Jim Florida, Cat Friends & Sip and Paint - 346/365

Today, Jim and Greg were off to Florida to see Jack Nicolaus play in the Father/Son Challenge in Orlando. They were flying out of Akron around noon and got to Florida at two.

The weather was nice and in the mid 60's which felt awesome after the cold here. 

The got checked into the Marriott. They loved it because it was five minutes from the course and five minutes from Disney. It had two rooms, so they each had their privacy. 

After they got settled in, they made their way over to downtown Disney for dinner. They decided to eat at the Rainforest Cafe. They said it was great! After dinner, they spent some time walking around Downtown Disney to do a little shopping. 

They had a great first day in Florida. 

Meanwhile back at home, Reagan and I headed off to Gymnastics, then did a little shopping. 

We stopped at PetsMart to get some necessities and some presents for the furry friends in our life. Reagan loves stopping in the "cat room" to play with the kitties. Today they had four young ones, so they were into playing with her. She had a ball! I couldn't get her out of there!

This evening, Jim's mom was coming over to spend some time with Reagan while a group of us girls went to a sip and paint class. We had 14 people going! How fun! 

Jenny, her four sisters and mom came. Along, JoAnn, Rachel, Laura, Sharon, Wanetta, Nana and I!

We had such a blast! We were doing a painting of a snowman at night. It was an adorable little scene. JoAnn had never painted before, so she was a little nervous, but she ended up doing great! Nana on the other hand, did great at painting, but got paint everywhere....on Jen's sister's glasses, wine glasses, her phone and even down the whole arm of her coat! It was hysterical!

After class, we decided to go over to Davidson's to have some snacks and a night cap. 

Fun night!

Jim and Greg at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney

 Their room!

 Jim's bed was the pullout green couch.

Nana and her painted coat at sip and paint.

 Our whole crew and our finished masterpieces.

Nana and I

Finally, Reagan and her little cat friends...

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...

 

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...