A Brief Escape - Bahama Style

We had the opportunity (once again thanks to Amy's mom) to escape for a weekend get-away with just the Z-adults last weekend - it was to originally intended to be a "life-memorable" trip to Costa Rica for Amy's 40th and our 15th wedding anniversary, but sadly we just had too many logistical issues and the cost was inching up the longer that we waited, so we decided to take the more prudent route and just take a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas - not quite as life-memorable, but definitely a much needed relaxing trip!

We headed out on Friday on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas from Port Canaveral - it was so easy to get to that we didn't leave until 1P on Friday and we arrived back home on Monday to our house at 10A!  It is so easy you could have worked both days (not that you'd want to work on vacation days, but it is possible!)  

The weather was fantastic and we truly enjoyed ourselves immensely.  We had an ocean view room (instead of an balcony room that we had on our last two trips).  Not sure if this is the case for all ocean view rooms, but we realized that first night that the window creaked and groaned off and on all night - so loudly that Amy had to sleep with ear plugs and the constant sound machine of course.....the next morning Karis announced that he hadn't slept much and we went off to buy another set of ear plugs!!  Perhaps that interior room may be even better......or it is back to the balcony! :)  Karis is convinced that the interior room would be just fine as we truly were hardly in the room except to sleep and change clothes etc.

The horrific window - looks lovely but oh so not!!

We decided that we really wanted this to be a relaxing weekend, so we headed to the spa when we first boarded the boat and decided to each have a massage.  Amy had the relaxing Swedish massage while Karis decided to go for the big guns and went for the deep tissue massage.  Ouch!  But, we were both much more relaxed when we were done.

 We tried to evaluate the whole weekend whether this is something that we could do with our kids in the future, and it looks like it would definitely be something that could be in the whole Z family future.  We would be selective about which boat to go on, as we did see other boats that had water slide parks on them!  The vegetarian food may be an issue, but if we're okay with our kids eating pizza, spaghetti, mac and cheese and grilled cheese, that is doable as well (other vegetarian options were available, but more to an adult taste palette than kids per se).

This particular boat had a kids splash park, but no water slide park.

We went snorkeling in Nassau (note to self, Karis must shave goatee before snorkeling again as there is no seal, so he was getting salt water up his nose - miserable!).  The water was very temperate, so it was fun to see the colored fish and coral - we even saw a very small sting ray from afar!)  We went snorkeling at the private island Coco Cay the next day as well, and that was REALLY cool!

When we got off the boat, we headed to walk around town when a lady vendor asked Amy if she wanted her hair braided.  Amy answered "No" and kept on walking.  The lady ran after her and said that she wanted to give Amy this necklace (which Amy doesn't wear necklaces...) because she wanted to welcome Amy to the Bahamas. Before we knew it, she had clasped the necklace around Amy's neck.  When we tried to politely decline she firmly insisted and then slapped one around Karis' neck.  As we were in the process of trying to undo them and give them back, she said "This is how I support my children, give me anything for them!"  Great - how do you refuse to give a lady money when you know that she probably is struggling to support her children?  So, we're now both 'proud' owners of necklaces that we didn't want, won't ever wear, but hopefully that lady's children will have something to eat!!

As we walked around, there was something akin to a beauty contest going on that we stopped to watch. The interesting thing was that the ladies all had on a costume!  You can see some were quite flamboyant, with the lady in the middle dressed up as a flower with the stamen sticking up probably 10 feet in the air!

The next day we just lazed around in Coco Cay - snorkeling, reading on the beach and napping.  How lovely.  We often thought it would be fun to have the kids with us, but let's face it - taking a nap on the beach without having to worry about whether your kids are safe or drowning was kinda nice!

Picture of the ship as we returned.  The rest of the time was spent around the pool, where we actually watched two movies (can't remember the last time that happened), ate ice cream cones, and then watched a live "Chubby Bunny" contest in which cruise guests attempted to see how many marshmallows they could stuff in their face and still say "chubby bunny" - ahh, gotta love how easily entertained we all are, as we laughed ourselves silly watching that!

When we returned, we hung out for the rest of the day with the kids, playing games etc.  That afternoon though we began a journey of a 24 hour fever starting with Addison.  After Addison, Kaleb got it Thursday and Zachary on Friday.  Bummer - we had great plans for this week, but at least it was only 24 hours long!  We had taken Tuesday off, so instead of going to Aquatica like we'd hoped (not knowing when Addison would feel better), we went to Wonder Works that day after her fever broke.  It was SUPER fun - well recommended - it's like the Science Center's coolest stuff all put together in once place!

Connect 4 in the bonus room

Zachary trying out the "how fast can you pitch" game

Kaleb lifting himself on the pulley machines - strong arms as Amy couldn't lift herself!!

Daddy trying out the bed of nails

Kaleb brave enough to try out a portion of the ropes course

While big brother Zachary took it all on with courage and balance!

Phrase of the week:  Addison's vocabulary continues to delight us - she's added "Blake (or sometimes Bake!") to call for Blake - her dearly beloved Blake - instead of calling "Key" that she's been doing the last few weeks.  Also, she can say elbow and five!  Also, when pointing to her belly button, she says "di da" for "ding-dong" (we pretend that her belly button is a door bell and press it and then say ding-dong!!).

Random Pictures:

On a date night, we went to Steak and Shake, and poor Zachary got a brain freeze from the milk shake! What mother takes a picture of her child as his brain freezes?? :)

Trying our hand at making cheesy eggs

Thanks, We had a Ball!

Using the theme from the Bergherm birthday party that we celebrated last weekend, we had a ball! :)  They had a bowling party which the kids always enjoy - and they were all so excited about how well each other was doing!



Celebrating over someone's wonderful turn!  So cute!

Kaleb was the master bowler last weekend, and he scored a whopping 103 on this game!

 

 

The master bowler himself watching his green bowl slide past the pins! :)

Evan blowing out his candles

Blake posing beside his cake

The day before, we had the pleasure of joining the Almodovars for supper, water balloons and charade devotions!  It was so much fun to have a relaxed time with them, enjoying their company!  The kids had several charades, and finally stumped the adults with their rendition of the "Battle of Ai" (spelling?).

Hard at water-balloon war!

You may be wondering how Addison is doing.  Addison is doing.  All.The.Time.  Sigh.  This child is into more mischief than we can keep up with!  So, here is a picture to showcase.  Amy walked into her bathroom last weekend to find Addison sitting in the sink....wearing Amy's nylons.....with toothpaste smeared all over the counter behind her.......and with Amy's foundation smeared all over her face......  How can one little person get into so much mischief in the space of 10 minutes?

Phrase of the week:  "Key" - is now her word for Blake (which kind of sounds like Blakey, which sometimes is his nickname!  Nigh-nigh is a regular phrase now with her actually saying "nigh-nigh" and waving emphatically as we take her to her room for the night....and when Amy is rocking her when she's ready to go to sleep she'll say "nigh-nigh" as if to say "put me in my crib!!"

Water, Water Everywhere!

Well, our catch-up post is a memorable one - last weekend we went to the beach on Sabbath and it was just lovely - the weather was perfect and the water was such a pretty green color!  We all had a great time, and as the tide went out, it created tidal pools that were like hot tubs, so Adddison and Amy wandered around in those for a good long time.  However, it is sad to say that even though Amy is an adult, she apparently can adequately cover the children with suntan lotion but not herself....so by the end of the day she had quite a burned back that was a little painful for a few days but thankfully it has moved onto the itchy, peely stage! :(  Boo!  Thankfully no child was burned in the slightest (whew!)

 

The next day, we celebrated Addison and Devin's 2nd birthdays.  It was to be a water-slide party (the huge inflatable kinds), but the company flaked out and didn't deliver the water slide...bummer!  So, we ended up having a slip and slide and pool party instead!  The kids all had a good time, so it wasn't a total loss which was good! :)  It is hard to believe that they are 2 - where is the time going!?  It is so bitter-sweet, these moments are just so precious and we want to savor each one of them!

Waiting for their turn....

...on the slip-and-slide

While the dads watch from the shade of the canopy

and the little ones took it easy in the small pool

The two birthday guests of honor, hamming it up a bit! :)

Zachary in the midst of a monster cannon-ball jump!

And they all go for it!!!

Poised and ready to blow out TWO her crayon candles! (Love the crayon cake Jennifer!!)

Playing with the goody-bag goodies (party-poppers) afterwards.....notice Kaleb in his pilgrim hat!

Phrase of the week:  "Guppy!"  - this is Addison calling for her sippy cup!

Bim, Bam, Boom!

What's up with missing a week's post and then having to catch up!?  Last weekend ended up being very busy with the fact that we had Addison's birthday party, so now we'll try and slowly catch up.  We won't make this a monster post, so this will be focused on the 4th of July weekend! :)

We had a fun time with the fact that we had time off of work (so awesome to spend time with the family!)  The festivities started on Friday morning when we joined a group of friends over at the Winter Garden children's parade - they start off with a pancake breakfast and then the kids can decorate their bikes etc and then we were all off!  The kids had a great time and the little downtown is very quaint.

The z-clan

The kids that were in the parade - so patriotic!

Later that day, we joined Johnsons over at the Cochrans house for swimming and fireworks!  All of the kids had a fun time watching the fireworks without any flinching or crying from the smallest two!

So intent on the fireworks!

Taking a picture of Heather taking a picture! :)

Our next celebratory event was held at Hilliards the next evening, where we joined a big group of friends.  The evening ended with a game of charades - both from kids and the parents.  It was such a hit that the kids continue to ask to play charades!

The kids acting our their characters

While it was the Dads' turn next - they were the Israelites with the golden calf with Todd under the blanket, ready to spring up as the calf with an apple in his mouth!  Priceless!

We ended our weekend of fun with Amy taking the kids to the zoo the next morning - it was  hot and humid as all get-out - so much so that the women (Heather and her two were with us) were actually happy to go into the snake house and linger!  Go figure - desperate times call for desperate measures!  We finished up with the splash zone....Amy was standing with Addison over by a small series of water spouts, when she unknowingly stepped too far back and a second set of large water spouts began - pretty much drenching her!  Oh well, hearkening back to the fact that it was super hot and humid, it wasn't so bad to end up soaked! :)

Are your arms as long as a monkey's?

Playing a little chess...

Grab and go lunch!

After enjoying the cool splash park - we all felt refreshed!

  The kids have been at swimming lessons in the morning with Blake and Evan, and they took them at a swimming pool with the Isidros, so after the swimming lessons the families would enjoy some additional play time - this was at the Winter Garden splash park

Phrase of the week:  Bobby!  We thought that when Addison was yelling Bobbi that she meant Amy's mom, but we know realize that's she's calling for Kaleb!  She calls him Bob or Bobby with regularity now, and when we point to him and ask who that is, she promptly says Bobby!!  Not sure where this came from other than we like to once in a while call him K-Bob, like he used to call himself as a little tyke, so that may be where she picked it up.  Other words are "yummy" and "big," "more", "top (for stop!)".

Random pictures:

Too smart for her own good - almost mimicking the older folks - so now she's putting on deodorant!

Wanting to balance like the big boys, but not quite big enough to stand up and do it yet!

Don't wobble up there! :)

Kaleb was actually easier to balance as he kept himself stiff and straight

East Coast, West Coast

We have had a busy couple of weeks, in which we have been on both sides of the US - of course it is not THAT hard to do when you live on the East Coast already! :)

Elin Johnson turned 1 year old, and we were thrilled to be able to celebrate with her.  They had a butterfly theme, and it was a fun party where the kids made butterfly canvases with their feet as the wings.  Elin had a fun time with her smash cake - at first she wasn't too sure about it but she warmed up and ended up a lovely, fun mess!  Happy Birthday Elin!

The next day, we went to the play "Rapunzel" with Cochrans.  We love going to plays, but this one proved a little much for the kids with the witch and scary music.  They did it quite cutely, but it was still a bit scary so we'll know for next time - no stories with witches!  There was quite a bit of humor that the adults could catch in the play, but the kids weren't able to pick up on the subtle references.

On the way out, Kaleb was holding hands with Devin and Addison - who of course had to have her (aka Grandma's purse) and she was taking a 'selfie'! :)  Such a girly-girl! :)

The next morning, Karis and Amy headed out for her work meetings in San Diego.  We were supposed to land at 6PM, but our flight was delayed leaving Orlando so we missed our connecting flights in Atlanta (oh how we hate Atlanta airport!).  We ended up being re-routed to LA and didn't arrive until 11P, so we crashed there for the night and then drove to the San Diego airport the next morning to retrieve our luggage (getting up the next morning and putting on the same clothes that you travelled in the day before is so icky!).  We made it to the hotel just in case to quickly get ready and be on time for the meetings.  Whew!

Hard to see, but on the way down to San Diego, a motorcycle passed us - and the man was wearing a backpack and in his backpack he was carrying 2 hockey sticks - they were shoved into the pack and the handles were sticking straight up in the air - Karis was so proud of him! :)

The kids had a grand time with Grandma, with the boys going to Goal Camp (although Amy was not impressed when she found out that they allowed them to watch part of a movie each day....including The Incredibles...which scared the kids.  GREAT.  We typically don't watch Disney movies (really not many movies of any kind), so this was not pleasing.  But other than that they had fun making new friends, playing games, and swimming.  Addison had fun with Grandma each day, and when they were all together they had fun going to Monkey Joes, the Johnsons house, the Cochrans house, and then the crowning moment - Cocoa Key waterslide park!  When Amy and Karis returned, Amy had the next day off and the kids informed her "It was more fun when Grandma was here" because Amy had to do fun things like laundry and unpacking! :)

Zachary going down a baby water slide

While in San Diego, Karis and Amy had fun (although a three hour time zone change is just not THAT much fun!).  On Wednesday, we went on the Trolley tour of Old Town with Kent.  The funniest part of that were the trolley drivers were quite militaristic, and told the people that there were to be no cell phones (that means the man in the blue hat.....none other than Karis as he talked to the kids at home as we waited on the trolley before it even started the tour!!  Crazy!).  There was also no talking to your seatmates, so Kent got the death glare once as he talked to the person beside him!

On Thursday, we headed up to Loma Linda to visit with long-time friends Adrian and Maggie and their three boys.  It was so nice to be able to catch up with them, and Maggie is a fantastic cook making hamburger buns from scratch!  Delicious!  The next morning, we headed over to visit with Amy's Aunt Marge (whom we forgot to take a picture with, so frustrating!!).  She took us to see the new La Sierra business building, which is quite impressive and then we had time just to catch up and reminisce.

The final highlight of the week was going sea kayaking with the Stewarts.  As neither couple had children with us, we decided to give it a whirl.  Amy and Christine are not the most athletic women around, so we had double kayaks with the husbands.  It was a bit anxious thinking of getting through the big Pacific ocean waves without capsizing, but we made it!  We kayaked over to see the sea caves, seals etc.  It was really fun.

Before the trip...when we returned we were all soaked as the waves would splash over our kayak.

Phrase of the week:  Addison's words continue to expand with bang, ice (must have ice in her sippy cup now), 'ome (home), bite, gecko, pita (pizza) and her please has changed from "plegedy" (not sure why she originally used this way of saying it, but cute anyway!) to "pleaaaaaa" with her hands in front of her with the palms up in supplication.  Too cute!