Ten Years! And our trip to BERMUDA!

We're back! We actually got back yesterday morning, but we were wrapped up in snuggling our babies and doing our laundry. Still, I had typed out most of what we did while we were still on the ship, so this blog entry shouldn't take me too long!

Day 1: Boston
We got to Boston around 10:30am, right at the beginning of our chosen window (10:30-11am). What we didn't realize was that boarding didn't begin until after 11:30, so we had to sit there for a while. Still, once we got on board the ship, we headed straight up to the 12th floor and the Garden Cafe. This being our third cruise (on three different cruise lines), we've come to realize that all cruise ships are laid out pretty much the same way. The lido deck is where the pool is, and there is almost always some kind of 24-hour buffet next to it. So we had a lovely lunch while still docked in Boston. After that, we explored the ship for a while, then sat out in some lounge chairs by the pool while we waited for our luggage to magically appear outside our cabin on the 8th floor. It arrived pretty quickly, and we got everything unpacked so that we could get our suitcases out of the way (the room was small-- as always!). Then we quickly changed into shorts and headed back up to the Lido deck for the Sailaway party. Lots of loud music, dancing, and drinking. It was a lot of fun!

That evening, we dined in one of the two main dining rooms-- the more casual one called Aqua. My meat was a little overcooked, but still good. And then we went to see the evening show, which was a highlight of the various acts we'd be seeing while onboard. We were off to an excellent start!

Day 2: Day at Sea
We slept in this morning, and there was a one-hour time change thrown in there, too (so we lost an hour). Once we were up and ready to go, we wandered up to the buffet and had brunch. The ride was very smooth! Shortly after our brunch, we went to the art auction downstairs, due to its promise of free champagne. However, we did NOT feel compelled to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on fairly ugly art, so we left early to catch an afternoon show with the ship's magician and his trained parrots (Gus was very excited!). We watched the birds do all kinds of funny things, and Gus decided that he was going to train Corky when we got home (we shall see about that...).

That same evening was the ship's formal night, so Gus and I went back to our cabin and got all prettied up. We stopped at all the picture-taking stations on our way to dinner at the Venetian, the ship's more formal dining room. It was lovely! However, my fancy shoes were killing me, and I couldn't wait to change. So we did, as soon as dinner was over. Then we went to see the evening show (a cast production of music from the 70s, mostly). And after that, we went to check out a game show in the Spinnaker Lounge-- the "Not-So-Newlywed Game."

Tons and tons of people were signing up to participate. Gus went and signed us up, too (at my prodding). When it was time for the show to start, the host (our cruise director, Bobby) asked if there were any couples in the crowd who had been married for a week or less. He found one couple and called them up. Then he wanted to know who had been married for over 50 years. Again, he found a couple and called them up. He needed one more couple to fill in the "in between" category, so he pulled a name out of the hat. And guess who he chose????? US! The odds were completely stacked against us, but he called our names! Anyway, it was a ton of fun. We ended up in second place, but everyone got the same prizes, anyway. And the crew bought us all drinks. And ever since then, we've been recognized all over the ship as "that couple from the newlywed game!" It's so funny! Our 15 seconds of fame. And they have been airing the show on the cruise TV channel like crazy, so we have watched ourselves a few times. Neither of us can believe we got picked. But we walked away with t-shirts, mugs, frisbees, and other Norwegian-branded goodies. It was definitely a highlight of the trip! :)

Day 3: Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda
We pulled into port late in the morning, and were all clear to get off the ship starting at around 11am. We'd packed our beach bags the night before, and grabbed a quick breakfast from the buffet. Once we got off the boat, we went straight to the Visitor Information kiosk and purchased our bus/ferry coins. And from there we hopped onto a bus that took us directly to Horseshoe Bay, one of the best beaches in the entire world (literally... it's been ranked in the top ten many, many times!). Gorgeous soft, pale pink sand, the bluest water you have ever seen, and craggy rock formations sticking out at either end. It was VERY nice. We laid our towels down, stuck our umbrella in the sand, and then stayed there until around 3pm. And, despite wearing sunscreen, we got fried. The sun in Bermuda was no joke. It was blazing hot and incredibly humid. The ocean felt fantastic!!

Back on board, we showered and went to dinner at the ship's Chinese restaurant, which was excellent! And then we went to the evening show, which was an incredible performance by "aerial dancers" Jocka and Maria. It was very much like a Cirque du Soleil performance-- VERY cool.

Day 4: Tobacco Bay, Bermuda
We had an interesting morning on our one full day in Bermuda! We got up, ate breakfast, and were getting ready to leave the ship when Gus realized that the ferry to St. George leaves every TWO HOURS (unlike the other ferries, which leave more frequently), and the next one was leaving in about 5 minutes. We literally ran off the ship, then along the dock (the heat and humidity were brutal!). We made it to the ferry before it pulled out, but the worker informed us that the ship was completely full. DOH!!! She suggested we take the next ferry, leaving 30 minutes later and heading to Hamilton, where we could catch a bus to St. George. So we did. We hadn't planned on seeing Hamilton, Bermuda's capital city, and we didn't stay long, but we did manage to find some decent prices on souvenirs there en route to the bus terminal... And we passed by City Hall. Oooh, ahhh! :)

Eventually, we did make it to St. George, the oldest settlement on the island at its eastern tip. And it was just as stiflingly hot and humid there, but we sucked it up and walked across the peninsula in search of the Unfinished Church and Tobacco Bay. The Unfinished Church was just a short walk uphill (we could literally see it from the bus stop, which was helpful!).

From there, it was about a half mile to Tobacco Bay. And while we were sweaty and gross, it was SO WORTH the hike. It was a beautiful, sheltered bay with decent snorkeling. We snorkeled and relaxed. And took pictures, because it was gorgeous! Definitely my favorite beach in Bermuda!

After our morning mistake, we were paranoid about missing the ferry again. We were aiming for the 3:30 ferry out of St. George, so we left Tobacco Bay just after 2pm and then explored downtown. Gus checked out the stocks and pillory, and we went in some souvenir shops. We made it back on the ferry without issue.

We enjoyed dinner in the Aqua dining room that night, followed by the evening show, which was a cast production designed to be kind of like American Idol. It was fun!

Day 5: Royal Naval Dockyard
This was our last day in Bermuda, and Gus and I were both pretty sunburned and tired from our adventures. We stayed close to the boat, opting to wander around the Royal Naval Dockyard and do some souvenir shopping instead of hitting the beach for a third day in a row. We were back on the boat in time for lunch, and then we grabbed some lounge chairs in the shade near the pool. It was very relaxing! We read our books and grabbed periodic snacks and drinks from the Garden Cafe. At around 3:30, though, I decided that I NEEDED to go back into the Dockyard to buy one last souvenir. So I left Gus on the boat and hustled back to the shop I had in mind. I had no problem making it back on board before 5:00 (the all aboard time), but there were some people who didn't make it! I don't know if they eventually made it back or not, but they were paging them over the ship's PA system for quite a while. Scary!!

We stood out on deck as the ship left the dockyard... Goodbye, Bermuda!

That evening, shortly after we set sail again, we had dinner at Aqua, one of the ship's main restaurants. I loved that we had so many dining choices, and could choose to eat in different restaurants (with different menus) pretty much every night. This was pretty different from our previous cruises, where we had an assigned dining time and an assigned table that we shared with strangers. This felt much more like we were going out to real restaurants every night! Anyway, we finished up, and made it over to the theater in time to get good seats to see The Second City. Yes, THE Second City comedy troupe! It was the newest generation of comedians, but it was hysterically funny! After that, we hustled over to the lounge to see a close-up magic show. It was standing room only by the time we got there, but it was okay.

Day 6: Day at Sea
We began our morning with breakfast at the Blue Lagoon, a small restaurant with ocean views and full table service that happened to be just down the hall from our cabin. It was a great way to start the day! After that, we wandered around the ship some more, looking through the various gift shops and whatnot. We ate lunch, then Gus went back to our cabin while I went to a "Ladies Pampering Party" hosted by the onboard spa. Everyone who went got to enjoy mini facials and a free footprint analysis. After that, we mostly just hung out in the shade on the upper decks until it was time to go for an early dinner and the show. And WOW, what a show! It was called "Elements," and featured pretty much every performer on board the ship-- the cast dancers and singers, the magician (David DaVinci) and his wife, and the aerial gymnasts Jocka and Maria. And it was AMAZING! The theater was packed to capacity (some people were actually turned away), but we got there early enough that we had great seats. It was amazing!

After the show, we hustled to the back end of the ship to the Spinnaker Lounge for another, more intimate Second City show. This one was family friendly, but hilarious nonetheless! After that show ended, we went back to our cabin and fell asleep early. We were sailing through a storm and the boat was rocking like crazy... and even though we both wore he motion sickness patch, it was finally starting to get to Gus. So an early bedtime was in order!

Day 7: Day at Sea
Due to the one-hour time change as we drew closer to home, we were both up bright and early on our last day at sea-- which also happened to be our ten-year anniversary!

Since we were up so early meant we were able to dine in style at the elegant Venetian restaurant, which was lovely. We had a table looking directly out over the ocean, and it was very relaxing. Once we were done, we wandered around the ship some more, checking out a lot of the last-day sales in the various gift shops. We spent some time packing our bags, went to a Q & A session with Jocka and Maria, sat out on the upper decks, and just generally relaxed until it was time for dinner.

We had reservations at La Cucina, one of the specialty restaurants on the ship with a (very reasonable) cover charge. It was fantastic! Great food, huge portions, and very quiet and private. They also knew we were in a hurry to make the 7pm magic show, and our waiter didn't let us down. And he took our picture, too! :)

After dinner, Gus went to the theater to get us seats for the magic show, while I ran up to our cabin to change out of my painful dress shoes and back into my flip flops (ahhhh...). Back in the theater, I found Gus and we settled in to enjoy the magic of David DaVinci, his wife, and his trained parrots. After that, we went to check out another game show, then some music from a Beatles tribute band, and then another (adults only) Second City show. It was a late night, but full of fun!

Day 8: Back Home
I woke up bright and early on our final morning, due largely to the fact that my cell phone began buzzing like crazy as we approached Boston and I suddenly had service again. It was making up for an entire week of being off the grid! Eventually, we got up, got dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and began making our way ashore. My dad arrived just in time, found us easily, and we made our way back home without incident. And saw our babies, who I had missed terribly!!!!!! They, however, spent the week doing things like this:

Still, they were happy to see us again, particularly since we came bearing presents. All in all, it was a fantastic cruise, but it really did feel nice to come home, too. :)

A Quick Video...

I forgot to share this the other day! Video from the Soap Box Derby. It was so much fun!!

Field Day!

Today was Field Day at the kids' school, which means we're now that much closer to the end of another school year! It was a great day, though. Despite the threat of rain, it never actually got beyond a very light sprinkle. And it was warm, but not hot. Perfect for running around outside!

I was put on parachute duty again, which I have come to thoroughly enjoy. Both kids had a great time! :)

Another Crazy Weekend

But the end is in sight! Gus and I leave for Bermuda on FRIDAY! WOOHOO!!! Just throwing that out there! :)

Anyway, this was one of those weekends where I really wasn't sure everything was going to fit. First there was the Cub Scout camping trip, which lasted from Friday night until Sunday morning. They had a group campsite out at the local scout camp, and both kids had a ton of fun fishing, launching bottle rockets, making s'mores with "GIANT!!" marshmallows, going on a hike around the lake, doing a service project, and more that I am likely forgetting because I wasn't there. I did go out there on Saturday afternoon to get Maya, though, so she would be well-rested for her dance recital. And while she was very unhappy to leave, it definitely ended up being the right choice. Both Gus and Niko were absolutely wiped out yesterday, having slept poorly for two nights in a row. But they dug deep and made it through the day. Though Niko didn't last long when he was reading in bed last night... He was completely wiped out!

Anyway... allow me to backtrack to yesterday morning. I woke up around 7:30, and Maya was still sleeping! I let her be, and went downstairs to enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee all by my lonesome. But by 8:00, the boys were home from camping, Maya was walking downstairs, and I was being told that the Soap Box Derby was at 9:30 instead of 10:00. Ack! So I threw Niko in the shower, washed his clothes really quickly (so he could wear his cub scout t-shirt to the derby), got Maya dressed, got myself ready, drove to the supermarket very quickly to buy flowers for a certain dancer, and then we made it to the upper elementary school where the cars were getting ready to race.

And race they did! They started off going down a steep grassy slope, which intimidated a lot of kids(including Maya). But they eventually moved to the less-steep driveway, and everyone had a ball! Prepare for picture overload!

I wanted to race, too, but was afraid I'd pop the wheels off the car. Gus already did that once... haha!!!

Anyway, we rushed back home, ate lunch, and I began working on Maya's hair, which was quite a process for someone who is hair-challenged like me. But I got it all up into a nice bun, sprayed it heavily with hairspray, and soon it was time to go to the theater! I didn't take a ton of pictures this year, since I was determined to just enjoy the show. Plus, the lighting is weird and they never turn out that great, so I don't really see the point. But I did take a few! And our girl did a great job! As always, she was all smiles up there. So proud of our tiny dancer (third from the right)!

After the (loooong) recital, we grabbed some Mexican food for dinner and everyone had an early bedtime. Today it's unseasonably cold and rainy, and I am busy packing for our trip. Can't wait to be here soon!! The countdown begins!

Dress Rehearsal and Flag Day

Last night, Maya had her big dress rehearsal for her recital. Her dance studio is relatively young-- I'm pretty sure that Maya's first year of dance was only their second year in business, so it hasn't been long! Anyway, they have expanded so much over the past few years that they have outgrown their old recital venue. This year, instead of performing at a local community college, the girls will be dancing at Mechanics Hall in downtown Worcester. I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it's a very impressive venue! Very old and fancy. On the other hand, all of the floor seating is flat. So, we'll see. I am hoping we can get seats in the balcony, but we will get what we can get!

Anyway, here are some pictures from before the chaos yesterday (it really was crazy... I think the new venue threw everyone for a loop):

And the videos of our girl dancing. Don't watch this if you are coming on Sunday! :) Then, today was Flag Day, so the kids had a quick little ceremony at school. I didn't go last year and figured I'd check it out. It was cute! They all waved little paper flags, sang the Star-Spangled Banner and some other patriotic songs, and a few kids walked down from the middle school to read some interesting facts about the history of the U.S. flag. It was maybe 10 minutes long!

After that, though, I was finally able to chat with the principal for the first time since my parents made their offer on her home. She knew they were my parents, as I suspected! But we had a nice chat, as always, and she is busily looking for someplace to live (probably temporary) come July 20th. But she has loved living in that house, and she knows that my parents will love it, too. And I'm just glad everything is out in the open, since she will very likely be my boss in the fall. Still-- what are the odds?????

Speaking of the house... the inspection is today! Gus and the kids will be camping out at the Boy Scout camp for the next two nights. Once they leave, I might drive over and see the inside of the house myself. I can't wait! :)

Summer Approaches...

It's so close I can almost taste it!!

If we hadn't had all those snow days, the kids would be getting out this Friday, June 12. But alas, it was not to be. They are still in school until the 22nd. But the End of Year activities are in full swing. Almost there!

So on Sunday morning, Gus took the kids and my dad out in the canoe for some fishing. The kids caught a few fish each, Gus caught a branch and some lake grass, and my dad apparently caught a largish fish that got away (so he claims! though Gus corroborates his story).

We met up for lunch afterward, and then headed to Niko's last baseball game of the season. Each player received a personalized wooden bat, and then they all got free ice cream sundaes from the snack shack. Not a bad way to end the season!

With baseball over, we suddenly reclaimed three days a week! And then I didn't volunteer at school this week like I normally do, since the kindergarteners were rehearsing for their spring concert yesterday (and then the actual concert was today). So I had more free time! And dance will officially end after this weekend, and all we will have left is scouts for a while! WEIRD! What will we do with all this free time?!?

Anyway... I alluded to the fact that today was the spring concert at school. And it was! Here were my little darlings before they got on the bus this morning:

And here are their actual performances (three songs each, starting with Maya's class). I clearly wasn't thinking when I put Niko in that black polo shirt. Lesson learned: BRIGHT COLORS are what we need! Black shirt + black background = floating head. Oops! And because Murphy's Law dictates that our kids must always be in separate performances, Gus took the day off from work so he could go to them both. During the down time in between, he had a long list of things that he needed to get done for Cub Scouts. The first was finishing up the soap box derby car, which is looking VERY fabulous. I made the cushions. As a friend pointed out (the one who painted it!), Versace would love it. We'll see how it does in the derby on Sunday!

Gus also had to create a bottle rocket launcher. It's one of the activities they are doing at their year-end campout this weekend, and he was in charge. It works. He is very pleased with himself. It's really quite spectacular! Meanwhile, I have filled all my free time getting all my ducks in a row for the next two weeks. Tomorrow night is the dress rehearsal for Maya's dance recital, and the recital itself is on Sunday. We have a scout campout from Friday to Sunday morning, followed by the soap box derby, followed by the recital. This weekend is PACKED. And then Gus and I leave on our cruise on the following Friday (the 19th). We're going away for a week to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary. Yay! But this means that I have to get all the teacher and bus driver gifts taken care of before we go, plus Father's Day, plus stocking the house with food the kids will eat, leaving detailed scheduling info for the last two days of school with my parents, etc. Oh and packing! But that's the easiest part. Also in there, we have Field Day at the school, the volunteer recognition breakfast, a birthday party for one of Maya's best friends, and a Daisy meeting. But soon it will all slow down! Summer is almost here! We can do this!!! :)