Flower Child

...another break from cruise photos to show you this darling Flower Child:

Maddox just loves dandelions, and this time of year we are covered with them. They are too numerous to treat, so most folks just leave them be and enjoy the bright, cheery, yellow blooms!

Oh, happy days...
Michele

Maddox's Preschool Graduation

Maddox finished a year at the Little White Schoolhouse... and I just had to capture a photo of him with his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Rose Strain. She was so wonderful to work with and helped him a great deal all throughout the year. He was not the easiest little student, but she was terrific with him!

A Blustery Day in Paradise...

A pause in my cruise coverage to show you what happens when it gets REALLY windy here:

These two trees fell because of the high wind gusts. Took out a section of our fence and fell across the driveway. Michael had to cut them down quickly, as he needed to catch a flight! He then used our trusty 4-wheeler to haul it out of the way.


Below is a third tree that fell... no damage here, as it fell across our leach field.

Look at it from this angle, and you can see another tree leaning precariously in the background.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed the ground at its base was already raised up and cracks were visible.

I imagine it won't take much more to bring this one down, too. Fortunately, it's leaning in a direction that won't hurt anything.

Below is a photo of a tree stump that is used as a "decoration" in our yard. We have several of these scattered around and I had always wondered how they come about... were they DUG out of the ground??

Well, now I know. I guess we'll have another 3 or 4 decorations soon.

Lastly, as I was inspecting the trees around the house (looking for any more that were leaning), I came across this:

Looks as though one of the boys has been trying to chop down a tree with an axe! I think I know who it is, too... this was a recent Facebook status update by my very own husband: One of my summer goals: chop a tree down with an axe. Stretch goal: chop it down with the edge of my hand.

Hopefully the next post won't be pics of Michael in a cast. :)

...Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Michele

Los Angeles Highlights

After our cruise, we enjoyed many highlights on a tour of Los Angeles... okay, so maybe these were just MY highlights!

Me and Captain Jack Sparrow! Aaaaarghhhhh! (I was trying to look serious... but underneath that grim face, I'm smiling from ear to ear!)

This guy was the best street actor we saw, by FAR.

He could easily pass for the sexy Johnny Depp, don't you think?! He even made a balloon sword for little Maddox. What a fun guy... well worth the money we paid him.

Okay, one last highlight... look what I just HAPPENED to run across:

...my favorite star. Now, THERE'S an actor I'd pose with any day!!

I promise to show you more in the coming days...
Michele

Cruise, part 4

We had two formal nights on the cruise - where we get to dress all spiffy and eat like kings and queens. Well, we got to eat like kings and queens every night, but on the formal nights, at least we LOOKED the part! These first photos are from our first formal night:


Doesn't my dad clean up well?!

This is Chris and Dan - our table mates. They were a wonderful couple and we enjoyed getting to know them throughout the week. And on a ship this size, you wouldn't think we'd run into them any other time than dinner, but we saw them multiple times a day!

Here's a shot of our waiter and assistant waiter - I'd tell you their names, but they were difficult and I can't quite remember them.

True to a cruise, they took such good care of us... cutting up the boys' meat, teaching them how to get the meat out of a lobster tail, giving them extra dessert, etc. But the best thing was that our waiter always gave me the next night's menu so he and I could plan what Maddox (our food allergy kiddo) would have. They adjusted the ingredients just for him and I felt very comfortable... that meant a lot to me.

The rest of these photos are from the second formal night.

Maddox charmed everyone at the table each night. See the backpack he's wearing? It's the most adorable little pack you've ever seen - just his size. His Auntie Audrey from Scotland sent that to him for Christmas and it won the prize for the best gift ever. He gets comments on it every time he wears it.

Anyway, he packed it full of crayons and paper and wore it to dinner. Every night, he would draw pictures for everyone. Chris & Dan were so sweet and oooohed and aaaahed over each one and said they'd take them home to hang on their fridge. I wouldn't be surprised if they did just that!


Can you tell Maddox was in an exceptionally good mood that evening?! Overall, he did pretty well on the entire cruise. He is still talking about our trip on the "big ship" and asking when we can go back. I know he misses his "buddy" (see previous post.)

One of the best parts for me, of course, was getting to spend time with my momma!

I still have more pictures... next, I'll show you some of our ports of call.

Michele

Cruise, part 3

We enjoyed several wonderful shows while on our cruise. Right in line with the interests of our family, they had a professional juggler that was incredible! We could've seen a lot more of him, but he only had short segments on two different occasions. They also had several singers, dancers, and comedians that we enjoyed.

What impressed us the most, however, was their ice show! Yes, there was an ice rink on this ship - albeit very small - but there was nothing "small" about this show!! Here are a couple of pictures from the most colorful act - the clowns:

Maddox and I sat right at the wall... couldn't get any closer than this!

...well, unless you're IN the show!! Yes, they asked us when we walked in if Maddox would like to be in the show... hence, the good seats.

They put this adorable hat and hair on him and took him around and around in the little circus train. I couldn't get any really good photos, but it was absolutely adorable! He was thrilled and waved at me every time he came around!

One of the other performers was a hula-hoop extraordinaire!

She had a very impressive act...

...and good taste in men!! (notice my mom's surprise!)

My mom & dad managed to get front row seats as well, and the beautiful hula-hooper made it a point to come hug my dad! At the end of her act, she pointed at him across the rink, winked, and then motioned for him to call her. How cute is that?!

The funniest part is that my dad returned to the show on another night to take Mason & Morgan (who didn't go the first time). He chose the same seats, and the lovely hula-hooper hugged him AGAIN!! We teased him throughout the whole cruise about his "girlfriend"!

Next up: Formal night...
Michele

Cruise, Part 2

Here's another installment of our cruise vacation! As I mentioned, we sailed on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas out of Los Angeles. We were at sea for two days, then we spent the next three days at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Peurta Vallarta, before enjoying our final two days at sea. My parents (peeking out from behind the sign) sailed with us, which was an extra treat!

Here we all are... well, except for me, of course. I'm usually on camera duty. This was taken before we set sail.

The boys wasted no time at all in hitting the pools! You have to remember... it's been a long time since our boys have been able to swim outside! The mountains don't tend to have outdoor swimming pools.

Sweet shot of Maddox and Daddy...

Reunited with CooPop! We haven't seen him since Thanksgiving!!

This trip held lots of new sights for little Maddox...

...until he pooped out! This was taken on the ship's Royal Promenade - right down the middle of the ship, it had several shops, an ice cream parlor, entertainment, and a cafe. Mom & Dad had an interior stateroom, but it had a window in it that overlooked this promenade.

The ship also had a climbing wall! This shot shows you how tall it is...

...and a close-up reveals Mason up there!

And Morgan had a go on it a few days later:


Both boys made it all the way to the top. I imagine all of their cycling has given them quite a bit of upper body strength.

Here's a couple more of my favorite swimming shots. Most of our swimming took place during the first couple days of the cruise while it was gorgeous out. Our last two days at sea were cloudy, windy, and downright chilly!


Below is the only photo I have of our stateroom attendant, Dale. He was a super nice guy and it would be a gross understatement if I said that Maddox adored him.

Any time we were heading down the hall toward our room (or leaving our room, for that matter), Maddox would look - no SEARCH - for "his buddy". It got to the point that all the other stateroom attendants knew Maddox and knew exactly who he was looking for. They'd point down the hall or into a particular room, and then Dale & Maddox would spend the next 5 minutes high-fiving and carrying on like a couple of school chums. It was the sweetest thing!

Stateroom attendants are also important, because on a cruise, you come to expect the fun towel animals!

But I suppose the most important person on the cruise staff is the Captain. As we did on our last cruise, we had the pleasure of meeting our Captain - Per Kristoffersen. He was such a fun guy, with a dry sense of humor, and since he has a little guy at home, he felt right at home posing with our boys.

Well, that's it for this installment... next time I'll show you some of the entertainment and the photos from our formal nights.

Michele