SNOW?!

Today.

In our own back yard.

For all of 30 seconds.

Under the Sea

Third port of call; Cozumel, Mexico

We had the hardest time deciding what to do in Cozumel because there were too many great choices.  We had gone back and forth between 2 of the boat excursions; a swim with dolphins, which Jarom pointed out would be more memorable and a boat ride to a secluded island with snorkeling, volleyball and hanging out on the beach one that sounded like a low-key good time.  Another contributing factor to our indecision was thinking it might be a better price if we find the same excursion off of the boat.

We ended up deciding not to go through the boat and headed to Chankanaab Park on our own to swim with the dolphins.  This place was recommended by Jarom's brothers who had a nice time snorkeling there a few months ago.  I was impressed with Cozumel in many ways.  The hagglers were less "in your face" than on the Riviera and there were signs for tourist that helped us know upfront how much things like taxi rides cost and what is available for excursions.  At the park we found that the price was the same as the boat (plus the taxi ride) so that was a learning experience. 

Walking through the park, we observed the dolphin interaction exhibit for a while.  Then, we walked up the beach where there were lots of beach chairs for lounging, snorkelers in the water, a beach-side restaurant, hammocks in the shade and dive huts...3 of them.  The first shop offered us a dive for $65, the second beat the first with a $40 dive, but they didn't take American Express.  The third sweetened the pot $40 dive, American Express AND pictures!  We passed on the dolphins for another chance to dive, which truthfully, was only enticing because I wanted some pictures.  My throat was still hurting from the day before, my nose bruised from pinching it to pressurize my ears and I didn't trust that the Mexican guide would be as concerned with our safety as the guide from the resort yesterday.  Jarom was confident that he could save me from anything, so I kinda felt better.  (Jarom is confident about a lot of ridiculous things, so it was hard to be completely reassured by this.)

The dive was pretty spectacular.  We saw eels, stingrays, an octopus, lobster and pretty awesome fish.  We also swam into a cave that had fresh water flowing through the top of it, which makes the water look like shimmery, iridescent rainbows. Besides the fact that our guide wasted tons of pictures on having us pose by the underwater statues of the Virgin Mary and having a leaky mask that I had to clear every few minutes and endure the terrible water-up-the-nose feeling the entire time, the dive was better than Roatan.

When we got back and they made our CD and let us use their computer to email pictures to my Mom and kids.  We had to pay for internet EVERYWHERE, so this was a big perk too. The day ended up being well spent, we checked out the rest of the park before we headed back to the boat.   There were some trails with "flower gardens" and "Mayan ruin replica's" and a small area for sea animal shows where the announcer spoke Spanish the whole time except for after he asked a question and the audience went silent.

The ship really pushes the shopping at each port and I suppose most people enjoy that activity a lot anyway.  It just seems silly to me since most of it is junk and mass produced in China anyway.  Many of the stores were even chains that we have in the US, I don't see the draw.  We did have people to buy for back home, so we stopped in a couple shops before heading back to the ship for a VERY late lunch.

Celebrating Christ

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love the personal reflection that takes place on where we are in the light of Our Redeemer, how miraculous His birth, life and death were and the assurance that He will come again.  I do not do shopping, which mystifyingly, works out well this time of year.  I spend more time at home baking treats, which is great fun.  I think of others all year through by buying gifts when they more or less fall in my lap, and we never over do it in the spending category.

This year, Jarom worked most of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We got together with his family for dinner each night.  On Christmas Eve, Becky put out a tasty dinner and immaculately decorated dining and family room.  Grandma brought costumes for the Grandkids to play parts in the Nativity scene.  Layne enjoyed giving everyone a sniff of the expensive perfume, frankincense and playing the part of Joseph, Brik the wiseman who gave the gift of frankincense and Roxwell, the older Christ babe to whom was given the gifts.  The Bagley's do a very loose reenactment where the kids take their own artistic liberties.  It is always nice to reiterate the roots of the holidays in this humble production.

Christmas Morning, the kids waited for me to arise from my edgy slumber (why on earth am I so jittery about the gifts when I know what every one of them are?)  Jarom had a few minutes to spend with us as we found our presents from Santa, unloaded stockings and unwrapped what was under the tree.  It was a little face paced for our standard.  I grew up where opening presents was THE activity of the day and it was to last as long as possible.

Layne has asked Santa for a ridiculous item each year and has never been disappointed, despite the fact that he has never gotten what he has asked for. He taped a note and a movie to the front door asking Santa to watch it and return it by tomorrow.  He also reminded Santa that he wanted " A uledric scodr."  He ended up being quite impressed with his Air Hog, though declaring it is not quite as good as a motor scooter.

Brik asked for a robot, which was off the wall.  He got one, however.  9 inch, rolls around on the floor with poseable arms.  Both of them have already run out of batteries, which is a sign of rotten toys.

The afternoon was full of playing.  Nana's trucks were a hit, and those silly little Bakugans.  I played Connect 4 with the boys and put together a floor puzzle with Brik.  It was nice to just focus on playing and let the rest go for the day.  I used to miss my family terribly at Christmas time because the in-laws didn't do it quite right.  Now that we have the kids, I love staying put, enjoying the comforts of home and the Arizona weather.

Discovery Dive

Second port of call; Roatan, Honduras

Our dinner table mates had set up a scuba diving excursion through a resort on the island and we talked them into letting us tag along.  Scuba diving was always a hobby we had planned to take up once out kids were older and we have more time and money to devote to hobbies.  The car ride to the resort was educational, we got stopped by the police, witnessed the crazy, anything goes kind of driving and got to see the heart of the island where things aren’t so glitzed up for the tourists.

The resort, Bananarama, was awesome, very rustic, yet classy and personable staff.  We got suited up for our discovery dive, this included wetsuits (long one for me because I am extra wimpy about the cold), weight belt, goggles, vest and air tank.  The guide gave us the beginner scuba course, which included how to clear your mask, find optimal buoyancy, equalize pressure, monitor your air and find and replace a lost regulator.  It all seemed pretty straight forward until we got in the water…

Jarom went down once and never came back up.  I, on the other hand was shooting up every 30 second in total panic.  This was a shock to me because I have always felt pretty strong in the water.  The main battle was how difficult it was to breathe.  I am a nose breather, and to force every breath through my mouth took a whole lot of effort.  Then the bubbles and the murky water from all the sand our group was kicking up; iy, yi, yi!  I thought there was no way I was going to be able to do it.  The instructor was very patient and supportive.  His best advice was to just keep going down.

I ended up making it through the entire dive and really liking it.  There was a reef that we explored that was basically a huge wall with all kinds of plants and little creatures living on it.  The scenery distracted me enough from the discomfort that I was able to relax somewhat.  There was one time that Jarom knocked my mask off and I thought I was going to die.  Then, when I realized I wasn’t dieing, I was sure I was going to kill him, but somehow we both made it through alive.

The one thing I was bummed about was that, with all of us in the water, our camera was left behind and we were not able to get photos of the whole experience.

Caribbean Blue

First port of call; The Grand Cayman Island.

Look at that water!  It was amazing, so beautiful and colorful.  We tagged along with some bartenders from The Royal Caribbean, did a lot of walking and found a good snorkeling spot around a sunk boat.   We stayed away from the crowds on 7 mile beach and enjoyed a relaxing sunbathing session on a more secluded beach while our bartender friends chased girls and found us a ride back to the harbor.

We are not too good about remembering to take pictures, we took this one on the tender ride to the ship after our day of fun at The Grand Cayman Island.  So there I was fresh faced and fancy free.

Deja Vu

Same cruise line.
Same year.
Same guy.

You are My Sunshine

5 years ago I endured a super speedy delivery of one precious peanut. Sleeping through the night from the day he was born, no joke!  Brik is the most charming of little boys.  His brown eyes make my heart melt and his smile warms my soul.  This kid has got mad empathy skills, he radiates peace and love.  I am infinitely honored to be his mother.

Baby Signing {Play}

Happy Darn

Thanksgiving was extra special this year because I got to do all the cooking and we had wonderful dinner guests.  My sister Kate, who is my favorite person in the world.  I think she likes me too as I am one of the only people on her facebook over 30 without a limited profile (I did have to fight for it though.)  My dad, who is super funny, outgoing and laid back, was the life to our party.  Kate's friends Michelle and Abby made the trip from Iowa too and they were lovely visitors.

Our Menu

Free Range, Brined and Oven Roasted Turkey

Mashed Potatoes and Turkey Gravy

Orange-Vanilla Bean Cranberry Sauce

Multi-grain Yogurt Loaf

Sizzled Green Beans with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts

Sparkling Grape Juice

Cranberry Walnut Tart

Pumpkin Pie

Instead of after dinner TV time, it was after dinner computer time.  Oh, how things have changed.

Once the food settled, we headed out for our traditional Thanksgiving hike. We have really only done it one other year, but I really think it will make for a great tradition.

Black Friday was just as pleasant as we enjoyed a horse trail through the mountains by Saguaro Lake.

Afterwards, Dad taught Brik how to ride his bike sans training wheels, as is tradition, set a couple years back with Layne.

Each night we played games, mostly The Great Dalmuti.  It was hours full of jokes, texts and laughs.  My dad has quite a few phrases that have become part of his everyday vocabulary.  Many of them are not the kind that you'd want your kids to repeat.  Layne was walking around the house saying "happy darn, happy darn."  We asked him what it meant and where he got it from.  "Papa always says it."  It took us a while to realize that the phrase "I'll be darned, " which Dad says in his Iowan way " All be darn, " was translated by a 7 year old as "happy darn."  It was a darn happy weekend, so we just went with it.

National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium

Who knew Dyersville, IA could have a museum that rivals the Arizona Science Center? Mom took our family here when we were visiting in September. It was a great find, and I would love to go back.

The inevitable-battle for a family picture

Sharks, Catfish and Alligators

Crawdads

Build and Float your own boats.

Baby Signing {Animals}

Picture Perfect

At Roxwell's first well visit of his life, his doctor was so intense when he was looking him over.  Jarom and I looked at each other with worried glances because he had surely found that something was wrong with him.  NOPE.  After the thorough examination he announced the astounding perfection that my babe was to behold.

We were shocked to learn at age 16 months that this very perfect being had brain damage from birth.  Because of the atypical posturing issues that come with this condition, it can effect the way the bones develop.  Roxwell had his first x-rays yesterday and his bones are picture perfect.  What's more, the orthopedic surgeon was confident that his sitting posture would easily improve on it's own.

Brik on Allergies

“I have four allergies and Roxwell has four allergies.”

What are your four allergies?

“I have an allergy to mosquito bites, cats and dogs and wetting the bed.”

What is Roxwell allergic to?

“To mosquito bites, peeing in his diaper using his left hand and using his left foot.”

What about Layne?

"He is allergic to one thing, not being nice to me."

1 Project Down, 789, 341 To Go

I am so grateful to my parents for giving the boys this incredibly generous and equally useful gift for their fall birthday's and Christmas.  They love it.  Jarom has been building it in every free moment he has had for the past 2 months.  They were always excited to play on the newest part, even when it was just a platform to climb on.  Today it was officially completed and all the boxes and tools were cleared from the scene.  With our shed moved back to the side of you house, the lovely weather we are having, this play-set erected and my garden in full bloom, I find myself being drawn to our backyard continually.

Gone Fishin'

Little by little I am getting to this family record keeping business.  These pics are from our Iowa trip back in September.  The kids days were jam packed with activities.  Papa loves to take them out fishing.  He put Layne "in charge of the boat."  This is music to Layne's ears as he nuts about control.

Brik was pretty grossed out by the fish and the worms and the water, so pretty much everything fishing.  Layne felt okay about touching a fish, but not holding it in his hands. 

Layne was okay with touching the fish, but wouldn't hold one in his hands.  Papa was impressed with his increased patience waiting for a bite.