Even more Cruisin' with the Floyd's!

If I ever finish putting these on here it will be a miracle! I mentioned I was cutting my blog entry short because I was heading the Heber to buy a Christmas tree tag... well by the time I got there, they had sold the 6 they had when I left!!!! Drats! It was still a fun ride... and I listened to Christmas music on the way...and I was alone so no one told me it was too early!

Now a few more pictures....

This was on "formal night"... we got to dress up and hang out with Mickey Mouse!

Dan and I on the excursion in Cozumel, Mexico. We went out to a beach were Dan and McKenna got to go snorkeling... and on the way we got to stop and see some scary creatures in a "lagoon"...

McKenna and Courtney getting excited about heading to the beach!

How scary is this guy?! The tour guide started blowing a whistle and all of a sudden here they come... Dan asked them how they could "call" them in... and the guy told us they "used to" throw in chicken... if you ask us, they still do! Just not when tourists are around!!!!!!

This is more like it! Scary prehistoric creatures... or white sandy beaches and palm trees?!

Courtney and I played on the beach for about 2 hours while Dan and Kenna snorkeled... they had a blast and so did we!!!! Can she pose or what?!

This Courtney at dinner with her very favorite dessert! A Mickey Mouse ice cream that they would put sprinkles on... she loved it! As a side note... on the way back to the ship from our fabulous beach excursion, a palm tree blew in the opening on the side of the truck and smacked me in the face. Apparently it hit my eye hard enough to burst a blood vessel, and I look like a freak! What other vacation could I possibly go on, where I could use a "pirate patch" to hide my blood red nasty eye... and no one would think anything of it?!!!!!

Me and my pirate girls!!! This was at dinner in the restraunt "Animators Palate"....
Dan and the girls... I've never seen Dan as a "bad boy"... as long as this is as "bad" as it gets!

Crazy Courtney... doing some karate moves as a "pirate" in our room! Then we went up on deck for the "Pirates IN the Caribbean" party! Seriously... can you believe my luck! I got to hide my scary ugly eye...what a vacation!

I will do the rest later!

More Cruisin' with the Floyd's!

I should have finished putting pictures on here the other day... but I got distracted and didn't think about it! Here are some more of the fun ones!

This is Courtney in her life vest during our mandatory safety drill... those 12 foot waves are a little much... I don't think plugging your nose is going to help!

This is the "warning" posted at Castaway Cay (Disney's private island) So... what you're saying is pretty much anything could attack me... and we've been warned?...who wants to go swimming?!

And this is a picture of our cruise ship.... just kidding! The "Black Pearl" has found a home in the lagoon at Castaway Cay! It kind of goes with the theme of Pirates IN The Carribean.

Our cute little family with Mickey Mouse on the beach... wow, the sand sure looks nice right now!

Courtney with her ice cream cone... she loves this picture and wanted to make sure I posted it!

Courtney and Snow White....

Courtney with Belle...

Courtney and McKenna at dinner one evening... you can't tell... but we were a little sea sick!

I will post more later... I just found out I have to drive to Heber to buy a Christmas tree permit! That is so random... you have to believe it's true!

Cruisin' with the Floyd Family!

Our Disney Cruise finally arrived! We booked it so long ago, I think even Dan and I were beginning to wonder if we were really going! However, it was worth the wait... and here are the pictures to prove it!

We left on Friday, October 24th and flew to Orlando, Florida. We stayed the night at the Hyatt, and the next morning rode in a very "Happy Bus" sent by the Disney people to pick us up, and headed to Port Canaveral. (#1 Courtney on the plane reading the "safety brochure". Her face

says it all!) (#2 Us on the patio at the hotel) (#3 The girls getting to watch a movie on the way to the ship!)

On Saturday afternoon we set sail on what was bound to be a great adventure! Our first stop, was Disney's private island, Castaway Cay in the Bahamas! It was so great! We played on the beach and got a little sun... McKenna was in heaven!

October...

Hello... finally I am writing again! I don't really have a good reason for being such a slacker...I just haven't taken the time to do it! I have a little time this afternoon, so I thought I would give a bit of an update! At the end of September my sister Cheryl and her husband Doug and her adorable little girl Abi came from Kenosha Wisconsin to see family and to cheer on my mom in her 17th marathon. That's right... SEVENTEEN!!!! She will be turning 60 in a few weeks... what a woman! As you can see from the picture, even though Abi hasn't gotten to spend much time with her cousins... she warmed right up to Courtney! She kept hugging and kissing her... and telling her she was her best friend. It was too cute!!! And Courtney, what a sweetheart you are! No complaints!

Here are a few more photos... one of each family...

This last one is of the Grandparents with all the kids... everyone looks ready to go home!!!! It is always such a fun trip... and grandma rocks!

Labor Day "Getaway"...

As anyone that camps already knows...it is a LOT of work! It is also a lot of fun...but for me it means days of "prep work" in loading the trailer, making sure we aren't low on any supplies, planning a menu, shopping for all the necessary supplies and groceries, stocking the trailer pantry with all the essentials and a few "extras" just in case.... and the list goes on. While on the trip I have to do most of the cooking...although Dan does any of the dutch oven or outdoor cooking, keeping the trailer clean and organized... and then when we get home it takes a couple of days to unload the trailer, wash all the sheets and remake the beds, clean it from top to bottom, do all the laundry, etc... like I said, its a LOT of work. Now please don't get the wrong idea... I love going! I love the quiet...I love the cooler temps, I love playing games and reading our scriptures at night before the kids go to bed, I love not having cell phones and TV programs competing with the quality family time. What I really was trying to get at, is that when we go, it needs to be worth it! We decided to go for the Labor Day weekend, and after much planning and prep work, we took our trailer up to where we wanted to camp on Thursday night and headed back home. We wanted to make sure we got a great spot! On Friday after Dan got home from work, we headed up and were so excited to get out and have some fun! I had uncharacteristically been suffering with allergies for a week or so before going, but took extra Claritin-D with us, and figured I would be fine. Friday night I had the "sniffles" a bit... but I was okay. On Saturday morning I woke up pretty congested, but took my pill and hoped for the best. When Dan and the girls embarked on a "nature hike" I told them to go without me... but then reconsidered because I felt like I was being a bit of a wimp. BIG mistake! By the time we got to the top of the mountain behind us I was sneezing so loud any deer within 10 miles was long gone! I suffered the rest of the day...and most of the night! And poor Dan...he finally got up at 3:00 am after I had kept him awake all night and started loading everything outside the trailer into its proper compartment and hooked it up to our truck. I secured everything inside, then woke up the girls and told them we were heading home. I thought they would be upset... but they were great! I ended up being sick for about 3 more days... so I'm not sure if I had a cold and allergies, or if it turned into a sinus infection. Needless to say... this is one camping adventure we could have done without! But on the bright side, as soon as we left it started raining and Sunday night it snowed! Only about 4 inches, and it melted right away, but a friend of ours camping in a similar area not far from where we were, ended up stuck in the mud and couldn't get his trailer out until Tuesday! So, we Floyd's choose to believe that my suffering was not in vain! It saved us from getting stuckin the mud for an extra day, from being confined to the trailer for almost a whole day because of bad weather, and most of all from a disgusting and muddy clean up job! It wasn't a complete disaster... Dan still made dutch oven chicken, potatoes, and cobbler on our back porch when we got home! We hope everyone had a fun Labors Day weekend... we sure did...just not where or how we thought we would be! And like I often say... family time doesn't have to be perfect, to be memorable!

McKenna and Courtney Mommy and Courtney "The Hike"... if Id only known!

A friendly game of checkers! The girls at 3 am... trying to smile!

Joy In My Journey

A few years ago, I found this black sign that says "Joy in the Journey" and bought it thinking I would use it for a different project... but I decided to use it instead in our downstairs family room. I have been making shadow boxes of all our family trips and I am go to hang them all over downstairs... but I started on this wall. If I had to give one answer for my "favorite thing to do" it would be traveling with my family. I thought it would be fun to put some of these pictures on here... and I have many more to do that I will post later on. Today I will be working on a Disneyland trip, my birthday trip to Park City, and a snowmobiling trip we went on! I think this is my form of "scrapbooking"... and I love it! Our family can be constantly reminded of the "joy" we have in our many "journeys" near and far together....

In March of last year we went to San Diego... swimming with the dolphins at SeaWorld was a huge highlight for everyone... especially McKenna! We went to the Wild Animal Park and the Zoo as well... but we all loved SeaWorld.. and the BEACH!

We spent a lot of time at Coronado Island beach... it was gorgeous! Not warm enough to swim... but fun on the beach anyway! Courtney wanted a sand dollar so bad and kept asking us how to find one. We told her we didn't have any tricks or suggestions, but that she might get lucky and find one... a short time later one literally washed up on her foot! When she reached down and picked it up, she looked at us and said, "well that wasn't so hard!" Sometimes I can't believe the things that just seem to "happen" to my children... she is thrilled we put the sand dollar in this shadow box so she can show it to all of her friends and it won't get broken!

In July of 2007 we went to Helena, Montana on a fishing trip. It was such a fun trip... and it was great getting to see Uncle Marv, Aunt Cheri, and Jonathan. Courtney developed a huge crush on him... and he was so sweet to her! My girls will never get sick of fishing...we stayed out on the pontoon boat till midnight fishing for Walleye! As you can see they got me to hold one...

In August of 2007 we went on an unforgettable adventure to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with Mark Bond and his kids. (He is the owner of Dan's company... and our friend!) We had so many incredible adventures there... it was a "lifestyles of the rich and famous" trip with our own private pool...maids...a chef...not to mention all the FUN we had. We went on a zipline, snorkeling, had a swim with a giant sea turtle, and we finished by going to church on Sunday morning in a local ward. It was a GREAT experience for the kids to see that the gospel is the same everywhere. We didn't understand a word of what they were saying, but the kids knew exactly what was going on! We will NEVER forget this trip!

And last, but certainly not least, was the adventure the girls and I took to Chicago in October to watch my mom run the Chicago marathon. I can't believe that I drove cross country all by myself... but it was awesome! We went to the American Girl store with my mom, my sister Cheryl, and my niece Abi. After "lunch" we shopped and they all got to pick a doll, a few fun outfits, and McKenna was able to purchase a lot of extras with babysitting money she had saved up. This was such a fun trip... the only thing missing was my sweetheart! We were going to come back through Nauvoo, and other church historical sites, but we just couldn't take any longer getting home... we all missed Dan too much! We will probably do a "church trip" next year or the year after...

Here are a few final photos of my family last night during family home evening! Enjoy!

Courtney's first day of school!

Courtney started 2nd grade today! She really likes her teacher... and her only concern is that big sister McKenna won't be there to "protect" her. I have a feeling that she will do just fine on her own. I have to admit though I have felt some sense of comfort in the past knowing that McKenna was just down the hall and out at recess with her. She is thrilled that I will be the room mom for her class again this year. After last year, being room mom for one class will be easy! One huge disappointment came when we found out that she and her best friend Camilla would NOT be in the same class AGAIN this year. When I told her they had different teachers she burst into tears and dramatically announced that birthday candle wishes and falling stars will no longer be "magic" to her. She wished on both, and they let her down!!!!!! It might actually be better they are in different classes, but I had secretly hoped that this would finally be the year. If you can't believe in magic, what's the point?! I tried to make her feel better by reminding her that they would still have lunch together and recess. For the time being, that seems to make her happy! What a beautiful girl!