cruise

If you know me, you know I'm a planner.  Sometimes it backfires on me, but for the most part, it pays off!  This summer when I put the important school calendar dates into my planner, I realized we had a 5-day weekend this week.  What else should we do with that much time than getaway.  So, we booked a cruise and sailed away!  We flew out Thursday after school and boarded our ship on Friday morning.

We had an early boarding time, so it gave us some quality time on the ship before it got crowded.

The kids tested out the water slides and the soft serve.

They played putt putt...

and enjoyed more yummy food and some relaxation.  

They love to rock climb, so it was fun that there was a wall on the ship.

We splurged for a balcony room.  

We cleaned up for our first dinner in the dining room.

After dinner Emmy and I went to an ice-skating show and Bryce participated in a teen dodge ball tournament. 

Once we picked up speed on the boat, I could really notice the rocking and it took me a couple of hours to get my sea legs.  

Our first full day was at Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay.

Jason couldn't wait to take the kids snorkeling. Byrce loved it, but Emmy is like me and didn't really like seeing what she's swimming with. 

Island time looks good on her.

Bryce too!

A day of relaxation is just what the doctor ordered.  I thought for sure we'd be escaping cold weather at home on this trip, but we actually had record breaking highs in the 80's while we were gone!

We're made for this!

There was a water park on the island that you could get tickets for, but the kids enjoyed the free water entertainment just as well.

It never gets old.

Bryce was the driving force behind the cruise.  Emmy was a little hesitant about it, but she loved it too.

I brought coordinating outfits in hopes of us getting a Christmas card worthy picture one night at dinner, but the camera angles weren't great.

The towel art is so fun!

Bryce did a little boogie boarding during teen hours after dinner the second night.

We were going much slower on the second night, and I didn't have any seasickness issues.  

Day 2 started with some on-board fun.  Emmy had to get in on the boogie boarding action once they opened up for all ages.

I loved how they changed out the day of the week in the elevators every day.

The kids played a round of laser tag before we hopped off the boat for the day. 

Our next stop was Nassau, Bahamas.  We had planned to stay on the boat and do all the fun things with less crowds but because we had done it all by day 2, we booked a last-minute jeep excursion.  

We had a guide who led us through a few stops through town.

Our first stop was for an authentic Bahamian meal of BBQ ribs, chicken, baked macaroni and cheese, and rice and beans.  It was delicious!

Our second stop was a cave with plenty of fruit bats. 

The final stop was a local beach for some swimming.  The boys got in for about 2 minutes before a pop-up rain shower rushed us out to close the top on our jeep.  It was pretty though!

I didn't get a picture of us on the las night before dinner, but we did enjoy foosball, pool and Sunday night football before calling it a night! 

Unfortunately, the seas were rough, and the winds were strong, so I had to leave dinner early and lay in the room for a bit until I got acclimated.  The cruise was definitely fun, but probably not my preferred method of travel.

Our original plan for Monday when we got off the ship was to drive to Jupiter, Florida for the boys to swim with the sharks.  They were supposed to go in January of 2021 while we were in Disney World, but it was cancelled due to rough seas, so we rescheduled it for this trip and unfortunately, it was cancelled again!  I don't think it's meant for them to do it.  But since we had a rental car and a late-night flight, we decided to take a drive to Key West!

It was fun to say we've been here!

It was a seven hour round trip drive for a picture and lunch, but it was a great way to spend our day with a purpose rather than wandering aimlessly around Miami while we waited for our flight.  

We saw quite a few iguanas while we were there. 

We came home well rested, more tanned and with full bellies!

halloween

We had a free night last week so we carved our pumpkins.  

The kids needed very little, if any, assistance from us this this year.

They came up with their designs on their own and hand drew them this year rather than using a template.

Festive treats and The Great Pumpkin are carving night traditions. 

Emmy went to a Halloween party on Saturday night with her gym friends. 

The kids could dress up for youth group on Sunday night so Bryce dressed like our youth minister. 

Jason got a new suit this year!  Of course he wore it to work today!

I realized today that this is the 4th Halloween that Emmy has worn this shirt!  I think it's the last year for it.

We have done trunk or treat at church every year on Halloween since Bryce was born.  Our kids have never gone door to door trick or treating and have always wanted to so we figured we'd do it this year before they (Bryce especially) age out.  

Instead of staying in our neighborhood we went over to a friend's house who host a bunch of families each year.  I got creative and brought some themed treats!

Yoda and a baseball player.  

Our festive family!

Bryce has made some great friends in middle school.  Also dressing as a baseball player is cheap and easy at this age!

Checking out the loot!

We all had a great time! 

i'm running out of catchy titles

School has pretty much gotten back to normal this year.  I was excited to bring Emmy lunch at school for the first time since second grade.  This will probably be the last year for it!

This week was spirit week at Bryce's school.  Each day was a candy theme.  Bryce and his baseball buddies dressed up as triplets for 3 musketeers day!

I went on a walk through the neighborhood where Emmy has piano lessons this week during her lesson.  It was a little chilly, but it was pretty!

Bryce went to camp this weekend for a youth retreat for church.  It looks and sounds like he had a great time!

Emmy had an in-house (get the jitters out) meet on Saturday to kick off the season.  This year is extra fun because she got to pick out her own floor music and have a routine choreographed just for her.  It's a super cute routine and she took home first place in floor at the meet!

It's going to be a great season!

halfway through october, what?1?

Picture day was this week!

They cleaned up well.

EmmY and her reading buddy.

My girlfriends and I had a Hocus Pocus 2 party planned for Friday.  I'm not a huge fan and had only seen the first one in recent years, but I love a good theme so I went all out with a shirt and earrings!

And I made a few fall themed treats.  

This is about the extent of my spookiness!

We saw tons of fun Sanderson Sisters themed charcuterie boards but we kept ours simple. 

A few of us got matching shirts!

Bryce had his last baseball games of the season on Sunday.  Apparently eye black isn't just for football anymore. 

Emmy made some pumpkin white chocolate chip muffins today.  They smelled and tasted delicious!

I can't even believe we're halfway through October already!

fall fun

I don't have many pictures from the last couple of weeks, but here's a quick recap!

We had to make a trip out to the State Fair while it was in town.  Emmy needed a giant turkey leg and we had to see how Jason did in the sunflower competition this year.  He placed 1st for best quality and 2nd for largest head.  Not too bad!

Fall came in with a vengeance this year and I'm not ready for it.  I'd take 80 with a little humidity all year rather than these cooler (feels cold) temperatures. 

Thig guy doesn't get a lot of screen time, but he's so cute!

Emmy and I made our favorite fall treats this week.

We went to Kelly and Dave's on Saturday for a family reunion for Jason's mom's side of the family.

It was a great turnout, and we were even missing almost as many as were there!