We went cruisin'

Well, we made it back safe and sound and only a tad bit burned. As much as I hate using sunscreen this stuff did the trick. Our first full day on the boat was nice and sunny, so we slathered on the sunscreen before heading out in the morning. Only thing is I forgot to put it on my shins and feet. By the end of the day they were blazing red and on fire, complete with finger streaks and sandal strap lines! The rest of the trip I looked like a had a bad rash on my shins. Pretty unattractive, but I was just glad it wasn't on my whole body! I also burned my head where my part is. That sun is intense!

My attempt at taking a picture while passing by Cuba

Overall it was a great time! Flights worked out (even though we were close to having to full on run through the Detroit airport on our way there to make our connecting flight to Florida), our luggage made it with us (something I am always nervous about when flying), and we had no issues traveling with no passport.

Our days went a little something like this: Sleep in. Have breakfast made for us. Lounge by the pool reading or chatting. Have lunch made for us. Watch a men's belly flop contest, play some mini golf, Dean played in a dodgeball competition one day, and we watched people wipe out on the surf simulator.  Then we would shower and/or nap before getting ready for dinner; which was also made for us. Did I mention I never had to make a single meal outside of putting already made food on my plate from a buffet? 

After dinner we would walk around, play some Guitar Hero at the arcade or spend some time in the hot tub outside while a movie played on a big screen. Dean played some poker and I would play some black jack. Most nights there was an audience participation game (Think Battle of the sexes or Quest (a scavenger hunt through the audience type game)). There was live music playing with dancing every night in various locations, and one night they had an outdoor party with live music and dancing.

We spent one day docked in Cozumel, Mexico. To be honest, it wasn't as glamorous as it sounds. You could either just stay by the pier and check out all the little shops in what felt like a compound or choose to do an excursion (see the Mayan ruins, scuba dive or snorkel, go to a beach, etc). Either way you had to pay and be taken somewhere else. I would have been happy with going to a beach, but Dean really wanted to snorkel. I figured it was something that we wouldn't have another opportunity of doing anytime soon, so we snorkeled. Ask Dean, and he had a great time. I pretty much just put up with it at first, and it was alright. It was tough getting used to the whole breathing thing, and my goggles kept fogging up. But once I got salt water in my goggles/eyes about halfway through, it was over. Done. I was perfectly happy to sit on the boat the rest of the time and read my book.

Gotta love the great cropping skills of some random guy walking by.

The last day of the cruise we were off the boat by 11am, and since our flight back home wasn't until the next morning we had all day to spend in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We left our luggage at our hotel and took a taxi to the beach for the afternoon. We got some lunch before settling on the beach, and of course we had to go here!

It was pretty cloudy all day, with just a few breaks of the sun shining through, which was kind of a bummer. The water was chilly, but Dean went in anyways, not wanting to miss out on a chance to play in the ocean waves. Then we just hung out in the warm sand, playing 20 questions for at least an hour, while Dean sat in his makeshift chair and I dug a hole in the sand so I could lay on my stomach.

Yes!

.

I would have to say, not having to cook a single meal for 6 days was probably my favorite part about vacation. It comes close to the warm and sunny weather. And of course spending almost every waking minute with my husband, and never getting tired of each other. That was fun too. Although, I can say I am very happy to be back to eating my kefir smoothies, apples with almond butter and deviled eggs. As nice as it was not having to cook, after awhile cruise ship food gets old.

By the end, we were super anxious to get back home to our boys. I wish we got it on video, but their reaction when seeing us at the airport was the best. They did great while we were away, having fun between both sets of grandparents, but they were so happy to have us home. Will, especially, was full of hugs, kisses and cuddles that first night back.

I thought for sure it would be hard getting back into the normal routine of life, but it has been just fine. I could definitely do without this cold weather though......

You may say I'm a dreamer...

...but I'm not! Now, I'm not saying I literally don't have dreams when I sleep (I actually have very, very strange ones) or have hopes for my future....our family's future. But sitting around and daydreaming is just something I don't do. I was never that young girl who had her dream wedding planned out and a whole list of baby names written out. I don't dream about our future grow old together house and how I would like it to be....although a first or second floor laundry would be nice. It's just not who I am. I am a practicalist. I like to plan. I live in the now, and the short foreseen future. I don't like to spend my time wishing for something grand to happen when there are things to be done today. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I love Pinterest. I think it is a fantastic tool for creative inspiration. For some people it can be very addicting, I am sure. Seeing all these cool ideas and pretty things and dreaming to have them. But unless I am looking to be inspired for something now, I find it a bit frustrating.

Now, I'm not saying that being a dreamer is a bad thing; that they're all just wishful thinkers living in la la land. Without dreamers we wouldn't have much in this world. Oh, we'd have houses and fire and maybe even indoor plumbing (because lets be honest...there ain't anything more practical than a toilet and some running water.) But it would be a pretty plain little world. You see, not having that dreamer personality, it also means I am not very adventurous. Not a very spur of the moment kind of person.

My husband on the other hand, is a dreamer; a visionary. Like, you don't even know. His brain is constantly going. Always coming up with (sometimes crazy) ideas. He talks about traveling the world when we're rich, and the big house we're going to have. He is definitely an out of the box thinker where as I tend to be more in the box. And yes, I think we can drive each other crazy sometimes. He will want to do something fun very last minute, but then I come in with the practicalities of it all (usually having something to do with a little, eh, problem called the kids) and shut it down. But then if it weren't for me we would have a catapult in our backyard soooo....

But we work well together. Here is a perfect example of our two very different personalities working together in harmony...

This March, we are going on a Caribbean cruise! Yeah, I know. I still can't believe it either. I don't think I will believe it even after it's happened. Dean has been talking for months and months now about wanting to do a big vacation this Winter/early Spring. As much as a vacation would be nice, if it were completely up to me, it probably wouldn't happen. I would most likely blame it on the need to use the money on something more practical or just keep saving it or something boring and practical like that. But Dean was so stoked about the idea of a beachy vacation, I figured if we're going to do it I had better start planning. Researching. Comparing prices. Making sure everything lined up perfectly.

So, come March 6th we will be off to Florida to leave on 4 night cruise in the Caribbean, with a day on either side to hang out in (hopefully)warm and sunny Ft. Lauderdale. We are very excited about it! This is the perfect time to get away for a bit, just us two. The boys do wonderfully being left with the Grandma's and Grandpa's, and this will be the last chance for awhile to get away alone before baby comes in June. I plan on doing a lot of nothing, not eating too much food and hopefully not coming back burnt to a crisp. I have a feeling none of that will happen. Can't wait to be able to share some pictures!

Original source

Back to the everyday

Dean and I had a great time on our trip! It was pretty short, but long enough to make me anxious to get back to our everyday routine (and normal eating!)

We left Sunday morning around 8:30am to meet up with others at a park and ride off of the thruway, and traveled in a big bus. We hit the road officially by 10:30am. It is usually a very nice, uneventful trip. Just relax and read a book or watch a movie they have playing. We stop once for lunch, and are able to stretch our legs and breath some fresh air.

Right around 1pm, we pulled off to a thruway stop. The driver noticed one of her warning lights was on, and saw that she was leaving a trail of something. Turns out there was a leak in the radiator. We ended up hanging for for 2 hours for someone to come fix it. It is a short trip as it is, so wasting 2 hours hanging there was quite the bummer!  Everyone stayed in great spirits though. We finally hit the road a little after 3pm. We started to smell something burning right away, but everyone assumed it was radiator fluid burning off. We had been on the road for about 10 minutes when BAM! We blew a tire! The driver handled the bus well, and pulled to the side of the road. Turns out the guy who fixed the radiator left something out of place that was dragging on the tire. At this point all we could do was shake our heads and laugh.

Thankfully it was a BEAUTIFUL day out, so we all just hung out in the grass on the side of the highway. We must have been quite a sight!

 That tractor trailer? Yeah. It wasn't just slowly passing by. It was going at least 65 mph, and swerving to avoid the bus!

 The whole side of the bus around the tires went flying off too! Thank the Lord it didn't cause any accidents!

We finally arrived at our destination, over 2.5 hrs later than we should have. We had dinner reservations we were late for, so we all had to rush to our rooms to freshen up. My shirt was a bit wrinkled, and dry shampoo saved my dreary travel hair.

Dinner was fantastic, as always, and afterwards everyone went their separate ways. Our first stop was the most awesome bowling alley you will ever see!  (Please excuse the grainy pictures. The dim lights set a wonderful mood, but made for crappy pictures.)

Monday morning we got to sleep in! We had a little breakfast, and then Dean had to walk around the convention doing whatever it is he had to do. The past 2 years we've gone I have always told myself I would get to the gym while Dean was busy, buuuuut I always ended up being a lazy butt and just lounging in the hotel room watching tv. But this year I finally hit up the gym. I was pretty proud of myself.

I met Dean for lunch, and then we had the afternoon free! We walked around a bit, played some pool and because we just had to...played some slots. This place is so huge with casino's everywhere. I couldn't imagine going there with the sole purpose of gambling (which is what most of the people were there for)! We were pretty lame getting super excited and dancing whenever we'd win, even if it was only $1.00, but it was a lot of fun to goof around.

 Picture taking wasn't allowed in the casinos or else I would have taken some!

We went up to the 25th floor of one of the towers, and got a picture of just part of the whole place.

Monday night there was a cocktail dinner for the convention goers. It's fun to dress up, drink some wine and eat some awesome food.

I brought my camera with us hoping to get some nice pictures, but it just never worked out to take it. We'd usually be away from our room for an extended period of time, and I didn't want to lug the thing around all day/night. Thank goodness for cellphones though! We at least got some pictures, even if they did look like this:

The trip home Tuesday was uneventful. We were very anxious to get home and see the boys, and they were happy to see us!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Got any fun plans for the weekend? Dean and I will be having an extra long weekend since we are leaving tomorrow morning for a little business trip/vacation and will be back Tuesday night. We'll be traveling on a bus with other appliance business men and women to Connecticut for a convention. This is our 3rd year going, and we always have a great time! This is where we will be staying...

via google images

It's ok. You can be jealous. And yes, it really is as nice as it looks. Wish me luck on the penny slots! Come oooon big money!

Our Anniversary Vacation

Dean and I celebrated our 6th year wedding anniversary this past Sunday, the 17th. We were able to plan a little getaway and had the best time! We wanted to go somewhere we could drive to without being in the car for ten hours, so we decided to re-visit the place we went to for our 1 year anniversary. It is an all-inclusive resort in Poconos, PA called Cove Haven. It is one of those cheesy sounding places with the heart shaped everything, but it is so much fun! At least for us it was. It is very activity oriented which is right up our ally.

We got there Thursday afternoon, and while checking in we were told we could have a complementary upgrade to our choice of 2 different better suites; Score! We had originally booked their cheapest room. Then he told us we could also have their most expensive suite instead for a total of $60 more (both nights and taxes and fees included in that price, no strings attached. It was at least a savings of $300!). I told Dean the descision was his, and of course he quickly accepted. Our own pool? Champagne glass jacuzzi? Heck yeah!

Here are a few (bad quality) pictures of our room!

Yes, a round bed, and "stars" on the ceiling ;-)

View from our bed; Our own heated pool! It was great having our own pool, especially since their outdoor pools were still a bit chilly. (There was also a sauna and massage table down there too!)

Champagne jacuzzi tub and living room area that also had a fireplace.

They have so many activities you can do from indoor mini golf, ice skating, tennis and racketball, there is a driving range, paddle boating on Lake Wallenpaupack or just relaxing by the heart shaped pool.

Now, if you know Dean at all you know that everything we do is a competition, with bets on the line everytime. For the most part he beat me at everything; Mini golf, air hockey (I should win something just for playing against him; Scary!), basketball, and pool (although I did beat him once, and gave him a run for his money most games.)

I made this shot. You know. In case you were wondering.

So, it may come as a surprise, especially after seeing my bad form (which I had no idea I was doing, since Dean never corrected me on it. I believe, from fear that I would beat him even more soundly), but I was kicking his butt at archery!

Elbow down = Bad form.

Elbow up, arm in line with arrow = Good form.

In Deans defense though, he did get the hang of it by our last day there and did end up beating me. But in my defense, by then I was so stinkin tired!



I wish you could see the guy taking our picture. He was totally pulling an Asian!

At 4:15pm, 4 days a week, one of the staff members, who they call the Deer Whisperer, calls out the wild deer to come for a feeding. It's pretty crazy! He walks around yelling, "Here Bambi!" and the deer come running out of the woods. He said the most deer he's had come at once was 70+, and has had a 8 point buck come too!

Each night they have some sort of entertainment...bands, comedians, etc. and usually have an audience participation game that was always amusing! It was fun getting to dress up a bit and go out for some dancing and lots of laughs!

Who is to afraid to ask someone to take a picture for them, so instead becomes innovative and props up the camera on a trash can with her make up case holding it up underneath? That's right. This girl.

It was so great to get away, just us two. Everything was perfect. The food was great. There was never a dull moment (although Dean would say that laying by the pool was pretty dull.) We have lots of fun together, and after 6 years are still pretty crazy about each other!

Aww.