Orlando

Hubby found us a great place in Florida to stay. It was very private with a lanai covered pool. It was heated and wonderful on the muscles. andrew stayed with us for a few days before heading off to umpire school. We went shopping New Years eve (Big mistake. The store was crowded, almost a half an hour in line. We celebrated quietly. I think I was asleep before eleven. Caught a few shots of New Years on the TV. Fulfilled my MVS requirements and then went to sleep.
We did take a stroll through one of the outlets in Orlando on International Drive. A poor man had lost his wife and was checking for her up and down. He did find her in the Coach outlet! Whew! Sigh of relief!
Hubby had a convention to attend so we swithched hotels to the Rosen Plaza. Over all it was a nice trip but too long. I don't want to be away from home for that long of a time period. The kids missed the dogs and it was kind of boring. Not much to do.
After crashing in florida, it felt so good to get home and sleep in bed. When we first walked into the house everything seemed so diffferent and confusing, almost disorienting. That's why I don't think I will take such a long vacation again. I think I sopent a week in there before I finally felt able to get up and do what I needed to at home. My suitcase isn't unpacked yet. It's all summer clothes so its no rush. I have to admit my expectations were higher and I was disappointed.

Orlando

Boogie and Limbo

Michelle and Andrew boogied onboard and entered a few contests. They were cute together and I enjoyed watching them. Michelle came in second in a competition and won a cd case as a prize.

Toga! Toga!

Okay, so there wasn't a food fight, but there were plenty of toga attired diner's. The kids enjoyed dressing up although keeping the togas on seemed difficult. Dinner was excellent and the staff put on a musical extravaganza.

A's Photo Montage

I'll let the photo's speak for themselves! My kid is a nut! almost as crazy as his mother!

The Turk's

The kids and I stayed on the ship when we got to the Turk Islands. Sunburn! Uncomfortable sunburn. I kept them comfortable while the rest of the gang went ashore and rented mopeds. They had a great time snorkeling and cruising the island.

Back to the Bath's

I wrote extensively about how beautiful the Bath's of Virgin Gorda is and it did not disappoint the second time around. In fact I enjoyed it more. The water was just beauitful although we had a few short-lived sprinkles. It was andrew and Michelle's first time there and I watched them snorkeling from the beach. They really enjoyed it.
We had lunch at the restaurant on the top of the hill. In fact I think it was called Top of the Hill.

A Costa Cruising

Costa Cruises are very different from Carnival. I have to be honest, I didn't enjoy it as much as previous cruises. Hubby wanted less kids )which Carnival is full of) and the European style cuisine sounded appealing. Our quarters were tight, four of us sharing one cabin but we managed. The food was less than spectacular but we did enjoy the evening dinners. Formal night was the second night on board. There was a nice lounge outside of the formal dining room and I enjoyed sitting there relaxing in the evening people watching. Our first day in port was in Puerto Rico. It was a short time period and we had been there before, so Keebie and I opted to stay onboard. We had lunch on the ship, perused the Internet and went swimming.
Our second stop was In Saint Maarten which I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately the day was a bust. Mixed up communication delayed our car rental, although we did get to do a little shopping in Phillupsburg. We did drive over to the French side to a city called Marigot. It was as beautiful as I remembered. We didn't stop, just drove around and I was a little upset about that but made the best of it. It was a bad day and one I am not anxious to repeat.

December madness

December was truly a crazy month. Hannukah came early this year and we celebrated quietly at home. Paul loved the new recordable DVD player I got him and i loved the sewing machine he purchased for me. Afterwards we went to Best Buy where I ran into an accident. Got bumped in the entrance buy a linebacker while Paul was purchaing what he needed to set up his recorder. Then we ran into an accident. My friend was very sick and recovering from eye surgery. she couldn't drive so I went to pick up her 10.99 prescription, drove around the security barrier at Arby's to pick up dinner, dropped off her prescriptions and then boom! Keebie and I stumbled on an accident where the kid was doubled over in pain. The police gave him a little bit of a hard time, why one of them didn't even know it was raining. Poor kid, I felt bad for him smashing up his car like that.
Thank goodness the next day we left for vacation, driving all the way down to Florida for our cruise.
We hit a lot of traffic but found a really cute diner called Dixieland's. What a charming place. We spent a night in a hotel and then drove to St Augustine where we shopped in the outlets. The next day we finished our journey and boarded the ship.

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving was difficult this year. Dana came up to visit but her father was in the hospital. I checked on him for her and then hubby's brother was in the hospital so I visited him too. I had dinner with Dana's mom and her sister at Boston market but I think someone slipped me a Mickey because I ended up in the hospital with a Kidney Stone? It was very painful and we met the creepiest nurse. They stuck me in this back room and I had an allergic reaction for the first time in my life to an adhesive. The creepy nurse went on and on about allergic reactions and how her mother was paralyzed from a reaction and doom and gloom ad nauseum. I swear she specialized in intimidation!
I picked Dana up at the airport and drove her to her mom's. The following Day I cleaned up around the house, set the table and then spent some time playing pie fairy. I delivered pies and rolls to my sister and Dana's house for the big day. Dana had me laughing so hard because her father wanted to have my turkey left overs. The nerve! He planned his leftovers with my turkey!
We spent Thanksgiving quietly at home with just out family and my aunt. It was a nice dinner, the food was excellent and we visited my sister for dessert. It's always good to see friends and family.
After Thanksgiving, Dana came and stayed with us for two days. We spent an afternoon at the shore, tried our luck at the craps table in Cesar's, spun the Roulette wheel at the Tropicana and had dinner in the courtyard Chinese restaurant. Great conversation and great food although Dana did get sick later. (It wouldn't be a vacation if Dana didn't get sick!)
After dinner we caught a Rickshaw ride back to Cesar's, my hips were aching, and were both entertained with a round of hysterical conversation with our driver on the Boardwalk. I didn't feel safe but our Rickshaw driver assured me that they had really cleaned up the boardwalk.
The following day we visited friends in Riverside, went shopping at Target and by then it was time for our trip back to the airport. I told Dana how much I enjoyed her company, loved playing along in our conversations (she is so great for creativity) and with a big hug and kiss, sent her on her way!

Is there life after Construction?

October was a busy month getting organized around the house. After a lot of travel in the summer, it was time to get the house organized. I enlisted the help of friends to come over and we managed to get the kitchen painted and Keebie's room organized. I had the floors redone in Keebie's room and it came out nice.
Ollie and Rocky posed for a few shots. Rocky thinks he is a cat and lays on the top of furniture soaking in the sun. They are fun pets although housebreaking Rocky is a tremendous undertaking.
I was sick for most of October, no energy and fighting for control of my diabetes. It was hard to understand at first,a revelation, but the daily monitoring really helped. I did loose one meter and had to buy another. I feel like I am making headway in handling my diabetes.