10th Wedding Anniversary Trip

The 2nd of June marked our tenth wedding anniversary, and to celebrate Josh and I decided to take a cruise. (We'd never been on one before.) The kids spent a week with their grandma and grandpa, and Josh and I set off for a 7 day Carribbean cruise out of Galveston. It was a wonderful mix of relaxation and sightseeing. Our favorite parts of the trip were the excursions...the ports of call were Jamaica (Montego Bay), Grand Cayman Island, and Cozumel.

Here we are on the stern of the ship, overlooking a beautiful sunset, on "Elegant Attire Night."

Our room was on the bow of the ship and had a window, but only a few steps from our room was the access door to the deck. It was almost like we had a private balcony, because that deck was often empty. Here we are on the deck, docking at Montego Bay.

Jamaica was probably the least fun port, mostly because we didn't book an excursion there--we just decided to wing it on our own. We did see some interesting sights and haggled with friendly (though eager) locals for some souvenirs for the kids. But the area we were in seemed very economically depressed and dirty. The port was very industrial and just not what we were expecting. We bought a hop on, hop off bus pass to see a few sights. We found a local restaurant and enjoyed delicious Jamaican jerk pork and rice. It rained on us a bit, but we made the best of it. When we hopped back on the bus, we were the only riders so the driver decided to take us on a private tour of the city center, where the local fruit stands and vendors were. It was good time, but we definitely recommend a guided excursion in Montego Bay...I think you'd be able to see more of the beautiful countryside instead of just the commercial areas.

The next morning we arrived in Grand Cayman, which is the complete opposite of Montego Bay in almost everyway. It is very obvious that there is a lot of money on that island. Everything was very pricey, and there were high end shops everywhere. We split a pork sandwich, appetizer, and coke at this seaside restaurant, and the total was $40 US.

We opted for a snorkeling excursion in Grand Cayman, and it was so much fun. Our cruise ship is in the background of this picture.

We saw beautiful reefs and a shipwreck, and the water was gorgeous. There were many fish, though not as colorful as I would have expected.

The third port was Cozumel. We found this to be a nice mix of cleanliness, hospitality, and decent prices.
We bought a day pass at a private island to enjoy a full day of hanging out on the beach. We (and about 100 other cruise passengers) took a small boat about 45 minutes along the Mexican coast to Isla Pasion.
We swam, relaxed, and enjoyed the Mexican buffet & bar.

On the way back from the island, our boat came across 4 teenage Mexican boys who had somehow gotten separated from their little sailboat out in the ocean. (We couldn't tell if the boat had capsized or if they got out to swim and the boat got away from them.) They were in distress, so our 3 person crew rescued these kids! Everyone on our boat cheered. It was exciting.

Having now taken a cruise, we can compare it to an all-inclusive resort vacation where we previously stayed...and I think we'd opt for the latter option in the future. Not to say that the cruise wasn't fun, but I think we got a little bored of being on the boat. Our ship was on the small side, so maybe larger cruise ships have more to offer. At any rate, it was marvelous not to do any cooking, cleaning or child-rearing for 7 full days. It was a great getaway for us as a couple, and a wonderful way to celebrate 10 years of married life!

Kate's 4th Birthday: Princess Party, redux

Kate is still very much into princesses, so it was no surprise that she requested a pink princess-themed party for her birthday. So, much like last year, we invited Kate's friends to join us, decked out in their own royal attire. The timing of Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton made this year especially neat. Kate and I watched the wedding (recorded...not at 4am!) on Friday morning. She was so excited to see a real Princess Kate, and wanted to put on a "wedding dress" and crown for the occassion.

On Saturday, we made preparations for her party, and she was all smiles.

Once our party guests arrived, I had them all sit down and told them about a real royal wedding that happened just yesterday with a real Princess Kate! We played a little clip of William and Kate walking down the aisle and getting into their horse-drawn carriage. The girls were enthralled to say the least.

Afterwards, we played a few games in the backyard. Then, onto cake and presents.

Jill enjoyed the cake as well. :)

Kate received many lovely gifts from her sweet friends. Josh and I got her a "big girl bike," which was a big hit.

Kate, we can hardly believe that you are four! We are so thankful for you. Happy Birthday!

Ski Trip

Some friends invited us to join them and 4 other families/couples for a ski trip to Utah. Neither Josh nor I had ever skiied before, but we were very excited to try it. We borrowed as much gear as we could, sent the kiddos for a fun week at grandma & grandpa's, and hit the slopes!

Me and Sunee on the lift.

We took lessons the first day, stayed on the green the second day, and then ventured onto a blue on the third day. It was definitely challenging, and there was a lot of falling involved. At one point, I was coming down pretty fast and realized I wasn't going to be able to stop, so I aimed for a big fluffy snow bank. I told Josh to take this picture, then I had to dig my right leg out.

Here's the house we stayed at.

This is the only blue sky day we had...it was actually only blue for a couple of hours. It snowed pretty much the whole time--32 inches while we were there! It was by far the most snow I've ever seen in my life. The guys who were skiing blacks said the conditions were fantastic.

We had a great time and made wonderful memories. We are so thankful to our sweet friends for inviting us!

Jill's First Steps!

It won't be long before she is chasing her sister around the house! Enjoy the video!

Jill's First Birthday!

Our little baby is one year old! So hard to believe. Jillian is a joy. She smiles nearly nonstop, and is such a sweet cuddler. She hugs me every morning and lays her little head on my shoulder at night. I hope that she never grows out of that. Happy First Birthday, Jilly-Billy!

Christmas 2010

I love Christmas for many reasons, but mostly because it reminds me that I am blessed. Blessed beyond measure with plentiful provisions, a healthy and happy family, and--foremost--our Creator and Redeemer, who humbly took the form of His creation. It was wonderful to see Kate start to really "get" the Christmas story this year. As we did our Advent activities every day of December, Kate was excited and filled with anticipation for Christmas. Many mornings her first words would be, "Is it Christmas yet?" She was also excited about the decorations and loved putting "her" ornaments on the tree, as well as the tree topper. Next year, she'll have to give Jill a turn at that.

Soon after the tree went up, I realized we needed some sort of barrier to keep Jill's curiosity from littering the house with ornaments. Luckily I found a baby gate/playpen at a garage sale that worked well.

Josh surprised us all with an early Christmas present one night by buying and secretly setting up a fire pit on the back deck. He had me and the girls come out to find hot cocoa, marshmallows, and a nice warm fire. So sweet.

Since we'd be traveling for Christmas, Santa made a special early delivery to our house on the 21st. Kate laid out milk and cookies for the very first time, and went to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in her head.

This is what she found the next morning...a doll house!

Jill seemed pleased with her toys as well.

We spent Christmas at my mom and dad's house in East Texas. My mom wanted to dress Kate up in different costumes portraying the Christmas story and take pictures to make into ornaments. Kate was only too willing. She has a flare for the dramatics. Here she is with a solemn portrayal of Mary.

My two sweet shepherds.

And a Wise Man bringing gifts to a wiggly baby Jesus. When Jill escaped from her costume, Kate said, "Baby Jesus, swaddle up again."

Kate surprised us with a spontaneous Live Nativity performance. I caught most of it on video, but unfortunately I'm having trouble loading it on here. Here's a a still shot of her telling us the Christmas story. Note her props--the sheep and the tiny manger scene near the doll house.

Another highlight of our time was making a birthday cake for Jesus. Kate really enjoyed this, and we plan to make it an annual tradition.

The girls had great fun opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Kate received a real guitar, and it was a huge hit! It didn't take her long to start serenading us.

Of course, Jill was most fascinated by the paper but did seem to enjoy her gifts as well.

On the morning of the 25th, the girls awoke to find their stockings filled. Santa made a second pass to bring books and a few small goodies.

In addition to the fun of Christmas, the girls enjoyed spending time at their grandparents' house, where there are always great adventures like four-wheeling, hiking, and exploring in the woods. On Christmas Day, we gathered with extended family at my aunt and uncle's house (about 10 minutes away) for lunch. There were 8 young kids there, so Kate had plenty of playmates, and she even got to feed chickens and collect eggs! It was indeed a wonderful holiday!