First Day of school

The first day of school was rather exciting for both boys. We went to the new school, Mtn. View Elementry, to drop Owyn off for pre-school and he was so excited dancing around and waiting to go into the classroom. Rhys was excited that Owyn was going to his school. Rhys and I had enough time to walk back to our car to get Rhys' backpack and walk to the front of school and wait in line. HOLY COW! Kids everywhere, school starts at 0850 and Rhys' class did not go into the school until 0920. Rhys was such a big boy about going in and following directions. Mamma cried as he went into the school. When I picked up Owyn, he told me that he had fun and wanted to go back the next day. When I picked up Rhys his notebook said he had a great first day as well. Glad the boys are digging school right now.

Cousins

Aaron's cousin's from Montana moved to Denver a few weeks ago. We had them down for a little gaming and dinner. While Aaron and Brian gamed, Britta and I took the kids up to the rec center pool to play for a bit. They all had a great time and Owyn is always asking when he gets to see his cousins again.

The 2nd tooth

Rhys lost his second tooth the other day. I am not completely sure that it was ready, but what do you do when brothers are wrestling and kicking. The next thing I knew I hear Rhys yelling that his tooth hurt and when I went to check on him, his tooth was gone. Now the search was on to find where the flying tooth went. In a few short minutes we finally find it in mamma and daddy's bed. Rhys was worried that the tooth fairy would not come if he did not have a tooth. The tooth fairy was nice and brought Rhys a dollar.

more 4th of July

On our way home we had to stop by Auntie Karmen's for more fireworks and play. When we got there we had some yummy BBQ Rhys and Owyn ate the dickens out of it. As it got darker we sat outside to watch fireworks and some of the neighbor kids bought the boys some more firewroks to play with and the rest of what grandma and grandpa sent with us. We were all tuckered out at the end of the day.

4th of July

While Aaron is gone I will attempt to keep the blog updated.

Over the 4th of July the boys and I went to Missouri for my 20 yr class reunion and to see family. The boys enjoyed spending time with grandma and grandpa, especially doing fireworks and playing in the sprinkler. The boys had a great time seeing family and playing. They were quite tuckered out by the time we got home.

It took long enough

It took a long time, but Rhys finally lost his first tooth.  It, slowly, got looser and looser.  He wasn't really playing with it at all, which baffles me but make sense to his mother.

 This is actually the gap in his teeth.  The new tooth is sticking so far out it looks like it belongs with the others.

Yesterday we were at the Dentist and Rhys decided that it was ok for the Dentist to pull it, though not Mama or Daddy.  A little bit of wiggling and a tug and it was out.  Rhys was very brave.  Christy, our hygienist, got him a little, plastic, tooth box to place his tooth in. 

Last night we put it under his pillow with instructions not to touch it or the tooth fairy won't come.  I had hoped that Rhys would wake up before I had to go to work, but it was not to be.  He woke up and came into our room, sad.  "Mama, no money."  "Let's go look again Rhys, (I know I put it there)".  They went back in and checked again.  Mama turned on the light and, this time, Rhys lifted the pillow all the way up.  There it was!  His money!  Three whole dollars. 

Rhys was very excited.  Mama and I are somewhat sad, to be honest.  He is growing up so fast.

The Tooth fairy is coming

Rhys is getting ready to lose his first tooth.  We noticed it was loose on Saturday.  Today we realized the other tooth is well on its way out, and very, very visible right behind the old tooth.

We have convinced Rhys that this is a good thing, what with the tooth fairy bringing him a dollar when he puts it under his pillow.  He is not really interested in playing with it, but he let me wiggle it and it is getting close.

Rhys may be on board with this but Mama and I are not.  We are just not prepared for him to be this big.

Vacation Day 8

Day 8 was our last day, off the ship and home.  Debarkation went well except for the part where they had each member of our group get off at a different time.  Kate and her kids were the last ones off and got through customs an hour after the first people.

Our shuttle was there to get us and took us to the airport.  We arrived at 1930 for our 1550 flight.  Southwest would not let us check our bags until three hours before our flight.  We found a corner with seats on two sides and flight displays on a third side.  We put our bags across the fourth side and the kids were trapped.  There was an outlet so we pulled out the toys and set up the DVD player and they were good to go for the couple of hours we had to wait to check our bags.

While we were waiting Tracy scoped out all the lines and realized that the curbside check was half as long as the inside check.  When we finally hit the magic three hour mark we headed out, one family at a time, us first.  We waited fifteen minutes and were done.  My folks walked up and checked in, done in three.  Kate decided to use the inside line and stood there for half an hour.

Security was a bit of a hassle with boys and shoes and electronics going in all directions.  We survived to get through though.  We found our gate and had nothing even remotely as nice to wait in.  The only spot we could find was right in the path of passengers getting on and off the plane.  Owyn curled up on the floor and went to sleep.  Tracy had to pull him in between two sets of chairs.  Rhys played.  We grabbed some salads for lunch.

The waiting went remarkably well.  We boarded and managed to save seats for Nana and Grandad (Southwest doesn't have assigned seats).  Tracy and Rhys were behind Owyn and I.  Nana next to O and Grandad next to Tracy.

They boys were great the whole four hour flight.  Playing and watching movies. 

It all would have been perfect if we had actually landed when we got to Denver.

There was a huge thunderstorm over DIA.  We circled until we ran out of gas, then we landed in Colorado Springs.  That airport doesn't handle 737's or Southwest.  We sat there, on the plane, for three hours.  They boys were still good.  We finally got clearance, after two false starts, and flew the twenty minutes to Denver.  Then we sat for another half hour while all of the planes that couldn't take off during the storm got out of the way.

This is when the boys finally lost it.  Off the plane, onto the train.  Get the bags, onto the bus.  Bus drivers yelling at passengers.  Boys completely done with us, each other and traveling.  Tracy and I biting each others heads off.

We finally got to the car about 2230.  I had left it unlocked.  Fortunately the lot has good security and my car is a piece of crap.  It and everything in it were still there.  Rhys slept on the way home.  Owyn did not.  Home, straight to bed.  Owyn wanted a story at 2300.  I was not looking forward to work the next day.

This was a GREAT vacation.  Thanks to Mom and Dad for taking us.  We had not had a real vacation since before Rhys was born and this hit the spot.  Even the last day was not bad, until the last hour.  As Tracy said, "I'd be willing to do this again."

Vacation Day 7

Day 7 was our last day of fun.  We hit Coco Cay in the Bahamas.  This is a private island, owned by the cruise line.

Somehow it sounds more impressive, "private island", than it looks.

We had asked Nana to watch the boys, which she agreed to.  Rhys buried his toys in the sand and dug them up.  Owyn swam a little bit but mostly played in the sand as well.

Owyn likes the beach.

Tracy and I went snorkeling.  She had never been before.  They had all the gear for us.  Mask, fins, snorkel and buoyancy vest.  I had my own mask and snorkel.  There were two areas we could hit.  The main one was a very shallow lagoon.  This area was very warm, no waves or tides and anywhere from a foot to fifteen feet deep.  We saw a lion fish, a stingray and a bunch of different fish.  We just motored around, holding hands and checking it all out.  I found a wooden fish with a number on it.  When we turned it in it was good for a free ticket to the water park, which we gave to Gaige, much to his delight.

Lunch was burgers and fries and hot dogs and raucous terns.  They were fearless and I saw them clear several plates as people weren't looking.  The food was, unlike the rest of the cruise, pretty bad, but it was just fuel at that point.

After lunch Tracy did a little bit of shopping, finding a nice dress.  I went back into the water and hit the second snorkel area.  This one is outside the lagoon, on the Atlantic side of the island.  It was drastically cooler and much deeper, up to thirty feet.  I saw a giant barracuda and several fish that were as big as I was.  The scenery was much better out there but I couldn't take the cold for too long and headed back to the beach.

Soon after that we headed back to the ship.  Showers and naps all around, except for Rhys, who just played, and then off to dinner.  They boys were not at all interested in the process that night and I made them play under the table.

Tracy and I got Kate to watch the boys and we wandered around by ourselves for awhile.  It was the first time the entire vacation that we had been alone.  It was too weird and we were back in our room, with the boys, by 2130.

Vacation Day 6

Day 6 was spent entirely at sea.  This was awesome!  No death march.  No crushing heat.  No humidity. 

We dropped Rhys off at the kids area for a few hours.  Tracy did some shopping and walking while I took Owyn to the kids activity.  He got to play with some toys and do some coloring.  Tracy relieved me and I went and bought a bottle of Scotch for half price. 

The rest of the day was just chilling.  Rhys got to nest.  Owyn and Mama got to nap.  I got to wander around, have a couple of drinks with my folks and uncle Tim. 

It was just a nice, relaxing day.

Vacation Day 5

Day 5 we woke up as we were heading in to Cozumel.  We had booked a tour to Tulum (Ta-looom).  This is a Mayan ruin built on top of  a cliff overlooking the Caribbean.

We hit breakfast in the buffet, which was a hit.  I availed myself of the two for one Bloody Mary's and shared one with my aunt Deb.  We watched the boat dock and then headed off.  Tracy had picked up our tickets so we got straight onto the Catamaran ferry over to Playa del Carmen. 

I enjoyed this, as did Tracy.  We split the boys up and they each had some toys.  Rhys got sea sick on the way over and threw up on his seat.  Happily, the lady in front of us had been eyeballing the trash can for herself and grabbed it for Rhys when he threw up.

We death marched through the town to the bus, which then took an hour to get us to Tulum.  Once there we had another death march through the jungle to get to the ruins.  Hot, humid, second day of really long walks.  The boys did better than we had any right to expect, though, again, Rhys was not happy having to move around so much.  He liked to nest in the room and he needs a certain amount of free play to stay sane.

Mexican squirrel.

Map of Tulum.

The area inside the walls.

The city wall in all its grandeur.

A ruined building and a ruined little boy.  Owyn was pretty grumpy at this point.

The "castle" as Owyn called it.

Though he looks as if he is expounding on the fine points of architecture, I'm pretty sure this is the middle of a temper tantrum.

Hot anyone?

More Mayan ruins.

Tracy and the boys with the "castle" in the background.

The beach below the citadel.  Nice spot.

These boys are D-U-N, done!

A snack, a smile and a nap.

After the ruins we went to a little beach hotel for some lunch and a swim.  Owyn and I hit the ocean while Mama and Rhys stayed on the beach.  Rhys spent the entire time burying his toys in the sand.  This, it turns out, is how Rhys plays at the beach.  The cool water was a life saver.

All three of Mama's boys.  This was as much time as Rhys spent in the water.

Rhys in the sand.  Much happier.

The beach at Playa del Carmen.  Very nice.

The ferry ride back was pretty calm but both boys got sea sick this time.  We were ready for it so no drama.

We got back to the ship an hour and a half after it was supposed to sail.  This is one of the huge advantages of booking through the ship.  They couldn't leave us behind.  We got changed and got up to dinner.  It was rushed and hectic but we got our food down.

That night we watched Malia so Kate could go out and get in some night life.

Each night we had a towel animal in the room.  This was the only one the boys didn't destroy before we could get a picture.

This is a good shot of the boys' sleeping arrangements.  The head of the bed is farthest from us.  We re-made it so that the boy's heads would be where Owyn was sitting, with two of the couch cushions between them.  Tracy is so clever.

Another early night to bed.

Vacation Day 4

Day 4 we woke up to Key West.  We had ordered snacks from room service for early delivery, though we forgot to put down a time so they called us at 0630.  Food delivered at 0700.  We sat out on the balcony, overlooking Key West and drank coffee, juice and milk while we snacked on fruit and bacon.

Key West from our Balcony.

We ate breakfast in the dining room.  Tables are assigned at dinner but open seating for breakfast and lunch.  We had a nice breakfast but the boys were not really interested in sitting.  Too much energy.  We took care of that over the course of the day.

After breakfast we headed out in to town.  Owyn refuses to wear a hat.  Rhys has a hat of mine, from when I was a teenager, which he has appropriated.

Ready to hit the town.  You can see the ship at the end of the street.

Tracy decided that she wanted to see the butterfly pavilion, (they call it something else).  It was about two miles down the main street of town, so off we went.  It was hot and humid but the boys just plowed along.  We stopped about half way there and Tracy did a little bit of shopping.

The butterfly pavilion was small but packed with butterflys, oddly.  They also had some cool seats.

Owyn just will not look at the camera.

Rhys, on the other hand, is quite the little ham.

Some of the local fauna.

After the butterfly's we began the death march home.  Half way we stopped at a local Cuban deli and had some lunch.  They boys ordered, and did not eat, a hamburger.  Tracy got a Cuban sandwich and I got a ropa vieja sandwich.  We also had a conch ceviche.  We tried taking some back to share with the folks, but they would not let us take it on the ship.

Just before we boarded there was a small fountain.  We stopped and let the boys dabble their fingers before we headed back.

Oooh.  Water!

Hot and sweaty little boys, but they walked the whole way.

Our ship from the quay.

Rhys and I headed back.

Mama and Owyn.  All tuckered out.

Rhys was good to go and just played during their nap.

The Civil War era coastal defense fort, as we sailed away.

The rest of the day was just more chilling on the ship.  We all hit dinner that night, which actually went pretty well.  Early to bed again that night.

Vacation Day 3

Day 3 we boarded the ship.  We were allowed on around 1400, though we got there early and there were no issues.  We tried to grab some lunch but they took too long and we had to get it in to go boxes and take it with us.  Gyros.  Yummy.

The hotel shuttle took forever to pick us up but only about ten minutes to get to the dock.  The only two things that really worked about the hotel were the pool and how close it was to the airport and docks.

The cruise line has a well oiled machine to get passengers aboard.  We got through check in and security, got a picture snapped and were on board in under 30 minutes.  Rhys was losing his mind during the whole process, but he survived all the same. 

As soon as we got on board we were met by a gentleman who slapped a wrist band on each boy.  This was color coded and labeled with their lifeboat number in case there was an emergency and we were separated. 

After that we headed up to our room, which was a very nice balcony right in the center of the ship.  It was easy enough to find that even Owyn knew which room was ours.

I tracked down our bags, which were just a few steps from our stateroom and loaded them in.  Rhys was happy to be settled in a bit and Tracy went off to find something.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent with unpacking and getting oriented.  We had a life boat drill, which Owyn lost his mind during.  The only good part of that was that he and I got to leave as soon as the first part was done.

Tracy and the boys skipped the first dinner on board, which was a shame as it was great food, company and service.  Our family group was big enough that we had a whole table all to ourselves.  Tracy and the boys ordered room service. 

It was an early night for bed.

Vacation Day 2

Day two we planned to spend in town.  Ft Lauderdale has a water taxi which takes you all over the port area and up the rivers.  It is cheap, you can ride all day and it is fun.

Here is dad, "chillin" on the boat.

Tracy enjoying the breeze.

It was very hot and humid, especially coming from early spring in Colorado type weather.

Owyn was enjoying himself immensely.

Rhys was a little bit grumpy.  He was in desperate need of a chance to nest for awhile.

We saw some amazing mansions.

And some awesome yachts.

They have some beautiful trees in Florida.

  And when we were done we hit the pool.

It was a good day and ended with everyone happy.