The Ship and Our Room

We were a little worried going into the cruise about the cramped quarters in the stateroom, but we made it work and had some fun with it.  We were able to fit all of our suitcases under the main bed.  Two boys slept on the bed that folded down over our beds and one slept on the couch that flipped over.  We enjoyed the towel animals that Dee our room service guy made and loved greeting him every morning on our way to breakfast.  We enjoyed eating in the dining hall and in the buffet on the Lido deck and even at the poolside grill.  We had a beverage package, so we were able to have wine with dinner and lemonades and sodas once or twice a day.  The other activities we enjoyed included line dancing, working out in the gym, shuffleboard, basketball, movies, dance shows, magic shows, the hilarious clean talking comedian, and some educational talks.  Brett joined a basketball shooting contest and also a golf driving contest to hit the dolphins in the pool on the fly with a nine iron.

Dee and his pleasant smile made the boys feel at home.

Dressed to impress.

Our favorite towel animal, the monkey!

Ready for bed in the upper bunk.

Elephant with Joy's sunglasses, styling.

Shooting baskets on the sport court.  We all participated in a knockout competition of PIG earlier.

Shuffleboard war with our own rules.

Swimming was an often enjoyed activity for the cousins.

Ready to Begin our Vacation- off to Vancouver

The day finally arrived that we were going to get to use our passports by venturing into Canada.  We left a day early so that we would have a day to spend in Vancouver where the Winter Olympics were held in  2012 and where the Women's World Cup of Soccer was about to start.  We had planned to do the Urban Adventure Quest, but we were not able to acquire a SIM card for our cell phone in Canada, so we made due with a plan that turned out to be just right for the weather and our boys.  Right outside our hotel was English Bay and a beautiful beach that lots of people were at long into the night.  We had instructed our children that they could put their feet in the water, but not sit in the water...well that lasted a whole 10 minutes before they were pretty much soaked.  Turns out that the water was warmer than Santa Cruz, CA!  Which is surprising given how much more north we were.  The boys wanted to return to the beach the next day which we did, but then we ventured into Stanley Park and enjoyed walking along the water, exploring the tidepools, playing on the playground, and running in the large grass areas.  Then we illegally piled five of us into a cab to drive across town to the Canada Place where our boat was leaving (Brett decided not to make us walk the 1.3 miles with all our bags...good call).

Is this a tuba, a big C for Canada, or whale?

A reflection from the C...

Packed and ready to go, just waiting for the plane.

I brought the war with me into another country.

Our cab driver was in such a hurry to get rid of us, we couldn't even get a picture of the Welcome to Vancouver sign.

Documenting our voyage in the sand at Stanley Park.

Have you ever seen a tree that big at the top of a large building?

The sun is setting, and it is about 9:45pm!

You wouldn't believe all the sea shells we found at this beach.

It is not quite Stonehedge, but it looked really cool at sunset.

This nice couple blew bubbles for our boys for about 20 minutes and they enjoyed running after and trying to pop every one of them.  We became the entertainment for a good number of beach folks.

You can get your legs wet, but let's not...

...get fully soaked...how soon until he is cold?

Sunset over English Bay.

Our two bedroom hotel...perfect for the night, and we got to watch some of the Warriors game while we ate kabobs.

Tim Horton's for breakfast...a Canadian staple which has influence in Michigan as well.

Mine, I caught this fish, and I am going to eat it...I am not sharing with you seagulls.

Stalking some real Canadian geese.

A truly adult-sized trapeze, get ready for the double back twisting layout landing...

The rings are a lot more challenging than they look, no T shaped formations by Dad.

...we're getting closer to catching one and they haven't turned to attack us yet.

CC Practicum

Joy took the boys with her to Fresno this year for the practicum for CC.  She was unable to attend the local one because of how it fell with our upcoming vacation plans.  So they drove down, stayed in a hotel, swam in the pool, and enjoyed their classes.  Garrett took a literature class while Bryce and Griffin did a combined geography and drawing class.  Joy was able to meet up with some friends that we knew from camp and previously from our hometown who had moved.

African topography maps by the boys.

Garrett was a part of the literature presentation at the end of the practicum.

the Geo-Drawing class

June 2015

June was a month of many firsts.  For the first time ever, the five of us entered the state of Alaska as a part of a seven day cruise with Brett's family.  The eleven of us enjoyed excursions, food, games, and family time.  There was even a dance competition that two famous people from Brett's family participated in.  The Golden State Warriors won the NBA Basketball championship bringing the first basketball title to the Bay Area in 40 years.  For two of our children it was there first time in another country as we entered Canada three times on our cruise as well.  We had other fun events as well including the start of practice for summer league baseball for Garrett.