While we were away

Micah & Savannah had a lot of fun with Grandma & Papa while we were away.  And I know that Grandma & Papa had fun with the twins.  We really enjoyed hearing the stories of their adventures.  And we were very thankful for such great baby-sitters.

 Here Micah and Savannah are watching "shows" on Grandma I-pad.  Grandma had 5-8 more baby games on her I-pad by the time we came home.

 Here is Papa and the twins at McGough Park.  They went day and feed the turtles.  I can tell they all had a lot of fun.  Micah's smile is my favorite in this picture.

 Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the twins.  We truly appreciated it.

After the cruise Mom & Dad stayed for another 3 days and we all got to spend time together.  It was nice to have them stay longer.  And we filled each of our days with adventure, food, and fun.  On Sunday we the boys and I went to Largo Nature Center.  It was fun walking the boardwalk and looking at wild life. 

On Monday we all went to the Manatee Viewing Center.  We saw 2 Manatees right under the bridge.  But we saw a dozen or so swimming in the distance.  There also had largo tarpon in the water that were fun to watch. 

On Tuesday we drove down to Saint Petersburg and walked along "Coffee Cup Trail".  Our destination was The Pier.  It was a beautiful clear day, so we had great views on top.  We then walked back on the trail, had a picnic at a park, and then spent a couple of hours on the beach.  The twins had a lot of fun chasing the seagulls and playing in the sand.  Jeanne and I played freebie. And Tom took pictures.  I was a great day.

Wednesday was a sad day because Grandma & Grandpa had to "go on the airplane".  We took a walk in the early morning.  Then after a shower I walking into the front room and saw this.... I think the twins and all our adventures wore the Grandparents out!!!!

Thanks again for the wonderful visit.

OUR CRUISE

Leif and I leaving our appartment to go crusing!!!

 Leif and I were super blessed to be able to go on a Carnival Cruise for 7 whole days.  Leif's Mom and Dad flew down to watch the kids for us while we were away.  It was nice to have a vacation with just Leif and I, and to know that the twins were in very good hands. 
We left out of Cape Canaveral and spent a day in Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maartin.  Our ship was colossal!!!  We found enjoyment upon our ship by playing mini-golf, going down water-slides, ping-pong, Foosball, working out in the gym, swimming, hot-tubing, watching movies, watching live entertainment, dancing, relaxing, and eating.  YES eating is always the best part of a cruise.  Our ship had 24 hour ice-cream, pizza, hot coco, and room service.  One formal night we enjoyed  Lobster and crab.  Some of the appetizers' we ate were shark, alligator, and frog legs!!!  The food was impressive.  And the posts were impressive as well.   


Us getting on the ship



 Our first stop was the Bahamas.  We were only there for 5 hours so we walked to Paradise Beach.  That's right... we walked almost 2 miles each way but didn't have to pay for a taxi!!!  It was fun walking because we burnt off our morning breakfast, and we got to see a lot of the island.  Paradise Beach was stunning.  The water was turquoise blue, with white sand, and awesome waves.  Leif and I got to have fun in the waves as we body-boarded and crashed in the sand.  It was a very pleasurable day

Our second stop was St. Thomas.  Again we walked downtown were we shopped, explored, and climbed 99 sleeps to an old mansion and great view.  After see the sights downtown, we took a taxi to a beach at a Marriott Hotel.  We therefore got to swim in the beautiful ocean, along with a pool and hot-tub.  It was a very delightful day.   

Our last stop was St. Maartin.  We got off the ship at 8:00 a.m and rented a scooter for the day.  The Island is divided into two parts, the Dutch side and French side.  It was interesting seeing the difference in sides.  We first stopped at some beautiful beaches and sites.  Then we headed over to Loterie Farms were they had an "Extreme Zip-line".  Neither Leif or I have ever zipped line, so we were eager to do this together.  We don't have any pictures, since we didn't want to take our camera.  But it was so much fun.  The guide took us and 3 other girls up to the top of a jungle.  He explained to us how to zip, then he let us go.  Leif and I didn't see him or the other 3 girls after our first zip.  We therefore were alone together in this amazing jungle going over 13 different zips.  The last couple of zips were 100 meters or longer.  We were going upside down, backwards, and crazy.  It truly was a blast. 



This was our very first zip-line... they only got longer from here.



After zipping, we drove to Maho Beach.  It is a beach that is right in front of the airport.  We therefore got to see a dozen planes fly over us and onto the landing strip.  It looked like they were going to hit us!!!  And when a plane flew off, we felt so much wind.  We spend a couple of hours watching planes and playing in the waves.  It was also fun to see the French who were on the Beach.  It was a very thrilling day.

Can you see Leif swimming in the Ocean, and the plane coming in.??

 We loved our posts and we loved our cruise.  It was such a nice vacation.  I am so thankful that we were able to go and spend time together.  We are thankful our parents came to watch the twins.  We had so much fun and got to spend some very needed quality time together. 



Eating frog-legs





Our crew singing good-bye to us.



Saying good-bye to our wonderful cabin Stewart