Disney Cruise - 2010

I FINALLY got to go on the Disney Cruise. This has been a long time dream of mine. I have never been on any cruise and I wanted it to be a Disney Cruise when I got to go. We went on Jan. 21-24. Stephanie, Tanek and I left on Wed. and went to Cocoa Beach for the day and night to start our trip a little early. We did some shopping, had lunch at Applebee's and walked on the beach. It was nice to be close so that we could get an early start in the morning and get to the ship early. We stayed at Quality Suites and it was a really nice room and right near the beach.
Tanek is sitting on the bench at the entrance of the hotel.

It really was a nice place to stay and very reasonable compared to all the others in the area. Plus we got to take the shuttle to the ship and leave our car at the hotel. (actually the Radison) is where we left the car and took the shuttle from there.

After spending a good part of the day shopping and having lunch we walked on the beach. Tanek's favorite place was Barnes and Noble. They had a wooden train set there and he could have played with it for hours. By the time we got to the beach it was pretty windy and getting chilly so we didn't stay long.

This was the sunset from our hotel window in Cocoa beach the first night. It was actually the prettiest one of all. They were not too pretty on the ship because it was usually cloudy by that time. I love the sunsets and love to take pictures of them.

It was very exciting getting to the ship. I LOVE the Disney ship. It was so pretty and everyone on the ship that works for Disney was so nice and really worked hard to be sure your cruise was "magical". It was everything I hoped it would be, except it was just too short.

This was as we were walking up to the area to check in and get signed up for activities for Tanek.

When we first got on the ship at noon they sent us right into a dinning area for a wonderful buffet lunch. It was one of my favorite meals. So much of everything. Fresh fruit and salads, and tons of desserts. It was a good way to start the cruise.

After lunch we took Tanek to the pool while we waited for our room to get ready. He loved the pool and it was so nice because it was shallow enough that he could play in it by himself and the water was warm and there was a big slide. Everything a child could ask for.

He loved the slide. I would have loved it but it was only for children. So we got to watch him have a great time. He hated wearing the bracelet that they had him wear for the entire trip so that when he went into the activities they could match him up with us. He tried the whole time to get it off.

Before we set sail it was mandatory that we all put on our life jackets and attend a drill on how to use them. I am glad we didn't have too. It is good to know they put so much emphasis on our safety.

Before we set sail there was a big send off party on the top two decks. Stephanie and I bought these drinks (non-alchol) We wanted the glasses for a keepsake. They drinks were really good too.

This is the sunset on ship our first night. It was pretty even though quite heavy clouds.

I love these two pictures of Tanek looking out the window in our room at the sunset with his reflection in the glass. It was so neat watching the water as the ship was sailing.

This was just the first part of our cruise. I will post more pictures later. This was a great cruise and I sure hated for it to end. It was such a relaxing time and I loved it. I could really get used to this kind of a vacation. I would love to go on another one only much longer. There is so much to do on the ship and so much to do when they dock that it is hard to do it all in such a short cruise. I think a week long would be a lot more fun. It was really fun being waited on and treated special. No work, no worries, just fun and relaxing. It was kinda nice being cut off from the rest of the world and not being aware of all that was going on here. It was definitely not reality, but it sure was nice.

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This is a video of my niece Lori's 50th surprise party

Lori Turns 50

Saturday Gary, Stephanie, Tanek and I went to Atlanta for my nieces 50th surprise birthday party. To say she was surprised was an understatement. It was great. This party has been being planned for and worked on for over a year. It was great. There were so many of her friends and supporters of her ministry "Celebrate Life International" working on this. CLI works with at risk kids and is making a big impact on kids at risk. Lori is a dynamic speaker and speaks all over the world and if you have ever met her and heard her speak you will NEVER forget her. I am so proud to call her my niece. The party was held at Towne Lake Hills clubhouse in Woodstock Georgia. Below is a picture of Tanek getting ready to party. Practicing to yell SURPRISE!

This is my nephew Jerry. He is Lori's oldest brother, but he is younger than her. Not yet 50. He lives in Kennewick Washington and flew in for the party. It was great to see him again. It has been several years since we have seen him.

When Lori came in and everyone was singing Happy Birthday to her, her two brothers came in behind her and surprised her big time. She has just realized they were here.

This was the first birthday cake. Her mom rolled the cake in and that is how Lori found out her mom was at the party. She certainly was surprised to see her. My sister lives in Vancouver, Wa. Blowing out the candles before they burned up the cake.

Lori overwhelmed by all the surprises and at a loss for words.....but only temporarily.

Being presented with a few special gifts.

Blowing out more candles on the big cake. With so many candles they had to put them on two cakes.:)

The party was decorated in Hot Pink and Black. It was very pretty and the cakes were also Hot Pink and Black. Dress attire for the guest was either black or pink. It was very festive.

Lori and her mom (my sister, Rena)

Rena and Bob (Lori's "little" brother) eating some cake. Bob came in from Bellingham, Wa.

Jose, Jerry and Rena eating cake. Jose is Lori's right hand in her ministry.

The Cake

A picture of the picture of Lori that they had on display

Uncle Bob and Tanek. Tanek had a ball getting to know family members for the first time. They enjoyed meeting and playing with him. He was so full of fun and enjoyed the party.

Can you guess what they are doing here?

Lori was presented with a book of all the birthday wishes that came in for her and they put them all in a book.

Rena "Aunt Grandma" and Tanek dancing at the party.

Tanek and Uncle Kurt. When Uncle Kurt is around Tanek always ends up on top of his shoulders. He loves Uncle Kurt.Tanek flying high with his Uncle Jerry.

Tanek with the birthday girl, Aunt Lori.

Flying high again with Uncle Bob. They loved throwing this little guy in the air and he loved it.

Here I am with my 2 nephews and niece

The family except Kurt was missing in this one.

Sunday morning we went to brunch at the Marrietta Conference center. It was nice to have some time to spend together before we headed home. I have not seen my 2 nephews in several years and it was good to reconnect with them. Stephanie had not seen them in 15 years and they had never met Tanek. It was just a fun time of getting reacquainted. Kurt is taking the picture and the man at the end of the table was a good friend of Kurt & Lori's and he came in from Phoenix, Az. for the party. Lots of people love Lori and they came from all over to celebrate this great time in her life.

The cousins

Here we all are. There was many of our family that was not here, we are scattered all over the U.S. and we were happy to get this many of us together. We had a wonderful time and it was great to share in all memories with the family.

They had a cannon in the lobby of the Hilton and this is a picture of Tanek in front of it.

Whenever we go on a trip to the beach or to Disney Tanek usually falls asleep on the way home. I always get a picture of him to show how he ends his day or days of fun. He doesn't take a nap but usually after a big day of fun he will fall asleep on the drive home. This time he didn't fall asleep. I asked him if he would pretend to be asleep so I could get the traditional picture of him

sleeping. So...he did. He isn't asleep but he did a good imitation. I guess we did not wear him out enough for him to fall asleep. All the way home from Atlanta he was wide awake. This is how he would look if he were sleeping.

Work day around the yard!

Today started out real cold, but it quickly turned into a beautiful day. I couldn't wait to get outside and get all the covers off the plants and cut all the frozen growth off the plants. Mainly I just wanted to be outside in the warm sunshine, get some fresh air and exercise. Tanek and papa helped too. Tanek was enjoying himself. Every once in awhile he would say, this work is really hard. But he was all to happy to be helping. I cut off a lot of limp brown growth from the plants. It was good to see that some of them still had some green underneath. I know it is a little early to cut it all back, but the weather man keeps saying we won't have anymore of this extreme cold and we all know they NEVER make a mistake. Besides, it was already dead, so I was ready to get rid of it.

Tanek has his own rake just his size and was really putting a lot of effort into getting it all raked.

He was very happy to be working along side his papa and getting to ride on the tractor with him to go dump all the stuff I cut back. I think they dumped 3 or 4 trailer loads.

When they got tired of picking up, they would sit on the tractor and wait for me to finish cutting more.

This afternoon after we finished we swung on the swing, went for a walk and just enjoyed the beautiful day. This is what winter in Florida is supposed to be like.

Good Friends

We have had our dog Daisey for about 10 + years. We got her from the animal shelter in Ocala after Kirsten's 3rd birthday party. She has been a great dog. She is Gary's dog. She loves him so much. Being a typical woman I guess she just prefers the company of males. She has decided that Tanek is a good companion too. She is so gentle and easy going. I hate that she is getting old. She has a hard time seeing and hearing.... unless it is food. She hears that clearly. She is becoming a good friend to Tanek. She will let him hug on her and just be real sweet.
Tanek says Daisey misses him when he isn't here. I think she does. She is a sweet dog and we love her. She is a good playmate for Tanek.

Inside fun?

What do you do on cold winter days when it is too cold too be outside? Why you can wii of course. Papa is really into wii bowling. I think this picture was taken when he thought he should have gotten a strike and didn't. This is serious business.

Tanek is playing one of the games. He loves riding the bike and going through the balance courses. His favorite thing is to jump into the ocean on the bike. (not what your supposed to do) but he likes the thrill of the great jumps, or being knocked into the water by a large ball.

Much more fun to play the game by his own rules than actually trying to win at it. He has gotten very good at bowling and has a high score of 190. It isn't unusual for him to score somewhere between 100 and 150. He keeps us on our toes. You don't want a 3 year old to beat you in bowling.

He also likes drawing on his new easel. Lot's of winter fun things to do, but we are looking forward to when we can get back outside and take walks or swing or go to the park. We have enjoyed out inside games, but we are ready to break out of the house......soon!

#1 ALABAMA

Gary was ready to watch the game in his Bama sweat shirt. And what a game. It was an exciting game and a good way to end a cold night. Even Stanley got to watch most of it.
Even the band was rockin.

Congratulations to all the Bama team and coaches. A great ending to a great year. Let's keep it rolling next year too!

Sunny Florida????

NO, this isn't Florida. I borrowed this picture from my daughter in law when they had one of their snowfalls in Maryland. It is beautiful. I figured if I have to be THIS cold, it should look like this. However, we don't have the beauty of the snow, but it is cold enough (in my opinion ) to look like this. This is what I think it would feel like, what we are feeling right now. I hate to be such a complainer (and I am doing a lot of it this week) but it is COLD here. I realize that it is January, but.....it is also Florida. It should NOT be this cold here.....ever. Anyway, just thought I would have some fun with the blog, since it is too cold to be doing much else. Hope everyone is staying warm. And I finally figured out how to change my blog background by myself. That is a big accomplishment. SO...maybe being freezing cold and having to stay in the house and too cold to do much of anything has some value. Have a great day everyone. Only 75 days until Spring.