Leaving the JEWEL - 243/365

What a sad, sad day!
We had to get off the ship today. NO FUN, no fun at all! We all hit up the "bacon buffet" as we had come to call it, one last time this morning. YUM! It was wonderful, but we have all just eaten non-stop on this trip...LOL! 

After breakfast, we spent some time walking around the ship, taking some last minute pictures. We just wanted to wander and take in as much as we could. We just loved everything about it! We even stopped and took pictures with our fabulous cabin steward and the famous "washy washy" singer! 

 Eventually, they started making jokes over the speaker that anyone that didn't head toward the gangways, were going to have to wash the dishes. That was our cue to get going. 

Getting off was sad and I admit, I almost shed a tear or two. We made so many wonderful memories, for our little family, but also made wonderful memories with my WHOLE family! We had that good of a time! More laughs than we could ever count. 

My dad had arranged a van to pick us up and take us to the airport Marriott for the night. Nana, Papa, Jim, Reagan, Jenny, Raymond, Chips and Kathy were all spending one last night in Seattle, before heading home. Ed and Pam rode in the van with us, just to spend the day, since their flight didn't leave Seattle until 11:30pm. 

Once we got to our hotel, we decided to hit the pool to relax a little bit. They had an amazing atrium with live trees, comfy lounge chairs and a huge pool. We all enjoyed a dip!

After we swam, Raymond and Jennifer suggested we all head over to the The Museum of Flight. They were nice enough to arrange a van for all of us to ride over in, and the return trip, too. 

We got there and were pleasantly surprised! It was amazing! They had life size planes of all kinds. I think Jim and I, liked the Air Force One the best. They had the actual Air Force One that Kennedy, Nixon, Johnson and Eisenhower used. It was amazing to see. Even the communication stations on the plane, looked so OLD! I can't even imagine what the inside of today's Air Force One looks like.

Another really cool thing was, a Concord. British Airways donated one of twenty Concords to the  museum. It was really something to see, the nose of the plane was so weird how it tilted down.  The inside wasn't much different than other plane. It said that Phil Collins, once, did a concert in London, flew home and made it to a show in New York, the same day! Crazy! 

We had fun, just asking Uncle Ed questions about the planes. He is our family aviation expert and knows just about everything about planes. 

After we finished at the exhibits, we sat on the back patio of the museum, enjoyed a few beers and watched some planes land. There was a small airport right next door, where a lot of  Lear Jets were landing. They also offered private rides in an old vintage bi-plane. No one was brave enough to go for a ride in our group, but we saw one or two people go for a ride. No thanks! 

Once our van picked us back up, we headed back to the hotel. We were all starving by this point, so we decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. We ended up getting a back banquet room to ourselves. We had the best time back there. We laughed until we cried and just shared stories of the week. It was the perfect way to end the best family fun ever! 

The first picture is all of us standing on the curb after we got kicked off the ship.

Next is Reagan and an astronaut...

I think so....

And finally, a silly picture, I took in the elevator at the museum....

Victoria - 242/365

It was our final full day on the ship.

We were all starting to get a little bummed, but we still had an excursion to look forward to at least. We were visiting Victoria, British Columbia today! Jim and I were super excited to visit here, since it's one of the places the Canada movie at Epcot covers. That's one of our favorite attractions in Epcot, so we've seen it a million times!

We weren't docking until 2:00pm, so we had some time on the ship in the morning to chill out. We slept in again, which was nice.
This morning, they were having the final Nicktoons Dance Party of our trip. They let the kids get up close this time. It was like a free for all, it was fun! Papa even hit the dance floor with Reagan and some Nicktoons! Ray and Jenny came, too, and got in on the action. We had a good time!

After the party, we all went up and grabbed a snack. Then everyone went back to their rooms to start the packing up process. You had to have your bags out by midnight tonight, or you had to carry them yourself. We had so much crap, we didn't want to be involved with all that. HA! Since we weren't getting back on the ship from Victoria until 9:00 tonight, we wanted to be ready, so we could do something fun when re-boarded.
While I packed up most of our stuff, Jim took Reagan swimming. We were so lucky with the weather. Reagan got to swim everyday on the ship! She loved it!

Getting off the ship today was CRAZY, they only had one gangway and everyone met on the ship for their excursions, then headed out at the same time. Once we got through the madness and found our bus, it was much better.

Our excursion today was Victoria Highlights and Butchart Gardens. Jim and I were pumped to see the gardens, since they are also in the Epcot movie. Our bus driver had a hell of a time getting situated. His microphone wasn't working at all! He had to tried for at least five minutes to get it going. You could tell he was just mortified!

The first part of the ride was interesting. We drove along the water, and got to see some amazing homes and scenery.  We went through a couple little towns and saw some cool stuff.

The ride just kept getting longer and longer though. At one point, he said, "We could take the highway, but we're going to go a more scenic back road that's 35miles." We all looked at each other like, "NO!" We just wanted to get to the garden. Some of the people on the bus, started to nod off, including Nana and Aunt Pam. LOL!

We finally arrived at the gardens and were so excited!

The enterence itself was just gorgeous, you could tell the whole thing was going to be beautiful! It covered 55 acres. It was amazing! Jim and I could not believe we were there, we were pumped.

Our first stop was the sunken garden. It was a garden, essentially down in a hole! It was an old abandoned quarry, that the founder envisioned as a garden. It was spectacular!

They had this amazing fountain, too! It shot water up so high, then the spouts would rotate to create different effects. It was stunning!

Next, we walked over to the Carousel, where Reagan and Jim took a ride. It was in this beautiful building with huge windows. Reagan just loved it.

From there, we went through the totem pole garden and headed toward the Japanese garden. That was pretty cool! We found this cool little red bridge where we all took pictures. We did just Reagan, couples, girls and then all the guys. Reagan was so funny. We tried to take just the guys and she kept jumping in the picture! It was a hoot! I've trained her well!
After that, we went over to the rose garden. Just beautiful! The whole place was stunning. Some of the flower plants were taller than me. They have such a mild climate in Victoria, that it's perfect for gardens. It never really snows and barely ever even frosts! Sounds perfect to me!
Our ride back to the ship was way quicker than the ride there. This time we took a spin through downtown Victoria. Talk about amazing! The buildings looked like old castles. It definitely shows it's British heritage.
When we got back to the ship, there was a beautiful walkway out into the water, that went right next to the ship. We had a little time, so Nana, Ray, Jenny, Jim, Reagan and I, decided to take a walk. We got some really cool pictures of the ship from over there.
Once we got back on, we dropped our stuff off and went for some dinner at the Blue Lagoon. We were all starving!
After dinner, we tried to find some dancing but it was a no go. We went to the karaoke lounge and Reagan was upset she couldn't go on stage. She really wanted to sing. It was already 10:00, at that time the kids can be there but it's "adult sing" only. Jennifer was so sweet, she was willing to sing a song, so Reagan could go up on stage with her. It was so sweet and Reagan was THRILLED! She could not have been happier!
It was a great way to end our last night on the ship.
The photo of the day is our little family at the gardens...

The next is Papa and Reagan dancing with Sandy the Squirrel at the party...

The last is Jenn and Reagan singing karaoke...

 

Sea Day Two - 241/365

It was our second sea day today. 

For being a sea day, we ended up being SUPER BUSY! 

We started our day with some nice sleeping in! It was wonderful! 

We finally got up and were off to the Nickelodeon Pajama Jam. This was a special breakfast buffet and dance party for the little ones with the Nicktoons. It was an extra fee, but we didn't mind. Each kid got a tiny jar of bubbles, a bracelet and a cool Nickelodeon cup.

The breakfast buffett was adorable! They had pancakes and waffles that were colored, red, yellow and green. They also had tiny hot dogs wrapped in croissants, egg domes on English muffins, donuts, jello cubes in pudding, and cupcakes. It was really something! 

All the kids had time to eat, then the party started!  They did a lot of dancing and even got to do the limbo. They sang all the traditional kids songs like, Old McDonald and Wheels on the Bus. They had a blast dancing with Dora, Diego, Sponge Bob, Patrick, Sandy, and the Fairly Odd Parents. NCL did a really great job with this party, we thought it could even rival Disney, which is hard to do! The whole thing was probably a good hour! 

After the Pajama Jam, Nana and I took Reagan to the spa to get an ice cream mani/pedi. This was so stinking cute and we got in on a whim. They used bath bombs shaped like scoops of ice cream, in the flavors of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, to soak her hands and feet. Reagan just LOVED throwing the bombs in the water and watching them fizz up! She got all trimmed and filed, then they used chocolate scented lotion on her hands and feet. She was in heaven! She kept smelling her arm...LOL! 

After that, she got to pick some colors for her nails. She picked blue for her toes and purple for her fingers. She was a perfect angel and didn't move a muscle. She got out of there with no chips! After her nails were dry, they brought her some ice cream! 

It was such a cute little thing to do with her. Her chair was looking out the window, so we could watch Alaska fade away during her whole treatment. The girl working with her, could not have been sweeter, too! 

After she was all finished, Jim and Reagan hit the pool, while my mom and I went in search of the rest of the crew. We did a little snack with the crew and went and purchased some of the pictures they take around the ship. It was hard to choose! 

This afternoon, there was a Dora Dance Party! This was great, because it was just Dora. The kids had a ball! 

This evening was going to be a date night for Jim and I. My mom and dad were going to hang out with Reagan for us. We decided to have dinner at Chin Chin, the Chinese place on the ship. It was REALLY good. They had these vegetable dumplings for an appetizer that were to die for! 

 After dinner, we went and took in the show. It was a Cirque type show and was really good. The best part was at the end, when they did a thank you and brought everyone up on the stage. Even the little "washy washy" guy! It was a HOOT! 

After the show, we went to the little piano bar, where we spent a lot of time on our Ireland cruise, a couple years ago. We were on the Jade, which is a sister ship to the Jewel, so everything was pretty much the same. Sitting there brought back a lot of fun memories from that trip. 

We did meet Nana, Papa and Reagan to watch Reagan boogie on the dance floor a little before the White Hot Party. 

Once it was time for Reagan to retire, we went to find Ray and Jenny to attend the White Hot Party. We didn't dress up, but we still attended and had fun watching all the people dancing! They had some good music, so it was nice to just have a couple drinks and chill out!

 It was a super fun day! 

The photo of the day is Reagan at her ice cream mani/pedi...

 The next is her doing the limbo with Dora and Diego

Skagway - 240/365

It was Skagway day, today! 

What an amazing little town it is! It's sandwiched at the base of two huge mountains. It was a little foggy and misty this morning, which made it even more beautiful. 

 Everyone was doing different excursions today, so Nana, Papa, Jim, Reagan and I were on our own. Today was our helicopter ride to a glacier and we were PUMPED! 

The helicopter pad was just steps from the ship. In fact, they were the first things we noticed when we peeked at Skagway from our balcony. It was literally RIGHT there! 

We walked on over to the helicopter pad, got all checked in and watched our safety video. Everyone has to wear these bright orange vests over their clothes and wear special boots. The boots actually slip right over your tennis shoes and velcro closed. They are super fashionable! Reagan's boots were just regular snow boots. Finally, it was time to load the chopper. Reagan and I got to ride in the front with the pilot. It was SO COOL! You have to wear these huge headphones, so you can talk to the pilot and muffle the noise.

After a few seconds, the helicopter started to shake and the next thing we knew, we were in the air! It was amazing! There were four choppers in total on the way to the glacier, each holding 4-6 people. We were the third chopper. Our pilot was a little quiet. He was nice, but not overly friendly. He pointed out some interesting stuff on the 20 minute ride, but didn't really elaborate on much. We got to see the town of Haines and many beautiful waterfalls. 

As we rounded the mountain to the glacier, it was just jaw dropping. The sheer size was amazing. We started to lower and you could make out people standing on the glacier. We noticed a little tent and about 25 or so people waiting. We hopped off, those people jumped on, and away they went. The whole process took less than 5 minutes and the choppers were gone. So, there we were, with 3 tour guides and twenty strangers, in Alaska, standing on a glacier. It was amazing!!! 

It was a little windy and chilly, but not freezing. Jim and I, didn't have any gloves and were fine. Reagan was a little apprehensive, but she did great! We each got these little poles with a point on the end to help us maneuver around the ice. Walking around was stunning! The HUGE crevasses that have formed were amazing. Our tour guide threw a HUGE rock down in one of the holes; I bet it was a good 10 seconds before you could hear it hit the bottom! Absolutely amazing! 

There were waterfalls down in some of the crevasses, too! A lot of people think, the water is the glacier melting, but it's actually water run off from the mountains surrounding it. It makes it's way through the glacier since it has no where else to go. They also said, it takes about 100 inches of snow to make one inch of glacier. Crazy! 

We got to explore for around 45 minutes, before the choppers came back for us. You heard them "coming around the mountain" and they were on the ice in seconds. 

After the glacier, we were going to spend some time exploring Skagway. We were docked 7:00-5:00, so we had a ton of time. Ray and Jen, were still on their bike tour, so we met Ed and Pam.

Skagway only has about 800 all-year residents and it's 4 blocks by 25. Amazing! There is NOTHING there, NOTHING! I would go bonkers living there, but it definitely fascinating to see. 

We explored a little, then Ed and Papa headed back to the ship. Nana, Pam, Jim, Reagan and I, decided to hop a little bus to the Klondike Gold Panning and Dredge Tour. This was so fun! We got a little demo on how to do it, then we were off! Reagan had a ball dipping her pan in the water and was quite wet by the end! Jim, Reagan and I, ended up getting $31.00 worth of gold out of our three pans. We purchased a little clear pendant, you can wear on a necklace, as a way to display the gold flakes. It's so pretty! It was a fun little side trip that we pretty much stumbled on! 

After our gold panning, we went to meet Ray and Jen at a little pub for some snacks and BEERS! YAY! We had a couple different dippy's and shared stories of our day. 

We finally had to head back to the ship. All aboard was 5:00 and the line to get on was super long! Some of the employees were starting to look a little nervous, since they have a strict depature schedule. We finally got on and headed up to the room. Jim and I, Nana and Papa, Chips and Kathy and Raymond and Jennifer all had balconies right in a row, which was fun. We were going to stand out there and watch the "sail away." We weren't leaving and weren't leaving, when suddenly, over the PA system, they started calling a few people. Here, one person had not re-boarded the ship!!! We watched as a couple cars came and went and watched two people literally RUN down the sidewalk to the ship. After about 45 minutes of waiting and calling, the ship left Skagway with one less passenger. No one knows what happened to him/her. Good luck getting home from Skagway though!

Once we got cleaned up for dinner, Jim, Reagan and I went to a Sponge Bob meet and greet and had dinner at Azura. After dinner, we played a little golf, shuffle board and did a little dancing. We had a great time on our little date night with Reagan! 

This evening, was the Chocolate Buffet! Absolutely amazing! The whole room is just different chocolate desserts with beautiful ice sculptures and chocolate animals! We found Ed and Pam on the back deck, so we chilled out with them for awhile! It was an amazing way to end the day! 

The photo of the day is all of us on the glacier! Good times! 

 The next is us at our gold panning adventure...

Reagan golfing.....

                The final one is a HUGE cake of the ship at the chocolate buffet. 

 

Juneau - 239/365

We hit the city of Juneau today! 

 We docked early again, around 7:00am (11:00am home time). There were two other cruise ships already docked, so we unfortunately had a far dock. 

Our excursion was meeting at 8:45, but Jim and I wanted to try to explore a little of Juneau, before we headed out of town to the rain forest and glacier. We got off right at 7:00 and hopped a bus to town. The ride was barely 5 minutes, but it helped a lot. We started toward the center of the city. It was a cute little city, not unlike most others, except really tiny and no buildings higher than maybe 5 stories. 

Jim, being a history buff, wanted to check out the Governor's Mansion, which was on the other side of town. We started hoofing it through the city, using our Google Maps app to help us along the way. What we didn't realize is, since Alaska is so mountainous, any staircase higher than 100 steps is listed as a "street". This helped us get quite confused..LOL! Where a street was supposed to be, it looked like it was just a cliff. Here, we would need to go down a huge flight of steps to continue on. The actual paved main roads were STRAIGHT UP! We've never seen anything like it! It was CRAZY! Needless to say, in the amount of time we had, we never did get right up to the mansion. We had a lot of laughs while trying to maneuver a stroller on those roads though. It was an adventure for sure! 

We made it back to the ship in time to go to the gardens and glacier. For this adventure it was, Jim, Reagan, Nana, Papa, Raymond, Jenn, Chips & Kathy. 

Our first stop was Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure. What an amazing place! It's a rainforest and botanical garden all in one! The minute you get off the bus, you see these tall tree trunks that have beautiful flowers growing out of them. They called them their upside down trees. The flowers were just GORGEOUS! From there, we hopped on an extra large golf cart for a ride through the rainforest to an overlook. As much of Alaska, the road went STRAIGHT UP through the forest, right next to cliffs with no guard rails. A few of us were quite nervous during our ride up! It was amazing though. We got to the overlook and were happy to see the ride was totally worth it! Breathtaking views overlooking the area of Mendenhall Valley. 

Soon enough, we were on our way back DOWN the mountain in our golf cart. The decent was just as scary as going up! I had the thought numerous times, "Don't fail, breaks...." 

Once we were safe at the bottom, it was off to the Mendenhall Glacier! WOW, words cannot describe how beautiful this was. We got there and took a wooded trail down to the glacier and Nugget falls. When you came out of the trees, there was a little beach area where you could walk right up to the gushing falls and take in the glacier. 

Jim went straight for the falls. He climbed up on some rocks and stuck his hand in the water. Obviously it was ICE COLD. We have never been able to get that close to a waterfall that BIG! It was really something! Between the waterfall and the glacier, you didn't know what to stare at. The glacier was just the brightest blue leading into it's own lake. There were HUGE icebergs in the water that had broken off the glacier itself. It was just the most amazing sight. We just wish we had more time there. It was that gorgeous! 

We eventually had to take the path back to the bus, where we got to see a porcupine in a tree! We didn't realize porcupines lived in Alaska, so that was pretty cool! 

Once we got back on the ship, Dora and Sponge Bob were greeting everyone as they got back on, so she was pretty excited.
After boarding, we all hit the back patio to grab some snacks, then went up to the sports deck to watch Raymond play in a soccer shoot out. It was supposed to be adults, but only two showed up, so it ended up being Ray and another guy, playing a game of soccer with a bunch of little ones. They formed two little teams and had a great time. It was great! We were all cheering and having a ball. 

Jim and Reagan even got a little swimming in after the soccer tournament!

After all that, we were all pooped, so we went to take naps before we got into Sawyer Glacier. 

This was just a ship drive by tour, so we planned on just having a balcony party. What a total HOOT! All 15 of us gathered in the Downard/Cvetkovic suite which had two balconies. We ordered room service pizza, wine, beer buckets and just hung out while cruising the amazing fjords to the glacier. It was just stunning! Just beautiful mountains, caves and waterfalls around every turn. 

The only bummer was, the bay of the glacier was FULL of ice, so we couldn't get up close to it. We still had an amazing time at our private party. 

After the party broke up, Jim, Reagan, Nana, Papa, Ed, Pam and I hit Spinnakers for a little dancing. Reagan totally got into boogieing on the dance floor. There was no one dancing, so she had the place to herself. She would grab one of us at a time to dance with her. Uncle Eddie even got in on the action! 

What a truly amazing day!! 

The photo of the day is Jim and I at the glacier. Reagan was snoozing, here...LOL!

 The next is the Zabel girls at the balcony party...

 Raymond playing soccer on the ship!

And finally, Reagan taking in a dance with Uncle Ed.

 

Ketchikan - 238/365

Today was Ketchikan day! 

 It was so exciting to finally see land after 24 hours of not. We all were up early peeking out our balconies just waiting for our first real peek at Alaska. 

We finally docked and just saw this tiny little town surrounded by mountains with misty clouds covering the tops. It was breathtaking!!! 

 We all got off the ship right at 7:00am and were off to the shops. There was a great little shop just steps from the ship. It was a little wet from a previous rain. It kind of had the look that more rain would come, so I got myself a water proof Alaska jacket. Luckily, I never needed it for the rain! It was beautiful!

Our first stop after shopping, was the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center. It was a little museum in the center town, that focused on Alaska history and wildlife. It had some extensive wildlife diorama's that were just amazing. Reagan loved the fish tanks, and seeing the stuffed bears. We also got a little peek at the lumberjack show across the street from the window on the second floor.

After we explored there, we met up with Pam and strolled around some back streets. We stumbled on a cool little area called, Creek Street. It was a historic area of town original to the mining days. Back then, it was the entertainment district of town. It's not an actual street as we would think of it today. The street was built up on wooden stilts on the side of a river. It was really something to see. 

There was a little inlet right there where we stood and watched the salmon jumping out of the water. Reagan was fascinated to see big fish jumping out of the water, at least once a minute. The tour guide later in the day, told us that it’s the female salmon that jump, because they are trying to loosen their eggs for breeding. Interesting! 

After a little more shopping, we were off to our “Lighthouses, Totems, & Eagles” tour. We got on a bus, that took us to a boat. The boat was really nice and pretty spacious. We all got up on the top deck, which was great. We almost had the whole thing to ourselves except for a few people. The tour itself was really relaxing. We got to see a bunch of eagles, baby eagles and seals. The totems and lighthouse part was a little weak, but we still really enjoyed it. 

Captain Rob was awesome and was full of knowledge of the area. He pointed out all these amazing houses, big and small, along the water. He told us a story about each one and the people that live inside. It was fascinating. 

We finally got out to some open water, where on the earlier tour they spotted a whale. Captain Rob got out a bright red trumpet and started playing away. He said that most times he plays it, a whale will pop out. Sure enough, about a half hour later on the way back in, we got to see a wild Humpback Whale!! It was amazing to see it's giant head pop out of the water! Nana got some amazing pictures of it. It was truly spectacular!

On the way back, they had some snacks for everyone. Reagan ate about 15 Oreos, but basically, just took them apart and licked the cream. They had some salmon spread for crackers, that everyone but me and Jim, enjoyed. We're not huge fish people. 

Captain Rob even called Reagan up to drive the boat for a few minutes! She just absolutely loved it!  A few minutes after Reagan was done driving, Captain Rob went back to his talk. He mentioned something being dangerous and said, "Almost as dangerous as letting a two-year-old drive my boat!" It was too funny!

After the tour, we explored Ketchikan a little bit more, then all went back to the ship to rest before dinner. 

After we got cleaned up for the evening, we were off to the Dora meet and greet! She was SO EXCITED! She ran right up to her and gave her the biggest hug! 

This evening, all 15 of us had dinner at Tsars Palace. It was delicious!!! We had some tables by the window where we did catch a glimpse of some dolphins and then a spout from a whale exhaling. You just always have to have your eyes open to the waters of Alaska.

After dinner, we went down to the Crystal Atrium where they were having some Neil Diamond music. We spent some time there, then took Reagan back over to Fizz where she could run on the dance floor. There was another little girl busting a move to the music, so they had a ball together. 

It was an amazing first day in Alaska! What a beautiful, beautiful state! 

The photo of the day is Reagan driving Captain Rob's boat...

The next is our favorite little Creek Street....

And finally, Reagan with Dora and Diego...

Sea Day One - 237/365

Today was a sea day! 

We were pretty pumped to spend the day exploring the ship and taking in a few activities.

We started with breakfast at the buffet with Ray, Jenn, Pam, Nana and Papa. 

After breakfast, we went to the Guppy Zoo for art class. They were painting with vegetables and nontoxic edible paints. The had potatoes, carrots and peppers cut up, so the kids could paint with them or use them as stampers. They had a great time! They hung up their art work for the kids to enjoy the rest of the cruise. 

 Next up, was story time with Dora. It was really cute! Dora came out with some assistants and read a story. The assistants acted out different parts of the story with props. It was funny! The lesson was all about trash and cleaning up after yourself. Reagan paid close attention and was telling Papa the whole tale later in the day. 

At the end, all the kids were invited to take a group picture with Dora. Reagan tried to sneak past her “bodyguards” and go right on stage. It was hilarious! 

After story time, it was warm enough to do a little swimming. They have a great little kid’s pool and Reagan just loves it. She went down the slide a couple times, but basically just played with the couple other little ones in the pool. They were little Spanish kids, so it was fun to watch them try to communicate with each other. 

After all the activity, Reagan was pooped, so she went down for a nap. Jim and I sat on the balcony looking for whales, with no luck. 

This evening, was Raymond’s birthday dinner! We all got dressed up for dinner at Cagney's Steakhouse. Ray and Jen got a special back room reserved for everyone and we had a great time! They had a lovely champagne toast for the birthday boy! The food was fabulous and the desserts were scrumptious! 

Since we were all alone, Reagan loved being able to roam around the room, while everyone finished their dinners and dessert. She's been carrying around packs of stickers since Seattle and calls them her “tattoos.” She loves passing them out. Everyone at dinner got "tattoos." Even both waiters got “tattoos” this evening. She is just having a ball! 

 She also loves going around the table asking everyone questions. Tonight, she asked what kind of food everyone likes. If the person at the far end of the table can’t hear her, she says, “Awww, they not paying attention to me.” It’s too funny! 

We ended our evening in the Fizz Lounge with some karaoke. Jennifer sang "Close to You" by the Carpenters for Raymond and did an awesome job! Reagan was her assistant during the song. She just stood up on stage with her, holding her hand. It was adorable!! 

Reagan attempted to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, herself. She started out great, but the music was a little weird, so it kind of threw her off. We were all still so proud of her! 

Jenn, Nana and I were going to sing Matchbox Twenty, but they ran out of time. 

We had a great first full day on the ship! We can’t wait for day two! 

The photo of the day is our whole crew (minus Sue) for the birthday dinner!

Next, is Jenny singing with her assistant....

And finally, Reagan's vegetable art...

 

Boarding the JEWEL - 236/365

Today was the day we FINALLY got to board the big ship! 

We have all been waiting on this day for over a YEAR! 

We knew the ship would be coming in, in the wee hours of the morning. We kept waking up in the middle of the night, peeking out our window. Finally, around 5:00am we got our first peek of her. She was so far out, that we weren’t even sure it was the ship. After waiting a few minutes, there was no mistaking it. Nana was on her balcony a few down and we both started jumping up and down!

It was just amazing to see it pulling up to the dock right out front. How they maneuver something the size of a small town is beyond me.

We all got up, packed and headed over to the pier around 11:00am. Check-in was a breeze and we were on the ship, having our first drink, in minutes. We were sitting in the lounge waiting for the rest of the crew, when my mom’s phone rang. She said "hello", then her face went stone cold and she said, “What!? OMG, are you serious!?” Here, Ed, doesn’t have a passport and didn’t bring his birth certificate with him. They told him he couldn’t board the ship without a birth certificate! So, basically, he flew all the way to Seattle for nothing, or so we thought! Thankfully, they just kept begging and requesting a boss, of a boss, of a boss, until they got to the captain of the ship. After much begging and an $80 birth record search, the captain cleared him to board!!! WOO HOO! We all went down to meet them in the Crystal Atrium and were clapping like crazy! We would have missed him like CRAZY! We can’t have family fun without Eddie! 

Reagan and Jim actually got a little swimming in today, too! They went after we got settled and had the whole place to themselves! They had a great time!
Our rooms were finally ready, so we headed down to check it out. The suite was amazing! Jim and I, Nana and Papa, and Reagan, we all had our own rooms which was wonderful! We really had a lot of space! There was actually a bottle of chilling champagne waiting for us. Papa, decided to crack it open for us! He popped the top and it blasted out of his hand, right past Jim's eye and into the ceiling. It actually made a tiny dent. We were absolutely howling! It was HILARIOUS! It was so loud it sounded like a bomb went off. He said he's never had one get away from him like that! LMAO!

Soon enough, it was time for the sail away party. What fun that was! They have a big BBQ by the pool, with music and dancing. Reagan was INTO it! Dora made a quick appearance, too! Reagan shouted, “DORA! Look there is her backpack!” It was adorable! 

After a while, we went down and did a little dancing, too! Reagan was a favorite of a little Asian lady named Donna. She danced and danced with Reagan. They had a good time! We didn’t think Donna would ever give her back! If Reagan went missing, we knew to check Donna’s room! 

This evening, we just all unpacked and hit the buffet for a snack. 

We had a full day, but a fun day! Especially, since everyone made it on board!! 

We can't wait to fully explore the ship and bring on Alaska!!! 

The photo of the day is Reagan and her buddy, Donna, from the sail away party.

Next is Eddie and Reagan! We are thrilled he made it on board! 

 

Exploring Seattle - 235/365

Today, we were just going to spend the day exploring Seattle.
 We took a cab over to the Space Needle. The ride to the top was only 40 seconds. It was amazing! The views were spectacular!
We got even more excited for our cruise, because there were two cruise ships docked. It was a little windy and chilly up there first thing in the morning, but it was still awesome. After we checked everything out, we walked over to the Chihuly Glass Museum. What an absolutely jaw dropping place! Every way you turned was a more beautiful piece of glass.
When we finished up there, we took the monorail over to Pikes Market. The monorail lets you out in a shopping area, where my mom, Jenn and I decided to take a restroom break. We walked in, hit the stalls and realized that the top of the stalls, only went up to shoulder height. Therefore, we could look over and talk while getting all put back together. It was bizarre!
 Next, we headed over to Pikes Market. What a crazy place that is! It was jammed packed! We did see the world famous fish throwers, which was cool. One came straight for my head! Yuck!
After the market, we wandered around Seattle looking for a bathing suit for Reagan, since I forgot hers. Looking for a bathing suit in Seattle, is not an easy task. We finally found one at Macy's. It's not the best, but it's better than not swimming.
Once we found the suit, it was time for lunch. We found a great place right by the Marriott at the pier, where we meet the ship tomorrow. Lunch was fantastic, the food was great! Although, Reagan fell asleep, sitting straight up at the table. It was hilarious! She did a nearly 20 hour day yesterday, with only an hour long nap. And this morning, was up at 6am Seattle time, so she was pooped!
After lunch, we all went back for some rest and relaxation, while we waited for Ed and Pam to arrive. We met them in the lobby of the hotel for some beers, then they went to get settled in their room.
We all met back up at the Hearth and Plow for dinner. It was yummy, too! We had a great time with a lot of laughs.
After dinner, Nana, Pam, Jim, Reagan and I went down to the Seattle Sky Wheel for a ride. It was super cool to see the city at night. We got to go around three times. Jim sat out the wheel, so Reagan had a good time looking for him as we went around and around. Mr. Fuzzy stayed with Jim to "keep him company". At one point, Reagan said, "I don't see Mr. Fuzzy!" She was quite concerned! LOL!
All in all, it was a really great day exploring the city. We are ready to get on the ship now though.
The photo of the day is all of us at the top of the needle.

 Here is Reagan sound asleep at lunch...

Safe in Seattle - 234/365

It was travel day today! 

The anticipation of going somewhere is fun, but travel day is really not all that fun. 

We got up and out the door by 6:40 to catch our 8:30am flight. Our bus was on time to take us from the hotel to the airport. Security was pretty easy, lines were long, but what else is new. 

The flight was fine, but a little bumpy in spots. We traveled over a few storms on the way. I HATE turbulence. Jim and Reagan don't even pay attention to it. Reagan did say one time, "the airplane ride is bumpy," then just laughed. I was thinking, "that's not funny." 

Reagan did pretty good on the plane. She slept for an hour, which was nice. Other than that, she played games on the iPad and colored. 

Jennifer had a little 10 year-old-girl next to her, that was traveling alone. Her mom lives in Seattle and her dad lives in Cleveland. She chatted up Jennifer the whole 4 hour and 40 minute flight! LOL!

We got to Seattle and headed for baggage claim. It took forever to find our carousel. AND, it took forever for the bags to come. We finally got situated and were off to the Waterfront Marriott! 

 The hotel is gorgeous and right across the street from the where the ship docks. We can't wait to see it sitting out there! Thankfully, our rooms were ready, so we went up, dropped off our stuff and then hit the town. 

We were only a 5 minute walk away from the aquarium and a bunch of waterfront restaurants. We had lunch at a place called Fisherman's Restaurant and Bar. It was a cool little place with an awesome patio overlooking the water and it sat right at the base of the big wheel. The food was excellent! The crab/spinach dip was to die for! 

After that, we walked over to the aquarium. It was a great little aquarium, small, but really nice. They had seals and otters which were a favorite for all of us! Reagan is all about otters since Myrtle Beach. Papa bought her a stuffed otter that she just loves. There was an otter bench that she kept going to sit on and would hug the little otter head. She made Papa sit with her, too! It was so cute!

After the aquarium, we took a boat ride around the harbor. It was so beautiful out and a perfect day for a cruise. It was interesting learning all the fun facts about Seattle and see the whole city skyline. We even saw a few California Sea Lion chilling on a buoy. 

After our boat ride, we hit the lounge at the hotel for a night cap and a snack. Then it was off to bed! It was a long, but fun first day of our adventure! 

The photo of the day is the Seattle Skyline from our Harbor cruise... 

 The next is Reagan and Papa enjoying the Otter bench. 

Alaska Preps - 233/365

Man, what a busy day! 

Jim went off to work to get some last minute stuff done. 

Jim's mom came over to hang out with Reagan, while I ran a ton of errands. They had a great time playing and her help today was MUCH appreciated! I am always behind in everything, but NEVER this behind! It was so nice to have Reagan taken care of, so I could "pound the pavement!"

My mom, Jennifer and I started our day at Casal's for a spa mani/pedi. It's like a regular one, but they do a few extra steps. It was wonderful! We had a great time! 

They have three pedicure stations right in a row, so we got to sit all together and chat about our trip. We picked similar colors, but they were three different shades. Jennifer went for the awesome bright color, my mom did a medium shade and I went for the darkest. It was so relaxing and a great way to kick off our trip. 

After that, we all went our separate ways for errands. I had to stop at YM Camera to pick up my pictures to submit to the Canfield Fair. Jim's mom is going to drop them off for me, since I won't be around. Yay! 

 After that, I headed to Khol's to buy a new pair of jeans and some tops for the trip. Nothing like shopping four hours before your supposed to be packed up for a trip. Ay, yi, yi!

 Jim got home, and we got our house-sitter all trained! This is the first time we're using a sitter, so hopefully, there will be no tripped alarms or lost dogs. We're just grateful to have someone stay at our house. It makes you feel better knowing someone is there taking care of everything. 

We made it out the door about a half hour late, but we did good. We stayed at the Cleveland Airport Marriott tonight, for our super early flight in the morning. Can't wait to head off to Seattle! 

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was just OK. We had a nice time though! 

The photo of the day is Jennifer, my mom and I at our mani/pedi!

Recovering Reagan - 232/365

Reagan and I, just hung around the house today.
Her last music class for this session was supposed to be this morning, but with her evening last night, we decided to skip it. 

She seemed OK this morning. Still no fever, which was a good sign, and she slept through the night. She was in a pretty good mood, maybe a little more sensitive then normal, but good! 

I made her toast for breakfast, she ate about half. We tried some yogurt and it was about the same. After breakfast, she just wanted to lay on the couch and watch Dora. We try to discourage watching multiple episodes of anything, especially in the summer, but when you aren't feeling good, there is nothing better. She layed there most of the morning, hugging her bedtime friends, covered in a blanket.
She was being really good, so I decided to get out my fall decor. I figured, once we get home it will be September. Once it's September, it's fair game! 

By the afternoon, she seemed to be feeling much better. She started playing more and more. By the time Jim got home, she was back to her old self. She helped him water all my flowers, while I cut the grass. 

I don't know what she had, but it seemed to pass rather quickly. Thank goodness! 

The photo of the day is Reagan sitting on the couch with all her pals! 

Sick Little Girl - 231/365

It was a busy day today! 

Nana, Reagan and I were off to meet Becky to pick up some of Reagan's Alaskan Cruise wear. Then, we went to Target for a few things. We had lunch at Cheddars and got home for naptime.

Reagan seemed a little "off" today. I just thought she was exhausted from the luau festivities. We got home and she was out as soon as her little head hit the pillow. When she got up, her and Jim were off to their last art class of this session to paint sea shells, while I was off to Inner Circle to meet Stacey for dinner. 

 It had been awhile since, Stacey and I got together, so it was nice to catch up. We traded lots of motherhood stories, over a few beers. Sharing mommy stories is always a hoot. We had a great visit and it was nice to see her. 

As I was leaving, I got a text from Jim that Reagan was sick. He said she seemed fine at art class, but they stopped to get something to eat after, and she threw up in her car seat. She was so scared that she was shrieking in the parking lot. He felt so bad for her. 

They got home and he got her all cleaned up. He took her outside to play chalk (one of her all time favorites) while he tried to clean up the car seat. When I pulled in, she was just laying on her tummy in the driveway with chalk in hand. She looked pitiful! 

 She suddenly started crying again and gagged up a little more fluid. I picked her up, hugged her and she spit up some more all down my back. Now, we were all a little scared and wondering what was going on. Jim and I decided to get her in the tub and into some jammies and see how she did.

 I took her up, got her a nice hot bath, brushed her teeth and put on some warm pj's. I took her temp and it was actually a little lower than normal. 

While I did all that, Jim ran up to CVS to get some Pedialyte. 

She always wants to "lay in mama's bed", so we went and layed down to watch TV and drink her juice. She seemed to be doing much better and eventually fell alseep. I cuddled her for awhile, just to make sure and eventually layed her down in her crib. She did wake up briefly when I set her down, so I pushed the button on her music machine in her crib. She rolled over and said, "Mama, I want it quiet please." I said, "OK" and turned it back off. She rolled back over and went right to sleep. Hopefully, she'll wake up tomorrow feeling better. It's so sad when they are sick. 

The photo of the day is my baby girl all curled up in"mama's bed." 

And here is her and daddy at art class...

 

Luau Day - 230/365

It was Luau Day! 

The first annual luau, to be exact! 

Adrienne, Jake, Matt, Nikki, Rachel, Ron, Jim, I and all the kids got together for our party! Rachel's mom was visiting, so she joined us, too! 

We had been planning our luau for months, since the winter, actually! We were originally supposed to have it in July, but we had to postpone till now. 

We got the idea to have a luau, from a favorite Disney Drink in the family, the Lapu Lapu. It's an adult beverage they have at the Polynesian resort. It's ultra strong and served in a hollowed out pineapple. Delicious! 

 I spent the day getting everything ready! It was so fun transforming the deck into Hawaii! We had grass skirts for the patio umbrella and tables. We had lots of parrots, palm tress and tiki guys, too! Adrienne found plastic pineapple cups so we could have our Lapu Lapus, in a similar style as at Disney! Nikki brought some fun photo props and our pink flamingo mascots! We even had a giant cardboard tiki, that we named "Freaky Tiki!" It was great, because we all contributed to the party and hope to add some new stuff every year.  

Our menu was, chicken kabobs marinated in Hawaiian Luau marinade, Hawaiian rice and Hawaiian sliders. Adrienne whipped up a yummy Hawaiian salad and Nikki made two awesome pineapple cakes! Rachel brought some Hawaiian flavored Handels, along with some birthday cake ice cream, for Jim! LOL! Nana even chipped in and made us a fruit plate. She made a palm tree out of a green pepper and carrot stick, coming out of a pineapple boat, surrounded by fruit! It was awesome!!! 

We had a great time and the kids enjoyed running around together! We had a little craft and pinata for them, too. The pinata was another tiki guy and they made little paper plate parrots. They loved them! It was so fun! 

Brinkley and Sadie had a fun time running around with the kids. They both were really good sports about their little luau headbands, too! 

 I had a basket of toys, back by the playset and by the end, you could tell a good time was had by all, because the yard was littered with toys! It was HILARIOUS! 

 I asked Reagan what her favorite part of the Luau was and she said, "The tree (palm tree) and eating 'din-or' with the kids." I think she loved her first experience as a "big kid" at the kids table! It was a really fun time and we all are already looking forward to next year!

The photo of the day is the whole crew with "Freaky Tiki!"

 

Grandmas & Golf - 229/365

It was quite a day today! 

Reagan got home from grandma's around 10:30. She was so excited to see Brinkley, it was cute! She told us all about her adventures at grandma's. They had a great time! 

Shortly thereafter, Nana, Pam and Paula stopped for a real quick visit. Paula never had the chance to meet Reagan, and wanted to say "hello" before heading back home. Reagan took to her immediately and loved showing her all her toys. Reagan took them out back and demonstrated all her climbing abilities on the play set, too! 

When they were getting ready to leave, Nana asked if her and Papa could steal Reagan for the day. They were going to go down and visit aunt Barb, great grandma, and grandad Downard. Barb has been staying with them since her surgery since they have a ranch. It was easier for her to get around. We said "sure!" They headed down there and had a great time! Reagan loves going down to visit and especially loves playing with Zeke! They had a great visit and Reagan even got to play in the corn.  They stopped for dinner at the Shale on the way home. When they pulled in, Reagan asked, "What's this place?" Nana said, "this is the Shale where we're going to have dinner." Reagan replied, "Oh NO! What happened to Tippy?" I think she might eat there once in awhile with Nana and Papa. LOL!

While Reagan was off on her adventure with Nana and Papa, I just did some chores around the house. I cut the grass, pulled a few weeds, watered the flowers, and did a little general cleaning. It had been a couple days, since I took the time to do any chores, so the house was ready for a little tidying up! Jim took advantage of the baby free day and hit the links. He called Greg and asked if he wanted to play, so of course, he said, "sure!" They were going to meet at Mill Creek to play. Unfortunately, when they got there, they couldn't get out, because of an outing. They called every course around and no one could take them. It was looking hopeless when Jim decided to try Stambaugh. Thankfully, they weren't busy, so they went there. Jim said he was happy because he hadn't played there in ages. It was fun for him, because he said he pretty much grew up playing on that little course. They had a great afternoon together and both played well.

The first photo is Reagan with her Great Aunt Pam and Paula...  

The next is Jim and Greg at the golf course....

The final one is Reagan and Zeke hanging out at Great Grandma Downard's....