Our Cruise Ship...The Sovereign of the Seas

 

oh sure, now it works...

After I post my ramblings the blog decides to fix itself. AAAHHHHHH! Oh well, so much for complaining. Anyway, to expain just one of the pictures...Darrel is standing on Cocoa Cay (the private island) and you can just see the ship behind him. I'm going to try and post a better picture of the ship we sailed on but there it is.

fixing the blog

I tried, unsuccessfully, to fix our blog this morning after I posted the pictures for our cruise. I tried to move them up to be in between some of the writing but to no avail. I couldn't figure out how to move the text and rearrange the pictures without an error message. Someday I'll figure out how to move around the text and pictures so it makes more sense...until then you'll just have to bear with me. Have fun!

Cruise fun!

Well, we're back, safe and sound. We had a great time and so did the boys. I have to admit I was a little skeptical about how Zachary would do away from me when we dropped him off. I moved him from my car to Darrel's sister Della's car and he had a death grip on my shirt saying "I stay with you mom, I stay with you mom" the whole time. Talk about a guilt trip. I cried half way home. Della was kind enough to call me about ten minutes after we made the exchange to let me know that Zachary had stopped crying about 45 seconds after they left the parking lot and was doing just fine. I appreciated that more than she will ever know.

After months of preparation and a lot of prayers on my behalf that all the travel would go smoothly, it did. We all arrived in Florida safe and sound, we all boarded the ship without problems and we all made if home without incident. We went snorkeling in Nassau and again in Cocoa Cay (a private island owned by the Royal Carribean Cruise Line). It was only a three day cruise and over way too soon but we had a blast while we were all together. I just love my family and I love spending time with them. We ate the most incredible food until we were so stuffed we could barely move and then we had dessert. Our waiters were Anthony and Ryan and they were so cool. The water in the Bahamas is such a beautiful shade of blue it is almost unreal. I was the only one taking pictures on the trip and I didn't have my nice camera but I think I still got some good ones.




















The boys had a great time at Rusty and Della's house. They took them four wheeling on Saturday to pick out a Christmas tree up in the mountains and the boys loved it. I wish I could have gotten some pictures of their trip but I took Alex's camera on the cruise and so I'll just have to use my imagination and their accounts of how cool it was. We're back and back to reality. I had preschool yesterday and I have it again today. I'll just tell you that I'm ready for Christmas vacation. I really do enjoy preschool and the kids are wonderful, but I am ready to have a couple of weeks off from the preparation of it all. The Armstrong family is coming this weekend and we can hardly wait. The whole family is excited to see their family. We have always enjoyed a special bond as families and I'm so glad that we can continue this friendship even though we don't live as close anymore. We were supposed to go to see Celine Dion in concert but she cancelled all her shows this week and weekend because of a viral infection. We all are SO BUMMED!! We decided to go to the Tournament of Kings instead and take all the kids. I think that the boys are going to think that is the coolest thing ever! I am sad about the Celine concert but I am actually excited to go see the Tournament of Kings. I am mostly excited just to see the Armstrongs. We'll have a good time no matter what we decide to do.

Happy Birthday Alex!

I have a million things to do today to get ready for this weekend but I just couldn't let this day go by without wishing my oldest son, Alex, a happy birthday. He is 10 years old today and I couldn't be prouder of him if I tried. He is such a wonderful son and I am so blessed to be his mother. He is spending some time with his Grammie and Grandaddy Fellingham in Utah and I miss him so much. I can't wait to see him again. I talked to him this morning and he said that Grammie and Grandaddy are taking him to Red Robin for his birthday dinner. Red Robin is his favorite place to eat out. He loves their mac and cheese. I know that he is excited to go and excited to be in Utah but I will miss being able to take him out on his birthday. Anyway, much to do for me, but Happy Birthday Alex, I'm so glad I get to be your mom!

Our Week

I just looked at my last post and realized that it's been almost a week since I've updated. It's been a prettty normal week for us. On Tuesday I helped the Bear cub scout with their "scouting for food" drive. I took Alex and one other scout and we put yellow plastic bags on all the doors, or under the mats of a subdivision in our ward. In truth, Alex and the other scout did all the running and Zachary and I drove slowly by them watching them the whole time. They did great but I forgot water so by the time we were done they were pretty thirsty.

Tuesday night was also Alex's choir concert. He did a wonderful job and it was so fun to go and see him sing with his fellow choir members. He says that choir is his favorite part of school. Here is a picture of him with his choir...



He's the cute one in the center (right underneath glowing hair boy), although I have to admit, the little boy directly under him and to the right has the cutest dimples ever!

Yesterday was fairly ho hum, Alex had gymnastics and it was nice that he wasn't late. Usually he's at scouts and we're late to gymnastics on Wednesdays.

Tonight I'm going visiting teaching and since I promised my sisters homemade bread I'll be baking that soon. I thought it would be nice to take it to them warm which is why I haven't started it yet. I also had preschool today, we talked about Turkeys. We played with beanbags and that for sure was a hit. We'll be using those again soon.

Tomorrow starts my weekend and that well be so nice. Saturday Alex has a birthday party and then Darrel and I are taking him out special for his birthday. It will be nice to spend some one on one time with him.

Well, I'm off to do other things...

The Thanksgiving Family Picture Day!

We had a big day today. We took family pictures and had Thanksgiving. I was good, I stayed patient and I think that all my children still love me. We took family pictures because we need to get our Holiday cards in the mail soon and we did Thanksgiving because Darrel and I are going to be traveling to Orlando on Thanksgiving day to leave on a cruise with my family the following day. We are very excited for the cruise and are very appreciative of Della and Rusty who are going to watch our children for us on Thanksgiving Day and the following weekend.

We had a great pre-Thanksgiving. Joy and Steve cooked the bulk of the food including the turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, and pumpkin pie. Darrel cooked us an apple pie and I managed to purree the potatos (not on purpose). We also had pecan pie (store bought), ice cream and olives. We had a feast. I ate way too much but it was sooooo good. Joy said that lunch and dinner for the next three days are at her house. It will be nice not to have to cook for a few days.

Pictures went well, my boys were great with the exception of Zachary who was a pill for the first part but got better by the end. I was going to have everyone take off their shoes so we could have a t-shirt, jeans and bare feet picture, but the pavement was way cold and I was having a hard time convincing the boys so we left our shoes on and stayed warm. Joy took a lot of amazing pictures for us with my camera. I have lots of pictures to put on my wall now and to update all the families. I came home from pictures and e-mailed my selections to Sam's Club. I get to pick them up in a few days. I am so excited.

We had kind of a big day on Saturday too. We went to Kenneth's (my nephew) soccer game and then to watch some of the air show at Nellis Air Force Base. We then went to Gymcats to watch a demonstration by Johnathan's karate teacher and class. He did a great job and we were very proud of him. It was fun to see and he even got a medal! He was very happy.

Our family is so blessed and we appreciate all the blessings that we have been blessed with. Darrel and I have been married over 11 years now and I am ever so grateful for him and the beautiful boys that have come to our family. I'm living a dream and loving every minute.

 

A little bit of everything update

I'm posting pictures of a little bit of everything this week. The first one shows off my handsome son and my hair highlights. The girl who did them did a really good job and I'm very excited about them. The second picture is Zachary having fun on the swings at the park. The third picture is my new bedroom/comforter set. Just look at all the pillows!! I love the color and how it makes the room so inviting. The last picture was taken at the park last night. We went with some friends. The other boys are Brahnson (friend from church), Kenneth (Joy's oldest son), and James (a new friend). The boys had a great time at the park and we are looking forward to a fun day today. The boys are off school and although Alex has gymnastics from 11:30 - 3:30 we're still going to have a fun day doing fun things (after we clean the house).


 

Pictures at the park

Today we went to the park to take some pictures of Daniel because he turned 4 years old. We let the kids play after we were done with "posed" pictures and took some cute snapshots of them all relaxed and having fun. It is a beautiful day today. Right now it's 80 degrees outside and sunny as can be. You know, when we first moved to Las Vegas I was pretty bummed with how hot it was but this is nice. I guess I can endure a few very hot months for some year round park time. I really like going to the park on a regular basis. Zachary absolutely LOVES it!! I can't wait until my boys are off track in a few weeks. We are going to live at the park. We have no usable backyard but there are plenty of parks to go around.

Today was a lazy day. I should have been cleaning and doing laundry but I sat around and pretty much did nothing. I did get my room cleaned, however, with some major help from Darrel this morning. I got a new bedspread yesterday at Sam's Club and so my room needed to be clean for the full effect. I'll have to take a picture while it is still clean.

Tonight Alex has scouts gymnastics and Darrel has young men. Darrel has been very busy at work lately and Johnathan was complaining that we never see dad anymore. It made me sad but it's true. I told him this and he said that he never sees himself anymore either. I feel bad for him and my children. Hopefully work won't always be this demanding and we'll be able to spend some quality family time together soon.

Tomorrow I have a haircut (trim really) and the girl who cuts my hair is going to give me some highlights. It should be fun! I've never had highlights before. I'm excited. We're going to take some family pictures on Sunday for our Christmas cards and it will be nice to have fancy hair. I'll post some of our family pictures when we get them done.


 

The many faces of Zachary

 

A dog, a boy, and a fence

This is one of my all time favorite pictures. I took it in May of 2005. It shows Shelby and Zachary looking out through the crack in our fence where the gate is. The view from this crack was our cul-de-sac and all the wonderous things that can be found outside the fence. They both would have loved to squeeze through that crack and go exploring. Anyway - I decided that I would share some older pictures periodically. I was looking through some old pictures yesterday and this one happened to pop out at me. Enjoy! 

Candy and Costumes

Look at all the loot!! We went to a subdivision in our ward that is a little nicer than ours and we raked in the loot. We had so much candy it was unbelievable. The boys were so excited. Zachary only wants to eat candy now for every meal...we're working on that one. In the picture below you can see that we finally convinced Zachary to put on his pumpkin costume. That hat that he's wearing has a green stem on the top. I thought he looked so cute. Anyway, more updates soon.
 

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Happy Halloween to everyone! This is a picture of my preschool kids. Aren't they just too cute! We had a Halloween party today in preschool and we had a great time. Tonight Joy, Steve, Darrel, and I took our kids trick or treating and they scored big time. I took a picture of them with all their candy...holy cow!!! We've been trying to give it away all night to the trick or treaters coming to our house. I have a feeling that we are going to have a lot of candy for a long time. We had a good time, though and the boys favorite house to trick or treat at was one that made them do a trick for their treat. They thought that was pretty cool. Tomorrow I have a lot of clean up to do. I'm too dog tired to even think about doing it right now. Tomorrow is also Joy's son Daniel's birthday. He is turning four. We'll sing to him in the preschool on Thursday. Well, my bed is calling my name! See ya! 

Halloween Costumes and Carved Pumpkins

Alex, Zachary and Johnathan (Zachary refuses to wear a costume, these are his pajamas) 

The Weekend Before Halloween

I'm sick...I hate this. I went to the doctor and found out I don't have strep (thank goodness) but my throat is swollen and it hurts like a mother bear when I swallow. I didn't eat or drink anything for the majority of yesterday and today and now I have one hefty headache - I think it's dehydration mostly. It's a double edged sword. It hurts so much to swallow but not swallowing anything makes me hurt other places. I called my brother Danny and he said he would send me something that should help. Thanks Dan! You're a lifesaver.

Tonight is a big Halloween party for the boys at gymcats. They are so excited to go. They're going to have pizza, games, a zip line and open gym. The boys can hardly wait. I also signed up to help with the clean up because this gets us a discount on our gymnastic fees. Darrel will probably end up going in my place because I feel so horrible which makes me feel guilty because I signed up for it, not him. Oh well, maybe I can pay him back some other time.

This next Tuesday is our preschool Halloween party. I need to be spending this weekend getting ready for it, but alas, I'm not. I hope I feel better on Monday because feel better or not I'm going to be busting my behind getting this house cleaned up for the preschoolers and their families. I went to the store today and bought a few games. I still need to come up with some more things to do so wish me luck.

I've been meaning to blog something for awhile and just haven't but Joy told me I better write it down before I forget so here goes. Zachary has the cutest habit of saying "No tank you" when he doesn't want something. For example, I'll say, "Zachary do you want a drink?" "No tank you". "Zachary, do you need a nap?" "No tank you". Anytime he doesn't want something, even if it's not a question he'll say "No tank you". The other day I told him that we were going over to Joy's house "No tank you" he says, I told him that it wasn't an option I needed to go over there for something. He said "No tank you" all the way there. All I could think was, well - at least he's polite about it. So funny. He says it at least 20 times a day. I'm sure he'll grow out of the thank you part - but I'll take it for as long as I can get it.

Anyway, the boys carved their pumpkins this morning. They are very cute and I'll have to take a picture and post.

Boy Howdy

Mama said there would be days like this...Boy Howdy. I don't know what kind of sugar cereal the preschool kids consumed this morning, but wow, it must have been plenty sugary. We had to sit down at the end of preschool and have a talk about how to treat the preschool and our preschool friends. We also talked about how it's not nice to call the snack gross or to tell everyone very loudly how you don't want it, etc. I was getting a little tired of how opinionated (and loud) some of these preschoolers are getting. We talked about respect and compassion. I don't know how many of them understood, but I tried. I don't even want to think about how it's going to be next Tuesday on Halloween.

Darrel is working his rear end off this week. He goes into work in the morning, comes home for dinner and then goes back until 2:00am or 3:00am in the morning and then does it again. I know that he is majorly sleep deprived. Hopefully when this week ends he can do some catching up on his zzzzzz's. His company has a big customer in this week testing and trying out some of their stuff. If this (customer) company likes what it sees it could mean big (really big) bucks for Darrel's boss and his company. We'll keep our fingers crossed. I know that they have been under a pretty big microscope this week.

Yesterday was a Zachary nightmare. Never, ever again will that child (at least in the next year) go without a nap in the middle of the afternoon. I got busy and didn't put him down when I should have, he fell asleep around 5:00pm - made me miss the ward party - woke up at 8:00pm and went back down at 10:00pm. He then woke up around 6 this morning. I should never have done that to him. He needs structure and I should have put him down for his afternoon nap in the afternoon. Never has a lesson been learned so well. Talk about a grump, yesterday and this morning. I swear he was grating on my last migraine filled nerve this morning. I'm still trying to get rid of my headache.

Joy is such a lifesaver for me. I'm so grateful to have her next door. I'm grateful for all the help she is to me and the shoulder I need. She is always willing to try and make my life easier. I love that we are able to be so close now. She kept Zachary after preschool so I could make some travel arrangements for mom. I called my mom and left a message on her cell so hopefully she'll call me back soon and I can talk to her. I appreciate that Joy was so willing just to keep Zachary even though she has company and her own kids to worry about. I know that my head (headache) is a lot better for it. Thanks Joy!

Tomorrow is Nevada Day and there is no school. The boys are very excited. Alex has gymnastics from 11:30 - 3:30. I'll probably take Johnathan and Zachary to the park for some of that time. Maybe the Laytons will join us and we can have a picnic lunch or something. That would be fun. It's nice to live in Las Vegas right now because the days are so weather perfect. The mornings are a little chilly but the days warm up to mid 70s most of the time and that is so awesome. I'm watching the news with slow blowing here and rain falling there and I'm counting my Nevada blessings.

Well, if you made it all the way through that update, thanks for listening to all my ramblings. Hopefully I'll post some pictures soon. I'll have to get some pictures of the boys in their costumes. Have a wonderful weekend and an enjoyable Halloween!

October 24, 2006

I had preschool this morning. I don't know what it is about Tuesdays...maybe it's because I don't have preschool on Mondays and they release all their pent up energy on Tuesday. Today was a day. We had crying and chaos and all sorts of things. In spite of that we managed to make some very cute crafts and learn about the letter H and the shape oval.

Johnathan has been sick the last couple of days and I am debating whether or not to take him into the doctor. He went to school today, but came home with a fever, chills, headache and said that his throat hurt. I guess when I see it all in writing it becomes pretty apparent that we should probably have a doctor check him out.

Right now the boys are doing their homework and Zachary is standing at my elbow saying, "Paint, paint...I paint, paint...I paint, paint" you get the idea. Painting is such a messy project and it turns out I have a massive headache. I'm hoping to get him interested in something else so we can avoid the mess and such.

I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight but I just called Darrel and he said he should be home around six. That is great news. I am very excited to have him home. Alex badly wants to go play tennis and I am happy to oblige except for this blasted headache. Darrel said that he would love to take his boys to play tennis. Most likely I will keep Johnathan and Zachary home and let Darrel and Alex go play tennis, just the two of them. Alex will love that. I'll let Johnathan watch cartoons on the couch and veg out. Hopefully he will feel better soon.

Well, I better get back to my day - see ya!

Alex in action

Alex was looking through all the photos of the pictures we took in St. George and he said that this was his favorite one, so I decided to share it with everyone. 

Our trip to St. George

My sister Joy and I took a trip with our children to see my dad play volleyball in the world senior games being held in St. George. We had a wonderful time. We played minature golf, air hockey, ping-pong, we played at the park together and we got to see dad play with his team. (They came in fourth overall by the way- way to go team!!) Kenneth was a little sick while we were there but we still managed to have a great time. Here are some pictures from our trip. The first is my dad with my kids and Joy's kids. The second is Johnathan playing volleyball outside the Dixie center while we were waiting for Dad to finishing being a ref for the next game. The third picture is Alex playing outside the Dixie Center with Johanthan and the last picture is my dad playing volleyball with his team.


 

Black and White

Here is a picture of me with my hair in front. The hair in back is really short. 

Time with Grammie

Zachary and Caitlin playing in the sand.
This picture is Kenneth, Johnathan and Grammie on the court.


We had a fun evening last night with Grammie Fellingham and Jackie (David's wife). We went to the park and the older boys played sand volleyball with Grammie while the younger children (Daniel, Zachary, and Caitlin) played in the sand. Then we ate In and Out burgers, fries, and shakes. Grammie and Jackie had to leave soon after we finished so they could go do another Million Dollar Women Conference in St. George. The conference is the reason they were in Las Vegas. They had quite the success even with the low turnout so hooray for them!! Here are a few pictures of our time at the park.

Today I have some errands to run to get ready for the weekend. This weekend is the Pinewood Derby and tomorrow I'm leaving for a few days to go see my dad play volleyball in St. George. So today I need to head down to the scout office and get some ribbons for the winners as well as some more awards for the boys. I also need to print off the certificate awards so they can each have an award (even the slowest car - which will get the award of the most fuel efficient). I also need to pack and get ready to leave tomorrow since we are leaving right after my preschool is finished. Joy and her kids and me and mine will go watch grandaddy play.

This morning I was reading other people's blogs. More specifically some of the ones featured on MSN. It was quite interesting. I now feel very un-creative with words and such. Some people have such a way with words. I hope these people don't mind my glimpse into their lives.

Apples, apples everywhere!!

Below are some of the photos I took this weekend of our apple picking and pressing weekend. We made 15 gallons of apple cider and only put a dent in the apples that we picked. We left the rest of the apples with Grandma Miki so she could make apple sauce. We had a wonderful time and would like to thank Grandma and Grandpa Webb for hosting our family. We also were grateful that Rollin and his kids were there so we could have cousins together. We hope to go back and enjoy that experience again sometime!!

 

Apple picking pictures