Well, it's been too long since I've done this and now I can hardly remember what has happened over the last 10 weeks! We've been busy with school and all extracurricular activities. I have been working a lot...3 times a week, and then volunteering 5 hours a week in the school (all in one day) as well as being Kindergarten room parent. It has left little time to get much else done! I am playing hockey and running quite a bit. I ran the Boulder back roads (1/2 marathon) in Oct. so I could get a qualifying time for an event I want to do in August. It went better than I thought it would...and on only 3 weeks training! I am getting ready to start a 3 day a week spanish class...which means less time for work for me! This is great actually as I've been wanting to do this for the last year and am now making it a priority! It is a day class as my evenings are very busy with kid activities so should work out great! Ehren has been busy with work and playing hockey. He has been running and swimming as well. This Sept. was his 15 year anniversary with Qualcomm! Wow, where has the time gone? They had a nice celebration dinner for a few of the guys up at Flagstaff House in Boulder...wonderful meal and a view to die for!
In Sept. we added a pet to the family...sorta say. Her name is Skittles and she is a gecko...born in July and growing fairly quickly! You can see pictures of her as well on our website. She's pretty squirmy yet but apparently can become a great companion...likes to watch TV and be talked to a lot. :-)
We had a bit of excitement in early Oct. as Emily was bucked off her pony and broke her wrist. You can read more about it in her blog. She was without use of her right arm from her elbow down for a month...kinda hard when you are right handed!
We had a short notice adoption in October...not the kind you think! Ehren's Mom sold her house and we adopted her piano that she has had since the late 60's. It is in amazing condition and with 2 weeks notice...Ehren booked a flight up and a UHaul to drive it back with! We are now the owners of a piano! Thanks Elaine!! We'll take great care of it!
Halloween has come and gone. The kids were dressed up as a skeleton, a pink leopard, and a gypsy this year. We had beautiful weather and were out trick or treating for 2 1/2 hours! Needless to say they ended up with more candy than necessary and I was glad when they decided to donate much of it . :-)
We just got back from a road trip. It was much shorter and lasted only 5 days. We covered some great territory heading south to New Mexico and dipped into Texas right near the Mexico/Texas border. We visited Carlsbad Caverns (main drive behind the trip) then went to the White Sand Dunes, up to Fire and Ice (Bandera volcano and Ice cave) then to a Wolf Wildlife Sanctuary in CO. The Carlsbad Caverns was very impressive...much bigger than the Cave of the Winds which we we went to last summer in CO Springs. The White Sand dunes (miles of them) were amazing and we enjoyed sledding down the dunes. Check out our pics of all the stops we made on our picture page!
We recently had some very exciting news as we have yet another nephew!! Ehren's brother Nathan and his wife Kiran had the birth of their first son, Arjun Leo van Melle on Nov. 13th. He was 6lbs. 15 oz. and 18" long. Hopefully we'll get to meet him this summer!
We are now getting ready for the Holidays. We are having Thanksgiving with Deana and Jay and will be celebrating Christmas here this year and my parents will be coming as well this year...so more family time! In the New Year we have planned a trip to Mexico once again. Hopefully I will get to updating the site again before another 10 weeks is up!! :-)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Sept. 1 update
Well what a great month August turned out to be! It's been busy with back to school and sports starting up...but it's all good. I have volunteered to be room Mom in Evan's class so will be busy with that as well as volunteering pretty much all day Thursdays between all three classrooms. I have also been busy with work as I am now working 3 days a week until sometime in November. I am covering some medical leave between Longmont and Boulder offices so am in quite often. Ehren's work is steady and not too stressful at the moment. Review time is coming up which always means more meetings, therefore, more work and extra hours.
Ehren's playing hockey again this fall and mine will start up soon. We are busy with trying to keep running and just keeping up with our kids!
We took a day trip to Estes Park this month. Ehren booked us a riding session for an hour one saturday. It was a lot of fun. The horses were very well trained and looked after nicely. The wranglers were great with all of us and gave great instruction. After riding we went up to Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park for a hike. We didn't get far on the hike b/c we came across the waterfall/river and the kids played in that for over an hour. They had a lot of fun and did get wet! Our stomachs called so we had to leave for lunch but would love to go back soon. For lunch we ate at a little restaurant on the side of the road...great little place...and we ate outside. Beautiful view of the mountains and a bench swing to boot for the kids to play on. :-) WE went through Lyons on our way back and hit the Pro Cycling Challenge of CO. We got to see all the racers. It was really cool to see all the support vehicles and media that was both before and after the cyclists. Very neat! Evan lost his first tooth on the way home so it made it even that much more of a special day. :-)
The end of the month we went to Johnson Lake, NE with the Landrigan family. We went to celebrate Levi's birthday. What a great weekend. The weather was awesome and we couldn't keep the kids out of the boats, water, tubes, etc. When not on the water they were usually on the trampoline. So much fun and we thank Don and Charlotte for sharing their special place on the lake with us. :-) We hope to go back next summer again. The kids water skied, Ehren tried wake boarding...and me, well, they only had a slalom ski when I was out and that's not for me! Next time we'll make sure they have two skis. :-)
Life is busy but that is great. We are in a good routine right now and the kids get some down time in the evening which is nice. We'll keep plugging along!!
Ehren's playing hockey again this fall and mine will start up soon. We are busy with trying to keep running and just keeping up with our kids!
We took a day trip to Estes Park this month. Ehren booked us a riding session for an hour one saturday. It was a lot of fun. The horses were very well trained and looked after nicely. The wranglers were great with all of us and gave great instruction. After riding we went up to Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park for a hike. We didn't get far on the hike b/c we came across the waterfall/river and the kids played in that for over an hour. They had a lot of fun and did get wet! Our stomachs called so we had to leave for lunch but would love to go back soon. For lunch we ate at a little restaurant on the side of the road...great little place...and we ate outside. Beautiful view of the mountains and a bench swing to boot for the kids to play on. :-) WE went through Lyons on our way back and hit the Pro Cycling Challenge of CO. We got to see all the racers. It was really cool to see all the support vehicles and media that was both before and after the cyclists. Very neat! Evan lost his first tooth on the way home so it made it even that much more of a special day. :-)
The end of the month we went to Johnson Lake, NE with the Landrigan family. We went to celebrate Levi's birthday. What a great weekend. The weather was awesome and we couldn't keep the kids out of the boats, water, tubes, etc. When not on the water they were usually on the trampoline. So much fun and we thank Don and Charlotte for sharing their special place on the lake with us. :-) We hope to go back next summer again. The kids water skied, Ehren tried wake boarding...and me, well, they only had a slalom ski when I was out and that's not for me! Next time we'll make sure they have two skis. :-)
Life is busy but that is great. We are in a good routine right now and the kids get some down time in the evening which is nice. We'll keep plugging along!!
Monday, August 13, 2012
August update
Well, I have pretty much missed the whole summer of blogging...so that indicates a busy summer, therefore, a lot to write about! :-) June flew by! The kids started tennis and loved it. A great age appropriate class for each of them. Definitely a must for next summer. Emily of course fell in love with her riding lessons and Evan enjoyed Tball. It is a bit of a commitment but he really liked it. Emily and Evan also took golf lessons and really enjoyed it. Jaelynn was wishing she was taking...but she waited a bit too long. :-) We continued with swim and violin as well...the usual stuff.
The girls did the Longmont Kids Triathlon this year (and I did the adult one) in June. They had a great time and talk about doing it again next year...Evan will likely take part next year too. :-) We had a great Father's Day with hanging around for some Daddy time, then off to the Monster Truck races at the CO Speedway. It was a blast and the kids loved it. Wasn't too hot which was a bonus as well. There are some good pic on the website as well.
Throughout the month of June we did weekly hikes with some friends in the neighborhood. We went to several places throughout Boulder county and saw some new areas. The kids enjoyed and we found a couple great areas.
One hi-light of the summer was our camping trip to Ouray, CO. It is about a 6 hr drive southwest down near Telluride. We took 4 days and went down with another family (kids same age as ours). Even with the fire ban at the time we had a great time. It was warm enough we didn't need fire for warmth...and mid summer so we had light pretty late. We encountered snakes, baby skunks (at a safe distance), lizards, squirrels, deer, and we had a nice little black bear at the campsite. I think between our 6 kids they kept the bear away from the camp sites. I'm sure our neighbor campers were happy. :-) Ehren and friend Todd hiked up a 14-er (main reason for this location of trip). That day Heidi and I took the kids hiking, to the beach, and then for iced cream. :-) On this trip our kids also learned to fish...themselves that is. :-) It was a great time. We took part of a day and drove to Telluride and rode the gondola up the ski hill. A beautiful area that we'd love to go back to sometime!
July brought the 4th of July and then the Johnson family visited us for a weekend on their trip back to San Diego from Canada. As soon as they were gone we had Blair and Dar around for a couple weeks. They were grand kid sitting. Ehren and I went to Vegas for brother Nathan's wedding to Kiran...Mom and Dad watched our kids while we were gone for the 3 1/2 days. We had a great time in Vegas...all Ehren's brothers and Mom were there so we had some good visiting time. The wedding was simple but very well done...all at the Wynn. A great weekend!
We arrived home Sunday evening from Vegas, unpacked and re-packed to head out on a two week road trip! We decided since we'd just seen my parents, and Ehren's family at the wedding we were going to change our summer up and do a road trip south instead of north this year! We have some great pics on the website to check out but here's what we did...
Monday left to Santa Fe, NM for a brief stay. Over the next couple days we visited the Painted Dessert, Petrified Forest (kids earned Junior Ranger badges), Sunset Meteor Crater, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon. We took a drive up to the Grand Canyon and did the Watchtower and hiked along the South Rim. We spent nights in Flagstaff (beautiful town) and Tusayan (near grand canyon). We started south to Scottsdale and enjoyed a wonderful Marriott and dinner at Benihana's. The next day we took off to San Diego. Here we stayed with the Johnson family, visited some old friends from Longmont (met at the beach), went to the Midway (aircraft carrier where the kids earned junior wings), and did SeaWorld. That evening we went to Anaheim to spend a day at each Disneyland and California adventure...we spent my birthday at Disneyland...what a treat! Fun thing...our kids now love doing the bigger roller coasters now...so we did all there was to do! :-) On Thurs. we went to Las Vegas and stayed at a wonderful family resort south on the strip...and did the Hoover Dam. Spent some great time in the pools and then took off driving home on Saturday. Our plan was a two day drive home but by dinner time we decided to drive the whole way...so we actually arrived home sat.night...late. What a wonderful trip! There are so many memories and some great places to see!!
So, that is two months in a nutshell (sort of). Kids' blogs will be short since there has been such a time lapse. :-) School starts shortly and they are sooo excited. Emily starting 4th, Jae to 2nd and Evan in Kindergarten. Wow! I will also start working Mondays and Tuesdays until the end of October once the kids start school. It will be to cover a maternity leave.
We hope you are all doing well and will update you again soon!
The girls did the Longmont Kids Triathlon this year (and I did the adult one) in June. They had a great time and talk about doing it again next year...Evan will likely take part next year too. :-) We had a great Father's Day with hanging around for some Daddy time, then off to the Monster Truck races at the CO Speedway. It was a blast and the kids loved it. Wasn't too hot which was a bonus as well. There are some good pic on the website as well.
Throughout the month of June we did weekly hikes with some friends in the neighborhood. We went to several places throughout Boulder county and saw some new areas. The kids enjoyed and we found a couple great areas.
One hi-light of the summer was our camping trip to Ouray, CO. It is about a 6 hr drive southwest down near Telluride. We took 4 days and went down with another family (kids same age as ours). Even with the fire ban at the time we had a great time. It was warm enough we didn't need fire for warmth...and mid summer so we had light pretty late. We encountered snakes, baby skunks (at a safe distance), lizards, squirrels, deer, and we had a nice little black bear at the campsite. I think between our 6 kids they kept the bear away from the camp sites. I'm sure our neighbor campers were happy. :-) Ehren and friend Todd hiked up a 14-er (main reason for this location of trip). That day Heidi and I took the kids hiking, to the beach, and then for iced cream. :-) On this trip our kids also learned to fish...themselves that is. :-) It was a great time. We took part of a day and drove to Telluride and rode the gondola up the ski hill. A beautiful area that we'd love to go back to sometime!
July brought the 4th of July and then the Johnson family visited us for a weekend on their trip back to San Diego from Canada. As soon as they were gone we had Blair and Dar around for a couple weeks. They were grand kid sitting. Ehren and I went to Vegas for brother Nathan's wedding to Kiran...Mom and Dad watched our kids while we were gone for the 3 1/2 days. We had a great time in Vegas...all Ehren's brothers and Mom were there so we had some good visiting time. The wedding was simple but very well done...all at the Wynn. A great weekend!
We arrived home Sunday evening from Vegas, unpacked and re-packed to head out on a two week road trip! We decided since we'd just seen my parents, and Ehren's family at the wedding we were going to change our summer up and do a road trip south instead of north this year! We have some great pics on the website to check out but here's what we did...
Monday left to Santa Fe, NM for a brief stay. Over the next couple days we visited the Painted Dessert, Petrified Forest (kids earned Junior Ranger badges), Sunset Meteor Crater, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon. We took a drive up to the Grand Canyon and did the Watchtower and hiked along the South Rim. We spent nights in Flagstaff (beautiful town) and Tusayan (near grand canyon). We started south to Scottsdale and enjoyed a wonderful Marriott and dinner at Benihana's. The next day we took off to San Diego. Here we stayed with the Johnson family, visited some old friends from Longmont (met at the beach), went to the Midway (aircraft carrier where the kids earned junior wings), and did SeaWorld. That evening we went to Anaheim to spend a day at each Disneyland and California adventure...we spent my birthday at Disneyland...what a treat! Fun thing...our kids now love doing the bigger roller coasters now...so we did all there was to do! :-) On Thurs. we went to Las Vegas and stayed at a wonderful family resort south on the strip...and did the Hoover Dam. Spent some great time in the pools and then took off driving home on Saturday. Our plan was a two day drive home but by dinner time we decided to drive the whole way...so we actually arrived home sat.night...late. What a wonderful trip! There are so many memories and some great places to see!!
So, that is two months in a nutshell (sort of). Kids' blogs will be short since there has been such a time lapse. :-) School starts shortly and they are sooo excited. Emily starting 4th, Jae to 2nd and Evan in Kindergarten. Wow! I will also start working Mondays and Tuesdays until the end of October once the kids start school. It will be to cover a maternity leave.
We hope you are all doing well and will update you again soon!
Saturday, June 02, 2012
June 1 update
Here we are already in June. Wow, time has flown. School is officially done for the kids with the girls ending in a fun field day at school. Evan with Pre K grad under his belt and the girls finished 1 and 3rd grades! School activities have finished and we are doing violin and swimming and Em started horse riding. Evan continues with T-ball (now games) and Golf lessons this past week for Em and Evan. In June we start Tennis for a couple weeks!
Earlier in the month we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with our neighbors and the Landrigans. We had a wonderful meal and a lot of fun...kids broke a pinata and we had a lot of margaritas! Next on the agenda... a great Mother's Day! I had crepes made for me, lunch made for me...and dinner out at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. In the afternoon we went for a pretty good hike...fair amount of elevation gain on rocky terrain, and then a lot of bouldering. We had a wonderful time!
The girls finished a triathlon this morning which we included in the June 1 update pictures. They are comfortable in the field now and had a lot of fun. Next year little bro will be able to take part. :-)
Ehren continues to play hockey and we're riding, biking, and swimming (a bit) right now. I did a last minute sign up for the triathlon tomorrow but other than that we are a "race free" summer. Deana and I may do the Venus de Miles 67 mile leg in August...have to sign up yet.
This month is a lot of fun activities and a camping trip planned in the southwest corner of CO near Ouray and Telluride with two other families. We are quite excited and the kids are loving the summer so far!
Earlier in the month we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with our neighbors and the Landrigans. We had a wonderful meal and a lot of fun...kids broke a pinata and we had a lot of margaritas! Next on the agenda... a great Mother's Day! I had crepes made for me, lunch made for me...and dinner out at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. In the afternoon we went for a pretty good hike...fair amount of elevation gain on rocky terrain, and then a lot of bouldering. We had a wonderful time!
The girls finished a triathlon this morning which we included in the June 1 update pictures. They are comfortable in the field now and had a lot of fun. Next year little bro will be able to take part. :-)
Ehren continues to play hockey and we're riding, biking, and swimming (a bit) right now. I did a last minute sign up for the triathlon tomorrow but other than that we are a "race free" summer. Deana and I may do the Venus de Miles 67 mile leg in August...have to sign up yet.
This month is a lot of fun activities and a camping trip planned in the southwest corner of CO near Ouray and Telluride with two other families. We are quite excited and the kids are loving the summer so far!
Monday, May 07, 2012
May 1
Well, we had a lot go on in April! We managed to get through Jaelynn and Evan's birthday parties...and we had a wonderful visit from the Gramma's! Ehren's Mom and Gramma came to visit...drove down for a week and spent Easter with us. We had a great visit with them and they managed to take in a lot of activities with us. We had a great Easter with them and had our first fondue at the house for Easter dinner (had a big Easter ham at a friends house for lunch that day too).
Their visit flew by and we had a week to get things "turned around" and then my parents flew in to town on their return to Canada from Mexico. Ehren and I had a couple days here after they arrived then we took off to Vegas for three days while Mom and Dad babysat the kids for us. We had a great time...it had been 6 or 7 years since we'd last been there and boy, a lot has changed!! We stayed at The Mirage which was newly renovated, and took in a Cirque du Soleil show as well as had a nice evening out at a steakhouse. We did a lot of walking and bought our very first real piece of art. It was a great time and very over due!
We made it back to get back into the swing of things!
One last very exciting piece of news...we will be an aunt and uncle again! Ehren's brother Nathan and his fiance Kiran are expecting a baby in November!! Yay!! Congrats guys!
Their visit flew by and we had a week to get things "turned around" and then my parents flew in to town on their return to Canada from Mexico. Ehren and I had a couple days here after they arrived then we took off to Vegas for three days while Mom and Dad babysat the kids for us. We had a great time...it had been 6 or 7 years since we'd last been there and boy, a lot has changed!! We stayed at The Mirage which was newly renovated, and took in a Cirque du Soleil show as well as had a nice evening out at a steakhouse. We did a lot of walking and bought our very first real piece of art. It was a great time and very over due!
We made it back to get back into the swing of things!
One last very exciting piece of news...we will be an aunt and uncle again! Ehren's brother Nathan and his fiance Kiran are expecting a baby in November!! Yay!! Congrats guys!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
April 1
Where the heck is the year going already?! I missed blogging for Mar. 1 so playing catch up here. :-) February was busy with school and sports. The kids were all still skating and enjoying the winter activities. Evan started an indoor cycling class that Jaelynn later joined b/c she was so envious of what he was doing...and they both love it! Soccer has started so our schedule is full once again.
We took in the Monster Jam show in Feb. which the kids quite liked. Ehren said the one they went to outside at the speedway last summer was better...this one was in the Pepsi center so a little limited in the "space" to actually do a whole lot of "cool" stuff.
The kids and I took a day trip to the Denver museum to kill an afternoon, Em had a field trip at Celestial Seasonings (which I chaperoned) and we checked out the slot car race tracks for Evan's birthday! In March we took a day trip with some friends to Silverthorne to visit the Ice Castles...pretty cool. It covers about an acre of land...we went during the day but would be beautiful at night. Ehren had a local outdoor hockey tournament (I should mention it was a 75F couple of days...whew...warm for hockey!) which they won, and I had a tournament in Steamboat. While we were in Steamboat we went to the Hot Springs which was quite an experience for the kids. Had a nice weekend and was short but sweet! Another day trip to the museum this week with some friends to see the snake and lizard exhibit.
What else did we miss...oh yes, Emily had her 9th birthday! Wow, where have those years gone? We came to the realization that she has already spend half her life with us already...this is very scary and sad. :-( Our kiddos had great report cards and great annual check ups. So far we run a pretty clean record in all departments! Jaelynn's birthday is this weekend and we will delay her party til mid April...too many conflicts with spring break and Easter. :-)
Not much else. We are expecting Gramma and Great Gramma down for Easter this year. This will be G.G's first trip to visit us in CO. Oh, we did have a surprise visit from Gramma in early March! She was on her way home from Palm Springs and ended up being bumped from her flight leaving DEN to YXE...so she had two bonus days here with us! The girls happened to have the day off school so we went for breakfast at the local airport and she followed us to our activities that friday. What a nice surprise!
Blair & Dar will be coming through in April as well and will be watching our kids for a few days while Ehren and I take a couple days to go to Vegas! It's been a while since we've gone just the two of us so we're looking forward to it...as are the kids. :-)
We took in the Monster Jam show in Feb. which the kids quite liked. Ehren said the one they went to outside at the speedway last summer was better...this one was in the Pepsi center so a little limited in the "space" to actually do a whole lot of "cool" stuff.
The kids and I took a day trip to the Denver museum to kill an afternoon, Em had a field trip at Celestial Seasonings (which I chaperoned) and we checked out the slot car race tracks for Evan's birthday! In March we took a day trip with some friends to Silverthorne to visit the Ice Castles...pretty cool. It covers about an acre of land...we went during the day but would be beautiful at night. Ehren had a local outdoor hockey tournament (I should mention it was a 75F couple of days...whew...warm for hockey!) which they won, and I had a tournament in Steamboat. While we were in Steamboat we went to the Hot Springs which was quite an experience for the kids. Had a nice weekend and was short but sweet! Another day trip to the museum this week with some friends to see the snake and lizard exhibit.
What else did we miss...oh yes, Emily had her 9th birthday! Wow, where have those years gone? We came to the realization that she has already spend half her life with us already...this is very scary and sad. :-( Our kiddos had great report cards and great annual check ups. So far we run a pretty clean record in all departments! Jaelynn's birthday is this weekend and we will delay her party til mid April...too many conflicts with spring break and Easter. :-)
Not much else. We are expecting Gramma and Great Gramma down for Easter this year. This will be G.G's first trip to visit us in CO. Oh, we did have a surprise visit from Gramma in early March! She was on her way home from Palm Springs and ended up being bumped from her flight leaving DEN to YXE...so she had two bonus days here with us! The girls happened to have the day off school so we went for breakfast at the local airport and she followed us to our activities that friday. What a nice surprise!
Blair & Dar will be coming through in April as well and will be watching our kids for a few days while Ehren and I take a couple days to go to Vegas! It's been a while since we've gone just the two of us so we're looking forward to it...as are the kids. :-)
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Feb 1 update
Well, January seems to have slipped by. It seems like I just wrote the update on our cruise...maybe since we only had three weeks of school this month? A couple days after we got back Ehren had to go to San Diego for a few days for business. The kids and I got back into the groove of school and activities. :-)
It's been a very nice month...even with skating one night a week we've freed up a couple nights with the girls not swimming. Emily chose to take time off and we picked one of two options for Jaelynn. I'm quite liking the quieter evenings!
I have been running a lot...and just found a new "fun" thing to do..."Just Dance" on the Wii. It's a great little work out and you feel like you're a rock star! :-) I have a blast playing with the kids and may have to try the "sweat it" feature for a work out sometime! I am hoping to get in some cycling soon...feeling ready to bring my bike in on the trainer again. I am still playing hockey and hoping to take in a tournament in Steamboat in March. I have had a little more time on my hands with not having to work every Wed. since the New year...I will admit it's kind of nice. :-) Finding some time to work on Spanish again!
Ehren has started playing hockey again. He found a team that he loves to play with...down tiered a bit but a great group to play with and he plays with a friend of ours now. He has been running and starting to train for his marathon in May but is finding he's had some tightness around his Achilles area again. His therapist seems to think it's supportive tissue and not directly the Achilles this time which is good. Ehren has been busy with work and now getting to review period again...so collect all the info, go to meetings and do a lot of writing! :-)
We will be busy getting ready for birthday season for us. Hopefully get out skiing a couple more times this month...and the trip to Steamboat as well. We are trying to plan a weekend ski trip to Breckenridge as well with two other families. Would be fun!
It's been a very nice month...even with skating one night a week we've freed up a couple nights with the girls not swimming. Emily chose to take time off and we picked one of two options for Jaelynn. I'm quite liking the quieter evenings!
I have been running a lot...and just found a new "fun" thing to do..."Just Dance" on the Wii. It's a great little work out and you feel like you're a rock star! :-) I have a blast playing with the kids and may have to try the "sweat it" feature for a work out sometime! I am hoping to get in some cycling soon...feeling ready to bring my bike in on the trainer again. I am still playing hockey and hoping to take in a tournament in Steamboat in March. I have had a little more time on my hands with not having to work every Wed. since the New year...I will admit it's kind of nice. :-) Finding some time to work on Spanish again!
Ehren has started playing hockey again. He found a team that he loves to play with...down tiered a bit but a great group to play with and he plays with a friend of ours now. He has been running and starting to train for his marathon in May but is finding he's had some tightness around his Achilles area again. His therapist seems to think it's supportive tissue and not directly the Achilles this time which is good. Ehren has been busy with work and now getting to review period again...so collect all the info, go to meetings and do a lot of writing! :-)
We will be busy getting ready for birthday season for us. Hopefully get out skiing a couple more times this month...and the trip to Steamboat as well. We are trying to plan a weekend ski trip to Breckenridge as well with two other families. Would be fun!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Happiest Ship on Earth
Well, now it's come and gone..yes, the Disney Cruise to the Bahamas that our kids have been talking about for about 10 months. Our trip started New Years Day by flying into Orlando. We were delayed a couple hours as our plane had some "mechanical" problems that needed to be fixed. Once all was done we had a smooth flight and arrived mid afternoon at our hotel...The Hyatt Orlando Airport NW. I highly recommend the hotel. It was clean, newly renovated, and the continental breakfast that was included was more than ample!! Our kids swam for an hour or so (80F) that day and then we had dinner and hit the sack.
Day 2 was a day at Universal Studios Orlando. We decided that it was a quick 20" drive and enough to keep the kids busy for the day. We had a great time and rode the Jaws ride...the last day for it since 1972...it was shutting down and they were putting up a new exhibit! I loved Shrek 3D and the Hollywood Horror show. The kids loved "Disaster" and they claim they liked Jaws...through their eyelids!! :-) We had our driver pick us up at 7, dropped us for dinner and we walked back to the hotel.
Day 3 was a shuttle to Port Canaveral and a very chilly start to the day. It was about 36F that morning...a cold front had blown in...and very windy! We had a nice drive out, saw NASA from a distance, and then of course...our ship! Now, once we got to the Disney terminal (yes, they have their own terminal on the east coast) it was very smooth going. We checked in, showed passports, passed through security, dropped luggage, got Mickey bands for the kids (their on-board GPS), and within an hour or so were boarding the ship. Upon walking on the ship...they yelled a loud..."we welcome the van Melle family" and then a Disney representative pulled us aside, gave us a map of the ship, personal navigator (explain later), and asked us if we had any questions. By now it was 1.00 and she also explained to us where to get lunch...we are now on our own! After a quick lunch we took a tour of the Oceaners club for the kids and found our room. Wow, almost dinner time! Oh...our luggage arrived around 5 p.m. They bring it all on the ship and deliver it to the rooms...same procedure for leaving as well. We later found out there were 4000 passengers on board and 1400 staff...that's more than three times the population of Shellbrook on the ship!!
The ship had 10 decks with rooms, we were on deck 8 and had two rooms...very spacious. There were 12 complete decks and I believe 13 decks if you consider the "partial" decks. We ended up with two adjoining rooms. Each room had a toilet with sink, separate room for shower with sink, and then desk area, plenty of drawers and tonnes of closet space. We had huge port hole windows with cushions in them that the kids loved to sit in and watch the ocean. We were more than pleased with our rooms... and the best part...we heard nothing! The boat was so quiet, and we didn't hear anyone around us...I guess the steel doors did their job...not to mention the floor and ceiling. It's the quietest hotel I've ever been in! We got to meet Rian (Indonesia) tonight as he was our stateroom organizer...he cleaned and made up our room every morning and came in at night to take down our beds, make us lovely towel animals (see pics) and drop off our navigator every night around 10p.m. Our navigator was like a shopping list for the day...it listed every event, show, movie, character sighting, special event, etc for the next day. This made it very easy as we just looked at it and were able to pick and choose what we wanted to do at what time. Almost every show had about 3 show times a day...and the kids clubs had several times for their activities weather it be cooking, science, movie time, dance floor, etc. There was always something to do on the ship between 6 a.m. and midnight!!
Due to the cold front and wind the first day/evening on the ship, there was quite a bit of motion. The staff that we talked to about it said it's the rockiest they'd ever seen...usually they feel nothing. We noticed walking a little awkward that evening due to the motion...we'd heard of a few people getting ill...but the motion was so big it didn't bother any of us...and Ehren is rather prone to motion sickness. Our first night's dinner was at the Garden Terrace. We had the most amazing sunset I've ever seen...the red sky against the dark water...as the restaurant was low so we were at ocean level looking out the windows at sunset. We met our head waiter...Claudia from Jamaica, and our beverage dude...Eris from Indonesia. They were amazing and catered to our every need...even if that included two entrees (mmm, did I just mention that Ehren???) :-) After a great dinner the kids hit the Oceaners club and Ehren and I took a tour of the ship, gym and spa. We picked up the kids (tickled pink with the club) and headed to the room to bed. We'll leave it to be said that every night was 10-10.30 nights for the kids...just too much to be done! :-)
Our first full day started when we got to Castaway Cay (Disney's private Island). It was a cold day by even our standards (I dunno...maybe 50F)?? Brr! I was starting to re-think the 2 sweaters and three pairs of pants I packed for the kids!! We took our time in the morning, did some more touring, got some character signatures and then decided after lunch to venture on to the island. We spent about 2 hours there...kids had about 1 1/2 hrs at the Island's kids club, and then we decided to head back to the ship. Ehren and I toured around the island...we walked quite a distance and had some lunch. We found bike rentals and decided that would be something good to do the second day we were here and the weather would be warmer. Back at the ship...we threw on our bathing suits and went swimming! The pools were heated and the clear water slide...well, not so much. It was cold...even though you ride on a tube...the water that hits you is cold! At any cost, it was fun and we headed to the hot tub after. :-) This is another thing...the floor to the hot tub was clear (and this part of the deck stuck out past the one below) so you could see the ocean and the life boats below us. The side of the hot tub was clear too so it was a neat underwater view to the side. We had fun on the pool decks and hit dinner at our 5.45 seating. Tonight...the Royal Palace...a more formal restaurant. Wonderful food...and Evan was so bushed he fell asleep with his head on the table. :-) I believe we have a picture of that! We did some character signing, kids went to kids club, and we also did an interactive detective mystery with the kids (uses the computerized pictures on the ship). One again...late night!
Day 3 we woke up to sun and warm! By about 8.00 we were entering Port at Nassau. As we ate breakfast we watched as our captain pulled us into the docking area. We had booked an excursion today to go to The Blue Lagoon. If we hadn't of planned an excursion the only option in Nassau is to tour around the Port and local shopping. We met on deck 3 at 9.30 and by 10.15 we were on a boat headed to the Lagoon. We were very happy we planned this for the day as even though it was warm...it was breezy. Note if you're planning on going...Atlantis is more exposed so not as warm on a windy day. The Lagoon is a small island that is "cove like"...kind of like a bay. It's protected so there was no wind. The water was pristine aquamarine and warm. Plenty of shallow areas for kids to play...our kids played a lot in the water and then touring the beach to the other side of the island. We saw a few large fish and a large white crab swimming with us. Further on we saw several smaller fish. We took it easy on the beach and enjoyed the "down time". Many people had booked the stingray feed or dolphin excursion. We had done this before so didn't plan to do it here...and it was nice to have the quiet beach time before all the extra people hit the white sands. By 4.00 we were back on the ship. Kids went to kids club and we went and ran on the treadmills...quick shower and ready for dinner. Tonight we ate at The Animators Palate. I cannot say enough for this restaurant. It had amazing decor, original sketches from Disney movies, original books...and an ambiance like no other. What appeared to be round screens with pictures later came to life with the characters off of Nemo...and Crush even passed by all the screens having interactive conversations with the people dining at tables nearby. It was amazing!! Tonight was also the pirate party night so some people wore pirate outfits...and everyone was given a pirate bandanna to wear. After dinner we hit the Golden Mickey's (live theater mimicking the Golden Globes). The theater was amazing...all actors can sing and dance amazingly!! We had been told it was Broadway quality and I now do agree. It was truly wonderful. After the Mickey's the younger two were tired and wanted to go to bed (10.00pm). There was scheduled fireworks at 10.15...Disney is the only cruise line licensed to have ocean fireworks. Ehren and Emily went up to upper deck to watch the fireworks and take part in the Pirate Party...they partied til 11.15 then came home as it was well past Em's bed time. :-) The other two had been asleep as soon as their head hit the pillow...and I watched the fireworks from our port window...pretty good view from our side of the ship.
Day 4 was a day at Sea. The weather was beautiful once again and we took our time getting ready in the morning and then spent most of the day on the deck swimming and watching movies on the giant screen above the swimming pools. Our kids did the clear water slide about 3 times each...oh, and need I mention, they had to have Ehren or I with them each time...so yeah, we had several rides too! Tonight's dinner once again was at the Animators Palate and then we went to The Muppet's in the movie theater. All movies, comedians, live theater, etc. was free for all (yeah, I know, we paid for it already!), so you just picked what you wanted to see and went! By the time the movie was done we went and saw more characters and once again...bed around 10.15 for the kids.
Day 5 was our last day on the ship. It was also another port stop...our second chance at Castaway Cay...and a beautiful one! Ehren had got up and did the Castaway Cay 5km run. They met on the ship and did a 5k loop on the island. The kids and I got up and had breakfast...and for the first time we used our "wave" phone. The cruise ship gives each room 2 wave phones...portable phones that work on the ship and Castaway Cay. After giving us a call Ehren caught up with us for breakfast and then we got ready to hit the beach! Castaway Cay was beautiful...white sand, so many shells, water bikes, snorkeling, tubes, air mattresses, the "dive"...play area, bike rentals, etc. We started with a bike ride around the island with the kids. With Ehren and I on cruisers and the kids trying out new bikes...we all did pretty good! We rode for about and hour and then decided to hit the water. We found a spot with a few chairs...and even though it was hot the water was quite chilly here. We collected a lot of shells and built some sand castles but didn't spend much time in the water here. Spoiled by Disney's private island, we didn't need money on Castaway Cay...all food and beverage on the island was a continuation of the ship...so you just grabbed whatever you needed and filled your face! After about 3 hours we decided to start wandering back to the ship. Kids wanted to do more water sliding...so we did that! We got cleaned up and our last night's dinner tonight was at the Garden Terrace. We had a bittersweet meal...loved the food but were sad to think of saying bye to Eris and Claudia. They had our likes and dislikes down to a T after the first night.
Last morning...we got up early (set our alarm for the first time since we left) and went to breakfast where our servers served us today (normally breakfast isn't like this). Claudia surprised us with long hair now (her friend was up with her til 4 a.m. putting extensions on). She said since she was "going home" (this was her last cruise with Disney) after today she needed to have long hair again. We gave hugs, wished her safe travels and gave our congrats and best wishes to Eris on his upcoming wedding! By 8.00 we were out of our state room and in the 10" long line to get off the ship. We passed through customs in the Disney terminal and by 8.40 we were waiting for our 9.00 shuttle back to Orlando International. Our flights home made for a long day as we had a stop over in Cleveland. We arrived at our house by 8.10 p.m. and kids were "sacked out" to say the least!
So, after a wonderful experience, here's some hints and hi-lights...
#1 Disney is all about the kids and family...you cannot walk 30ft. without someone saying "hi", asking if you need anything or just giving you "five".
#2 Cleanliness was impressive...from stateroom to meal room. They handed wipes to anyone who entered an eating area...and on every return...even on the island. Rooms were kept very clean as well
#3 Busy beach at Castaway Cay and cold water were disappointing. We've been spoiled by Mom & Dad in PV taking us to the "quiet" beaches where we have several feet of sand to ourselves. :-)
#4 Atlantis is said to be good but we were very happy with The Blue Lagoon
#5 Theater was amazing...our kids preferred that over the movie when we asked them
#6 More than ample opportunity to see characters if you've never had the chance
#7 Food was amazing as was the customer service
#8 Easy check in and check out/customs, etc. since Disney has their own terminal on the east coast (west coast doesn't have their own terminal yet as I understand)
#9 Exercise and spa facilities were absolutely amazing! Next time I would schedule some time in the spa. :-)
#10 Organization of events/activities as well as kids club was impressive. Never a dull moment
#11 Comfort of the rooms, beds, and ability to watch free Disney movies in the state rooms was a nice amenity. The channel with the "view of the ship" was cool too!
#12 5 days in such "disconnection"...no cell phone, no email or internet...felt like a two week vacation! What an EYE opener!!
I'm sure we'll go again some day. We loved the Bahamas...although the trip was about the time on the cruise liner and not the beaches. :-) Our kids have shed tears on missing "The Disney Cruise" even a week after we've been home...I'm glad it left such and impression. :-)
Day 2 was a day at Universal Studios Orlando. We decided that it was a quick 20" drive and enough to keep the kids busy for the day. We had a great time and rode the Jaws ride...the last day for it since 1972...it was shutting down and they were putting up a new exhibit! I loved Shrek 3D and the Hollywood Horror show. The kids loved "Disaster" and they claim they liked Jaws...through their eyelids!! :-) We had our driver pick us up at 7, dropped us for dinner and we walked back to the hotel.
Day 3 was a shuttle to Port Canaveral and a very chilly start to the day. It was about 36F that morning...a cold front had blown in...and very windy! We had a nice drive out, saw NASA from a distance, and then of course...our ship! Now, once we got to the Disney terminal (yes, they have their own terminal on the east coast) it was very smooth going. We checked in, showed passports, passed through security, dropped luggage, got Mickey bands for the kids (their on-board GPS), and within an hour or so were boarding the ship. Upon walking on the ship...they yelled a loud..."we welcome the van Melle family" and then a Disney representative pulled us aside, gave us a map of the ship, personal navigator (explain later), and asked us if we had any questions. By now it was 1.00 and she also explained to us where to get lunch...we are now on our own! After a quick lunch we took a tour of the Oceaners club for the kids and found our room. Wow, almost dinner time! Oh...our luggage arrived around 5 p.m. They bring it all on the ship and deliver it to the rooms...same procedure for leaving as well. We later found out there were 4000 passengers on board and 1400 staff...that's more than three times the population of Shellbrook on the ship!!
The ship had 10 decks with rooms, we were on deck 8 and had two rooms...very spacious. There were 12 complete decks and I believe 13 decks if you consider the "partial" decks. We ended up with two adjoining rooms. Each room had a toilet with sink, separate room for shower with sink, and then desk area, plenty of drawers and tonnes of closet space. We had huge port hole windows with cushions in them that the kids loved to sit in and watch the ocean. We were more than pleased with our rooms... and the best part...we heard nothing! The boat was so quiet, and we didn't hear anyone around us...I guess the steel doors did their job...not to mention the floor and ceiling. It's the quietest hotel I've ever been in! We got to meet Rian (Indonesia) tonight as he was our stateroom organizer...he cleaned and made up our room every morning and came in at night to take down our beds, make us lovely towel animals (see pics) and drop off our navigator every night around 10p.m. Our navigator was like a shopping list for the day...it listed every event, show, movie, character sighting, special event, etc for the next day. This made it very easy as we just looked at it and were able to pick and choose what we wanted to do at what time. Almost every show had about 3 show times a day...and the kids clubs had several times for their activities weather it be cooking, science, movie time, dance floor, etc. There was always something to do on the ship between 6 a.m. and midnight!!
Due to the cold front and wind the first day/evening on the ship, there was quite a bit of motion. The staff that we talked to about it said it's the rockiest they'd ever seen...usually they feel nothing. We noticed walking a little awkward that evening due to the motion...we'd heard of a few people getting ill...but the motion was so big it didn't bother any of us...and Ehren is rather prone to motion sickness. Our first night's dinner was at the Garden Terrace. We had the most amazing sunset I've ever seen...the red sky against the dark water...as the restaurant was low so we were at ocean level looking out the windows at sunset. We met our head waiter...Claudia from Jamaica, and our beverage dude...Eris from Indonesia. They were amazing and catered to our every need...even if that included two entrees (mmm, did I just mention that Ehren???) :-) After a great dinner the kids hit the Oceaners club and Ehren and I took a tour of the ship, gym and spa. We picked up the kids (tickled pink with the club) and headed to the room to bed. We'll leave it to be said that every night was 10-10.30 nights for the kids...just too much to be done! :-)
Our first full day started when we got to Castaway Cay (Disney's private Island). It was a cold day by even our standards (I dunno...maybe 50F)?? Brr! I was starting to re-think the 2 sweaters and three pairs of pants I packed for the kids!! We took our time in the morning, did some more touring, got some character signatures and then decided after lunch to venture on to the island. We spent about 2 hours there...kids had about 1 1/2 hrs at the Island's kids club, and then we decided to head back to the ship. Ehren and I toured around the island...we walked quite a distance and had some lunch. We found bike rentals and decided that would be something good to do the second day we were here and the weather would be warmer. Back at the ship...we threw on our bathing suits and went swimming! The pools were heated and the clear water slide...well, not so much. It was cold...even though you ride on a tube...the water that hits you is cold! At any cost, it was fun and we headed to the hot tub after. :-) This is another thing...the floor to the hot tub was clear (and this part of the deck stuck out past the one below) so you could see the ocean and the life boats below us. The side of the hot tub was clear too so it was a neat underwater view to the side. We had fun on the pool decks and hit dinner at our 5.45 seating. Tonight...the Royal Palace...a more formal restaurant. Wonderful food...and Evan was so bushed he fell asleep with his head on the table. :-) I believe we have a picture of that! We did some character signing, kids went to kids club, and we also did an interactive detective mystery with the kids (uses the computerized pictures on the ship). One again...late night!
Day 3 we woke up to sun and warm! By about 8.00 we were entering Port at Nassau. As we ate breakfast we watched as our captain pulled us into the docking area. We had booked an excursion today to go to The Blue Lagoon. If we hadn't of planned an excursion the only option in Nassau is to tour around the Port and local shopping. We met on deck 3 at 9.30 and by 10.15 we were on a boat headed to the Lagoon. We were very happy we planned this for the day as even though it was warm...it was breezy. Note if you're planning on going...Atlantis is more exposed so not as warm on a windy day. The Lagoon is a small island that is "cove like"...kind of like a bay. It's protected so there was no wind. The water was pristine aquamarine and warm. Plenty of shallow areas for kids to play...our kids played a lot in the water and then touring the beach to the other side of the island. We saw a few large fish and a large white crab swimming with us. Further on we saw several smaller fish. We took it easy on the beach and enjoyed the "down time". Many people had booked the stingray feed or dolphin excursion. We had done this before so didn't plan to do it here...and it was nice to have the quiet beach time before all the extra people hit the white sands. By 4.00 we were back on the ship. Kids went to kids club and we went and ran on the treadmills...quick shower and ready for dinner. Tonight we ate at The Animators Palate. I cannot say enough for this restaurant. It had amazing decor, original sketches from Disney movies, original books...and an ambiance like no other. What appeared to be round screens with pictures later came to life with the characters off of Nemo...and Crush even passed by all the screens having interactive conversations with the people dining at tables nearby. It was amazing!! Tonight was also the pirate party night so some people wore pirate outfits...and everyone was given a pirate bandanna to wear. After dinner we hit the Golden Mickey's (live theater mimicking the Golden Globes). The theater was amazing...all actors can sing and dance amazingly!! We had been told it was Broadway quality and I now do agree. It was truly wonderful. After the Mickey's the younger two were tired and wanted to go to bed (10.00pm). There was scheduled fireworks at 10.15...Disney is the only cruise line licensed to have ocean fireworks. Ehren and Emily went up to upper deck to watch the fireworks and take part in the Pirate Party...they partied til 11.15 then came home as it was well past Em's bed time. :-) The other two had been asleep as soon as their head hit the pillow...and I watched the fireworks from our port window...pretty good view from our side of the ship.
Day 4 was a day at Sea. The weather was beautiful once again and we took our time getting ready in the morning and then spent most of the day on the deck swimming and watching movies on the giant screen above the swimming pools. Our kids did the clear water slide about 3 times each...oh, and need I mention, they had to have Ehren or I with them each time...so yeah, we had several rides too! Tonight's dinner once again was at the Animators Palate and then we went to The Muppet's in the movie theater. All movies, comedians, live theater, etc. was free for all (yeah, I know, we paid for it already!), so you just picked what you wanted to see and went! By the time the movie was done we went and saw more characters and once again...bed around 10.15 for the kids.
Day 5 was our last day on the ship. It was also another port stop...our second chance at Castaway Cay...and a beautiful one! Ehren had got up and did the Castaway Cay 5km run. They met on the ship and did a 5k loop on the island. The kids and I got up and had breakfast...and for the first time we used our "wave" phone. The cruise ship gives each room 2 wave phones...portable phones that work on the ship and Castaway Cay. After giving us a call Ehren caught up with us for breakfast and then we got ready to hit the beach! Castaway Cay was beautiful...white sand, so many shells, water bikes, snorkeling, tubes, air mattresses, the "dive"...play area, bike rentals, etc. We started with a bike ride around the island with the kids. With Ehren and I on cruisers and the kids trying out new bikes...we all did pretty good! We rode for about and hour and then decided to hit the water. We found a spot with a few chairs...and even though it was hot the water was quite chilly here. We collected a lot of shells and built some sand castles but didn't spend much time in the water here. Spoiled by Disney's private island, we didn't need money on Castaway Cay...all food and beverage on the island was a continuation of the ship...so you just grabbed whatever you needed and filled your face! After about 3 hours we decided to start wandering back to the ship. Kids wanted to do more water sliding...so we did that! We got cleaned up and our last night's dinner tonight was at the Garden Terrace. We had a bittersweet meal...loved the food but were sad to think of saying bye to Eris and Claudia. They had our likes and dislikes down to a T after the first night.
Last morning...we got up early (set our alarm for the first time since we left) and went to breakfast where our servers served us today (normally breakfast isn't like this). Claudia surprised us with long hair now (her friend was up with her til 4 a.m. putting extensions on). She said since she was "going home" (this was her last cruise with Disney) after today she needed to have long hair again. We gave hugs, wished her safe travels and gave our congrats and best wishes to Eris on his upcoming wedding! By 8.00 we were out of our state room and in the 10" long line to get off the ship. We passed through customs in the Disney terminal and by 8.40 we were waiting for our 9.00 shuttle back to Orlando International. Our flights home made for a long day as we had a stop over in Cleveland. We arrived at our house by 8.10 p.m. and kids were "sacked out" to say the least!
So, after a wonderful experience, here's some hints and hi-lights...
#1 Disney is all about the kids and family...you cannot walk 30ft. without someone saying "hi", asking if you need anything or just giving you "five".
#2 Cleanliness was impressive...from stateroom to meal room. They handed wipes to anyone who entered an eating area...and on every return...even on the island. Rooms were kept very clean as well
#3 Busy beach at Castaway Cay and cold water were disappointing. We've been spoiled by Mom & Dad in PV taking us to the "quiet" beaches where we have several feet of sand to ourselves. :-)
#4 Atlantis is said to be good but we were very happy with The Blue Lagoon
#5 Theater was amazing...our kids preferred that over the movie when we asked them
#6 More than ample opportunity to see characters if you've never had the chance
#7 Food was amazing as was the customer service
#8 Easy check in and check out/customs, etc. since Disney has their own terminal on the east coast (west coast doesn't have their own terminal yet as I understand)
#9 Exercise and spa facilities were absolutely amazing! Next time I would schedule some time in the spa. :-)
#10 Organization of events/activities as well as kids club was impressive. Never a dull moment
#11 Comfort of the rooms, beds, and ability to watch free Disney movies in the state rooms was a nice amenity. The channel with the "view of the ship" was cool too!
#12 5 days in such "disconnection"...no cell phone, no email or internet...felt like a two week vacation! What an EYE opener!!
I'm sure we'll go again some day. We loved the Bahamas...although the trip was about the time on the cruise liner and not the beaches. :-) Our kids have shed tears on missing "The Disney Cruise" even a week after we've been home...I'm glad it left such and impression. :-)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
January 1 2012
Well it was a very busy month with lots of excitement. Ehren was very busy with work and I was busy with well...getting ready for Christmas I guess! I did well with getting the shopping done early but took my time with baking, etc. It was fun to do a lot of that this year with the kids...it always adds a different perspective. :-)
Ehren and I got the kids oot skiing and skating a fair amount. Part of our gift to them was a new pair of skates...so they got a bit of an early Christmas gift so they could use their skates the month of December. We had a blast and really enjoyed skiing as a family this month. All three kids even went on the chair lifts independent of us!! Probably won't let that happen much for Evan just due to his age...and not being able to control his spontaneity (for lack of a better term)? Sure was fun!
We had a school recital for Emily, Evan had his Christmas concert with is preschool, and then the girls had their Estes Park holiday recital as well...it all made for a couple very busy weeks...but then the week heading into Christmas was so nice and relaxed! Imagine that!
Ehren's brother Nathan and his fiance Kiran came on Christmas Eve. They arrived here just a bit before dinner...and The Landrigan's came over as well aboot the same time. We had a great rib dinner and chocolate fountain dessert. Nathan was even caught drinking oot of the chocolate fountain at one point! :-) Ah, we've all done it at some point. :-)
Boxing Day we took Nathan and Kiran to the Denver Aquarium. They were only here a couple days so this was one thing they wanted to do. We had a nice lunch and tried the 4D ride...and didn't do so well...we'll just leave it at that. :-)
Once our company had left we started thinking aboot our New Years plans. We went to a friends' house for New Years Eve...but only stayed for a short bit as we had a very early plane to catch...to head to Orlando...to catch a boat...to head to the Bahamas! Well, we'll fill ya in on the Disney cruise next time! :-)
Oh, so now that you've read this blog(for those of you who have)...how do you like my Canadian? Oot and aboot! :-) I noticed my girls saying certain things the "American" way so it made me more conscious of how we pronounce our English...had to write it the "right" way this time! :-)
Happy New Year everyone!
Ehren and I got the kids oot skiing and skating a fair amount. Part of our gift to them was a new pair of skates...so they got a bit of an early Christmas gift so they could use their skates the month of December. We had a blast and really enjoyed skiing as a family this month. All three kids even went on the chair lifts independent of us!! Probably won't let that happen much for Evan just due to his age...and not being able to control his spontaneity (for lack of a better term)? Sure was fun!
We had a school recital for Emily, Evan had his Christmas concert with is preschool, and then the girls had their Estes Park holiday recital as well...it all made for a couple very busy weeks...but then the week heading into Christmas was so nice and relaxed! Imagine that!
Ehren's brother Nathan and his fiance Kiran came on Christmas Eve. They arrived here just a bit before dinner...and The Landrigan's came over as well aboot the same time. We had a great rib dinner and chocolate fountain dessert. Nathan was even caught drinking oot of the chocolate fountain at one point! :-) Ah, we've all done it at some point. :-)
Boxing Day we took Nathan and Kiran to the Denver Aquarium. They were only here a couple days so this was one thing they wanted to do. We had a nice lunch and tried the 4D ride...and didn't do so well...we'll just leave it at that. :-)
Once our company had left we started thinking aboot our New Years plans. We went to a friends' house for New Years Eve...but only stayed for a short bit as we had a very early plane to catch...to head to Orlando...to catch a boat...to head to the Bahamas! Well, we'll fill ya in on the Disney cruise next time! :-)
Oh, so now that you've read this blog(for those of you who have)...how do you like my Canadian? Oot and aboot! :-) I noticed my girls saying certain things the "American" way so it made me more conscious of how we pronounce our English...had to write it the "right" way this time! :-)
Happy New Year everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)