Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Finally...

Okay I know some of you have been awaiting details of our Christmas vacation.  But I was waiting until I had some time.  So finally, after a few days of catching up and several loads of laundry, I have some time for the small stuff.  


So we left for Columbus on Saturday the 19th, where we had a small traditional Christmas with my family.  We also got to see 5 movies there.  7 Pounds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Four Christmases, Twilight, and The Punisher.  The best of which was definitely Twilight.  As Kevin described it, it is the first ever vampire chick flick.  And I loved every minute of it.  I'm actually considering reading the books now.

On Tuesday morning, Dad, Mom, Kevin, Evan and I piled into the car and headed for Daytona.  We spent the night there so that we could hop on the boat Wednesday morning fresh and awake rather than having traveled all night.  

Wednesday morning (Christmas Eve) we boarded the boat and anxiously awaited the best vacation ever!  The check-in process was so quick and easy.  Disney is a well-oiled machine.  Everything was so seamless and just easy.  They definitely know what they are doing, and know how to make vacation special.  Wednesday we toured the boat, and I'm pretty sure we went some places we weren't supposed to.  But it was cool anyhow.  We spent some time by the pool, and checked out our very roomy stateroom.  The room was great!  It had a queen sized bed, a sitting area with a couch and vanity, and a nice big window!  Definitely nothing like my previous cruise with Royal Caribbean (which I will not recommend).   

The Disney Wonder has three different dining rooms, and you rotate dining rooms each night, but your wait staff goes with you.  It's a great system.  The first night we ate at Triton's.  This was the most formal of the three dining rooms, and if you couldn't guess, it had a Little Mermaid theme.  The food was delicious, although it took a little warming up for Kevin to get used to getting whatever he wanted.  

After dinner, we took in a show, The Golden Mickeys.  Great music, great acting, and great fun!  After the show usually meant some chill time on the deck before taking in a late night movie.  The first night, it was High School Musical 3.  My wonderful husband and crazy father both went with me.  And although it wasn't my favorite of the 3, it was still pretty good. 

We spent Christmas Day at port in Nassau.  We were a little bummed to find out that they celebrate Christmas in much the same way as we do...by spending time with their families.  So we were greeted by taxi drivers who kept repeating "Everything closed.  Only Atlantis open."  So we went over to the Atlantis, took beautiful pictures, and then came back to the boat to relax in a not so crowded pool.  

That night we had dinner at Animator's Palate, a cartoon themed restaurant which puts on a sort-of light show at the end of every meal.  They had a Christmas themed meal with turkey and gravy, ham, steak and lobster tail.  Yum!  It was also formal night, so we got to dress up!  The show that night was a theatrical rendition of Toy Story with some new songs.  Again, amazing.  We also got to see Bedtime Stories, the new Adam Sandler movie, the day it premiered back in the states.  Very cool.  

Thursday we had a sea day, and spent the day relaxing by the pool.  That night's entertainment was a hypnotist, so we opted out and instead played some mean Scrabble out on the deck.  My mom, however, snuck away from our game and while we thought she had gotten sick and gone to lay down, she spent the whole night watching the crazy hypnotist!  

Friday we went to Castaway Cay, the private Disney island.  It was so beautiful and clean you could not believe it!  The weather was gorgeous too!  The island has a family beach, a teen beach, and  an adults only beach, which is pretty cool.  We spent our time on the family beach, because that's where the fun stuff was, like snorkeling, and kayaking.  

Our final dinner was in Parrot Cay, a Caribbean themed restaurant, that was our favorite because the food was excellent!  That night the show was Disney Dreams, which relived some of my favorite classic Disney movies.   So fun!  

That spells out most of the major happenings of our amazing vacation.  I will again give Disney props because they do what they do so well!  We ate until our hearts were content (and our bellies were fat).  And, unlike other cruise lines, they don't charge you for Cokes.  In fact, there is a 24/7 beverage station with soda, juice, coffee and tea available.  It was great, especially for long days by the pool.  I am so impressed with every aspect of our cruise.  Now the countdown is on to November 28, 2009!  

I have already posted pictures to Facebook and MySpace, and Kevin has them all available on his blog as well so check those out for all the great pics!  Hope you enjoyed!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas Cruise!

We returned yesterday from our 5 day, 4 night incredily amazing Disney Cruise to the Bahamas!  It was definitely the best vacation I've ever taken, and I can't wait to share all the details with you!  I go back to work tomorrow (we took and extra day to do laundry and get some rest).  Hopefully I'll get to a longer blog tomorrow.  But I will say that Disney is incredible.  I can only speak as a 25-year-old married woman, but it seems to be the perfect vacation for every stage of life.  In fact, we already booked our next cruise for November 2010.  Let the countdown begin!  

Me with Christmas cookies about to go to Nassau on Christmas Morning.  

Many more pictures to come...

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Never a Dull Moment

Here are some pictures of the past week or so.  Our latest obsession has become board games.  I've always loved them, but the occasions are few and far between where Kevin is willing to play.  For some reason lately he has really enjoyed playing.  So I have been taking full advantage.  I have even stayed up until 4:00 in the morning on more than one occasion!  Our current favorites are Scrabble and Phase 10, although we have thrown in some Scattergories, Clue, and even some Bible Trivia (it was a kid's game, and most of the answer were God, Jesus, Noah, Moses...I beat the Pastor's Kid, by the way).  Here is Keith enjoying a little too much Phase 10.  



Our dogs have been enjoying a game of their own during our very distracted fun.  We got them a couple new toys, and here are the spoils, largely thanks to Rosanna.  


What did we do?  

The girls in their "spot" (This means they got in trouble.  Yes, we put our dogs in time out, but no it wasn't for tearing up the toy)

Dakota just being cute

Last night my wonderful husband cooked dinner.  Partly because I didn't feel well, and partly because we were having company for the 4th night in a row.  As he was deciding which box of pasta to use, we heard an interesting noise from inside the pantry, and then Kevin started laughing.  Here is what we found.  So I went in and cleaned it up.  The best part is, after picking up all the pasta and putting it back in the box, I leaned over to pet the dog and spilled it all right back on the floor.  Good times. 

In case you are analyzing the contents of my pantry, yes it is a mess right now, and no that is not alcohol on the floor.  It is caramel syrup for coffee.  :)

Saturday, December 6, 2008

PCD Christmas Party

So it's that time of year again.  Time for the annual PCD Christmas Party where gifts are exchanged, "Kool Aid" flows like water, and Kevin and I sit back and enjoy the show.  This year went to Jillian's at Discover Mills Mall.  The food was yummy, and the fellowship was amusing as always.  Here's how it all went down.

Always gotta make the goofy face first.

Much better.

Front Desk.  Me, Lorena and Ayonna

Lorena and I.  Yes, I'm blinking.

Dee and Nay Nay, aka Dr. Rush and Dr. Nancy.  Best bosses ever. 

Me and Baby Grace.  She had my name.  Victoria's Secret.  Nice.

Lorena and Alondra

PCD group shot.  Yes, we're a mess.

Snellville's "entertainment.  No, I did not participate.

More entertainment.

"Tina" groping "Ike"

End of the night.  "Kool-Aid" induced singing.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

I forgot...

Sorry, I forgot to respond to my post about our nightstands.  For those of you who I'm sure are just dying to know (please note the dripping sarcasm here), the clean nightstand is Kevin's and the messy one is mine.  By the way, I was very impressed with the deductive reasoning that went into your answers.  


For the record, Kevin was upset that his picture did not include a gun.  So here is a picture of our newest toy (it's actually mine) just for him. 

Back to Work...

So Thanksgiving is over and the guests are all gone.  Tomorrow morning my alarm will go off at 5:17 and after at least 30 minutes of hard core snoozing, I will get up and go to work.  I did want to throw up a quick blog before we get busy again though.  


Having both of our families over at the same time can be a bit overwhelming on our poor h
ome.  Kevin's parents were the only ones who actually stayed here, but it was definitely 
a whirlwind of a weekend.  Only having family over a few times a year puts a 
lot of pressure on to present myself (and my home) well.  This visit in particular, I spent at least 3 days cleaning and decorating to get everything just right.  And I must admit, I was pretty
 proud of the whole picture...clean house all decorated up for the sea
son.  Just the way I like it.  I just wanted to say what a blessing it is to have company who leaves the house just as nice, if not nicer than, they found it.  Whenever Kevin's parents come in town,  they cannot help but clean up behind themselves.  They always leave behind washed sheets and dishes, no clutter on the floor, and a stocked pantry.  I know that family can be such a burden for some people, and I am so happy to say that our families are nothing but a blessing.  Happy Thanksgiving to us!  Here are the rest of the pictures that I had to get from Kevin's mom. 

Unwrapping the "Stocking Stuffers" from Kevin's parents

Showing off my Loot

The girls playing with their new toy

Yes, a smile was too much to ask.

Me and Mom #2

Cuddling with Chalupa, Lee's new dog

Kevin's dad bowling (yes, we enforced the "wrist strap" rule)

My dad bowling.  Can you tell which side of the family is more competetive?

Chillin by the campfire.  I love that she caught Meah in mid-jump.  She loves sitting w/my dad.

Enjoying a perfectly toasted marshmallow.

Friday, November 28, 2008

New Camera...YAY!

I was greatly blessed with a brand new camera today!  I am so super pumped, and it was definitely worth fighting the "Black Friday" madness.  Granted, we didn't leave the house till 10:30 so most of the crazy people were already doen.  Anyhow, Hopefully now I will take (and post) more pictures now.  So first I am posting pictures of my Christmas decorations.  I am not the best photographer, but I will work on my skills.  


Above the kitchen cabinets (this is the worst picture, but my favorite decoration)

Garland on the stairwell, and the homemade bow.

Mantle with our stockings (they have a K and a B on them.  Sorry about the flash)

The main event!  (Please ignore the tennis ball)

The tree topper...another homemade bow.  

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Turkey Day!

We're officially bucking all traditions this year.  Typically, we would drive down to Columbus and spend Thanksgiving with my family.  Then for Christmas, we would drive to Louisiana and spend four or five days with Kevin's family.  These are some of my favorite times of the year.  Well this year, our parents are blessing us with a Disney cruise for Christmas vacation.  Let me tell you, I am so pumped about it!  but that has caused us to do some plan changing.  So since we are unable to spend Christmas with Kevin's family they decided to join us here in Monroe for Thanksgiving.  My parents, brothers, and one of their five dogs drove up to spend the day with us as well.  We had a great time!  The five of us haven't been together in the same room since our wedding three years ago, so it was a great opportunity for us.  On a side note, I am so thankful for great parents and in-laws who actually enjoy spending time together!


Today after all the final food preparations were made, we had a wonderfully yummy lunch.  After some good time catching up and telling stories of children (us) and grandbabies, Kevin busted out the Wii and we got our bowl on.  No comment on who won.  But good times were had by all.  Then Kevin made a fire in the backyard.  We roasted some marshmallows and stayed warm and toasty.  It was a great day full of family fun and yummy food.  Here are a few pictures. 

Mom, Kota and I in front of the tree.

The boys bowling

More bowling.  Yes, I cut Evan's face off.  Oops. 

Monday, November 24, 2008

Randomness

So this week is Thanksgiving.  For the first time, everyone is coming here, and I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.   Tonight while I was going around cleaning everything I could find, I noticed something.  It seems pretty silly and insignificant, but as I was standing in my master bedroom I happened to notice my nightstand...and then Kevin's. And then I laughed.   I think that these two pictures speak volumes about who we are as individuals, and why we work as a couple.  Can you tell which picture belongs to which one of us?



Monday, November 17, 2008

My Dogs Are Cooler Than Your Dogs

This weekend I got Meah and Dakota the cutest Houndstooth coats!  They aren't exactly fond of them right now, but I imagine in a few weeks they will be strutting their stuff around the yard.   So cute!  
This is the life!

Does this coat make my butt look big?

Yeah, I know I look good! 


On another note, I got a new gun today!  For those of you who don't know, my husband is a big fan of the 2nd amendment, and we both have our concealed weapons permits.  Well I got my carry gun about six months ago, but after doing some research, Kevin decided it wasn't quite as reliable as he would like.  So today we upgraded to a newer version that is more reliable, and, as far as guns go, it's really cute!  You'll have to check out his blog for pictures and real details. 

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Christmas Kickoff Party

Although Halloween was just last Friday, we cannot help but be excited about Christmas soon approaching.  Hey, the stores are celebrating already, right?  So We decided to have a Christmas kick-off party.   We watched some classic favorites....


Antd then we decorated some delicious Christmas cookies.   Mmm, they were almost as good as the ones we had at Kevin's parent's house last Christmas.  They would have only tasted better had they been decorated by my wonderful nieces!  Here are some pictures of our baking adventures.  


This is Keith's masterpiece, Stanley.  He is our favorite cook at Kyoto, our favorite Japanese restaurant.

Our other colorful Gingerbread men. 

Christmas Trees

Snowflakes.  Yes, I know they look like flowers.  They swelled up in the oven.

I saved the best for last.  Kevin decorated only one cookie....our new President-Elect, Barack Obama.  He was the first to get eaten.

MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS!