Monday, November 25, 2019

September!

Ok finally getting caught up on here!  Took Josh school clothes shopping, his FAVORITE day of the year (his words not mine).  

First we grabbed dinner at his favorite sub shop, Firehouse... 
 We shopped for like SIX hours because this kid is super picky about what he likes.  The sleeves are too short, it's too boxy, the pants are too loose around the calves, the neckline is weird...needless to say we had to go to a MILLION stores.  But I love the way he dresses he always looks so stinkin handsome and I'm glad he puts thought into what he wants so it's not a waste of my money. 

Twins and Bennett being weird...
 Cooper found a fun wig in the basement to play with...
 These two are just best of friends always cuddling or playing...

 HAHAHA, Parker's first attempt at making Key Lime Bars (turns out he didn't do enough eggs)...
 We got a new car!  I had decided I wanted something big enough so my long-legged boys and their long-legged friends can all fit comfortably so our friend Sean suggested an Expedition!  I had never had a Ford but started doing my research and decided that would be a perfect fit for our family.  It took a while to get the exact one I wanted but we finally found it!  2019 Platinum so it has all sorts of bells and whistles, massage seats, self-parking, ambient lighting, automatic running boards, and all sorts of cool stuff.  My favorite thing is just how COMFY it is!  I really don't ever mind having to drive anywhere now because I just crank up my heated massage seats and cruise! 


 It even fits perfectly in our garage! 
 Too bad Theo wasn't out here because that would have been so cute! 
 Tyce's turn for school clothes shopping!  He was super excited about his pizza roll for lunch...
 He never needs much because he gets so many hands me downs from his brothers but I always get him a few new things which he loves...
 Jackson's turn for school clothes shopping!   He is like me, wants to get in and out of these as quickly as possible.  The poor kid is SO tall and SO skinny it it super hard to find clothes for him that are long enough but skinny enough.  We had fun, him and I always end up laughing a LOT when we shop.  We had to go say hi to our favorite mannequin who, a few years ago, we had to undress because we needed the size he had on.  It didn't go so well, body parts falling off and whatnot, so he always makes us laugh when we see him at JC Penney. 
 So much time spent sitting in dressing rooms by the time I finished all three boys...

 Jack needed SO many things and gosh he's in the men's section in most stores now so it gets expensive!! 
 We sold the minivan!  Honestly, it was a sad day.  We got that car when we were pregnant with Tyce so it has been with us through a LOT.  I also love the conveniences that come with it, the sliding doors, the awesome trunk, good gas mileage, DVD players...ah the Routan. 
  Tyce had his Pinewood Derby!  Who knows what place he got, we're not quite as into it as a lot of other dad's but he still had fun...
The boys asked me to drive them and some friends to Classic for a few hours...

 More cuddling...
 Beautiful Saturday morning run before the sun comes up...


 Tyce and our carpool have joined a new swim team, it's USA so it's more competitive than his old one.  It's called HAT, Herriman Aquatic Team, and he's liking it so far.  It has been a bit disorganized but hoping it gets better. 
 I know, I'm obsessed but look at these two...
Bring on October!!!

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Alaska!

About five months ago Grandma told me she would like to go on an Alaskan cruise with me and told me "I'll be the bucks you be the brains."  So I got to work planning it!  

Parker dropped us off at the airport and we were off to Vancouver, BC!  

We stayed the first night at the Pan America hotel which was SO fancy and beautiful!  It was right next to the port so super convenient the next morning.


That morning we had time to explore Vancouver just a little bit, it was perfect weather and we loved the city! 

 
 Then it was time to board our SHIP-Radiance of the Seas!  We got there and the line was about 2.5 hours long to board.  Grandma's knee has really been bothering her so I told her to sit down and I would wait in line and call her up when it was our turn.  The nice lady in front of me suggested I take Grandma in the special assistance line, which was so weird because even though she is 84 I never really thought of her needing "special assistance."  But I went over and there was NO line over there so I asked the worker guy if we could use that line because my Grandma was 84 and couldn't stand too long.  He said absolutely bring her over!  So we got through in about 10 minutes instead of 2.5 hours!  Grandma said it was the one time it pays to be elderly!

Love this picture (not of me but of Grandma) because she looks SO happy and that is how she was our entire trip.  She was just so happy about everything it made the trip so fun. 
Our bed was super super comfy and we both kept to our side and slept great (once we figured out how to take care of Grandma's snoring!)
Of ALL the rooms we could have had in ALL the places on the ship we got the one right by the LIBRARY!  Very fitting for Grandma (although they didn't have any church books) but the nice thing was it was super quiet!  
We thoroughly enjoyed our balcony and spent lots of time out there...

 Some pics of our ship...



My view from the treadmill in the gym, I had planned on working out every morning but a) we slept in every morning and b) I actually got a little motion sickness when I was on there so I decided it wasn't worth it haha
I loved the indoor pool and hot tub and spent lots of time there relaxing, reading, eating, and I even fell asleep there which is so unlike me!

I don't usually take food pictures but this carrot cake was SO yummy!  Every night Grandma and I got the french onion soup for appetizer (best I've ever had) and the creme brulee.  Overall the food was super good!
 Beautiful sunset...
 We only had one stop because we did the shorter cruise (stupid work, I don't have very much vacation saved up so I couldn't miss a whole week) and it was in Ketchikan.  We loved the town, it was SO cute and the weather was absolutely beautiful the whole day-no rain and we didn't even need a jacket!



 Our first excursion was taking a hoverboat out and seeing the seals...

Exploring this cute island...




Then our tour guide did an eagle call and threw a fish in the water and two HUGE eagles came swooping down to get the fish, it was SO cool!  The wingspan was about 7 feet and it was about 6 feet above my head is all.  It was one of the highlights of the trip for me. 




 Another view of our ship, Radiance of the Seas...
Our second excursion was a floatplane ride!  It was indescribably beautiful to see Alaska from that viewpoint...











We loved our day in Ketchikan and our two excursions were just perfect.  In between the two, we had a delicious lunch where I had the BEST halibut!  Everyone was so impressed that an 84-year-old was riding hovercrafts and floatplanes!  I walked Grandma back to the ship so she could rest a bit while I explored the city a bit more and went souvenir shopping for my family.  It was the perfect day! 

Grandma and I certainly enjoyed the food on the ship and did not once go hungry!  Grandma LOVED the rolls and had at least two or three with every meal! 
Grandma was trying to get some cash for a tip so she headed to the bar...
And the casino...hahaha, of course, I had to document that! 
We LOVED our dinner place!  Every night we both got the french onion soup for an appetizer, we got a new entree each night, then creme brulee for dessert.  Oh, and lots of rolls!  We felt like we planned our days around when we were going to eat next...ah cruise life! 
We played lots of Five Crowns, we each won one game then Grandma won the tie breaker! 
One afternoon we were sitting on our balcony playing cards and chatting and we looked up and saw whales!  They were SO beautiful!  We saw quite a few and luckily the guy next to us got this picture because I didn't have my phone with me.  


WindJammer is where we had breakfast and lunch, it was yummy and had great variety!

Heading back into port...
Grandma said she loved EVERY single thing about our trip except...this painting.  It was across from our bed so it was the first thing we saw in the morning and the last thing we saw in the evening.  We both hated it so I had to get a picture of it so we NEVER forget it right Grandma?!
Saying goodbye to our room...
Debarking and the flight home went smooth and uneventful.  Parker picked us up from the airport and Grandma took us to a yummy steak dinner at Ruby River (where I got halibut which, of course, was NOT as good as Alaska halibut!) then we dropped her off and headed home! 

I got everyone Alaska socks and they all fit! 

Ah it was a trip for the books!  The time went by WAY faster than we expected, we both wanted a few more days.  I feel so blessed that I had this opportunity, 5 days in Alaska with my Grandma was an experience I will treasure always.  She was a great travel companion, we had so many good conversations and laughs but we also both loved quiet time reading our books. Nevermind that Grandma brought two HUGE heavy ones that I got to lug around the whole week!  I tried telling her how awesome my Kindle was because it was light and had all sorts of books on it but...she likes her real books that she can mark up with her red pencil!  The trip was the perfect mix of fun and activities as well as rest and relaxation.  THANK YOU Grandma for such an amazing experience, I love you so much and love our close relationship that we have.