Priceful Memories

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Our Ports Of Call

George Town, Grand Cayman

Our First Port of Call was George Town, Grand Cayman. It was VERY touristy and I have NO idea what it would have been like before when pirates ruled the Caribbean (haha).

Not Quite the Black Pearl, but close

Usher, the pirate/model

We went on a Catamaran for a 3-stop Sail & Snorkel excursion

Our first stop: Stingray City

Snorkeling makes you look sexy!

My mom, sister & Kelsey enjoying the ride

Oh So Stylish!

The Captain caught Kelsey trying to steer and she didn't want to leave the driver's seat!

Kelsey, my mom, her brother Wes, my sis, and Tally hanging out on the catamaran

Tally FLIPPIN' Out

Sailing and Snorkeling at the Barrier Reef and another spot

We thoroughly enjoyed snorkeling and it made us want to get scuba certified. I wish someone had taken a picture of Kelsey snorkeling with us. We had her in a little kids floatie boat and each of us would take turns playing with her in the water while the others snorkeled. She loved being out there with us. We got to see an eel that was very pissed off (kinda scary), lots of fish (a few baracudas), starfish, shells, coral, etc. It was a very cool experience once I got the hang of it - I got a few mouthfuls of sea water though!

Cozumel, Mexico

The next day, we stopped in Cozumel. We found it to be very touristy as well, but still had the Mexican flare. My mom and I bought some Mexican ceramics too. I'd been needing a new dish for my salsa and what better place to get it than Mexico?

Brooke, Taylor & Carly with beautiful Cozumel in the background

Having a snack before our dolphin encounter. Kelsey loved the Mariachi band and was dancing in her chair. Oh how we miss Mexican food.

Suited up and ready to play with dolphins

Me shaking hands with the dolphin (these pics scanned in)

Kelsey really liked the dolphin, just not the life vest

Tally dancing with the dolphin

How do painters bring their tools to work without a truck? Problem solved.

The crew, minus my mom & Steve (Lisa's husband)

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Crusin' Here We Come!

Going to Miami...Welcome to Miami
We had the funniest thing happen on our flight from Dusseldorf to Miami. Our plane from Zurich to Dusseldorf was late so when it arrived, all the people with connecting flights to the US were rushed through the passport line. The lady had us all wait until everyone was together and then we RAN FULL SPEED through the Dusseldorf airport following her. There were old ladies, fat people, and of course we had the baby in the stroller - and were still behind the pack! Tally had to run ahead to see where they were going and then poked his head around each corner to make sure we were following. I wish I could have caught it on video. Then our flight was delayed and we waited for another two hours. So much for organized Germans. They're definitely fit though!
Happy Anniversary to us. I never thought we'd spend our 5 year anniversary FLYING. Kelsey did pretty well on the flights all things considered. She only slept 2 hours out of 10 and cried for maybe a total of 5 minutes. They were a long 5 minutes though. She didn't want to sit in the baby seat belt that Air Berlin has that attached to my seat belt but luckily that was only required during take off and landing. Kelsey showed off her new walking skills and made many friends on the plane. Luckily the guy next to us in bulkhead was nice because she kept pulling herself up on his legs and waking him up.

It was such a long flight that Kelsey started reading - and in German! Haha...she loved her little bassinet, when she could play in it.

Prodigy Child

Once we got to Miami, we rented a car and drove to Ft. Lauderdale. Our GPS was on "shortest distance," which we didn't realize for the first half of the drive. It wasn't until a few missed freeways, a lot of red lights and ghetto back streets that we pulled over and realized it wasn't on "fastest time." We met my parents at a restaurant and ate at 10pm, which was 4am our time! Kelsey, who had fallen asleep, woke up and had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and then went back to sleep. It was all but a dream to her :). It was so good to see my parents and to NOT be on a plane! Our hotel, Hilton's Ft. Lauderdale Grand Yacht Club, was very nice, especially compared to European hotels with similar price tags.

Our View

Kelsey played with kids from the Bahamas

My mom and sister, Julia with a tired baby

The next morning, after a run to IHOP and Target and a dip in the hotel pool, we boarded Royal Caribbean's "Enchantment of the Seas." My dad found my Uncle Wes (mom's brother), Aunt Mimi and their girls at the entrance and it was great to see them there. Brooke and Taylor have grown into beautiful young women with great personalities. They also brought along their friend Carly. I had seen them the month before we left for Switzerland (Feb 2007) but my family hadn't seen them for 6 years and Tally & Kelsey had never met them! They all got along really well with Tally and they loved playing with Kelsey.

Enchantment of the Seas

This ship was nice, but a bit outdated and smaller than the ship we went on with Carnival.We agreed that the next cruise we'd try to go on the biggest ship in the carrier's fleet with a mall and a wave pool. What was most important was seeing and spending time with our family.

Here we are during the ship's emergency drill. Don't be alarmed, they do it on every cruise. Kelsey did NOT like the baby vest so we didn't make her wear it. Even in the heat she was entertaining the crowds.

Playing with my family

Making complete strangers her biggest fans

Family snapshot

I just posted this picture to embarrass my sister. She's the queen of sweet poses.

Crazy Kelsey

Setting Sail

My sister Julia was such a good aunt. One night she watched Kelsey while I took a shower and Kelsey cried the whole time (little stinker). She still loves her anyways but Kelsey may never get cousins.
At dinner, we met up with Lisa & Steve. It was so heartwarming to see them and catch up with them. Lisa is always so thoughtful and brought us a gift for Kelsey and an anniversary card. My Grandma Nanoo or Grammie didn't end up making it on the cruise (the whole reason we planned it). She suffered some heart problems before we left and it would have been too taxing for her to come. We all thought about her daily and even got to call her, with all of us gathered around. It was sweet and a bit emotional. We're hoping to do a book for her with all the cruise pictures. The food on the cruise was pretty good and of course there was plenty of it! Here's some shots of us putting it down.

Kelsey playing with my Aunt Lisa before bedtime.

Soaking Up The Caribbean Sun
We had great weather (which the forecast had called for rain and we left the week after a hurricane) which meant lots of time in swimsuits and sun. The music was playing and it was relaxing to lay out and do nothing. My parents took Kelsey for awhile, which was a nice break.

Brooke & Taylor

Mimi holding Kels

The wonderful babysitters (and family) of the sleeping one

THE ROCK CLIMBING WALL

Formal night was the next day and Kelsey was dressed to impress! She had a crush on the head waiter (Abdullah from Turkei) and laughed, flirted, and even reached up for him to hold her!

Me and my mom

The Lovely Ladies

Pretty Girls!

After five years, we've still got it!

A not-so-good family photo with the sunset

My beautiful baby sister who is currently bike riding across the US

Julia and the Pirate

Friday, August 01, 2008

Family Reunion in the Caribbean

We've fallen behind with our blog posts...so in an effort to give you a taste of our upcoming blog series, here are a few pics to wet your appetites.

...flyin' on a jet airplane to Miami

...meetin' up with the fam in Ft. Lauderdale

...partyin' it up on a huge ship

...doin' more than just swimmin' with stingrays :-)

...snorkelin' around a barrier reef

...sailin' through the turquoise waters of the Caribbean

...playin' with a dolphin in Cozumel

...relaxin' on the sands of Hollywood Beach

...spotin' gators in the Everglades

...but best of all...spendin' quality time with our FAMILY!

Kelsey Speaks

April 14: Advertising works, even for kids. Kels just came up to me with my iPhone and the app "Team Umizoomi" ready to purchase. I asked her how she knew about it and she said, "this mom put team umizoomi on for her kids and it teached her kids and he did it all by himself!" I've seen that commercial too, but never realized how much she soaked in! I'm a sucker, I downloaded it.

March 14:

We were having a new babysitter come and Kelsey wanted her to play a game but wasn't sure she'd know how. "What language does she speak?" I said, "English." Kels said, "Oh no!" I said, "Kelsey, did you know that YOU speak English?" She looked surprised, "I do!?"

October 17:

We had our carpet pad replaced today and the carpet guy was using a heavy duty iron that smelled like burning. Kelsey came in and said, "Mom, is that dinner I smell?" Thanks Kels, thanks. Says a lot about my cooking!

October 11:

So I'm on the phone and the Kelsey does soemthing that makes Aiden cry. I tell Kelsey, PLEASE make it better, say your sorry and make him stop crying. She starts singing, "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine..." I started cracking up. I think she's a little too obsessed with Tangled.

February 19:
Family prayer
"Thank you that Aiden is incredible and that he could watch Incredibles with me. And thank you that mommy can change things."

February 9:
Family prayer tonight by Kelsey: "Thank you that mommy could be a good listener (?), thank you that mommy can be so stretchable...in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." I laughed and asked her what stretchable meant. She said it meant that I can read Aiden books and change his diaper, put us to bed, play with us, and wiggle us and throw us, stuff like that. Does that mean she's grateful I can do mommy stuff?

January 5:
While at my mom's house in California, she said, "I want to stay at Mimi's forever!" I asked, what about your toys and our home in Utah?" She replied, "I like Mimi's toys downstairs." "But what about your friends back in Utah?" She replied, "they can get in the car and drive really, really far and come see me!" She has it all figured out.

January 4, 2011:
Tally read aloud a sign as we passed a church, "Jesus is making a list." She said, "No, Santa is making a list, and checking it twice."

December 20:
She was sad after I scolded her for taking her brother's food. I asked her why she was sad and she said, "My life hurts right now."
"With Christmas just a few days away?" I said. She perked right up.

December 13:
Tal was going to bed early and we all jumped in bed to give him hugs and say goodnight. Kelsey said, "I like it when our whole family is in bed together. Dad, you're hot. But I like it hot. You're the hottest."

December 9:
I had made a big effort to go to the gym and literally had 30 minutes to work out and then be back before everyone came over for play group. I get Kelsey out of the car and walk around to get Aiden. Kelsey says, "Mom, you can't wear THOSE shoes to the gym!" I looked down and sure enough, I was wearing my Crocs. I'm so glad she saw it before I'd gotten Aiden out of his car seat, gotten the kids checked into day care, and stepped on the treadmill. 10 points for trying, right?

October 22:
"Mom, I don't wanna have a baby in my tummy. I don't want to have a baby doggy come out."

October 3:
"Mom, you shut up and I'll shut down." (playing around with the word shut up to get a reaction from me).

September 30:
"Aiden, you have pretty eyebrows."
August 15
While sitting in our master bathroom, Kelsey said, "You guys have two sinks."
Us: "Yes, we have two sinks, isn't that nice?"
K: "No, I don't like it, you need to take one out. I need more room to sit."
Tal: "When you get married, you can have one sink in your bathroom."
K: "When I marry Aiden?" (who she said she wanted to marry when we were talking about weddings the day before).
Tal: "You can't marry Aiden, he's your brother."
K: "I want to marry DADDY!"
Jess: "He's mine, darlin. Daddy is already married to mommy."
K: "My cousins?"
Us: (Laugh, gave up...we'll have this talk one day when she's ready) She is constantly playing with my bouquet of silk flowers in my room and saying, "I'm getting married mom." I guess she picked that up on her own...I don't think I've ever talked about the flowers with her!

August 11:
As I'm putting her to bed I said, "Kelsey, your little body is so tired because you didn't take a nap today and little bodies need naps."
"And sometimes big bodies do too?" she said.
After the gym today, we caught her doing her hand clasp thing. Tally said, "Don't do that, you're doing it so hard you're getting sweaty."
She replied, firmly, "Well I just back from the gym." (which is true, but she was at the play place at the gym)
May
(While shutting herself inside the kitchen pantry)
K: Alright Aiden, I'm going bye-bye to Lily's house, 2 seconds, and when I come back, I'm going to Zoe's house. Okay? Okay, see ya later.
(about 2 seconds later, she opens the door)
K: Oh, hi Zoe's house!
She has been cracking me up (mixed with a little worry) with her imagination. If you ask her what she did today, she'll say she played with her cousins. We don't play with cousins everyday, but she does, in her imaginary play. She'll tell Libby and Zoe to come downstairs to the playroom or come outside with her. Then I'll hear her telling one of them to go hide or that this doll is for them or that they are nice. She will also throw in Lily and Edie, and an occasional Colton, Carter or Spencer. But that's more rare. Maybe because she sees them the most? Or because they are boys.
She also loves to pretend she's mommy and I'm Kelsey. She'll ask me, "is your pee-pees coming, mommy?" (No, is yours?) She'll also say, "you want a treat Kelsey? Okay. " Or my favorite, "You go in time out mommy, no-no." When I ask what I did wrong she'll say it's because I hit Aiden. Shocking.
She is also such a good sister. When I was reading my friend Mary's blog today who just lost her baby girl and bawling, she came over and gave me a big hug and said, "it's okay mommy." Then, because I wasn't paying attention to the fact that Aiden had run out of Cheerios and was "asking" for more, she fed him her Cheerios. Then she came up to me and said, "mommy, Aiden wants more Cheerios." She's a great little mommy.
5/?- (while Tal is at work)
K: Mom, I want to tell dad I had fun at the doctor today - daddy, I had fun at the doctor today - oh you did - yeah, dr. M was really nice. Yeah? Yeah.
She has little conversations with herself as she imagines the conversation she had or will have. These crack me up. She does it all the time, I just need to remember to write them down.
5/29 -
K: Mom, don't let Swiper come swipe our new house, okay?
M: Okay, I will. I'll tell him, Swiper no swiping, okay?
K: Yeah!
She's on this kick where she says "everytime" or "everday" with almost every sentence. I guess she's learning how to tell time/days?
She also sings all the time, usually "I am a Child of God." How can I ever get mad at that sweet little thing?
February 1, 2010
J: "Kelsey, get up on the stool so we can wash your hands."
K: "Mommy, you need to pull my pants up first."
J: "Okay, sorry"
K: "You don't need to say sorry mami."
She's been saying sorry to EVERYTHING and so I think she's heard that a lot lately from me. It's funny to hear your own words come from the mouths of your little ones.
January 28, 2010
K: "I want to be baptized."
J: "You do? How old are you?"
K: "TWO! Aiden wants to be baptized too."
J: "You have to be 8 to be baptized."
K: "Oh, I EIGHT!"
A little boy was baptized last Sunday and she started noticing it more in her books about Jesus and we talked about it a few times this week. But the subject hadn't come up this day - she said it out of the blue.