Happy Thanksgiving!

The holiday season has officially begun, though until Wednesday night, it didn't really feel like it.  Dan was out of town and the kids in school Monday and Tuesday and it felt like a normal week.  Wednesday then felt like Saturday - it wasn't until after Dan was home and I was shopping for the necessary food stuff for Thanksgiving that it started to feel like it was Thanksgiving time.  On Thursday, we spent the morning cooking and then headed over to Stuart and Rebecca's for Thanksgiving dinner.  It is so fun to be living near family!  The kids love spending time with their cousins and I LOVE watching them get to know and love their Great Grandpa.  As usual, the food and company was wonderful!

On Friday, Dwayne and Nicole and family came over to play and eat dinner.  The weather was beautiful so we headed over to the park to play for a bit.  The kids had fun climbing trees, swinging, and running after the soccer ball.

This has been a big week for James - he popped out two teeth on the top - he had a kinda nasty diaper rash, but other than that, he gave no indication of teething.  But he now has two teeth poking through on the top.  He also took his first unassisted steps today - He didn't manage more than 2 or 3, and he's not very steady, but he is SO CUTE!!!!  Don't think he ever really figured out why we were all so excited, but he was having fun.  

We got Eileen a camera and she has been having a blast taking pictures of everything.  She loves her camera - she picked out some fabric and I made a case for her.  Then Friday, I took her to Walmart to get her pictures printed.  She loved it, and has been looking through her pictures all the time since then. It's fun to see her excited and having fun.  Sometimes she wants to copy me and take pictures of what I take pictures of - but I have also been trying to encourage her to take pictures of the things she thinks are important. (heehee - it's cute to see what she wants to take pictures of.)  :)

Adventures in Colorado

This week started off in the normal way - laundry, school, and playing.  On Tuesday, Dan left town - we drove him to the airport in the morning.  Piano lessons, Choir and all the usual things followed.  I took Eileen and Evie to get their pictures taken - they came out so cute!  The photographer was amazed at Evie's ability to follow directions and pose.  Thursday night was Eileen's 2nd grade program - we all went to listen to her class sing - they were so cute!  Other than that - we really haven't done much this week - I don't really have the energy to do much beyond the normal playing and picking up, cooking and dishes.  (Well I haven't actually done much cooking - we've mostly eaten leftovers and freezer meals)  But still!  Church is always insane when I have to lead the primary music AND take care of a rather exhausted baby who needs a nap.  He really is a VERY good baby, but when he gets tired, he gets really wiggly - not cranky, just wiggly.  Now we are just looking forward to Wednesday - Dan gets home - the kids get out of school and we are looking forward to some fun quality family time!

Things are getting prepped for Eileen's baptism - we have a date set and she had her interview with the bishop today - she is such an amazing girl - I can't believe she's growing up so fast!

Back to Reality

Back home now and readjusting to life in the real world.  Dan and I are thinking maybe we will buy ourselves a hut on the beach in Cozumel and Sell coconuts to tourists and home school our kids.... Well maybe not....

The first half of this week was unpacking, laundry, cleaning, and trying to remember routines! Tuesday included a quick jaunt to the polls to vote.  On Thursday, Dan had to work late - but to make up for it, he went in late - so we spent the whole morning trying to be productive and enjoy the morning together.  Dan made up some strawberry jam that we have been enjoying ever since.  I spent most of the morning raking leaves (at least 6 garbage bags worth - and they are still falling!!) Then the kids had a blast playing in them that evening.  James was mostly interested in just watching the others play - he didn't see the fascination inherent in a pile of crunchy leaves.

We celebrated Eileen's birthday this weekend.  She had a couple friends over for a birthday/slumber party.  Her long time friend Morgan and a friend from church - Ali came over and we ate pizza and gold fish cupcakes and watched movies and painted toe nails and just had a good time.  

Saturday morning was spent by the kids playing, in the afternoon - we spent some time cleaning house and letting the kids do some extra chores.

Sunday was wonderful - somehow no amount of "relaxation" can ever compare to the emotional uplift that the Sabbath brings.  Even if I am exhausted by the end of the day, it's a hopeful and good exhausted.  :)

Sail Away

Our first 2 days were Sea Days - which meant that we got to spend a lot of time exploring the ship, enjoying on-board entertainment, winning plastic trophies in silly games and reading!!  By the second day, I was wishing I had brought at least one more book.  :) 

On Wednesday, we arrived at Jamacia.  It is a lush and beautiful island.  The people are beautiful and friendly, the food is delicious.  We started with a bus ride to "Magic Mountain" where they have a bobsled ride and a zip line.  One the ride - we had a tour guide telling us about the island - it was really neat to hear about the history and culture of the island and it's people.   It was also sad to see the contrast of extreme wealth and extreme poverty.   And yet it's awesome to see the national pride they have - something that seems lacking in our country sometimes.  

Here we are getting ready to go on the Jamaican Bobsled (really a roller coaster that looks like a Jamaican Bobsled)  It was a lot of fun.  After that we had a Jerk Chicken and Peas and Rice Lunch.  

Then we went on a series of zip lines through the canopy.  The scenery was beautiful - the guides were fun and the zip lines were awesome!  We also got to begin and end our adventure with a slow gondola ride up the mountain.  

The next day we stopped at the Cayman Islands.  Our only plans for the day were to go enjoy the beach!  We got a taxi to the Seven Mile Beach and enjoyed our time swimming in crystal clear water, collecting sea shells and playing.  After we headed back and (at the recommendation of some of the local shop owners) went to an Italian Restaurant near the port. The food was really good and we had a great and relaxing day!  

Our final port of call was Cozumel.  We got off the boat and got on a bus to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum.  The ruins were gorgeous and the weather was beautiful - but we were glad to have a chance to cool off at a beach right near by.  The history nerd in me LOVED seeing and hearing about the ruins and the people who had built them and lived in them.  It was also fun, because the ruins were covered in iguanas - they were all over (LOL - nearly as many iguanas as tourists) After we grabbed a quick bite at a small restaurant near all the tourist shops before heading back to the boat.  

The last day was spent at sea just enjoying the games and entertainment and each other.  Some of our favorite parts of the trip:
1.  No dishes to clean.
2. Newell and Becky right down the hall to play games with and eat dinner with.
3. Time together to talk and laugh and enjoy being together.
4. Lots of things to do together.

5. Not having to worry about kids.
6. New experiences like zip lining and the ruins
7. A really funny hypnotist show on Thursday night.  We enjoyed going to all the shows - but that one was by far the best.  :)

It's hard to believe that it's almost over - but it's been wonderful and it will be good to get back.