Christmas Greetings 2008

Another year's ending, I'll give you the gist.
Events kept on happening, sometimes with a twist!

We traveled, played soccer, and danced up a storm.
By the end of it all, this family was worn!

We're happy to say we survived yet another.
And we're glad to report that we still love each other!

Where does the time go? I can't believe that we've already come to the end of another year. This year was full of ups and downs, but for the most part, we all survived it well!

This year brought many opportunities for travel. The Mister and I took a ten day cruise to French Polynesia and The Cook Islands. It was a new experience for us to spend time alone together, I think we should do it again sometime! The Princess and I spent about ten days in New York City for a national dance convention. In October, we went to Orlando to play at Disney World. From Orlando, we took a family cruise to The Bahamas on the Disney Wonder. I think it's safe to say that this was our family's all time favorite vacation.

The Buddies took up soccer this year. The Mister coached their team. While it wasn't exactly a winning season (ours was one of the youngest teams), the boys had a really great time. The Buddies started kindergarten this year--what a change that was! They are in separate classes and enjoying making new friends. JJ's teacher loves him for making her smile. Max is in the highest reading group in his class. Zeke is friends with all the girls--yes, all of them...

HRH, the Princess, is dancing on Teen Company at her studio. Age-wise she is only a Junior, but she competes against the older dancers. We enjoy traveling to conventions and competitions, and she will be competing for another national title again this summer. HRH is only in 7th grade and is already studying Algebra II and getting straight As. She's such an over achiever!

The Eldest took a little detour this year. It was a great decision and we are proud of him. I think our whole family has benefited from his choice. He is back home and going back to school in January. I can't believe he will be graduating this spring! He continues with his music, art, and voracious reading. The boys now reaches six feet tall and is officially tall, dark, and handsome!

We hope 2008 brought you as much fun and excitement as we enjoyed.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

What a Trip - Disney Wonder Cruise

Mister and The Princess joined our party for the cruise on the Disney Wonder. What an awesome experience! We sailed to the Bahamas and spent a day on Nassau and a day on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. The kids had never cruised before and they loved it!

The ship was beautiful and our two bedroom suite was amazing. We had two bedrooms with walk-in closets, three bathrooms (two with full-sized bathtubs), a living room, and a dining room. The concierge staff delivered a basket of cookies or treats to our room every afternoon. Can you believe it???

The Eldest checked into the Teen Aloft Club and we hardly saw him the rest of the cruise. He wandered in each morning at about 2am. I think he made some new friends and I know he had a great time. One afternoon he went out on a wave runner excursion. He said it was awesome.

The Princess didn't want to hang out in the club, but we had a great time watching live shows and going to the movies. We took a catamaran out to a reef and snorkeled one afternoon. I don't think she enjoyed the salty water, and I know she didn't like the idea of using a snorkel that had someone else's germs on it, oh well. It was fun anyway! Aboard the ship, HRH got into the pin trading. She made some sweet trades with the crew.

JJ, Max, and Zeke loved the kids club. They played games and made flubber. They took a ride on a glass bottom boat and fed the fish some oatmeal. Zeke wanted to know why we couldn't always live on the ship. Aside from the cost, I can't find a reason. I loved having the kids entertained all day!

What a Trip - Walt Disney World

Note to self: midnight arrivals are not fun after a week-long trip. We got in late last night and everyone was so tired, but we earned that tired!

We had the BEST time in Florida and on the cruise. I had forgotten how fun it is to be part of the Disney Magic. I have been to Disneyland a million times (slight exaggeration) and to the Magic Kingdom in Florida several times; I don't care how old you are, it's still a fun place to be.

Last Saturday the boys (all four of them) and I left for Florida. Grandma and Grandpa came with us--thank heavens! We stayed in Orlando and spent several days at Walt Disney World. We saw the animals at the Animal Kingdom and followed that up with several days at the Magic Kingdom with the last day at Epcot.

The boys enjoyed the Magic Kingdom the most--big surprise. But you'll never guess their favorite ride: HAUNTED MANSION!

I think we toured the mansion 4 times one day and 5 times the next! The best was on the third time through when JJ said,

"I love this ride, and this time I'm going to keep my eyes open!"

The Eldest and I found a new way to meet people. We decided to do a little pin trading as a competition. We bought the cheapest pins we could find and then he had to trade for a Jack Skellington pin before I could trade for a specific Tinkerbell. We worked really hard and met lots of people, but in the end, we both had to buy our pins of choice. We had a really great time trying though, and the little boys joined in the fun, too!



Although we did make one unexpected stop on our trip (to the ER--JJ got a 103* fever and sore throat) and one unplanned stopover (overnight in Atlanta due to a missed connection) this trip was a success. And there are more details to come! Wait until you hear about the cruise!!!

Trip or Vacation

My definition of a vacation is completely different from my definition of a trip.

A vacation is when you go away (usually without the kids) and do nothing but relax. Relaxing may somtimes include sleeping late, breakfast in bed, lounging on the beach, dinners out, but it must always include arriving back at home rested, relaxed, and ready for life.

Let me clearly state that I am about to embark on a trip--not a vacation. Now, that's not to say that I don't expect to have a fabulous time--because I do! But peaceful and relaxing? No, I'm not counting on it.

We (which includes my husband, myself, our 5 kids, grandma, and grandpa) are going on a cruise. I fully anticipate that we will come home overstimulated, weary, sunburned, sleepy, crabby, tired, anxious, and exhausted. (Best case scenario--of course!)

But we are excited!!! This will be the kids' first cruise and we will be sailing on the Disney Wonder. If anyone has any tips for cruising with kids, send them over quick! We leave on Saturday!