Today was the talent dress rehearsal for all of the kids participating. We missed the second rehearsal due to the cruise. Oh well. There were some really great performances which included our kids (of course).
Here is Anita ...
and here is Minnie!
..
We went to the Green Street Fair in downtown Plymouth during the first weekend of May. It was a lot of fun trying out different food and beauty products. Whole Foods Market had the whole middle section of The Gathering and offered many tasty treats. Plenty of free samples from Eden Soy pasta, Nordic Naturals supplements, Lush bath bombs, pens / lip balms / bags (yes - literally) of popcorn from Bosch could be had. We even planted trees at a National Forest in Michigan. Lots of great live bands played on stage, too.
While it is great to have an annual yearly event to promote conservation / alternative energy sources / sustainability / organic concepts, I think everyday should be a day where people can make an effort to take care of our great Mother Earth. 'Nuff said - here are some pictures!
The kids wrote down their thoughts on large colourful boards at a booth on the corner.
One of the trees we planted in Michigan courtesy of Toyota Motor Company. 
Minnie's seventh birthday was this past Monday. It has always been a dream of his to "see the ocean and find shells." Well, MJM and I did just that and took the kids to the Bahamas! We flew in to Orlando and was whisked away to Port Canveral where we boarded the Carnival Sensation. As we headed out into the open sea, we saw two dolphins swimming by the ship as well as a sea turtle.
We went to a Junkanoo beach party in Freeport. The kids found five conch shells on the beach, and we brought the best ones home as souvenirs.
In Nassau, we took a small boat to a private island where we swam alongside stingrays and fed them during the day. They were in an enclosed pen off the beach. On another part of the beach, a wild stingray swam up to Minnie and everyone crowded around. We went walking around the town in the afternoon after the stingray adventure.
Of course, we partook in the various activities on board the ship: swimming, animal towel making class, bingo, and of course, live entertainment which included several performances by the kids. Below is a video of the kids singing and playing the piano shortly after we boarded the ship. MJM encouraged them to ask the pianist if they could try to play the piano with fairly good results!
EDIT on 05.13.2008: I'm putting the photos from my little Kodak on Facebook.
Here's a link to the Kodak photos.
EDIT on 05.14.2008: Now, a link to the Nikon photos!
