We are back!

We are back from our cruise and it was FABULOUS! I am ready to go back. We left Saturday morning at 3:30am and made it to Florida about 9pm Saturday night! It was a looooong drive! Although it wasn't so bad because it was just the 2 of us. I couldn't imagine taking all the kids on a long drive like that! Anyway we checked in a hotel about 3 miles from the port...which turned out to work in our favor because they had $20 parking for the week and they shuttled you to the port, instead of the $15 a day I had originally thought we'd end up paying. After we checked in we got in the hotel pool and to my surprise it was a salt water pool! I had never been in one before and it was really weird, but nice.

Sunday morning we got up and were shuttled to the port. We were able to board early which was awesome, because they were already serving lunch on the ship when we got on! The food was fantastic! They had 4 different buffet lines and 3 buffets of desert PLUS a deli and pizza counter. it took us all afternoon to explore the entire ship. On Monday we docked in Freeport. We ended up paying waaaaay to much for a shore excursion to the beach and although the beach was beautiful I most definitely wouldn't pay for it again. I wasn't really impressed with the island itself, it was a bit run down, at least the part we were in. We went swimming in the ocean, which you could see the bottom in the crystal blue water. And a giant fish swam right behind Leo. He was a little freaked out but I thought it was hilarious. With the excursion we were able to get in the local pool at the hotel which was a fresh water pool...it had no chemicals but it was the most refreshing pool I had ever been in, and it was really, really nice. After that we decided to hit some of the shops and the people there were the craziest hagglers I had ever encountered, they were soooo pushy! But we got some pretty great deals...I also found out that everything is negotiable in the Bahamas.

Wednesday we went to Nassau and it was incredible! We opted for The Blue Lagoon for our shore excursion and it was worth every penny! It was about a 30 min boat ride from Nassau and we were on a private island that looked exactly how I would imagine paradise! White beaches , crystal clear water , hammocks attached to palm trees. Not to mention free food! haha We also got to spend some time with the dolphins which was really cool!

The rest of the trip was spent on the ship eating hahaha! I think I gained 10 lbs while there. The trip back was horrible! It felt like it took forever...that is when I vowed never to make that drive again!

Overall I LOVED my vacation...it was so relaxing and it was great to just have time and reconnect with Leo.

(You can check out the rest of the pics on my fb page)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=233854&id=538617734&l=06bc993d52

Where has the time gone?

First let me start off by saying.....Where the heck did August go? And welcome September! I haven't had much time to keep up with this since school started. Saturday we took the kids to Leo's company picnic at Ripkin Stadium. They LOVED it....everyone but Alanna , that is. By 9pm she was ready to go home to bed. We had crabs and cotton candy and lemonade...everything you need for an awesome picnic. Not to mention after the game they had pretty much the best fireworks I have ever seen. Better then the 4th of July, hands down! Sitting there watching them with my husband and kids was just one of those moments where you feel incredibly blessed and thankful for everything God has given me! I feel so lucky! It was a great night!

Sunday night Leo decided it would be fun to "camp out" with the kids. So we set up the living room with sheets and made a tent, and slept in our sleeping bags. It was pretty great. We watched movies all night, Caden lasted until about 10 and Madison made it until 12 and then knocked out.

Camping Out with the kids

We had a cookout on Labor Day, and Tuesday was Caden's first day of Preschool. He did great! They had 1 hour with parents yesterday and Friday is 1 hour with just them. He didn't really pay me much attention the whole time I was there so I think he will do just fine! He is pretty independant.

I can't believe it is already Wednesday! Of scourse schools are closed AGAIN tomorrow, so they only went 3 days this whole week. I think it's crazy to have school closed so much so early in the yeat but what can you do? We leave in 3 days for our trip and I am so excited but also nervous because I haven't been away from the kids this long before! I'm going to miss them so much!

School Time!

Madison had her first day of Kindergarten yesterday! It was only a half day and a half day today but she starts full days tomorrow! She loved it, and she looked adorable! The best part of her going to her new school is, she has two cousins and two friends already at the school, so it works out for days that I need someone to take her! haha. I'm really enjoying being home with the other two but I do miss Maddie too! She was so ready she just said "Bye mom!" and went on her way, I on the other hand was fighting back the tears all the way home! I can't believe my baby is going to school already! She is getting too big too fast! I have a meeting for Caden's preschool tonight, and he will start next Tuesday. He asks every day when he gets to go to school.

The best part of it all is I am feeling more energetic now that I am forced to get up to take Madison to school. Instead of just lying around all day I am motivated to do things. Today we are watching Sesame street and hanging out but I was able to get the whole house cleaned the last few days. It's great! I feel so much better and I'm in such a better mood. I noticed I'm not yelling as much. Who knew? Poor Alanna woke up with a fever and is a bit fussy. I hate when she is sick but I love the cuddle with mommy time!

This weekend we are taking the kids to the Iron Birds game...their first baseball game!It's Leo's company picnic and it's a crab feast so that will be nice too. It's going to be so much fun to spend the evening as a family. We don't get to do that often, since the kids are gone on the weekends and Leo works nightshift. The kids are really excited about it. Maddie has been asking to go to a baseball game since she watched opening day in Pre-k last year.