Wow! I can not believe that the holidays are here. Where did Fall go? Our lives have been pretty crazy since school started again. In September I began a new job. I moved out to the Same Day Surgery Department at the new IHC Riverton hospital. It is still Primary Children's... just a little closer to home. My commute is now only 20-25 minutes, verses the hour plus it took me to get to the SLC Primary's Hospital. There are no words to describe opening a new hospital. It was a lot of work and a lot of hours. I am so grateful to Bryce and the kids for being so patient with me during this transition. The new hospital opened on November 2nd, and everything has gone smoothly. It has been a nice change. So, with all this work, of course we took some time to play. So, for two weeks in October, we went on a cruise, and then played for a week in Disney World. I listed some highlights below. We had a wonderful time! You are all welcome to join us next time!
Our Cruising Party! Dinner the night before we got on the ship. There was 19 of us all together. My family of 6, both of my parents. ( yes, they are still divorced. weird I know.) My two sisters, and brother. My brother-in-law, and sweet niece. My bro-in-law's parents, my aunt and uncle, and my grandparents! We had a blast!
Setting Sail... my kiddos were hoping to see some dolphins. We were out of luck.
Our Ship. Royal Carribean's Freedom of the Seas. It was massive. It also had a little of everything. Ice skating, rock climbing, and even a wave rider.
Our first stop, Labadee, Haiti. It is Royal Carribean's "private" island. It is actually a compound, protected from main Haiti, but we loved it. There was so much to do, and the water was warm. The ship also brought lunch to the island, which was nice. I think this is the day that Parker fell in love with the beach. He asked to go to the beach everyday after his visit here.
One of the Formal Nights. Our family enjoys getting dressed up, well maybe with the exception of Landon. :) Our favorite memory of this night was the family dance in one of the clubs. The kids had a blast dancing and playing with balloons that they dropped.
Jamaica baby! The kids stopped to take a picture with one of the locals and his donkey, Dolly.
Climbing Dunn River Falls! What a once in a lifetime experience. I bet you are thinking you can't do it huh... well look close at the pic. My 3 year old, and my 78 year old grandma did it! Ok, they did half of it, but they were troopers. Way to go Grandma! You rock!
The Fam, posing in the Falls. It was such a fun day!
Grand Caymen. Part of the group posing in front of "Hell", Grand Caymen. The other half went swimming with the stingrays. Hell is an awful looking rock formation.
The turtle farm in Grand Caymen. Parker got a kick out of holding the turtles. Oh, and he did not want anyones help.
Bry- Bry petting a turtle that was bigger then her.
Cozumel, Mexico. Kaylie and Parker swimming with the Dolphins. Only bummer, this is as close as they would let me get. But, they had a wonderful time.
We spent the day at a national park. We had awesome snorkeling, the beach, swimming with the dolphins, and a pool. There was also gardens, and ruins to look at. We all found something to do, and had a wonderful time.
Our last night... it is always emotional for me. Here is our waiter staff. They were so good with Parker and Brylee, who did not enjoy 5 course meals.
Our last night. I will not miss the cramped space. I am standing at the door. What you see, is what you get. :)
Disney World! Kaylie and Landon flew home to return to school, so it was just Bryce, I and the two little ones. Some of my family stayed too. And my brother's fiance flew out to join us. We started at Epcot. Needless to say, it was the kiddos least favorite. But, they have some awesome character signing opportunities.
We attended the "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party." It was well worth it. Brylee and Parker got a ton of candy, plus they have characters out that you never see. For example, we saw the characters from Tarzan. The kids are encouraged to dress up. This year Parker was buzz lightyear. Could not resist this photo op.
Sea World. Bryce and Parker riding the whales.
She is so my daughter... sharing a Carmel apple.
Our classic Mickey Mouse picture. Would it be a trip to Disney World without it?
This is one of my favorites... and trust me, there are a lot. We saw any character we could. Parker got more joy form seeing the characters then doing anything else. I bet 4-5 hours out of our days were spent in character lines. No kidding! Parker flexing his muscles with the Incredibles.
Another favorite... the Cars! After this picture was taken, Parker stood alone for one. Just then, Lightning McQueen reved his engine. It was loud. Parker must have jumped a foot, and immediately burst into tears. It was so sad, and funny at the same time. I think the 40 or so people in line got a kick out of it too.
One of our favorite rides of the week. The toy story ride. Parker is cruising around with Grandma.
I think this was the kids favorite park. Disney's Animal Kingdom. Posing with Minnie.
Our last day, last night, we closed the trip with the classic, Disney Electrical Parade.
We got home just in time for Halloween. This year, Brylee was a ladybug. Parker was Buzz Lightyear. And not pictured is Landon. He went as a "Real man" He wore a mustache, and chest hair. :)
This is the first year Parker and Brylee went real trick or treating. The past two years we have been spoiled my neighborhood trunk or treats. It did not take them long to figure it out though. However, being 1 and 3, I think we made it two blocks and they were done.
My two little skeletons! I will not be able to match them for long... so I am taking advantage now.
