Sailing all day.......

The first morning after sailing all night was a surprise. We discovered sunrise is around 7am, not the 5:30am we had experienced in Oregon! I guess that's because we were getting closer to the equator. It was a bit strange to wake up at 6am (no, we didn't sleep in much!) and find it was still quite dark.
The sunrise of our first full day of cruising.....we would cruise for 2 full days before we would reach Aruba.
It was interesting to find out that the Love Boat series was originated on a Princess cruise ship. So here is the signature dessert....you can have every night....and it's called.......drum roll, please....you guessed it.......The Love Boat!
Our first night's dinner was a formal dinner. Tux for Greg and long dress for me!

Sailing Away

Finally, back to blogging about our cruise! The time to sail from Ft. Lauderdale did arrive and we found ourselves appreciating the views and warm weather! The harbor area is just beautiful.
Yes, the water really is this blue! Especially on such clear, sunny days.
Do we look happy?
A final look back at the United States. It would be 14 more days until we would see our country again.

We interrupt these vacations postings for....

Shingles (n.): 1. A thin, oblong piece of material, such as wood or slate, that is overlapped to cover a roof or sides of house or building 2. An extremely painful condition, caused by a reinflamation of the herpes zostra virus (aka chicken pox) that involves inflammation of the sensory nerves.

Sure wish I was dealing with the first definition and not the second! Unfortunately, I hadn't realized what the back pain was from so the medication they can give isn't effective once it's been 72 hours since the initial symptoms.

Oh well....once I can get comfortable sitting at the computer, I will resume our cruise pictorial. Until then.........

Sea Princess

And we are off to the ship! We weren't able to take pictures from the pier - security reasons and so we settled for pictures from the ship.
Our luggage is somewhere in the piles of what was being loaded. It took forklifts and over 4 hours to load the luggage. With 1900 people on board and most likely 2 bags/person, it was a busy place! They delivered our luggage to our room before dinner!
For whatever reason the only picture of our balcony stateroom we took was the door!!! How funny is that! (The bathroom -very tiny - is the door on the right)
On the outside decks.....no swimsuits yet to put on to enjoy that pool!
The big screen TV - we actually sat out under the stars and watched movies at night. They served pizza, cookies, and popcorn!

Off to Florida!

Our vacation journey started with a trip from Portland to LA to Ft. Lauderdale. We had uneventful flights and lots of laughter. Not to mention trying to sleep! I think I was the only one awake on the entire plane - just can't get comfortable on those tiny seats! We arrived in Florida at 6am and it was already 75 degrees - we were ready for the sun!
This is all the luggage from the six of us traveling together! No shortage of clothing here!

LA airport - pretty cool terminal but not many places to get good food. We ate in shifts and Greg and I tried out a place that wasn't too bad if you like airport food.
This was the view from our room. We had the entire day to play on the beach and just relax -----we were loving that orb in the sky!
My first time in the Atlantic Ocean - literally! It was so warm!
Greg decided sitting on the deck was the way to relax.
Greg's brother (without the shirt) joined us. We hadn't seen him in several years so it was good to catch up. I couldn't help but remind him he looked more like his brother every day.....gray hair included!!! (Being the younger brother, he didn't much appreciate the comments about being older!)
Can you say rain!!??? What's up with that! We had left that stuff in Oregon, yea right! But it didn't stop us from enjoying the pool Rain and 90 degrees....that's my kind of weather!
Tradition has it you have to take pictures of the palm trees! A Florida icon, for sure.

Cruisin'.....

Picture courtesy of the web

We have had an exciting vacation cruising through the Panama Canal. We went a little camera crazy and I'm busy sorting, organizing, culling and generally enjoying over 1,000 pictures. It will be fun to post....better get back to organizing!

The (Heart) of a Mom

It is amazing.....I am a mom, three times over, and a grandma now! I want to pay tribute to you, my children; to say thank you, to say I love you, to say how very proud I am of you! I'll start with the first born:

RYAN JAMES

You started life in a hurry, coming 7 weeks early and tiny one at that! Who knew you would have 2 teeth at 5 months, walking at 12 months, and growing like no one's business all through high school! And look at you now....a doctor, a husband and a dad x4! You have accomplished so much. I know there have been heartaches along the way, disappointments and challenges and you have risen above them. Can I contribute any of that to being your mom? I hope so, but also recognize you are one gutsy guy and determined to boot. You married an adorable, wonderful woman and I am so blessed to be her mother-in-law! Ryan, you are an amazing dad. Just to watch you with your kids is so heart-warming! I love to see you laugh and play!

Remember when there was just one?



I love this picture....you are so patient!



Now there are two! (How young you all look!!!) (I have to re-sort pictures for the additional two so will add those later!)



The love of your life....I'm so glad you found this incredible woman!



One of my favorite pictures....
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LYNN RACHELLE

This little one was my dream baby. I had always wanted a little girl and she arrived 10 weeks early and lived a very short time. It was so hard to let her go, say good-bye, and recognize there would be no prom dresses, no dance lessons, no girl-time with my daughter. It has been hard at times but there are many, many blessings as well. I have an angel in heaven. She is happy and living a perfectly normal way with Jesus. I know someday that I will hold her and love on her like I have dreamed about. She was perfect in every way and Jesus took her home way before I was ready. I was truly touched and honored when Ryan and Aimee named their daughter with her name. Lynn, I miss you and want you to know you have made me a better mom in so many ways even though you haven't been here. Someday I may be able to post a picture of you but for now, your picture is in my heart.

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ANDREW PAUL

And along comes Andy. Now here is a baby that was willing to wait for his time to enter the world. You came quietly on time - scheduled the c-section and lo, and behold, into labor I went on the scheduled day. After two premature births, I had a new appreciation for labor!!! You decided you would watch and ponder the world, not even crawling until you were 11 months old. You were the most content baby. You didn't like to be hurried and still don't. You march to your drum and are content to focus on what's important. You have accomplished so much...you are an Eagle scout, a very talented skeet shooter, an engineer with so much talent and an ability to make it work! I am amazed at your ability to manufacture something out of anything. I understand what shapes you are your experiences and they have made you the stronger for it. Recently you married an amazing woman and I now have another daughter-in-law that I adore! She brings the best out in you and has the sweetest spirit!

When you made this chopper bike, we were in awe!
Can you say cute couple?This isn't your grandpa's car???
Can you tell what you love to do? If it has wheels and has gadgets, you are all over it!
It was always fun to visit you at college. I still laugh at some of the antics you did!
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Ryan and Andy: I am proud to be your mom and want you to know that I love you more than I ever thought possible. I will cherish our times together and carry them in my heart! Thanks for making my life so rich!