All aboard the FREEDOM!

Ok, so this is a massive post. We just got back from vacation and it was wonderful! Kent and I went on an Eastern Caribbean cruise, while my sister, Kalin, watched the kids for us. My camera broke right before we left, therefore, Kent was in charge of taking the pics. (which was really nice for me). He did a great job, so great in fact, we have 600 pics.! It is a bit overwhelming AND they got all mixed up when they were uploaded. Bare with me, they are out of order and there are a lot! I tried to pick just the best ones, but as you know, I always have too many pics.

Here we have the infamous towel animal. I have to admit, I took pics. every night that we got a new animal, it was really quite cute and amazing.

Our ship was called the Freedom, and it was magnificent!

Our first port was San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was the most excited for this because this was where we got to do the zip lines through the rain forest! I had been looking forward to this since we booked the cruise in May. I was not disappointed! It was the high light of my trip! We didn't get to the port until 5 pm. Therefore, we ended up doing it in the dark, which we knew ahead of time. I think I actually preferred this because then I couldn't see the 500 feet of wilderness below me. I was oblivious to the dangers and just hooked on and took off, flying through the air! It was by far one of the best adventures I've had! The only downfall was my light on my helmet was a little askew, so unfortunately for the safety instructor on the other end of the line I couldn't see when/ where the line ended and where I needed to "brake." This resulted in a huge collision, which he was not too happy about, but he reassured me that he gets paid for that, but I really need to brake earlier! OOPS!

It was SO HOT and humid, everyone was just dripping, even before we started the hike up the mountain.

Kent coming in for his landing.

Waiting for the adventure to begin.

Out of order, this is when we were docking at the port and we were itching to get off the ship.

Flying through the air with the greatest of ease!

As everyone knows, I am not the most graceful. Maneuvering through the platforms in the trees was sometimes a little tricky, especially in the dark.



This is in Antigua, it was beautiful . We took a taxi tour of the island and saw some amazing things.

We watched the people who paid $300 to swim with the dolphins. The dolphins were so quick, I couldn't get a good shot of them.

This is me a little too hot and getting a little irritated with some dumb Americans that were on our tour. Side note: If you put your hand up to a parrots beak, he will bite you. WTH, this lady seemed so shocked that she was bitten. What a freakin' idiot, then we had to listen to her complain about it for the rest of the day!

Another stop was at the Bomba Shack. Apparently they really know how to party here. Whenever there is a full moon, the whole island comes out to drink the "Bomba juice." There were women's panties and plenty of pics. to prove that they know how to have fun.

Another stop on the tour was the rum factory. Eyes on, hands off!

We also made a beach stop, which was great. We made a point to take pics. of all the hotties in speedos. (That's for your benefit Shelbi). Always a treat to see old men in banana hammocks. I wanted to share the pleasure with all of you. :)

This is me and my cheesy smile waiting for Twilight to start on the mega-flat screen on the lido deck outside! I was so pumped and ready! However, they didn't play it! 007 came on instead, let me tell you, there were a lot of disappointed people. We ended up watching it, and it was great, kinda like a drive-in, in a lounge chair with the wind blowing through your hair....ahhh, I wish I was there right now, it would have been even better if it was Twilight.

I'm sure most of you have heard how great the food is on cruise ships. Yet again, we were not disappointed. We made sure to eat our moneys worth. :) It made me laugh when Kent whipped out his camera to take a pic. of his breakfast! I told him

he needed to start his own blog! It was eggs benedict and it was so scrumptious! I'm just glad he thought to take the pic. while there was still some left!

This is our team waiter, Jose. He was wonderful, we got to hear all about his family in El Salvador. He loved to perform for us, he was the ultimate singer and dancer!

This is Kent on one of the formal nights, sorry it's sideways, I don't have the patience to go and fix it now, I just deleted the one of me in my fancy dress. I'm sure you will all survive though.

These are our new friends from Arkansas, Matt and Melissa. They renewed their wedding vows on the ship. We had a lot of laughs with them, they were great people!

Lounging by the pool, reading a book, and loving life!

I did a lot of this.... I guess that's why Kent felt he needed to take a pic. and why I thought I should post this horrific pic. of me... but I do love my sleep!

This is a shot of the huge flat screen I was talking about. On the screen now, was our cruise director, "WEEE JIMMY" doing his morning show. He is from Scotland and was an absolute riot the whole trip. We really enjoyed him!

Here is another port day in St. Thomas. Kent is posing for his senior pic. in Magen's Bay. It was beautiful. We really enjoyed our beach days!

Hanging out on the balcony waiting to get to the next port.

Still waiting!

This is Melissa, Matt and I walking through the Atlantis trying to find tickets for the water park.
The place is HUGE! It was beautiful and ever so fancy, but I just wanted to get to the freakin' water park.

The aquarium at Atlantis.

Here is another pretty beach shot at the water park. This European mom (I'm assuming European) is just putting sun screen on her boys.

The Atlantis.

This is part of the wild, rapid river at Aquaventure. The place was unbelievable. You may have seen it on the travel channel. They have roller coasters where you sit in your tube and go shooting through rapids and up and down hills. LOVED IT!

Included in our ticket was access to the beach. Here I am with a Bahamian wheelin' and dealin' to get purses for the girls. They are super cute and she put their names on them. She was very interested in me when I told her I needed "Two!"

Mayan temple water slides.

Carnival Freedom. We also went to Tortola, but I apparently forgot to upload those pics. to this post. It was a beautiful island!

This is the sun rising on our final morning in the Ft. Lauderdale port. They woke us up at 6:30 am to let us know it was time to get off the ship, your vacation is over! It was rough! Our flight didn't leave until 4:30, so we booked an excursion to the Everglades.

Waiting to get on the air boat to check out the alligators.

Hello Mr. Alligator. It was crazy, he came right up to our boat, a little too close for comfort for me!

This crazy gator boy stuck his hand and then his head inside the gator's mouth! It was quite the show!

Kent in Magen's Bay, St. Thomas

Magen's Bay, absolutely gorgeous!

That was as short of a synopsis as I could do... we had a great time, but we were ready to squeeze our munchkins! Now we are home and it's life as normal...as normal as we get anyway!

Only in Greenacres....

Yep, this is exactly what it looks like. I was driving down Sprague (a busy 4 lane road) and oh shoot, there's a boat sitting in the middle of the lane. WTH?

OOOPS!

Ahh, I am losing it....in the last post I forgot to explain exactly why Brayden is MY boy. So here it goes....here he is opening his presents...

Thrilled to get a Mickey Mouse jump rope.

Playing outside with the chalk sprayer, didn't work, had to return it. :(

Now here it is: my boy jump roping with his helmet on... I have to admit this was probably the best choice. His first round of jumping resulted in his head on the concrete. I guess I forgot how complicated jumping can be...coordination with twirling the rope and jumping at just the right time. I demonstrated for him, then had him take a turn. He was concentrating so hard at watching the rope hit the ground, so he would know when to jump, he completely fell over, with his head catching him on the fall. I have to say, it was so scary to the point, I didn't even laugh, I really thought he was going to have a concussion. We iced it and back he went, this time with his helmet on. I think he is a tad accident prone, just like his Mama!

These are some of my favorite pics. from the weekend:

Ellie and Brayden cozy on the couch.

The kids trying out B's new dance mat.

Ellie talking to Grandma Wagener and telling her all about her NEW shoes!

The girls and their new shoes!

Danielle's new kicks!

That's MY boy!

Whew! Last week was a busy week! I don't know if it was because it was the last week of Summer....but I am glad things are going to slow down, and we're headed for our vacation! These are a few of my favorites from last week. Brayden had his first soccer practice!! I was so pumped, I get to be the assistant coach, and my friend's husband, Brian, is coaching. I get to do all the fun stuff, without having to plan anything! I love it! Here is B putting on all his gear, I forgot how long it actually takes to put on all the soccer stuff, especially for a now five year old! :)

He had to make sure it all worked, by running through our house. I let it slide, because he was so excited. I bought the stuff over a year ago because the indoor center was having such a great deal! I am hoping we can squeeze the cleats through this season, he was complaining that they were too tight, but theoretically they should fit! Hopefully at least one of the girls can wear them eventually too.

Here I am diligently working with the kids (I think we were listening to coach Brian). I got four of the kids and Brian got the other four. There's only eight on a team at this age. I told Brian after practice that he has to have Brayden on his side because he just whined and complained and told me he already knew how to do everything. :)

Brian with the other half. I am bummed we are going to miss the first two games because we will be on vacation, hopefully Brayden won't be benched for the rest of the season. :)

AHH, Friday, the 4th, was Brayden's B-day. I was very excited to have a fun day and let him choose what he wanted to do. We started out with a fancy Birthday breakfast. He chose "special" waffles (not the frozen ones we have everyday), with fruit and cool whip. I have to say, it was mighty tasty!

His sisters enjoyed them too! Then we were off to the mall to meet the Mommy's group for a meet-up at the play place. It was a good time!

Ellie taking control and driving the plane.

Brayden and Keegan in the helicopter. After the play place, we headed to Toys-r-us, with Keegan in tow, to get B's birthday crown and balloon. (He's part of the B-day club, so he gets this plus a $3 coupon)! So fun, it is always a wonderful idea to take four kids into a toy store by yourself! The lady there was really nice and gave ALL the kids crowns and balloons. While we were waiting for all the balloons to be blown up, B fell and cut his arm on something (I still don't know how he did it). It was somewhat deep and bled all over his shirt, and when he sees blood, he FREAKS out! This kind of put a damper on the whole experience, but we all made it back to the car alive.

B ticked off, Keegan, Dani and Ellie with their crowns. (Note: the balloons are all shoved in the back, I tried to be safe, I couldn't see out the back, but I thought that was better than having them bounce or be thrown, all over the van).

If you look closely, you can see B's scratch. Next, we were supposed to meet Daddy for lunch at Round Table, but first we had to make a stop at the house for a cold wash cloth and a band-aid. I tell ya, that makes all the difference in the world! After lunch, Keegan played at our house, B opened his presents, then we went out for a family dinner. All in all, I think it was a good day for a new five year old!