Our 2nd honeymoon!

I know some of you may read this and think, why am I writing all of this...well, its more for me than anyone else. I just want to get it all down before I forget and I want to be able to look back and remember this trip for years to come. So, here it goes! It started sunday, Doug, Vanessa, Charlie and Charmaine picked us up...leaving, I cried a little. Only because Maddie looked at me with big tears saying "dont leave me, dont leave me". But, she supposedly stopped crying before we pulled out of Harmony! We went to church and then headed to Port Canavaral...pulling up the boat was HUGE! We went on Mariner of the Seas, it was beautiful. Anyway, checking in didnt take as long as I thought it would. We were all hungry, so we went to the buffet, of course, and was amazed by how much food there was! We checked out our room. Kinda neat, kinda small, but we were on the front of the ship, the very side room, so we had a great view! Dinner was at 6 every night. We were in the "Sound of Music" dining room. We had the first table right there when you walked in, but it was fun to see everyone who came through. The dining room was pretty. We were on the top so we could look down at the other 3 dining rooms. Our waiter, Angel, was so funny. He cracked us up every night. And, of course, the food! I didnt know that we could have an appetizer AND soup AND salad AND entree AND dessert! Oh, and we could have more than one of each, and beleive me...we did. It got to the point where Angel would just go ahead and bring out a couple extra entrees and desserts! The first night I had the most amazing shrimp ravioli, along with spinach salad, and this ivory fondu ocer fresh berries. SO GOOD! After dinner, Bryan and I walked around the ship and checked things out. We went to bed early, ready for the next day! In the morning, we found out it was Monday by the floor in the elevator! We had a real rocky night, I thought the boat was going to tip over! Breakfast amazed me! I found out there was a 24 hour cafe to get food! Dont tell me that! Hit the gym after breakfast. It was packed. I had to wait for a treadmill to open. Bryan sat in the hot tub while I worked out. Then we went to the pool. The boat was so rocky that the water kept coming out of the pool! I baked in the sun while the boys explored and played. Had lunch, then we explored the massive boat some more. There was a rock wall, golf, basketball, arcades, Johnny Rockets, Ben & Jerry's,shopping....you name it, it was there! We ended up falling asleep on the upper deck in the sun. OOOPs, I burned a little! Got ready for dinner. It was formal night....felt like I was at prom! It was nice to see Bryan in a suit...never seen that before! Lots of pictures! I had roast duck for dinner, along with lots of other things...then we changed and went to play golf. They were having a karaoke superstar competition, so we watched it, only cause Vanessa was in it! Went to bed at 1ish..kinda late for us! Tuesday, or so the elevators told us, came fast. I actually went to the gym at 6:30. I had ordered breakfast to come to the room, it never came so I went to breakfast with Bryan. We got off the ship early in Labadee...RC's private beach off of Haiti. It was beautiful. We walked around, got some great pics and I ended up getting a raft and just hangning out in the water with Vanessa and Charmaine while the boys went snorkling. The water was kinda gross, so we didnt do that. They had a market there with local Haitians...they hounded you to buy things, so I got the girls a couple of hand made shirts. Dinner was great again...salmon...we went to a show, some comedians, they were good. The one sang a song about his daughter, it made me cry, of course. I went to bed early, then Bryan started getting hooked on the casino! Wednesday was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I did not know what to expect. We pulled in, and it was beautiful. When we got off the ship, we found a guy who would take us around in his taxi all day wherever we wanted. He took us on a little tour first through Fern Gully. The most amazing place ever. It used to be a river and now its just trees and majestic plants all over. On the side of the roads, there were little stands where locals would sell things. One in particular was "Ready Freddy", a statue of a man with a big you know what stick up...nasty! But everywhere, there was someone wanting you to buy something or give them money for something. We headed to Dunns River Falls...glorious. It was this big rock falls that you climb up, not down. Words and pictures can not describe this place....after that, we shopped around, and got back on the boat. And, just like any other night, had dinner, ate too much...us girls went to a movie, The Devil Wears Prada...it was good...and went to bed! Thursday was Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Did the normal workout, breakfast, got off the ship, saw some "pirates" and we rented scooters. I was terrified at first, but got used to it. Mainly because I thought Bryan was going to kill us! We headed to a beach and did some snorkeling...I felt like I was in FInding Nemo. The fish were beautiful and all around us. It was so much fun! Jumped back on the scooters, toured the island, hit another beach to snorkel, shopped, and got back on the boat! Dinner was formal again...not as many pictures this time, but it was fun. Hit the show, "Pure Energy", all songs from the 80's with the singers and dancers from the ship. Afterwards, went to the cafe for the normal pizza and hot coco, the boys went to the casino while I went to bed. Friday was our last stop. I went to the gym in the morning. Kinda funny...totally full in the begining of the week, empty today! We were in Cozumel. We rented a van and drove the wrong direction to the Mayan Ruins! We thought it was a scenic route, but not so scenic after hurricane Wilma hit them. So, we enjoyed the company as we drove. The ruins were good, not what I expected. The people didnt know a whole lot about them, so we made up our own history! Saw some HUGE iguanas, and then tried to find a good snorkel spot. We ended up shopping! Then went snorkeling...and did the normal nap before dinner. Lobster tails! I think Charlie and Doug downed at least 6 tails each. It was so good. We got our normal hot coco, went to the show which was some lady singer/comdian who stunk. It was really bad. But, we had nothing better to do so we stayed to watch it. Then, hit the casino...we basically spent what we found...I should say Bryan spent what he found. He had his one slot machine that he played and won and lost a lot more. I think it was only about 15$ the whole trip that was spent. I can see how people can lose a lot of money. Saturday was out at sea all day. Did the usual breakfast and gym. No one was there this morning! Then, just was lazy all day. Sat in the sun in the morning. We were going to go rock climbing. I waited for Bryan while the others went, I was real excited to do it since its been a long time...so I waited, Bryan came up without an extra pair of socks...like he knew he was supposed to bring some for me! I got mad, had a little melt-down in the room...I was just tired and really missing the girls. I was at the point where anytime I even saw a little girl, I would cry. So, I let it loose in the room for a while, then I was better! We did the hottub, sat in the sun, it started raining after lunch so I spent the rest of the afternoon napping and just being lazy one last time! Dinner was of course wonderful. Ate way too much. We caught the fairwell variety show, then watched the parade in the promenade, Bryan got pizza one last time...and went to bed. In the morning, I was up and ready to go at 6:30, but had to wait for the others! They were not as excited as I was to leave...so we got out around 8ish and headed home. On the way I realized when I get up in the morning, the floor wont tell me what time it is, my bed will be made by me, dinner will be made by me, not as exciting but at least I knew that Bryan and I were still in love, more than ever. When we got home, Hana and Maddie just gave me a big hug. they were so happy. Chloe was in bed, I went to get her and she cried and wanted nothing to do with me. She still is just wanting daddy when he is here, but I think she is getting used to me. She finally gave me tons of kisses a while ago! So, Bryan and I put the girls to bed last night and stood in the kitchen for a while, hopeing that maybe Angel would pop out and give us some food. Then we thought of calling Doug, Vanessa, Charlie and Charmaine to see what they were doing, but realized, we are all at our homes. It was fun while it lasted. We thank the grandmas who helped out. We really needed this for our sanity, so thanks. Hope you still like our kids! I am really hopeing to try to do this once a year...not go on a cruise, but get out, just the two of us for a little bit. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed reading this. If not, I am not hurt! Pictures will be up soon!

We're back!

So, here we are, back from our much needed vacation. Pictures are being developed, so I will post them later with explanations and details of the cruise later. For now, I will just say it was wonderful. I was a little scared at first. We have never left the kids, I have never been away from them for that long. Bryan and I have never, in 6 years, spent that much time alone together and I was afraid of fighting and finding out we really didnt like each other. Not a problem. We fell in love all over again and I feel like I did when we were dating. I have not felt like this in a long time. We knew we always loved each other, but that fun, in love feeling, butterflies in your tummy...its back! We needed this so bad. So, yes, we had a glorious time. Like I said, I will fill you in on everything in a couple days! Hope everyone else had a good week. Man, this house feels like its rockin! I am slowly moving back and forth.....

Sidenote

I feel like a big boob. All this time that I have been doing this, I keep wondering where the word "blog" came from. What is blog? It just occured to me....web log....put it together and what do you get? BLOG! Good job Nea. All those years of school really payed off!

Here we go

Alright, here we go. 2 more days and Bryan and I leave for our cruise. We will fill everyone in on all the fun when we return. Lots of pictures guarenteed. Till then, love you all and miss us!

Phew...

It looks like the storm may turn, if the cold front goes the way it should. Lets keep our fingers crossed...

SeaWorld

Bryan and I finally bought passes to Seaworld. I have never been there till a few weeks ago when we got the passes. Pretty cool place. We didnt see much. We got to pet the dolphins, and we saw the Sea Lion and Otter show, or the "Pirate Adventures" as Hana likes to call it. The kids had fun. Yesterday, Bryan took the afternoon off of work so we could go again. Man, it was packed. Of course, being a holiday didnt help. Anyway, we just walked around a few minutes and decided to see the Shamu show "Believe". Now, this was my first time seing the famed Shamu. We got there real early and had amazing seats, not in the soak zone, thank goodness! So we got to watch the wales before the show just hanging out. It was pretty funny. There were no trainers around and 3 of the wales were just sitting there, not doing anything. All of a sudden, there was one that was a little playful, you could tell he was a young baby. Without anyone telling him what to do, he just kept swimming around and splashing everyone. He would go splash a few times, and then stop, pick his head up out of the water and start making a noise like he was laughing. He was just doing it for attention. It was so funny to see him interact with the people. Anyway, the show started and it was one of those things that gave me goose bumps. Just to see the size of these animals and how gentle they were. Truly amazing. Chloe just screamed at them in joy, Maddie clapped everytime they did a trick, and Hana kept saying to me "did you see that? That was amazing!" When it was over, Hana turned to me and said "Mom, the first time we came here, I like the Pirate Adventures. This time, I LOVED the Shamu show." Then it started raining, we got soaked and went home! I just enjoy having something like that to be able to share with the girls.

Storms

So far this hurricane season has been pretty mild. I have enjoyed not being stuck in a closet for hours at a time. Well, as many of you know, we are leaving Sunday for a cruise that has been planned for a long time. Just Bryan and I. We have had one storm so far, it turned out to be a dud for us. And, by the looks of things, there is one on its way. But it looks like it wont come near us till next week.....when we are out! I am not worried about the kids here during a storm, I am worried that we wont get our full cruise experience because of it. Supposedly, the ship will just take a different route then planned to get out of the way, that is fine with me. As long as we still get to go somewhere. It has taken too much for us to get this far....

I can not believe this has actually happened. Steve Irwin, famed croc hunter, died Moday in Australia filming for a tv show called "Oceans Deadliest". He was stung by a stingray. Normally this would not be a fatal thing, but he was stung right in the heart. They say it was a complete freak accident. With all the animals he has been around and the things he has done, to be killed like this is crazy. Normally, I would not post on something like this....media stuff....but for some reason, this seemed different. I just think of his wonderful wife and children at home.....after this sad note, I hope you all enjoy your day and stay safe. Love you all.

This time next week I will be sitting on a big ship....time doesnt go fast enough.

Awwww, how sweet....

Many of you know that earlier this year, I was making meatloaf and put my wedding ring on the counter so it would not get all meaty and nasty. Well, I threw it away and was so upset....jump ahead now to Wednesday evening...I had gone out, without the girls, to dinner with a bunch of ladies from church. When I came home, Bryan and I had a RIDICULOUS fight, his fault, of course...I cried (always works!!!) he apologized (like he should!) and felt bad (good, it worked!)...just when I thought I had married a donkey, he pulled out a box from Na Hoku, a Hawiian jewelry store that I love. In the box was a beautiful ring. He was going to wait till we were on our cruise to give it to me but was too excited and couldnt wait. It is similar to the one I threw away....if you remember what that was. It is a band with what looks like floating princess cut diamonds, 7 of them! So, moral of the story...if you cry hard enough you get diamonds...I think thats what the moral is supposed to be. I dont know...thats what I got from it!!

This goes out to everyone....

For all of you family and friends reading this, we miss you all and love you and hope to see everyone soon. Like we have said before, since we are so bad at traveling out of state, you are all welcome to come see us anytime! We have several marked off the list...Amy, Mom, Dad and Mark in a month, Lisa in a few months, Lisa-Anny-Panny soon...but the rest of you need to come now!! I mean it. Anyone is welcome! Carol, I get it...you wont be here....but the rest of you, if you are ever anywhere near Orlando, or anywear in Florida, call, stop by, anything, I am desperate....not really, just miss our loved ones. All right, I will stop begging. Love you all!!!

Views from Harmony

So, dad, this is what is looks like...well, sort of. It is just a portion of what you will see. There is so much more to it. The girls are so excited to show you their new home. Cant wait to see you!

mmmmmmm....

Mommy let us make cookies in her new kitchen before she did....

Fun in the sun

We got a slip and slide for Maddie's birthday! It was so much fun. We were a little hesitant at first but mommy said she would show us how to do it. We had a blast. We are still not sure if she had more fun than us, but we had a good time. Maddie was naked. She thinks wearing panties is better than a swim suit! Mommy said that we wore it out and we could not bring it to the new house. We dont mind though. We have the fountains and pool to play in. It was fun while it lasted! Thanks mammaw!

Look what I can do!

My parents have been a little worried about me recently. See, I have two sisters who are over-achievers and started walking, well, running, at 9 months. Mom and Dad know that is not normal, but when I turned 1 and still had not taken any steps, they were getting annoyed. I know it frustrated them. But you know what? I am going to let you in on a little secret...I have known how to walk for a while. I am just the smart one and I know that mommy will carry me if I pretend I can only crawl. She caught me walking a couple times, which I then quickly sat down. Oops! Well, this past Saturday, gave in...they were bribing me with too many goodies...I had to! So, now I am a 14 month old walking machine. I love to push Maddie around in my car. She thinks she is the queen. I even learned this cool trick where I stand on my head and look at everyone upside-down. Pretty cool the things I can do now that I gave in to the walking thing. Now, when am I going to let them know that I can talk.....

Busy, busy!

So much going on since the move. My birthday was last week. Bryan took off work and took me furniture shopping. Then we went out for dinner here in Harmony. Soooo good! Most of our days are spent at the park or pool. We go to the lake occasionally, but too many gators for little girls to be around. Bryan has been busy building docks. But, for the most part, we are settled. Last week we were about to go to bed when we looked in our front yard and there was a big Florida Panther. Amazing and beautiful! So cool to have that kind of wildlife here. Chloe is feeling better after her ear infection last weekend. I let it go too far without seeing a doctor. When her fever spiked 104, I knew it was time. So, after all that, she is fine! Mom came out today to spend time with us. The girls had so much fun. These pics are from today. I promise more to come from around our town! Love ya all and miss you all something terrible!

Baby kisses are the best!

Its about time!!

We are here. We finally have a computer! We love it! Closing on the house didnt go as planned. We ended up closing a week later. I guess the lady who was buying the home was in Puerto Rico...how are you supposed to buy a home when you are out of the country? Anyway, after much aggrivation, we finally made it. The home is beautiful...the town is wonderful...and after 5 years of being married, we have finally bought a king sized bed. Sure beats sleeping in a double! The girls and I take a daily walk to the lake to watch the gators and try to see some hatching. We are eager to seek out the hiking trails here. It is just very peaceful. Our neighbors are wonderful. We have already made lots of friends...the girls have lots of little ones to play with here!!! So, tomorrow we will try to go out and take lots of pictures so all of you grandparents...and friends!.....can see what we do here. We love you all and thanks for all the well wishes and prayers!

Here's the deal...

Alright, for those of you wondering (dad) (does anyone else read this?) if we dont hear anything from the title company by noon tomorrow, we will move sometime next week. Even if closing goes through monday. Our realtor told them that is what we are doing....so they need to let us know. Uggh, I hate waiting.....

Are we there yet?

I spoke to our realtor today and no one knows what is going on, as far as the closing goes. The mortgage company that the poeple are using is some small, no name place that has no desire to talk to anyone except for the people themselves. They will not talk to our realtor, the title company, or anyone to let them know if they are going to be ready to close on Monday. So, of course, we dont want to close on the house we are moving into without knowing what is going on. I am just frustrated and ready for this to be over....why cant anything ever go the way it is supposed to?