as the spring turns to summer.  

Mae, since my last letter where you were telling everyone you were three (yet you were two)  you have turned three, and yet now  you tell people you are five (like your brother.)   You are constantly are informing us, with your hands on your hips, that you're a big girl now (and you nod in affirmation in case anyone had doubt that should help cement that as fact.)    Sometimes we will refer to you as Baby Girl - and you are quick to respond with your arms out to either side and sort of looking down your nose "Yah, but I am not a REAL baby.  I'm a big girl."   Yes, that is true.     You love to snuggle, you are constantly requesting more hugs and kisses before bed or before I leave.   

Ace,  you're growing up - you're set out on some personal brave adventures recently - and I'm so glad you're seeking independence, I hope you learn the best way to express that independence though and exercise bravery that doesn't leave me hyperventilating.   You're killing it at school and you're doing so well.  You're reading so well, and I most especially love to hear you read to your sister.   I hope you continue to love and protect your little sister every day.   

Mommy loves you both so much and it's hard to believe that time flies go by so quickly.    You might drive me crazy on the day to day life - but every gray hair and mess it well worth it.    As you continue to grow and stretch your world views please hold onto your budding faith in Jesus and lean on him to know right from wrong.  

All my love,  

Your mom

2013 in Photos

The Christmas Train

Yes another year and another successful outing with our family and our Christmas train!   Yes the kids go to bed like any other night and then shortly after we say good night we come back with their tickets and their Santa hats and we board the Christmas Train!     We have Christmas music, decorations in the car, Christmas blankets, a snack (oranges this year!) and we go on an adventure to find great Christmas light displays.   

During our outing we allow the kids to choose the direction from time to time and they love it.  We go out for about an hour and then come back home and put them to bed.    It's a great tradition that we've done for a couple of years and they asked several more times if they could go again on the Christmas Train!  Can't wait until next year!

Christmas 2013

Our Christmas was great!   ...And I am woefully behind on blogging about the close of 2013!  Goodness, I'm going to try and play some catch up and so there will be some blog bursts.  I know, I know - the only acknowledgement to Christmas so far in my blog has been about Ivy the Elf... not even the focus of Christmas in our house!     2014 I'm going to try to be better about blogging and keeping up! Resolved?  Eh maybe.  ;)

Now for Christmas 2013 let's enjoy a photo array of our morning!  This year I did an elapsed timer with the camera set up on the tripod.  I got it going and then just let it go.   Leaving me hands free to enjoy time with the kids and not trying to grab a shot of them opening presents.    It was great!  Later in the afternoon I grabbed the camera and got a few more close up shots of them with their fun.  

The traditional shot at the top of the stairs awaiting the word they're allowed to come down!

Reading the Christmas Story out of Luke before we begin the presents

Merry Christmas, Pixel!

Legos from Grammie!!

Present for dad!  Another Walk Rock Jar they painted (the first one was full!)

Pose for a couple shots here!

Legos and Ninja Turtles.  All boy!

Someone was introduced to Calico Critters this Christmas and she's super excited about them!

We got to chat from afar with my family for 90 minutes.  While my nieces showed me all their presents and I got to laugh and spend time with my family.    I love technology.

We had a wonderful Christmas season!   We hope yours was too!

Ivy the Elf

Yes, for the third year a little elf came to visit our family after Thanksgiving.     For the second year in a row we did the North Pole breakfast which was festive and fun.    The elf arrived and brought donuts, Pez, candy canes, and their 'Christmas' pjs!    Yes, Ace's were Hulk pjs but well he's green... and red and green are traditional Christmas colors.  ;)   He was thrilled.   It was a fun morning (though mommy was quite unhappy with picture quality, fooey!)

The kids again enjoyed the game of hide and seek - they are allowed to touch our elf and play with her throughout the day once both kids have found the elf in the secret spot and as long as she wasn't up high.   If she was up high - mom or dad had to get her down first!   Ace was quite frustrated some mornings because his sister had little desire to find the elf.  It didn't concern her in the least but he desperately wanted to get her before he left for school.   It caused some tension sometimes, but again they loved the elf and the hide and seek game that we make of it in our family. 

As December waged on Ivy the Elf got herself into lots of festive places and at time antics!    There were a few parental favorites and one request from a friend for where/how to hide the elf.    There were a few "phoning it in nights" (Ivy under tree skirt, Ivy in bucket of blocks)  and one night that must have been so lack-luster I didn't take a picture and I can't remember where she hid one night.    Overall not too shabby! I *do* have to pat myself on the back that while there were many nights it was right as I was going to bed I remembered to hide the elf every night and only once had to get out of bed to do it and the elf did move every night!  ;)

There were a couple of nights when the creativity bug got a hold of me and we spent a decent amount of time being *THOSE* parents that other people blog angrily about regarding elf mayhem.   Sorry folks.  :)   To be fair we were only those parents 25% of this holiday elf-hiding season.

My first wave of creativity came when I wanted Ivy to sail the seas, then I thought a battle scene would be fun and so it just evolved after that.   It probably did take 20 minutes, but let's be honest a good part of that was cleaning enough so that I would be willing to capture that space of my house on camera. 

And well we couldn't just let Ivy get away with charging attempting to take over the Pea's land...couch?  and so I wanted to build a jail out of tinker toys... but Ace had dispersed them amid the house and my best efforts to collect them from his room (and Mae's) before they went to bed was not enough to construct something with them alone and thus the Zoobs had to be brought out and the husband called in for some serious construction assistance - but I have to say the jail is still intact and in Ace's room... pretty sure the minion is still in it.  ;)

On another night as I was ready to just go to bed I was hunting for a good spot for the elf to hide and I was struck with inspiration for drawing on the chalkboard and so I went to work drafting up a drawing for Ivy to have been posed to draw.   There was also another good 5 minutes of shoving stuff away from the easel and if you panned the picture out - to the right would be a pile of crap that normally lives under the easel.  True story. 

We recently have been undergoing construction.  New floors, new paint, new fireplace, new mantle.   Our fireplace and mantle before was this ugly shabby chic brick.   Not shabby chic pretty - like shabby crap.   Like there once was tile stuck to it and it was ripped off.  Not pretty!  HOORAY for family that is good at stuff like this and was willing to do the job of building us a new mantle and tiling up the fireplace nicely for us!  Love it!    So I wanted to unveil the mantle in an excellent display of photos of Ivy.   Alas my excitement and all of my toner spectacular photos were upstaged and barely noticed because it snowed the night before and there Ivy sat all day with barely a notice.  

Finally for you fine readers I present to you this delightful elf!  My friend sent me a picture of another elf in a Christmas tree sitting on an ornament, someone (the same person that posed it, or maybe not)  had posted the ever so infamous Miley song lyrics along with it... my friend begged me to please do it!   Since I'm mildly obsessed (in the way that you can't stop looking at a car wreck) with Miley's utter train wreck of the last year of her innocence I couldn't resist and thus this fabulous (and carefully posed) shot was taken! 

Merry Christmas, Ivy!  Now off you go until next year and a new personality will be born!