We went and saw the Joseph and the Technicolor Coat play at Midway Town Hall! Della went for activity days and just could not stop talking and raving about it. She wanted to see it a second time so badly, so we all got tickets and went. It was FANTASTIC!
Rusty had an amazing opportunity to go skiing at a little resort that Rev Road rented out. He had the best time and came home just grinning. He said that he also had the best hamburger of his whole life there so... I was obviously jealous. It worked out really well because we just got to go to the cabin and he was only a little bit away from that!
We went sledding while we were at the cabin too! I took the kids on my way to drop Amelia off with my parents for her date, and I got stuck in the parking lot of the Sinks. Like so stuck that a nice man had to come and help me get out. And then I said I was going to leave and he said, "Weren't you going to take your kids sledding?" And I told him I definitely wasn't going to now, I just wanted to get out of that parking lot. He told me I should stay and I told him I was scared I'd get stuck again, and he told me he'd just help me again. So we went sledding and then when it was time to go... I got stuck again. And he had to come help again. Sheesh. On the way home Rusty took the kids back out to the Sinks to sled and I stayed in the car and took a nap haha.
We hosted book club again! This time it was for Along Came a Dog and we ate dragonfly treats and Cadbury eggs and talked about how to be a good friend and how to look for good friends for yourself.
We did a really quick trip out to Colorado for Granddad's 85th birthday party! It ended up being a wonderful trip and we got to see all of Rusty's family. Phyllis and Kirk stayed in the AirBnb with us close to Monument. The first day we flew in we went straight to Granddad's house and had some time to talk with them just us which was so nice. We hugged them and then I sat down on the couch, and then Granddad came over to me and held my hands and said, "You are just one of my favorite people in the world." And I almost lost it. I love him so much. Henry and Della got to drive the tractor and it was a fun, surreal moment for Rusty because he used to do that with Granddad there too.
Later that night we all met for dinner and then Levi's kids and our kids went to a trampoline park and played. This place was absolutely amazing and I wish we had one close to us! The kids had such a great time and loved playing with their cousins, and got lots of energy out which was great haha. We got time to talk with Levi and his new girlfriend too.
The next morning we actually met Emilie and Dave for breakfast! They are still in the Springs and so we had an opportunity to see them which was kind of silly because they live in Utah like us, but they've been gone since October so we met up there! After breakfast we went to Granddad's for his party. The kids rode Rio and played with Jasper. I brushed Hope and Jasper and it was so funny because they would get jealous of each other. I want a mini donkey SO BADLY. Like so badly. Everyone else came over and we all had lunch and talked and then took a group photo. The kids played with magnets in the house and had fun before we went home to watch a show and go to bed! Grandpa Kirk picked Monty Python and I don't know if his love of that movie or Phyllis' distaste was funnier haha.
Our last day we got up and went to a park with Levi's kids to let them run off some energy and then went back to Granddad's to say goodbye. Rusty got really emotional as we were leaving because he is nervous that will be the last time he sees Granddad. He is doing well health wise, but he is getting older. It will be such a hard day for us, especially Rusty, when we lose him.
The very next day after we got back from Colorado was St. Patricks Day! St Patrick's Day was so fun! The leprechaun came to visit and the kids made a trap. While they were making the trap, Henry said he didn't like Della's idea and I said I'm sure it would be great! And he said, "I just don't think you're going to trick a 2,000 year old leprechaun with that." Um rude. Also he knows so that made it even more confusing haha. We had an extra surprise when we went out on our porch in the morning to take the kids to Science Class and someone had decorated our porch! What a fun surprise. We found out later that it was the Cowleys. They are so nice to us! We did some fun rainbow art projects for school too.
WE WENT TO FLORIDA! FOR A CRUISE! So this was for a business trip for Matt's family and ours, but it ended up that Matt's family couldn't go because Jess was past the allowed time for being pregnant on a cruise ship. So that was a bummer, but we still went on the trip and had the best time! We didn't have anything planned and just did what we felt like and it was so relaxing and freeing. The plane ride there was uneventful and great, and having kids old enough to just kind of hang out was so helpful.
Our first day we went to Miami Beach and even though it was a little chilly the kids all still swam! And Rusty! I put my feet in and that was enough for me haha. I put so much sunscreen on the kids and myself to make sure we didn't get burned our first day like Hawaii last year, and I only got a little burned and the kids were fine. Rusty got pretty fried though! Della and I went for a nice long walk on the beach and it was fun to have some one on one time. We buried Amelia in the sand and made her a mermaid! We went back to the AirBnb and then walked over to a yummy pizza place for dinner.
The next day we tried swimming in the pool at the hotel but it was really cold, so the girls got in a little bit but not much. We couldn't get on the ship until 4 so we had some time to kill but had to be out of our apartment at 10. We kind of hacked it together and took the suitcases down to the lobby and then hung out in the game room. We played a bunch of games but the kids just wanted to get on the ship haha. After that we got lunch at a place right across the street from the hotel so we could just walk and it was a health food place. The kids wanted burgers, but I didn't tell them they were turkey burgers. I honestly didn't think they'd notice! But they did. And they hated it haha.
Our first full day we had breakfast and then went to Naussau! It was a little sketchy and the beach we went to was really close so we could just walk which was nice but it was kinda yucky. We all still swam and the kids saw some fish and tried snorkeling, and then we all built castles! Two people fought over who brought us to the beach chairs first, and that was pretty uncomfortable. A security guard had to come and straighten it out. Yikes.
The next day was Coco Cay! This was by far our favorite stop on the cruise. This place is so different from when Rusty and I went here 14 years ago. Now there are splash pads, restaurants, a water park, and different beach hang outs. We chose to go to the chillest beach and we had rented a bed there. It was so great! And it came with these floating mats that we all loved using.
Today was our full day at sea. The kids got balloon animals at breakfast and then we played mini golf! Our ship even had an ice skating rink on it, so I made reservations and we went ice skating! While floating on the ocean! That's so cool! The actual ice skating was not great though- the skates were pretty awful and the rink was really small. BUT. It was a cool experience and Della really wanted to do it. The rest of the day was spent swimming and hanging out on the deck. The kids were so excited about watching the World's Sexiest Man competition, and it was pretty funny. We ended the night after a delicious dinner by watching Moana 2 in the pool! Rusty and I got the good, comfy seats this time which was pretty great.
We had breakfast today and then got off the ship! We dropped our bags off at our hotel and then got an Uber out to a cool place to see some alligators! First we rode around in a fan boat and then watched a really cool show! Afterwards the kids all got to give Snappy the baby alligator. The park had a lot of walking paths so we did those too, and were so surprised to find an alligator just standing in the middle of the path! Haha! On our way out Henry spotted some little baby gators! They were so cute!
After that we went to Little Havana for dinner. This ended up being my favorite stop in Miami because it was so cute and unique and just lively and fun. We had incredible virgin mojitos and SO many delicious things to eat. Who knew that Cuban food was so good?! What?! It was fun because we had read a book about ropa vieja for our Spanish studies, and we ordered it and tried it. Then we went to the hotel, took naps, and switched all our packing things around because we had an early morning the next day to fly home!
Henry's Highlights:
- I was speaking in a horrible French accent and bothering Henry. He told me to stop and I said, "That's how the French talk Henry." He said, "I don't like their way of speaking."
- We were going up and down a mountain pass and he said, "I'm equalizing right now. I can feel it... I don't like the feeling."
- He was next to the cat in the car. The cat was in the kennel with Bailey and we heard all of these things from him:
- Silence!
- Silence cat!
- Ow ow! Please stop, thank you cat.
- The cat is clawing me through the holes of the kennel!
- Please stop talking cat!
- STOP
- Stop Cat!
- Bad cat
- Cat stop
- Stop it cat
- He's just looking at me
- Quiet cat!
- He's literally staring at me while meowing
- Kitty can I pet you? I'm trying to pet you! Why are you clawing me? I'm trying to be nice!
- Ow Kitty!
- The cat is trying to claw me when I pet him.
- Ow!
- I'm sending in a decoy!
- Hey don't bite my legos!
Adeline's Adventures:
- We were winking at each other and she said, "I can wink with both eyes!" and just blinked.
- Said, "I am my own best friend and I love myself" when we were talking about all of us being best friends
- Chopped her hair off!
Amelia's Updates:
- Sitting in the car with Henry and he was playing with her hair. He said, "Tell me it hurts when it hurts." She waited a while and then said, "IT HURTS WHEN IT HURTS! IT HURTS WHEN IT HURTS!"
- Rusty was driving too close to Bailey and it made Amelia mad. She said, "You're just trying to scare Bailey. HUMPH." She said the word humph.
- Chopped her hair off!
- I've been trying a lot of sourdough recipes and I tried pita! It was sooo fun when I saw them puff up in the oven. I was so proud!
