Day 179 -- Nassau

Grandma, Grandpa, Gina and the kids went to Steak n' Shake for lunch while we were away -- the paper cars were a big hit!



We arrived at Nassau in the early morning. We had a wake up call at 7:30 so that we'd be ready on time for our excursion to the Atlantis Hotel. We gobbled breakfast in the Windjammer Cafe rather than having a sit down breakfast in the dining room.


Dressed and ready for the water, we went down to meet our group at 9:00 AM. They took us on a slow tour around the resort.

We were getting a bit anxious to get at it. Finally they set us free around 11:15 -- we got a locker and headed for the water slides. We went on the Leap of Faith first -- it's a 60-foot-drop into tube that goes through a shark tank. Funny thing -- you're going so stinking fast, you don't even know where you've been until it's over. Wow! Fun! After the 60-foot-drop, we headed for The Abyss, a 120-foot-drop. I can't find a picture of it, but imagine two 60-foot-drops with only a small bump in between -- the catch? Total darkness! Then you land in an underground grotto with gigantic aquariums containing alligators and catfish. Pretty cool stuff! We did the Abyss about 12 times during the day. We loved all the slides, the lazy river called 'The Current' that had rapids, waves and eddies that kept you on your toes the entire time. So much fun! We got a little sun burnt where the water slides wore the sunscreen off.

We frantically tried to get in everything we could -- hustling from slide to slide. We did stop for a quick lunch, but it was a little rough --Jared didn't have his shoes and the ground was so hot it was burning his feet. We finally made it to the little food place and had a great lunch of fish and chips -- the best I've ever had. Lunch was outrageous -- $4 for a can of soda!

Anyway, we did two hours more of slides and then rushed to make the last ferry back to the main island. We quickly showered and dressed for dinner -- both feeling our sunburns starting to take hold.

Dinner was the best so far -- a vidalia onion, Gruyere cheese quiche appetizer, prime rib and chocolate cake for dessert. Oh, so good!

After dinner, we tried to go out to Nassau to see what there was to do, like the straw market and the like. It was all closed up. The only thing we found going on was a pentecostal revival in the center of town, so we headed back to the boat.

Jared decided he wanted to go rock climbing, so while he waited his turn, I walked around taking pictures of the sunset from the top of the boat.
Here's the view from our window -- what a beautiful sight!

Jared went rock climbing around 8:30 PM. He loves it! I'll say, climbing the rock tower about 150 feet above the ocean on a moving boat isn't for everyone.He did a great job getting to the top and enjoying the ride.

We went and saw the comedian/juggler show. He was hysterical! I was laughing so hard I just had tears rolling down my face most of the time he was performing.

At 10:00 we followed our pattern and took our books out onto our secret deck on deck six. I took a quick snooze before we headed to the midnight buffet. It was fun to see all the food and the decorations, but we were getting so tired it was hard to be too enthusiastic. At 12:45 we finally went to bed.

Day 177 -- CoCo Kay

While we were on the cruise, the kids were celebrating 'Cousin's Camp' with Grandma and Aunt Gina.

This was our view when we woke up in the morning. Ocean, beautiful, sunny ocean as far as the eye can see -- at least on our side. On the other side of the boat was the island of CoCo Kay -- Royal Carribbean's private island. Doesn't that just sound so fancy?

We ran to breakfast in the dining room -- omelets, pancakes, fresh fruit and assorted muffins and the like.

About 9:30 we caught the tender boat that would take us out to the island. We were suppose to go kayaking, so we walked around, found Jared some sunglasses and then met up with the people in the kayak booth. They told us to hold on for a few minutes. We climbed into some hammocks and read our books. When it was time to get in the boats, they told us kayaking had been cancelled due to high winds.

We gathered ourselves and headed over to the snorkeling bay. We put our gear on and headed out. It was amazing what we could see even through the slightly murky water. Due to the wind, some of the sand was churned up from the bottom. Still, we saw about 50 kinds of fish, sea urchins, a huge conch shell, and an stingray-like called eagle ray. They have planted a sunken ship, an airplane, cannons, and other objects to make new reefs in the bay. After about two hours of swimming, we went to get some lunch.

A view of our ship from the island.

We had lunch, walked around the island, waded out to a sandbar, and then snorkeled some more. About 4:00 PM we packed up and headed for the tender boat. We showered and went up to dinner at 6:00. It was our formal evening. The food was excellent again -- lobster bisque(the only disappointment), salad, fillet of beef and strawberry cheesecake.

We found our puppy on the bed when we came back to get ready for the evening show. It was a musical presentation by the cast members called 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered'. It was just OK. They had one girl that could really sing, the rest were average.

We entered a raffle and didn't win anything from Jimmy the cruise director. We took our books and went to read on the secret deck. I finished my book and fell asleep -- it had been a long day! We went to bed around 11:30.

Loving It!

We're having a wonderful time -- it feels like we found summer! I'll post more later, but thought you should know I haven't abandoned the blog.

Day 176 -- Preparing to Muster

We said goodbye to our children around 8:45 AM. It was so anti-climatic. They couldn't have cared less when we left. I'm not even sure they really cared while we were gone either. Glad I worried so much about it before we left. I will say that once we were on the boat, I didn't worry about them at all -- they had the best care-givers one could ask for!

Jared and I had our teeth cleaned in the morning by the most wonderful dental office in the world, and then we headed off to sea! During the two hour drive down to the port we kept checking to make sure we really had left the children behind -- we had -- they weren't asleep in the back seat.

Our cruise departed from Port Canaveral, right near the Kennedy Space Center. We parked the car at noon and were on the boat by 1:00. I was surprised how much it is like flying-- a terminal, security, ticket counter, etc. I don't know what I expected, but it all felt so familiar and yet new at the same time. It was fun to walk onto the boat, knowing we were setting sail for adventure.

The view from our window --
room 4052 on the Monarch of the Seas by Royal Caribbean.

We relaxed, sat up on deck and just enjoyed the view. We could see the Vehicle Assembly Building through the humid haze in the distance. About 3:30 they asked everyone to put on their life jackets and we 'mustered' on deck. It was a safety thing. Not too painful.
Around 4:30 we finally went off to sea with a big toot of the horn and some party music on the swim deck. It was fun to set sail and wave at the people on land -- all two of them. We stayed up on deck until we were out of the port and off to sea.


We had the 6:00 PM seating for dinner, so we got ready and headed off for dinner a little while after sailing. Our waiter Nephtali and assistant Onery were so sweet. They really took care of us. The meal was fantastic -- I had shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, steak and mashed potatoes and chocolate cake for dessert. After dinner, the head waiter came and brought us yet another dessert and sang for us because it was our 10th anniversary. It was the song that goes, "I can't help falling in love with you." BUT, the waiter sang, "I can't stand falling in love with you." We thought it was pretty funny that he got the words wrong.

We walked around the ship, exploring our new home for a while. Then we went to the comedian show with Carl Banks at 9:00 -- he was OK. It was so packed we had to sit on the stairs to watch.

We found a great place to watch a lightening storm across the ocean -- a little hidden deck on the back of the boat at deck six. We had the space all to ourselves and it was just beautiful! On one side we had the coast of Florida and the other a light show. It was calm and peaceful with the white noise of the ocean gurgling below us. PURE HEAVEN!

We had a late night pizza snack and headed off to bed around 1 AM

Day 174 -- Fourth of July

Our exhaustion made us a bit slower on July 4th. We finally got out of the hotel around 9:48 AM. We had to make the obligatory stop at South of the Border to purchase fireworks and take a quick rest stop.

We were headed for Jared's parent's home on our third day of driving -- yeah! We finally got there at 5:00 -- only seven hours of driving. It was fun because our van has their garage door programmed into it, so we were able to announce our arrival by opening the door.

We enjoyed chatting with family and having a home-cooked meal all together. We put John to bed and the rest of the family went out to set off fireworks.

Maddie loved playing with her cousin Josh. She loved throwing the snap fireworks and watching the show Jared put together.

Jared and Gina played light warriors, but it's hard to see the light sticks and necklaces they were using. As always, we stayed up late talking and enjoying one another's company.

Day 173 -- Driving Day Two

We got up about 7:30 and were out of the hotel by 9 AM. We hit McDonald's for breakfast. We stopped by the Washington, D.C. temple for a brief visit. We enjoyed driving down streets that were so familiar. It made our life in Connecticut seem like a vacation or a memory, not our real home. The feeling faded, but it was odd while we were in Maryland.

We finally started south around 11:00 AM. We got stuck in terrible traffic in Virginia -- no surprise there. It took hours to work our way through the northern portion of the state. We stopped to eat at Panera in Woodbridge. Finally the traffic cleared and we were on our way. We finally arrived in North Carolina around 7:10 PM -- another eight hour driving day.

We checked into our hotel and headed out for dinner at the Olive garden. It took a while to get in on a holiday weekend. We headed back to the hotel and made it into bed by about 10:15. We are all exhausted -- driving can be hard work!

Day 172 -- The Drive Begins

We started the long drive to Florida. We're breaking it into 3 big chunks rather than trying it all in one day. That will give us the chance to visit some of our favorite places along the way. We were really looking forward to our overnight visit in Maryland.

To help the miles pass more quickly, I prepared a surprise before we ever left home. I put together a set of presents for each of the kids. Every time we crossed a state border, they got to open the present with that state's label. Most of them were either books or small toys, but wen we crossed into the state of New York, they each got their big present for the trip. Maddie got a Bitty Baby and little John got a Build-a-bear with me singing his comfort song on it. In the picture he's trying to push the button to make it sing. They were both so cute about it! I was almost as excited to give them their presents as I was to go on the trip. I'd been putting it together for months.

A few details on our drive for Thursday. We left home at 7:06 AM and didn't pull into Rockville until 3:40 PM. That's 8 and 1/2 hours to go about 375 miles.

If it had just been Jared and me, we wouldn't have taken nearly so long. But, travelling with small children just takes longer. Little John had such terrible diapers, we had to change his clothes from head to toe about every two to three hours.

When we pulled into our old home town, the first thing we did was to go to our old house. It hadn't changed a bit! It was slightly surreal to be back. After a few minutes of blatant gawking, we headed to the Rockville Swim Center. The kids had a blast! They played for two hours and didn't want to leave, but we knew they'd hit rock bottom if we didn't get food and get them in bed at a reasonable hour. We left the swim center around 6:30 and headed to the Gaithersburg Washingtonian Marriott Courtyard. How indulgent! We really like the hotel -- definitely a good choice.

We walked along the lake and met our friends at our favorite restaurant -- Guapo's. YUM! They make the fest fajitas I've ever had. The kids held out and we had a great time. We made it back to the hotel and into bed about 10:30 PM.

Any opinions?

I'm thinking of getting this table. It's made by Hooker furniture. What do you think????

In answer to a couple of questions -- yes it has an expansion leaf. Without the leaf it is 48" in diameter. When you add the leaf it makes it a 68" long oval. That's about the same length as my current dining room table.

Day 169 -- Fantastic Voyage Quilt

I put together a quilt for Jared's mom to thank her for taking the kids for a week while we go on our cruise. Jared was trying to hold it up for me to take a picture, but John kept pulling it down to talk to his dad.

Day 168 -- The Dance

The kids have been dancing around the house lately to one of my favorite songs -- "The Spanish Lady" by Celtic Woman.

I love watcing them enjoying one another and breaking out into giggles. It's so much fun!

Day 165 -- Garden Progress

Our garden is progressing nicely -- this is a picture before we left on vacation. We can see little tomatoes starting to grow, cucumbers, beans, peas and we're hoping the little buds will turn into peppers we can actually eat!

Day 164 -- The Last Day of School

Today we greeted summer with open arms as Maddie finished her last day of school. She's a bit sad to see it come to an end. She's had so much fun with all of her friends and her wonderful teacher. She was selected to go and read part of the journal to the principal today because she had done such a good job with her writing. It was a very proud moment, with a great beaming smile on my daughter's face as she enjoyed the praise and a big hug. (I just happened to be in the office at the time so I got to see her reading it for everyone.)

One thing that this school does that I've not seen before -- on her report card that she brought home today, they put who her teacher will be for next year. She's got Mrs. Zito.

An entirely new adventure. We weren't even away from the bus stop before we were anticipating the beginning of the new year.

Day 153 -- The Undocumented Tooth

Maddie lost another tooth. This was was terrible. For a week at every meal she'd bite down too hard and make the gums around the loose tooth bleed. We begged her to let us take it out, but she fought against it. Saturday afternoon, we could take no more. I offered her a reward if she would just let us take it out. Fine. A new Barbie. Fine. Normally I just don't bribe in that way, but I'd had it with the stupid tooth.

Jared got the dental floss and for about 30 minutes tried to lasso the darned thing. She'd pull back at the critical second or use her lips to push the floss off the tooth. Finally we convinced her to let us try one more time and if it didn't work, we'd stop.

I held her forehead with one hand, her head in the crook of my armpit. I held the top lip back with the other hand (trying to keep her own hands out of the way at the same time). Jared finally got the floss around the tooth. He pulled. The tooth wouldn't come out, but now the floss was stuck on the top of the tooth. AAAAHHHHHH! Jared and I looked each other in the eye and communicated telepathically -- it was do or die here. He quickly grabbed the floss and just yanked it as hard as he could. Whooo hoooo! The tooth came out. Maddie was upset -- so much so that she didn't notice the tooth had fallen into her mouth and she was going to swallow it. I reached in and grabbed it really quickly. After about 30 seconds the crisis was over and she was thrilled it was finally gone. We went to Walmart and she chose her Barbie.

To make things even more emotional, the Tooth Fairy forgot to visit her and take away her tooth in the middle of the night. Luckily, the repentant fairy left a note while we were at church that said, "Maddie, I'm sorry I was late. There was trouble at the tooth processing plant. Love, The Tooth Fairy" along with $5 to make up for her mistake.

Tooth #3 is finally dealt with. It feels like there are about 4,203,293 to go.

Day 159 -- Climbing the Swing Set

John finally mastered the ladder, the rock climbing side and the turn-around to go down the slide. It makes me nervous to see my baby five feet in the air turning himself around on such a small place, but so far so good.

Day 155 -- Sewing Projects

I have several sewing projects in the works for our trip. I'm really excited about a few of them. Check back on LymeRicky in a few days for pictures and the how-to of it all.

Day 154 -- New clothes

We jumped at the big Gymboree sale a couple of weeks ago and got the kids outfitted for the upcoming trip. It was so much fun to have a big box of clothes arrive and know that I saved a fortune and at the same time got really cute stuff. I think this is one of my favorites.

Day 153 -- Piano recital

Here are my piano students for the 2009-2010 academic year. We had a fun time at the recital -- all the students did great!

Day 152 -- Preparing for father's day

We were trying to get John-John to work with us to take a photo for my dad's gift. The picture taking didn't go very well. But the gift turned out great -- feel free to use the template if you'd like. There's also a second version for others to use if you have more kids.

Day 151 -- Final Girl Scouts

We're finishing off everything around here. This was the final girl scout activity for the school year. We had "egg on the spoon" races for the girls and then they played on the 'playscape' a New England term for playground.

Day 148 -- Pack and Play

We've never owned a pack and play. I decided with a two week vacation ahead of us, we needed to have a consistent place for John to sleep so that it felt a little like home. I got it off Craigslist for $25. I was thrilled. John was thrilled, he wouldn't get out of it. A few days later, I can smell the mold. UGH! Now I need to figure out how to get rid of the mold before we go.

Day 147 -- Ice cream

We have a great little ice cream parlor in town that we had not visited yet in the two years we have lived here. Saturday afternoon seemed the perfect time to try it out with a few good friends.

Day 146 -- Vacuum tricks

Our central vacuum hose and tools have been the favorite toy for a couple of weeks now. Little John has to have it out of the closet every day. They've taken to experimenting and creating new little games with all the pieces. UGH! What's wrong with all the toys in the basement!

Day 144 -- Ladybug Hoedown

Maddie and her Kindergarten class had a special performance tonight -- they did all the songs and plays for the parents that they had performed throughout the year. She was a superstar! No only does she tower above all the other kids, but she was singing, dancing and acting her heart out! It was really fun to see her shine. Her teacher (pictured above) is awesome -- one in a million!

Day 143 -- Again with the cookie dough

We are making cookies constantly for all the parties and year-end celebrations happening here. Little John figured out that the big white bowl holds the prize and he wasn't letting Maddie get away with it all by herself. He's onto us now!

Day 141 -- The Harvest

This is lettuce and spinach from the garden. You can't even tell I took anything out! It's growing like crazy! We had to give some away because we couldn't eat it all.

Here is a picture of the garden at three weeks after planting: