The Family Carnival Sensation Cruise to the Bahamas (04.27.2008 - 05.01.2008)

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!

MRM's Birthday (04.28.2007)

Hello fair readers:

Apologies for the delay in posting... We've been really busy with EO (end of) year activities for the kids and enjoying the weather and our backyard!

I wanted to post a few pictures of Minnie's birthday that we had at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City and time up at the cabin on Lake Leelanau. We tricked the kids in thinking that they were going to school when we actually drove directly up North to hang out at the cabin. LOL - it was awesome!

The night before we left, we stuffed both the Cruiser and Roger's truck to the brim.




On our way to get breakfast, MJM told the kids the truth.



Minnie is the center of attention as he listens to dad tell him about the rocket. We're at the Great Wolf Lodge in this picture.


The kids playing at the beach at Leland.

Happy Birthday, Scoog! (01.31.2007)

Today is Yummers' birthday! We made cupcakes for her class snack last night. It was fun, a wee bit messy and delicious!

More later! :O)

EDIT: Her classlmates LOVED the cupcakes. We did bring a few home and the serving tray. All cupcakes should have cream cheese frosting.

Here are a few pictures from our birthday party at home!


The birthday balloons from Granny and Groom-Gram!


Last, but not least, the birthday girl!
(If you're wondering what that long dangly silver tube is, it's part of our Unico system that provides central air in our house. It will be put back up, don't worry! :O))

The GWL Experience (01.27.2007)

We went to The Great Wolf Lodge (GWL) in Mason, OH on Saturday as a surprise for Yummers' birthday. We sent a letter to Yummers in the mail that said that there was a birthday surprise for her, but she had to solve some clues to get to the answer. She solved the questions and wanted to see Wiley Wolf and the surprise. We drove up to the GWL, and Yummers said, "I'd really like to stay here next year for my birthday" still not realising this was for her! We walked through the long corridors to get to the room where the surprise was ("Kids Kamp") and saw a present wedged in the door. The kids saw a white shoe, went inside and realised it was Granny and Groom-Gram! LOL! The kids were tricked!

It was a lot of fun going down the waterslides, and the food for a resort park was excellent. The sushi-grade tuna and greens that I had for dinner were delicious.

Anyhow, on to the picutres!

The kids at the entrance.


Yummers taking a pause in fun to pose for the camera...


and so is Minnie!


Dinner time! (Nice hat, Minnie!)


Here is the clip I took of the surprise dessert. They came earlier then I expected as you can tell! :O)