We're Cruisin' Now!

Our family, along with Grammy Nancy, got to spend a fun-filled week on board the Carnival Inspiration cruise ship!

We headed to Cocoa, FL to spend a couple of days with Jen's grandparents and to visit with Mike's extended family in Titusville. From there we made our way to Tampa to board the ship and start our oceanic journey!

Good-bye Tampa!

All of us enjoyed 5 days of cruising and spending time in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Here are some of the things we learned during our trip:

#1 - Seth LOVES to dance! And, as Mike put it, what he lacks in rhythm he makes up for in enthusiasm and energy!! Check out this little video clip of the kids doing the Cupid Shuffle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTk3ODMLRpI

One of the highlights of the trip for Seth was getting this trophy:
There were 2 dancers who performed one night and called up people to participate. Seth was one of the lucky participants and, in his own words, "I danced so good that the older guy didn't even stand a chance against me!" Such a modest child!

The dancers also spent time with the kids in Camp Carnival a couple of days teaching some dance moves. Here the kids are with Otto, the hip-hop, robot-style dancer. He was really great with them!!

#2 - Katey really never tires of eating cheese pizza! Pretty sure she had it at least once a day and sometimes twice a day!

#3 - Dolphins feel really soft and not at all slimy or scaly. We got to pet, kiss, dance with and hug a dolphin in Grand Cayman. Katey wasn't too sure about touching Cappy, our dolphin friend, but the rest of us really enjoyed this experience (though the hundreds of razor-sharp teeth were a bit unnerving for Jen!) No cameras allowed, but here is a shot of the pool area we were in.

#4 - Turtles know how to dance. This one is Raising The Roof with Grammy!
We visited a turtle farm in Grand Cayman and got to touch and hold the smaller sea turtles. We learned that if you rub under their chins/necks they calm down for a minute or so which makes holding the flapping little critters a bit easier. Again, all of us really enjoyed this experience except Katey who refused to hold a turtle but was coerced into touching one!

#5 - There are icebergs in Cozumel, Mexico!
Okay, not real icebergs, but Katey and Mike both scaled this one. If you look closely you'll see Katey on the right side and Mike and Seth in the water under her. She made it to the top 2 times!!


We spent time at Paradise Beach and there were lots of fun things to do like jump on a water trampoline, go down a huge inflatable water slide, snorkel and dig in the sand. The kids found lots of coral on the beach as well as coconuts! Seth enjoyed digging in the sand with his found coral!

#6 - Magic is fun for the whole family...but especially the kids! There was a magician that came to our table each night at dinner to do some little tricks for the kids. They looked forward to this every day!!

#7 - The top deck of the ship can get very, VERY windy sometimes.

#8 - If your room is on the lowest deck you can usually beat the elevator if you just walk.

#9 - If you walk instead of using the elevator your legs get very sore the first few days of the cruise!

#10 - Being on a cruise with Grammy and the kids was SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Blink

Friends warned me this would happen and I didn't believe them.
Relatives warned me it would happen and I didn't believe them, either.
Now I have succumbed to the group of wise(r) parents and warn others that I come into contact with...

Time flies and kids grow up faster than you can possibly imagine.

It hit me the other day - we are no longer parents to little kids. How did that happen?? I look back and think of all the hours, days time I spent wondering how I would make it through the day until Daddy got home and could help with our little crazies angels. Sometimes it felt as though they would never get big enough to _________ (use the potty, dress themselves, play unattended for 2 minutes in another room, go to school...). Wiser parents would say that I should cherish those times as they would quickly fly by. I'm pretty sure I secretly wished for that to be true in each moment. And then it happened.

Blink!

Somehow we have gone from diaper bags and strollers to backpacks and bikes. Bottoms no longer need wiping and Dora the Explorer has been replaced with The Electric Company and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Board books have given way to chapter books and early bedtimes are pushed back for fun on the Wii or with family games.

We discovered recently that Katey is now too big for restaurant play-places. It was a sad day this summer when she had to watch Seth and his friends play while she sat and finished her lunch. How did she get so big?

I don't want to leave this post with a lamenting feel. While gone are the days of free baby ice cream cones and naps every afternoon, we are experiencing some of the fun of having big kids. We can all ride the big rides at Carowinds this year and have thoroughly enjoyed the Gold Rusher again and again! We can now allow the kids a little independence of playing outside alone with friends (with certain restrictions, of course). And, we get free labor help teach responsibility through chores like sweeping the kitchen floor.

I'm looking forward to watching the kids grow more and more...and learning how to become a parent to big kids. I'm guessing that about the time we think we have a handle on that...

Blink!

Busses, Bikes and Floats

For the last couple of weeks I have been humming a very catchy tune: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!" We had a fantastic summer but the start of the school year is always a fun and welcome event for the whole family! So, here are the kids on the first day of school - our big 4th and 1st graders:School starts early around here - Mike and the kids were at the bus stop by 6:40 AM!
Of course, with the start of school comes the rush of GERMS and 3 of the 4 of us are getting over the yuckies around here. Seth was home sick on Friday with his signature "Seth Cough" but we let him play outside that evening to get some fresh air. He decided that riding his bike would be fun...until he flipped over the handle bars, didn't let go of the bike, hit the pavement and had the bike land on top of him! Thank goodness he was wearing a helmet. Our poor little Sethy. He refused to let us take any pictures that evening, but this one was taken the next day. What you don't see is the scraped elbows, chest, back and leg...

After such a traumatic evening we were happy to have something more fun to take part in the next morning. Thanks to one of Mike's co-workers, Grammy and Katey got to be in a parade!! Seth, Mike and I watched the fun from the sidelines and picked up lots of candy. Here are shots of Katey passing out candy in the parade and Grammy waving from the float:

Even though Katey spent more time walking than riding on the float, she was ecstatic to be in a parade and make other kids happy with her fist-fulls of goodies!