Thanksgiving Cruise with the Footes - Part 2

The kids woke up at 6 am (so much for sleeping in on vacation!).  We kept them happy in the room by letting them be on their ipads.  Finally, at 8 we went and got breakfast.  After that, Maryn came over and played with the kids.  The neighbors ended up knocking on the wall because they were too loud.  That's one tough thing about cruises - it's hard to find good places for kids to just be kids and the rooms are so small.

We took the kids to the kids club as soon as it opened.  Then, we all hit up trivia and some of us went to a cooking demonstration.  We got in some mini golf too before going to pick the kids up for lunch.

Nap time!

Today was a day of rough seas and was cloudy and cold.  I needed a nap too so I stayed with Emmalyn.  It took her 30 minutes to fall asleep and then slept forever.  At 4 she was still sleeping so I started getting ready for dinner.  The adults were going to go to dinner so Taylor was awesome and took the kids to the dining room on his own! (with Preston and Maryn)  I was impressed because we hadn't even eaten in the dining room yet.  Way to go, Taylor!

Also celebrated Tammy's birthday

It was a really nice dinner in their steakhouse and we were stuffed!

After dinner, we went back to Taylor's room and got all the kids and went to a Hunter Hayes concert.   - - So, a few weeks ago Peter started telling me about issues that were happening with this ship.  Apparently one of their engines went down and Carnival had to make some adjustments to itineraries.  Well, by the time it was our cruise they changed our itinerary.  The ship could still function without one of the 6 engines but it just couldn't go as fast.  Because of that, they cut out Grand Cayman and Jamaica (Which I was super excited to visit because we've never been there!)  And instead, they added a stop in Costa Maya, Mexico.  So, we went from 3 ports down to 2 and now both of them were in Mexico.  It was a quite a disappointment.  To compensate, they gave us a little money to use on board per cabin and also gave us 20% off a future cruise.  Hardly compensated in my opinion.

Anyway, another thing they did was this surprise concert with Hunter Hayes.  I'm not a country fan so I didn't know who he was but oh well.

Emmalyn was tired and not fully into the concert

In the beginning Emmalyn kept holding her ears but Max was excited about it.

By the end, Emmalyn was dancing, wooing, and cheering and Maxwell fell asleep.  :)  (Although when he woke up he said he wasn't tired and he only yawned a couple times.)

After the kids were in bed, I went and got some yummy pizza for us.

The next day the kids slept in a little bit later.  We again did the buffet for breakfast.  We did mini golf until we could go drop the kids off at the kids club.

It was pretty windy

Emmalyn walking along the edge

Emmalyn helping Maryn walk along the edge

The kids having an awesome time at the kids club.

While the kids were playing, I read in the sun and Peter gambled.  We picked the kids up and had lunch at the buffet.

mmmm ice cream!

Peter was on Emmalyn nap duty today so I took Max to play in the water.  He did the hot tub, slide and pool.  He was really excited that he was big enough to do the water slide!

Trying to rinse out the salt water from the pool.  

Peter showed Maxwell the ice cream cone section so he asks frequently for some.

When Emmalyn woke up, we took the kids to watch the cruise staff perform the "cat in the hat" and then we played cards with the Footes.

At dinner it was clear the kids were both super tired.  Emmalyn barely ate.  Max really wanted to go back to the kids club so we let him and put Emmalyn to bed.  I ended up getting a call from the kids club and Maxwell is crying and asking for his time (he had asked for 40 minutes) to be done.  He said he was afraid, but couldn't tell me why.  So, I went and pick him up.

At the kids club, having fun

When I picked him up, he wasn't ready for bed so we went to go find some of the pics the ship photographers had taken

There wasn't much for Max to do at this time so I took him to watch karaoke.  After he watched one person, he told me he wanted to do it.  I was shocked.  I said maybe he could do it tomorrow.  But, there ended up being space for someone to go so we came up with a song that he knew ("Ride" by 21 Pilots) and he totally did it - no fear!  Who is this kid?!?!

Video - maxwell's first time singing karaoke.   So sweet - he was well received by the audience.

He had gotten his face painted at the kids club

After Max was in bed, I went to walk the halls and get my 10k steps in.  I'm really trying to be healthy and make good choices and not lose the progress I've had on losing weight.  I'm also trying not to eat as much because feeling stuffed is just not fun!

Emmalyn sleeping in her crib (she didn't have much room).  I didn't realize how much she talks in her sleep!

Last week of February 2016

I got a ton of new kids books through USBORNE Books thanks to an online party I hosted.  I'm super excited!  (I'm so glad my kids like books!)

Max at swim lessons.  They weren't able to use one edge of the pool so he had to hold onto one of the teachers like a monkey because he can't touch the bottom of the pool

Max and the other kids in his class, some were 2 heads taller! (He's wearing blue and right in the middle in front of the kid in a green shirt.)

He wanted to get some seaweed strips at the grocery store so I let him (He didn't really understand what he was getting) but kuddos to him because he actually ate it and liked it!

Skyping with Grandpa and Nana.  Max wrote them a note.

Silly boy ready for bed.  He's been putting one of his blankets on top of his pillow.   He really likes soft textures for his blankets and pajamas.

Rocking his BYU shirt

Emmalyn was NOT happy that I put this dress on her.  I asked her to wear it long enough for me to get a picture.  She never wore the dress again.  I don't really understand why she didn't like it.

One night this week, Emmalyn tossed and cried for hours. Finally I figured out her mouth was hurting her, she must be teething her 2nd year molars! So I put some lavender on and gave her Tylenol.  Poor girl.

Maxwell's Kindermusik class and their instruments.  Daddy helped him make one that sounded sort of like a duck quacking.  It was a cup, a string, and a wet napkin.  It was pretty cool.

Max had a friend birthday party at a bounce house place and he was all about it and had a great time climbing up some BIG houses.  (He's kid on the left)

Although he liked the bounce houses, he was constantly drawn to the video games and I had to keep pulling him away.

We played air hockey.  It's sure fun to hang out with this kid (and so weird that he's grown up enough to do things like this with him!)

Emmalyn wanted to ride bikes with the big kids but the scooter is the only one she can ride.

My cousin Brandy was in town so we all went downtown to have breakfast and hang out with her.  It was soooooo fantastic to get to spend time with her.  It's been a long time!

Peter swapped with me so I could actually be in a picture

We walked to Klyde Warren Park (a cool urban space over the freeway in downtown Dallas) and the kids played in the kids area

Emmalyn wanted to sit and listen to story time

Such a monkey with no fear

They loved it when dad spun them around

We tried a bahn mi sandwich from a food truck.  It was good.

Enjoying some Doritos (so messy!)

More houses going up on the street behind our house.  I miss our great wide-open view when none of these were here... :(  The progress on the house behind us is going so slowly! (which stinks because of the endless construction noise but also good because I want to delay having a neighbor back there as long as possible)

Dressing for spring in hopes that it comes faster!

Even though it's not yet spring and the grass is brown, the weather is warm enough to play outside in with shorts and t-shirts when the sun is shining brightly.