ALL ABOARD!!!!!

Our first day on the ship. This is the picture they took of us getting on the ship. It wasn't the best picture but we had to get it with all the info for our ship.


We got on the boat as soon as we could. We wanted to have a lot of time to explore our new "home" for the next week. We had lunch in the buffet dining room. This was what greeted us as we came in. The food was pretty good here....great deserts....of course!

We finally got to go to our room about 1 or 2 pm. We were so lucky to get a handicap room. It was HUGE! Just look at this room. We were so spoiled....there is just no way we can ever go on another cruise....it just won't be as good. :0)

We had such a big bathroom...we even had a phone in there.

Here is our deck. It was twice as big as the one next door.

Our entry way, closet and vanity.

We even had a little sitting area.

This was one of Dave's favorite things. These pool tables rotate with the waves so your balls don't roll around. We had a pretty rocky voyage one night and these tables were all over the place but not one ball ever moved. It was way cool!

This is the Schooner bar...we played a few games of trivial pursuit in here and won two of them.

Here's a view of the dining room from the top. It was so pretty in there. We didn't skip one dinner here...the food was excellent. We loved our wait staff, too. You'll get to see them in a later post.

Here's our actual table. We had a limited view out those big windows. We always got to see the sunset thru them.

My artistic shot of the deck chairs. :0)

This is a view of the center of the ship where all the elevators were. It was so pretty in there. This picture so doesn't give it justice.

This is the pool deck.

Here is Old San Juan at night as we waited for the boat to pull out. We left port at 10 pm.

Dave and Old San Juan in the background.

Me and Old San Juan...not the greatest picture. But had to post it or you wouldn't know I was there. :0)

Bon Voyage!!!

Where Have I Been?

Where have I been? Not on the computer that's for sure. Sorry to be gone for so long. Over the next few days I will try to fill you in on some of the things we've been up to. But for now I'll just post some pic's and blurbs about our trip to Puerto Rico and our Cruise. This was our get away for our 10 year anneversary. Yay, us!

This first group of photo's is from our 3 days in Puerto Rico. Enjoy!


View from the back of the hotel. All the windows are barred and most places are gated.

Here are some pic's of the suite we got in Puerto Rico. It's funny, but the whole place was tile. Not exactly what I thought it would be. I like carpet, it just feels more comfortable. I think this hotel would have made some uncomfortable. Not the hotel itself...it was very nice and pretty new. But the location was a little scary. As seen in the previous pic's. It was a bit like the slums. But I never felt that I wasn't safe. So, that's a good thing.

Nice spacious bedroom with king size bed and a door to the balcany. Best of all, there were two tvs. :0)

OOOOOhhhhh, the bath room. :0)

The Pool. It was so cold, they don't believe in heated pools. We never tried it out. But it was pretty to look at. Give me the beach any time.

We started out our first full day in Puerto Rico at the Bacardi Rum factory for a tour and a couple free drinks. Then on to El Murro an ancient fort and Old San Juan.

We got to try out two diff. Bacardi drinks to see what we liked. Dave tried a peach one that was pretty good. He also tried a more premeire drink...it was gross. I swear it tasted like bandaides. Nasty! I first tried the apple rum. It was ok. But......

I then tried the raz rum...oooohhhhh, yummy!

View of El Murro and Old San Juan from the ferry.

When we got off the ferry, this was one of the first things we saw. It was so pretty and peaceful. There were people playing chess behind me, enjoying the cool shade.

I took so many pic's of colorful streets this day. I can't believe how colorful this culture is. I just loved it. This one turned out the best.

The cobble stones in town are blue. I don't think I've ever seen blue cobble stones before.

The beginning of the fort walls. The hike begins.

I loved this bird sitting in the window.

A couple from Chicago took this picture of us. I have found that if I want a pic. of us together, I just go up to another couple who are taking pic's and ask if they would like me to take a pic. of them together and then of course they are kind enough to ask if we would like our pic. taken. Works every time.

I saw this flower just hanging out on the top of one of the fort walls and thought it looked so pretty there. So, of course I took a picture. :0)

I just loved the look of this beach. I was wishing that I could stay here and hang out a little longer. But, we needed to keep walking.

Oh my gosh! This is going to be a long walk. :0) It actually wasn't that far a walk.

The entrance to El Murro, finally. We walked forever to get there.

Even the inside of the fort had color.

I thought this would make a cool shot. I still think it does. :0)

Hey, look at that...a picture of me. I always forget to have someone take pic's of me. My poor kids are going to grow up and never know what I used to look like. :0)

The view of Old San Juan from the fort.

I love this shot of the sail boat and the sun behind. It almost looks like it's floating in the air.

Chapel inside the fort. Even the fort was very colorful.

Cemetary outside Fort El Murro. What a great place to be put to rest. Right on this beautiful beach.

We were walking around town and came across this church and went inside. It was so beautiful in side. Not much to look at outside. So, a nice surprise when we walked in the door.

Here's the ceiling of the church. So pretty.

I don't know how I didn't make this a blurry pic. I didn't want to use a flash, because it would really flatten it out, but I thought for sure it would turn out very blurry. I guess I got lucky. Such a pretty church.

I can't believe this didn't come out more blurry. It was so pretty in there.

Beautiful stain glass window. I loved this church.

A pink church, now how cool is that! I have never seen a pink church. I just love the colors of this little town.

On the way back across the bay we crossed paths with this cargo ship and the setting sun behind it. Looks really cool.

Here's our commuter boat to Old San Juan with El Murro in the background.

The view from our hotel balcany.

Here is where we spent our 2nd full day in Puerto Rico...El Yunque Rain Forest. A truly beautiful place.

This is the only kind of lizard you will ever see me get this close to. If it was real...well lets just say the screaming may damage your hearing. :0)

These flowers were just growing out of the walls. They were so pretty and everywhere. I wonder if I could get them to do that....prob. not!

Here's a close up.

I just loved the colors in this tree trunk. It looked like it was painted this way, but it was just naturally this way. Way cool!

I wish I could have cut off the branch blocking the tower.

Here's Dave in front of the tower.

The jungle is just so cool and lush from this angle.

The jungle thru a window of the tower.

The beach thru a window of the tower.

These little lizards are all over the island. If you know me, you know I scream like a little 5 year old when these guys sneak up on me. So, it was a HUGE thing for me to take this picture. While I was taking this pic. Dave started to chuckle because unknown to me, there was another little slimy thing climbing up the railing I was leaning against to steady the camera for this shot. I took the pic. then ran away shuddering like I had just swallowed a slug. I'm such a ninny!

We found this great place for a picnic by the water.

Dave crossing a bridge.

Tami about the cross the bridge. Green moss grows on anything that doesn't move. It's very pretty.

The majesty of the jungle was just so....I can't even describe how beautiful it was there. So green!

There it is the La Mina waterfall we had been hiking for a half hour to see. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I was surprised how not sweaty we look in this picture. We took this on our way back from the falls. We were also so lucky that it didn't rain on us in the RAIN forest. :0)

I had seen this flower in the parking lot right before we started our hike, but didn't take the picture. I kept telling myself thru the whole hike that I should have taken the picture..it was the only flower like that I had seen the entire time in the jungle. I was convinced that someone would pick it before we got back...but to my surprise it was still there and as beautiful as I remembered it.

I think vacationing at the beach...any beach...is our preferred vacation get away. It's just so relaxing.

After hiking thru the hot jungle, it was nice to cool our feet at the beach.

Don't we look like we are having fun. :0)

The water was so clear and pretty. A bit chilly at first but not as chilly as the Pacific coast of Wash. State.

Every time we go on vacation on a beach I write the name of the place and the year in the sand.

Footprints in the sand.

Here's our rental car where we parked at the beach. I liked the paintings on the sea wall.

Getting this picture has a story...We had been in Puerto Rico for 3 days and had always been on the road when the sun was setting. This was our last day to get a sunset photo...and once again we were in the car. So, I just whipped the camera out and started to take a picture in a traffic jam. Just as I was about to take the shot a car came up beside us, saw me with the camera and slammed on his brakes so he wouldn't mess up my picture. Now that's conciderate! I got the pic. then looked back to make sure I hadn't been the cause of an accident. Thank goodness everyone was fine.

Here is the view of our hotel from across the street...the beach side of the street.

I don't know what this building was used for but I just liked the look of it.

Here is the fort El Murro from across the bay.

Dave outside a small fort called El Canuelo across the bay from El Murro and Old San Juan.

Sept. Camping Trip

Thought I would post a "few" pic's of our camping trip last month. I'm actually catching up on some of my posts....Yay!

We went to Steamboat Rock to go camping. It's a very pretty place and perfect for our group. We usually take up a whole ring of campgrounds and this year we were able to get them right next to the water. The kids had a blast and I had a fun time capturing it on my camera. Enjoy!
Family picture time.

I got this shot of Sarah in a neat tree right by the water. Amanda wouldn't do it because she was afraid there were spiders in it.

She would rather sit in the grass.

I did get her to stand next to the tree. I told a little lie to get here there though. Bad Mommy! She saw a spider web near the ground and I convinced her it was deer hair. She thought that was way better. Shhhh! Don't tell her. :0)

Another family pic with Steamboat Rock in the back.

There was a really neat rope swing by the water. The kids really liked it and I got a few good shots of them enjoying themselves.

This is my favorite of Erin swinging. She liked it the most and we had a hard time getting her off it.

Erin and Charli playing in the sand.

Erin, Amanda and Charli just hanging out.

The leaves had just started to change. It was a beautiful fall for us this year.

Sarah and Charli, little buddies.

Amanda and Erin, little buddies. Can you believe that Erin is almost a year younger than Amanda?

Look at those dirty girls. They all had so much fun getting as dirty as they possibly could.

I have been practicing a technique called "shooting from the hip." It's where you just hold up your camera and take a pic. Not looking thru the view finder, usually I just put the camera close to what I want to take a pic of and shoot. I have gotten some really good shots. Like this one of Charli's feet. So Cute!

Another artistic shot.

Oooh-weeee! Look at those dirty feet and pants.

The deer came down into the camp sites toward dusk. It was so cool to watch them and their babies.

Erin riding her bike.

Sarah playing in the sand....again!

S00000000 big!

I love these last two shots with Charli, I like how the sun makes her hair glow. Now, if I could just get her to smile for me. :0)

Our Trip to Seaside

So, I'm thinking I have some kind of sickness here....I just can't stop taking pic's. So, sit back and enjoy the many (and I mean MANY) pic's I took of our trip to Seaside. We went right before school started and couldn't ask for better weather. It was a bit on the chilly side but nothing to keep us from enjoying the beach. Enjoy!

Before we got to Seaside, we stopped in Astoria to see the Sea Lions. They were all over the docks.

Most of them were sleeping.

A few were having "arguments". Boy, Sarah did NOT like that at all. She wanted back in the car...NOW!

I liked this guy he was so calm, looking at me like..."OK, lady. Hurry up and take your picture."

We visited the Aquarium in Seaside and got to feed the seals. The girls really liked doing this. The seals were very funny. They would clap their flippers against their sides to make a loud clapping noise and get your attention. If you didn't throw a fish at them they would then use those flippers to splash you.

I love this picture of Sarah...she looks like she is thinking..."Tee-Hee...I'm going to chase those pigeons!"

I love these pic's of Dave with the girls. I'm not sure what they were looking at, but I'm sure it was very interesting.

Here we are in Seaside.

Here's Sarah in front of our condo.

The girls had a lot of fun digging in the sand.

I'm the photographer, so you never see me in pic's, and Dave is the videographer so you never see him on the home videos.

I love this picture. Aren't they so cute.

Look how sweet they all are. My family.

Here's Amanda in front of the condo.

Isn't that a cute face? You would never guess by the look on her face that the water is sub-freezing and all our feet are going numb. How come little kids have no feeling when it comes to freezing water? :0)

Sarah loved the waves coming in and when they went out she would start to cry. She didn't know that another would be coming back in. It was sooo cute. Now, Amanda would have nothing to do with the water. I think we may have gotten her to stick a toe in and then she ran back to our towels. Little chicken! :0)

There's our cutie pie Amanda. Hamming it up for the camera.

The girls begged us to dig a hole for them to sit in.

And with the sand from the hole we made a sand castle. The girls decorated it with broken sand dollars and seashells.

Here is our castle.

This was the view from our room. It was called a less than desirable room, but we were pretty happy with it.

Family Photo time.

Here's our pretty girl!

Now where do you think she gets that look from...Hmmmm! :0)

Sunset pictures.

Saw a pic. like this in a restaurant and tried to recreate it. I like it, but it's still not as good as the picture I saw.

Sarah would not look up for this picture. Oh, well, maybe next time.

Looking for more broken sand dollars.

Sarah loved digging in the sand.

So did Amanda.

That green bucket is full of broken shells for decorating our next sand castle.

Yay, she looked up for a picture.

Look at those cute little piggies!

Another family photo op.

Amanda as a mermaid.

Wow! Look at those dirty legs.

Now Sarah as a mermaid.

"Hey! Where did all that sand come from?"

Our beautiful sand castle.

This castle we didn't build, but I loved it with the sun setting behind it. Very pretty.

I love the cloud formation in this pic.

This picture makes me feel so peaceful. I love the outline of Amanda's face.

I don't know who these people are, but it made for a pretty pic.

Amanda shows off her broken shell collection.

Well, there were a buch more pic's from this trip, but I think these were the best ones of the bunches. :0) Thanks for taking the time to look at them. Hope you all are doing well. More later.

Photo Shoot with Brooklyn and Cassidy

A few weeks ago I went to a local garden park to practice taking shots of my girls and a friends girls. It was fun in one way, but it was also very rocky and steep in many places. Prob. won't be doing this again until the girls are a bit more steady on the rocky stairs. I did get a few good shots and thought I would share some of my fav's with you. Enjoy!

Our Last Day At The Beach For The Year

Ahhhh, summer! This was one of our last days of nice weather. We decided to go with some friends on their boats. It was a lot of fun. Especially for the kids on the tubes....although I would rather call them couches...they don't look much like tubes anymore.

Sarah enjoyed some choco. chip cookies. Yummm!
Aden makes sure they are all ready to go tubing.

Terry and Charli look like they are having a good time.

Poor Ty kept getting soaked from the other tube.

Double tow time.

Oooh, they are going down!

They didn't go down, but the rope did break. Yikes!

Much too serious an expression. I guess he is taking his job seriously. :0)

Look whose ready to go back out.

County Fair

In early Sept. we took the girls to the county fair. It's one of their favorite things to do. They LOVE the animals and especially riding the rides. I don't mind the kiddie rides too much, I just dread when they get old enough to ride the big rides. I just don't trust rides that are put up in less than 24 hours....and have you seen the carnies, they don't look very reliable...call me a snob but that just scares me.

I was happy to see Amanda step out of her (and my) comfort zone and pet most of the animals she came to. She walked into the fair grounds letting us know over and over that she wanted to ride a real horse. And, to my surprise, they did have a pony ride for the kids...So, Amanda was in hog heaven. Here are some pic's we took of that day. Enjoy!

"What's in there?"

I just love baby pigs. So cute!

This was so exciting to me that she was brave enough to pet the cow. I wasn't! :0)

I thought this was funny, so had to take a pic.

Yay, we finally got Sarah to pet something!

This pic. was taken about 30 seconds before Sarah stuck her head all the way thru and got it stuck. Let's just say her little ears were a little sore after we squeezed her out.

We all had a really good time. I just love to see how excited they get when we do these things together.