In February we packed up, said bye to the kiddos, and flew to Miami. We had been talking and planning and preparing for months, if not YEARS for this--our 10th anniversary trip. We got to Miami on Saturday evening and then bright and early Sunday morning we headed to our ship for our 6-day Western Carribean cruise.

The day we left on the cruise was actually one of the coldest they had in Miami this winter. That's our Irish luck!!! But hey, overcast, breezy, in the high fifties, was actually a lot better than what was going on back at home weather-wise. After we did all of our boarding stuff, we had some time to kill before they would let us into our room. We found this awesome spot, right on the front of the boat and just chilled there for a couple of hours. It was this huge, padded, circular, outdoor couch. It was heaven on a boat.

We splurged a little and got a room with a balcony. It was really pretty awesome to be in our room and go out and sit on the balcony. We got to see the ship arrive at every port early in the morning right from our own room. I liked that a lot.

 

our first glimpse of our home away from home--the Carnival Valor

here we are on the awesome sofa

looking at Miami from our balcony

saying bye to the mainland--windy!!

our first towel friend

Our first stop was Key West, Florida. Oh my gosh, we loved it here!! It was so cute and quaint. We did some shopping, rented some bikes, toured the island a bit, and ate lots of key lime pie.

coming into Key West

They told us no one would believe we were in Key West if we didn't get a picture here. At this point we were closer to Cuba than we were to a Walmart.

our lunch stop--Than and his first piece of pie

ridin' my bike

my second piece of key lime pie--frozen, dipped in chocolate, on a stick

There was a building right by the dock that was surrounded by fun statues to play with.

Than found a walking buddy

dinner

Our second day was Valentines Day and our first sea day. We spent most of the day, laying out on the deck, reading and talking and sleeping. It was also our formal night.

the fanciest dress I own

Day 4 was Grand Cayman. We had to take a little boat from the ship to the dock and then we met our tour group. We signed up for an excursion where we took another boat to the stingray sandbar and then went snorkeling. They took us to a place to swim with the stingrays. The stingrays would swim between our legs and brush up against us. It was crazy. Our guides would hold the stingrays so we could pet them. They even let us try to hold them ourselves. When the stingray experience was over, they took us to a coral reef to go snorkeling. That was awesome too. Our camera could take video under water so we filmed our snorkeling for the kids to see what it was like. After all that, we went to a beach until it was time to get back on the ship. The beach was so beautiful. White sand, the prettiest blue water I've ever seen. We ate the most yummy lunch at the restaurant on the beach. I had a lamb burger with blue cheese and carmelized red onions. I honestly think that was the best food of the whole cruise!

riding on a little boat

there were lots of iguanas to greet us

Than got to hold a stingray

then he got to sleep

my cute pink toes and the fine, white sand

look at that white sand and aqua water

back at the ship, getting ready to watch a show

Day 5--Jamaica. In Jamaica we hiked Dunn's River Falls and then went to a beach club. Climbing the falls was way fun. We got soaking wet!! The beach club was pretty nice too. They kept bringing us food and trying to get us to drink the rum punch. The island was filled with trees and hills. And lots and lots of people. We were followed often by people trying to sell us stuff. After our excursion was over, we went back to the ship to relax.

our view of Jamaica from our balcony

halfway up the falls

almost to the top

chillin' at the beach

heading back to our ship

this is what the deck looked like

our room

Our last day was another day at sea. We ate, layed in the sun, ate, layed in the sun, and so on. It was a great relaxing way to end our vacation. I am so ready to go on another cruise tomorrow!!

December Things

Better late than never, right?

On the first Saturday in December we went to our some-what local Christmas Tree Farm to pick out and cut down our tree. It didn't take us long to find one that we all agreed on. I hope that as the kids get older it still stays easy to pick out the tree. We got the tree cut down and put it in the truck and headed home. We decided to leave the decorating to do as a nice Sunday family activity.

After church we got all the ornaments and lights out. Than is the lights guy. I tried to do it one year and got so frustrated. I had to redo it 3 times before I liked it. So now he does the lights and I sit back and relax. Thanks Babe!! Then we put on our ornaments. Every year we each get our own ornaments. Sara gets a snowman, Aaron gets a snowflake, I get a bird, and Than gets a golf thing or Santa. The kids love putting their own ornaments on the tree. It's so funny because we always end up with a bunch of snowmen and all the snowflakes down at the bottom of the tree.

Well, as soon as we had the tree looking all beautiful and perfect. Boom! The stand broke and the tree came crashing down. Aaron was sitting on the floor and he had to crawl on his hands and knees as fast as he could to get away. He was pretty shaken up! Than found a temporary solution to keep the tree up in water while we ran to the store to get a new stand. When we got home, it was pretty late so I got the kids to bed while Than had a snack downstairs. I was in the middle of reading to Sara when I heard a huge crash. Yes, the tree fell down AGAIN! Luckily, it survived two crashes and we only lost 8 ornaments. When we finally got it up again we had to take off all the ornaments and lights because everything was so tangled. So Than put the lights back on and on Monday, when the kids were at school, I put the ornaments back on. But in the end it was beautiful. And I think we'll still get a real tree next year.

We found a good one.

Than putting on the lights. The tree was so pokey that he had to wear gloves.

Our temporary propping solution after the first crash. Lots of wet towels on the floor.

 Beautiful.

This year I took Sara to see the Nutcracker Ballet. It was so fun doing something so grown-up with her. We got to the theater a bit early so we watched the orchestra set up and tune their instruments. I think Sara might have liked watching them as much as she liked the ballerinas. She has been taking piano lessons for the past year and has found a real love for making music. Her piano teacher had given her a simplified "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" to play so Sara was way excited to see that part of the ballet. After the intermission she got a bit sleepy and wanted to sit on my lap. A few minutes later she was out. I had to wake her up to see her dance and then she fell right back to sleep. Next year we'll do the matinee.

 Dressed up for the ballet.

 More December activities included visiting Santa. My sister is taking Tae Kwon Do and invited us to their Christmas party so the kids could see Santa. This Santa was special because he is my brother-in-law. I thought that Sara would figure it out but I thought Aaron would have no clue. Boy, was I wrong. As soon as Santa walked out, Sara knew who it was. It wasn't until Aaron got on his lap that he began to figure it out. He was so freaked out that he couldn't say anything to Santa. It was hillarious. When we got in the car, Aaron said, "That Santa was a lot like uncle Steve!"

Aaron is not very sure about this.

 Sara felt a little sheepish too.

We can't forget the Christmas programs at the schools. Even though Aaron goes to preschool and Sara's in 2nd grade, they both had their programs the same day. So we had to rush from one to another. First up was Aaron. He was dressed up like a little elf and sang his heart out. He even had a speaking part: "We are making ALL the toys." At Sara's school, she was right on the front row, right on the edge. So we were able to walk right up to her and watch her sing.

 Aaron waiting to sing.

Sara's turn.

Finally it was Christmas Eve!! Every year we spend Christmas Eve with my mom and my sister and her family. We each bring yummy appitzers and desserts to eat. We eat, chat, put on skits and read the Christmas story from the Bible. Then the kids get to open 1 present--their pj's. 

Sara playing "Jingle Bells".

My 3 favorite people. I don't know why the kids look so grumpy. Cheer up! It's Christmas Eve!!!

Half of Kim, my mom, Katherine, me, and Aaron.

Christmas morning!! I love to see the kids faces as they come downstairs and see what Santa brought them. They each get one present from Santa, their stockings, and 3 presents from mom and dad. This year Santa brought Sara a wardrobe and a new outfit for her American Girl Doll. Aaron got Cars 2 cars and a cool racing shooter to put his cars in. They also got clothes, books, and legos. It was a great Christmas!

A tradition from when Than was a kid--getting buried in all the wrapping paper!

Halloweenie

Is it just me or is this year flying by like nobody's business??? So here I am in December, trying my hardest to remember all of our Halloween festivities. Good thing there are pictures to remind us.

We got our pumpkins from our Church farm. Each year our ward gets a little piece of land to farm on. The primary always plants pumkin seeds and we get to go in October and pick our own pumpkins. When it came time to carve them, Aaron decided he wanted a Lightning McQueen on his. Than searched the internet and found a picture that someone else did. He free-hand drew it and I think it turned out awesome. Sara wanted me to make her a kitty. You'll see our masterpieces a little further down.

We had a real hard time picking out our costumes this year. Sara couldn't make up her mind, Aaron couldn't make up his, and I couldn't make up mine either! Sara didn't want to be anything "cute" this year. She finally settled on being a "Monster Cheerleeder." Aaron was a BYU football player.

Here's Sara at her school Halloween parade.

Getting ready to trick-or-treat.

Here's how awesome the pumpkins looked in the dark.

Back at home, enjoying all the loot.