saying goodbye to the cruise

We disembarked the ship on Thur. We were sad to leave but eager to spend the remaining days of our vacation at the area theme parks.

                                                  Avery picked up a little pal.  "Build a bear" a la cruise.

Jeff's parents were in town visiting Debbi and kids. We were lucky to coordinate with them and meet up in our Orlando hotel.  But before we did, we spent the morning in Coco Beach.

  We spent just enough time in this beach town to dip our toes in the ocean and enjoy breakfast at a darling little cafe. 

Really you can't keep my kids away from swimming and slides!  Even here at the hotel in Orlando with grandma and grandpa.

The Bahamas

We spent several days in the Bahama Islands.  Our first port was Freeport Island. Not our favorite island and definatly less than desirable.  Infact, it's very industrial, NOT friendly and an overall tacky island.  With that being said..."show us a beach and we will show you a good time".  After an expensive cab ride, we played in the small town, and enjoyed our day at the beach.  At the beach itself was beautiful.

I spy a tourist...

Thankfully, the island of Nassau was much nicer.  And, it was one of those days where everything just "works out" for the best.  We  orginally planned on the dolphin excursion at Atlantis.  But, after talking to well informed lady we decided to take the ferry over to a small island nearby.  We caught the ferry just in the nick of time.  Wow, the dolphin experience was incredible.  I am so glad we did it.  Avery loved it so much she suggested changing her dream career from veternarian to dolphin trainer.  To save money, I didn't do the excursion...being that I just did  the dolphins last year in Punta Mita, I was fine with it.  Unfortunately, that meant I really couldn't snap any photos either.  I snuck a few while watching on the dock.  Wish  I had more.  The remanider of the day we played at the beach.  I personally loved the hammocks stretched between 2 palm trees lining the beach.  But, the kids loved the water park inflatiables in the bay.  We were so happy with the little island, Blue Lagoon that we stumbled upon.  What a pleasant surprise!

We love combing the beach for seashells.   In this case, a huge piece of coral.  Time to run and catch the ferry back to Nassau...and then cruise back to Orlando.

What a vacation

What can I say about a vacation that lifts you right out of the post winter blues and into the warm ocean breeze and bright sunshine.  Except it was perfect and exactly what our family needed! 

It was the middle of May and just one day before school let out for the year.  It also marked the end of our time in the temporary twin home which we were desparate to see end.  I've come to love these 4 little words that come out of Jeff's mouth..."let's take a vacation".  We arranged to take the a family on a cruise to the Bahamas.    Omaha to Orlando to Bahamas back to Orlando.   I was beyond excited, the timing was ideal and it was the perfect get a way.   

 We drove to Omaha, spent the night and planned an early morning departure flight to Omaha.  Only to find out our flight was canceled due to weather and we were bumped to an available flight the nex day.   Not the end of the world...we spent one unexpected day in a city close to our hearts.

We moved on to Orlando, one day short of the original plan.  We spent the day the remainder of the day swimming instead of Disney.     It was really hot so the pool suited us just fine.   

 


How do you explain a cruise ship to your children? At this point their only reference is that of Disney channel's "Zak and Cody on Dek" ..They really had NO idea what was in store for them. And we couldn't wait to show them the ship in all it's grandeur. 

They were in awe.  They were in heaven.  You should of seen them.  Big eyes and even bigger smiles.

We boarded the the ship and hit the lunch buffet.  Let it be known cruise food is not my favorite.  But, it was enticing to the children.  Anything and everything...they liked it all.  I must say, I prefered the dining room to the buffet.  Most nights however, the girls were at their clubs and didn't join us in the dining room.  I think this was the only night with all five us at dinner. And it was my favorite night. 

Boy, the girls sure loved the clubs.  What a new experience for them.  They spent the evenings with their age "club."  Many activites, games and crafts were planned.  We couldn't pry them away.  One night, Ellie got up on stage and did some kareoke. "  Really, Ellie did what?"  Like I said, new experiences.   Zach and I would tuck in the cabin early each night while Jeff and the girls enjoyed midnight buffet.   Neither Zach nor I cared much to miss it.   Zach was so exhausted by the evenings and I was happy to snuggle him to sleep.  And lucky for him, he was first to meet the new towel buddy each night.   Zach loved 'em!


 Boy oh boy, did we ever soak up all the fun the ship had to offer. So many activites to keep us busy.

of course, we love water slides.

A new game for Zach.  Shuffle board. 

swimming.  at twillight. 

golf on the top deck

Ahh, relaxing together, on deck,  in the sunshine    The best of it all .  

stay tuned for the islands...

on the road again...

Since we were driving to Denver to surprise Papa, we took advantage of the drive and  soaked in the sights.  Jeff had work to do in Rapid City which is 5 hours from home AND on the way to Denver. The timing was perfect and we all tagged along.  While Jeff worked, we played.  We went to the pool to pass the time.  The kids will always love swimming.  A hit everytime.  

and Zach's favorite spot, the hot tub.

The next day we became "tourists."  Off to Mt Rushmore we go.  It was truely an amazing and awe inspiring sight.  The mountains made such a picturesque backdrop for the masterpiece. We appreciate them more now as we are away.  The unpredictable March weather cooperated with us.  It was warm enough to enjoy but still cool enough that we were alone in the park.  We had the whole park to ourselves.  We like it that way.
Sadly, I don't think Zach could really see the Presidents heads in the mountain  But, he did master the binocular  looky thing.  

the Princess and the Pea

Avery came home from school excited to try out for the play "The Princess and the Pea"  I was happy to see her desire to try something new.  She has never done anything like this before.  At this point the tryouts were still a month away, I wasn't sure her enthusiasm would continue.  Sure enough, on the day of tryouts she was ready and excited.  It would be a time consuming day with a long audition and I looked to Ellie to stay home and watch Zach.  Sometimes even the best laid plans go awry.  Ellie decided last minute to also tryout for the play.  I have to admit, at first I was frustrated.  There goes the babysitter.  Pack up Zach, grab some activities for a 3 hour block of time and off we go.  As I gathered my thoughts and pulled it together, I realized this would be a great experience for Ellie as well.  I was thrilled to have both girls to jump on this opportunity. It would be a valuable experience to stretch themselves and leap out of the comfort zone and I was eager to see them audition.    As we pull into the parking lot, I just finished my " be yourself and you'll do great" pep talk...Ellie burst into tears.  She didn't want to do it afterall, she was to frightened.  I decided at that point to make her continue.  Infact, I forced her out of the car (still beliving this would be a positive experience)  Luckily, she ran into a friend and quickly wiped away her tears. 100 children tried out for the play in a group audition.  I was in the auditorium and heard the girls tryout.  I was so impressed.  They both used expression when they spoke and obviously impressed the directors as well.  I was on pins and needles as they read the names of the children that would be cast.   First they read Ellie, she made it as assistant director (later was given a speaking part) After about 20 more names, they read Avery.  I was so proud of both of the girls.
    Play practiced started that very night.  Ellie needed to be at every practice, learning all the parts.  She would assist  the director in everything from set, makeup, lining up the characters, songs, dance moves and helping those who forget the lines.  She would run the show.  In the end, the character "tree barker" got sick and had to drop out.  She immediately stepped in and wore both hats, director and character.  Avery was a "dust bunny."  This was the group of young boys and girls who sang and danced 2 numbers.  At first she was disappointed in not being cast as the Princess or the Pea.  It looks like our  7 year old has big ambitions.  But, she was the cutest lil dust bunny you ever did see. 
They did it.  They learned that tough practices and hard work pays off.  They challenged themselves, learned new skills and battled their fears.  They felt the accomplishment of performing on stage.  Sweet reward of a job well done. 

Before the show.

Avery and her 2 best friends made the play.  I brought the girls back and forth each day.

Ellie was happy to see her friends as well.

The cast of characters. 

During the show.

Ellie in her shining moment.  She had several lines in the show.

Avery and the dust bunnies did several song and dance numbers.

After the show.

Papa turns 70

So we surprised him with a birthday visit.  And, when we show up so does the birthday "choas."  We orchestrated a plan and  included Gigi in on the details.  We would drive to Denver arriving late Thurday night.  Early Friday morning we would sneak in and the kids would present Papa with breakfast in bed.  The plan went off without a hitch, except Papa woke up early and Gigi made him stay in bed for quite some time.  A bit strange, thought papa. Although, he knew "something" was up, I think he was genuinely surprised that it was us. 
It was a weekend of "happy things."  We were busy doing things that make up happy. We only had a short time in Denver so we made it special.  Short and sweet but a birthday to remember.

Here we go:
Gigi greeted us at the door early in the morning.  shhh, quiet.

We decorated with birthday banners and artwork.  This one courtesy of Avery.

We prepared a scavenger hunt for Papa.  Each clue had him scamper through the house to find his birthday gifts.

We went to several  fun restaurants.  Our favorite italian restaurant one night and Asian Bistro the next.  We always teach our children to use their best manners and social graces.  Or do we?

We played in the park.  And flew kites. 




And, we celebrated.   Happy Birthday, we love you Papa.  We wish you many more happy moments.