Longest Post Ever... But Worth It!

The Freedom of the Seas...



Our Interior Stateroom (hey, the price was right :)

Leaving Port Canaveral...

Up on the top deck for the Sail Away Party...

On our way to CocoCay...

Pale people...

Our first Formal Night...

Free Champagne!

A very important place... the Dining Room

Fruit Bouquet...

Looking down on the kid's water park on the ship... one of the few amenities we did not use...

Dinner at Portofino...

Docked on St. Thomas...

Spectacular Magen's Bay...

Still not getting tan...

The water was soooo clear...

Getting off the ship in St. Maarten..

Our "FunMobile" excursion that turned into a debacle...

The streets of St. Maarten...

Jim in the water at Orient Beach...

Our 2nd Formal Night...

Jim's happy place...

Ice sculptures on the promenade (the ship's central corridor)...

A good view of the Promenade (4 stories high)...

Jim went rock climbing on the ship (he also took a boxing class!)...

And we played miniature golf at sea...

We didn't try the Flowrider Surf Simulator, but it looked really fun...

Jim ran in a fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation on the ship...

I ran to the on-board Ben & Jerry's :)

Can you believe with all that I didn't even show you pictures of the ice skating rink, 3 story theater, movie theater, library, 3 pools, 2 cantelevered hot tubs, Johnny Rocket's restaurant, spa, arcade, night clubs, casino, etc, etc, etc.... Don't you want to go???!!!!

What a great vacation :)

And We're Back...

As you might have guessed, we were on vacation for the last week. We flew to Orlando and spent 2 days at Disney World (that's 4 parks in 2 days, people) and then boarded Royal Caribbean's beautiful Freedom of the Seas - the largest cruise ship in the world - for 7 nights and 8 days. We took tons of photos, of course... so here are the highlights from the first part of the trip.

At the entrance to the Magic Kingdom - yay!

Gotta show love for the characters...

Getting ready for the BEST new ride... Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios... you must ride!

At the House of the Mouse...

Enjoying our long-awaited Dole Whip!! (No idea what this is? Go here...)

Can you tell Jim is happy to ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin?


Another favorite - The Astro Orbiter...

The Classic Castle Shot (I think it's a Disney law that you must take this picture if you visit)...

In line at the Tomorrowland Speedway...

The SpectroMagic Parade (aka Electric Light Parade for you old-school folks)...

Cinderella's Castle at night....

And the one thing no trip to Disney World is complete without... (click below)

Keeping You in the Loop...

We'll be taking a short blog hiatus, until May 26th. Please come back then to read about lots of awesome stuff.

Have a great week!

Finally, Progress...

March 28...
May 9th...

Bear's Ancestors...

I love this picture. It is from a 1961 casting call for a black cat to star in a Hollywood movie. Odd how they're all on leashes instead of in carriers... I wonder how many cat fights broke out that day.

I think you'll agree...

This is a fun blog.

http://1000awesomethings.com/

Inch by Inch...

I can't even tell if the lawn's filling in or just getting longer. We are not mowing until some of these bare patches fill in. Although if we wait for that, we might be waiting a long time.

March 28...

April 5...

April 25...

Now Don't Laugh...

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was starting piano lessons. I have never taken at all, so I am getting a really late start, but so far I love it.

I have had 6 lessons to date and here are a couple short clips of my progress. Hopefully you'll recognize the first tune as "Blow the Man Down" ( I don't pick 'em, I just play 'em)

And here's "Edelweiss"

Our New Old Bathroom...

The master bathroom mini-makeover is finally done! Here are some before and after shots...

The original paint was a yellowing off-white...
Freshly coated with Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage, the same color used in our living room...

Another angle before, with the old sink...

With the new floor, vanity and mirror trim...

Before... cluttered!

Now, better!

A new Freden Wall Cabinet from Ikea hung behind the door completes the makeover...