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! 

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!

Black Friday 2013

First, I have to say that I was incredibly sad that my partner in crime for the last six years was under the weather and unable to go with us!   I can't say how disappointed I was to not be traipsing through the mall and various stores and inexplicable hours with V.   Now that said, my SIL had planned to join us so while we were missing a key player we certainly didn't lack in Black Friday (and Gray Thursday, hehe) fun!    

After SIL's power nap we headed out around 10:30 - music cranked, seat warmers on, gas filled up - we were on the way to Target!    We got a pretty decent haul - I had one tote with me and filled it to the brim, got several movies, a few gifts, and a lot of fun - we got in line that literally was wrapping in and out of the outer aisles of one half of the store.  It was great fun, met some fun people in line,  we sang happy birthday at midnight and we were only in line there for about an hour and unlike when I went in 2011 the line was constantly moving.    SIL stepped out of line and got us Starbucks while I maintained our place and it was grand ol' fun!  :)    

Next stop was the mall and a great adventure getting many presents taken care of at the Disney Store!  We found a parking spot right away and headed into the mall!  We had to wait in line for about 20 minutes in order to get into the store (or at least it felt that long, it was nearing 1am)  The line wasn't quite as long as Target but for a store that's like 1/6th the size it was still impressive.   We headed home and were in bed by 2:30. 

We slept until around 7:30 and were up and out the door again by 7:50 for the next store - in which we spent 3 hours there and knocked out several more presents and purchases!   It was great and so much fun to go out with SIL!    

Upon returning home I commenced my sad face and pleas to persuade the husband to get out the Christmas tree - which for the most part didn't take too much effort - he loves me! ;)      We got the tree out, got all the lights on it, and then each of the kids grabbed an ornament and put on the first two ornaments of the tree while we captured the moment.  :)  And so begins the wonderful Christmas Season!!

Thanksgiving

Another great year with the family!   Auntie and Uncle Kai came to our house late on Wednesday night and were here for the whole weekend,  the kids love them, we love them, it was great!    The kids woke up at the same time that Uncle Kai and Loving Husband did, which was around 6am so they could head out for our church's mud bowl, so while we tried to keep them contained a while longer the morning began early!   

Since I was up nearly three hours before the parade I decided to get a head start on some of the kitchen prep while my co-chef was off playing football.   Breakfast supplies seemed so normal and boring so I put together some pumpkin bread to kick off the morning.   Next up before the parade I blended together the herb butter that was going to need to smother the turkey.    Kai and I had spent the last couple of weeks collaborating on a menu that we would enjoy cooking and exploring.  



The Chefs of 2013

We went with a southern theme to our dinner and our menu was as followed:  Herb Roasted Turkey,   Corn Bread Stuffing,   Green Beans baked with oil and garlic, Sweet Potatoes soufflé, Mac & Cheese with ham, Cranberry Relish (a family staple from Grum), Butternut, Apple,  and Cranberry Bake,  and then for dessert Gran brought her pumpkin pie and Kai found a delicious recipe that was entitled Is It Really Better Than Sex? Cake -  we substituted the pineapple for mangos and around 10:30am our cooking began.  For the chefs and the other two folks that were corralling the kids, I put together some Boozy Berries and we enjoyed some mimosas while we cooked.   We moved a small tv into the kitchen so that I could watch some football while we cooked as well.  We had a good time and moved quite efficiently with all the various steps that the dishes required.  Sometime around 3pm I realized that I had yet to even break to go to the bathroom!   

Prior to getting started cooking we enjoyed watching the Macy's Day Parade and the kids played with Auntie.   It was a great day and the meal with tasty and oh so many leftovers were around.    Dinner was an hour later than we had planned and we began plating the meal around 5pm.   Less than 20 minutes later, with no nap from the little miss, Mae asked to go to bed.  It was so sweet and so I cuddled her up and toted her off to bed.   

Dinner was wrapping up by the time we got back so I had a few more bites of food and then dove straight into desserts and they were delicious!    Yes, I had 2 helpings of that cake and we ate it throughout the weekend - so yummy!    Then of course the silliness ensued with the family as it often
does around the table. :) 

After we got Ace into bed and said goodnight to the grandparents we sat around chatting for a while before 9pm rolled around and Loving Husband headed off to bed at 9pm... and Auntie headed downstairs to take a power nap before we began our late night shopping!   Thus leaving, somehow, Kai and myself who had spent nearly seven hours in the kitchen cooking the meal to then clean it up.   Halfway thru clean up we acknowledged this injustice and declared that in 2014 the siblings would be cooking the meal and we would wrangle the kids and then post their bedtime we'd leave the siblings to clean the meal up and he and I would go out (as we find sleeping at 9pm laughable, sorry fam.)  ;-) 

88!

 

Tonight on the eve of what would have been my grandma's 88th birthday I sit reflecting on time gone by.    In the last decade I've lots many loved ones.  It seems like she's been gone so long but when I do the math it's only been 4.5 years.  My grandpa has been gone for eight.  My dad, nearly eight years as well.  Time is so tricky like that.  I miss them.  But today I miss my Grum a lot.    I wish all of my lost loved ones could be here to know their (great) grandkids.    Enjoy the technology that gives us the option to seem so much closer even though we're miles apart.   To share more time.

I reflect tonight on many things, mostly happy. To dwell on sadness of the absence would be to drowned the memories of happiness and so I press on to reflect on those happy times - and there were many.    My mom reminded me the other day of  Grandma's game with my brother and I of 'Hide the Slipper'  Grum would sit in her chair and then we would go hide one (or both!) of her house slippers (think 80-riffic slip on plastic sole, terry cloth slippers, which she'd wear through and buy several more pairs throughout my entire life)  upon us returning to her chair in the living room she would begin to guess where we hid it.  :)  Eventually she'd get it right and we'd go hide it again!  All the while she didn't have to move at all.   Genius! 

 

Grandma, rocking "selfie" pics before they were cool!

Swinging and singing were two of my favorite things to do at Grum's.  Also eating those Gerber 'hot dogs' that were baby food ones - I know I ate those way beyond being a baby.   I also usually had gum and apple juice whenever I was there.   Grum always had the same bread - it was brown (at least that was all my take away was when I was a kid.) At my house we always ate the white bread, but I would eat the brown bread at Grum's, because that's what she had.  She'd make Swedish Pancakes every time I stayed over - and I used to crawl out of the room, sneaking to surprise them, to no one's surprise - ever.  ;)

 

 

Grum knew how to laugh at herself and her laugh was infectious.   I can still hear it.  Somehow we got this bow tradition to be a regular thing for the last several Christmases of her life.  Silly, but fun.  :)   Why not? ;)

 

Grum loved to cook - she cooked nearly every meal.  She knew her dishes and she knew how to make many things.   She made a mean German Chocolate Cake, yummy!     She also was a good sport when the list was past around for the church pot luck and by the time it had gotten to her someone - every time - would have signed her up for Grandma Jello!

 

I think the one thing I am most sad to have lost is time to talk to her more about Jesus.   She became a Christian 'late in the game' when she was 30 and she latched on to study His word with great fervor and zeal.   She wore through several Bibles in the 53 years of her walk with Christ on this earth.    We buried her with 'the' Bible that she had worn out the most.   We couldn't decide who should have it - so to dust it went.  :)   We all kept a few pages from it though where she had written and underlined and reunderlined some important passages to her.    I would have loved to now that I am older to have time to sit down and talk to her. 

 

 

Grum was so happy when she learned that she was going to be a great grandma.  It was the last Christmas I spent with her was when we announced we were pregnant with Ace.    I still recall when we found out he was a boy the first thing out of her mouth was "That's ok, the next one will be a girl."    She was right!  Mae has her spunk for sure, mixed with my facial expressions and BOTH of our stubbornness... oh boy watch out.   Perhaps you do share more than Grum's middle name sweet girl!

 

So much happiness and life that we shared.   I was at her house several days a week, swinging, laughing, playing, doing puzzles, playing games,  singing to Jesus, and occasionally making cookies or learning how to cook something as I grew older.   Grum's was my first sleepover, the first place I had gum, the first place I had coffee, many lessons were instilled to me there, many memories were made, laughs were had.    While I wish she were here to celebrate being 88!  I know that her time didn't run out here, she had just finally waited long enough to go home.   Happy Birthday, Grum!  I miss you.