Cruisin'

Setting out on a 5 day vacation was so exciting, even if it was at 3 am on the morning of December 19.  The five of us headed for the Grand Rapids Airport to catch a plane down to Ft. Lauderdale to board the Liberty of the Seas cruise ship.  

After boarding, Sam and Erin were so excited they just wanted to be detectives and find all the wonderful activities and places the ship had to offer.  We found a place to eat and had our first of many family meals together.  Something we don't get to do very often anymore due to the pace of each of our lives.  We found that eating together was actually fun and enjoyable, plus we had the benefit of all walking away from the table without having to clean up the kitchen, pure joy!!

While at sea, we soaked up the sun, relaxed in the hot tub, enjoyed great food, swam, walked, played games (scrabble, ping pong, mini golf, etc.), ate frozen yogurt ice cream cones, sang, danced, ice skated and just had fun.  Well most of the time, there were the occasional family squabbles, I guess you'd have to expect that when five people share a small space with only one bathroom for 6 days.  Even with those moments, the trip was a success.

When visiting Haiti, we ventured out into the Caribbean on a small snorkeling boat to experience a small part of the ocean and see what lies below the surface of the water.  Well in the midst of all the other snorkelers, coral and shallowness of the water, Sam scraped his knee and was bleeding, and recalling all the information from Shark Week, knew that sharks could sense blood up to two miles away and swam so fast, he could have beaten Michael Phelps at the Olympics, back to the boat and ended his snorkeling adventure.  Erin then did the same thing touching some type of coral and it hurt and she wanted to stop snorkeling as well so then I went back to the boat with her and the three of us watched Mark and Sydney snorkel.  They saw some great fish, coral, a small octopus and other creatures in the waters of Haiti.

The following day we went to Jamaica, "Ya' Mon"!  were the words of the day.  Swimming with a dolphin was definitely the highlight of the day.  We were in the water with the dolphin and were able to pet, dance, kiss, and get a ride with Beta, our newest friend.  Sharing a space with this dolphin is an experience I will never forget, nor will the rest of the family. We also conquered Dunn River Fall by climbing up the falls as the waters rushed down upon us.  The beauty of looking down on the falls you just climbed up and seeing the the water rushing down and joining the aqua blue waters of the Caribbean was beautiful. Climbing was somewhat of a challenge but overall easier than it actually sounds.

Each night we gathered at our dinner table in the Rembrandt Dining Room and shared the experiences of the day. We tried various interesting foods, with the hardest to swallow being the escargot, alias....snail.  It wasn't as bad as it sounds.  Sam and Sydney tried it, Erin said...NO THANK YOU!, although she did eat Indian Curry dishes two of the 5 nights.

Our days of vacation swiftly passed but the memories we shared will last forever.  Thank you Lord for blessing us with the opportunity to be able to do this as a family.

Oh So Pretty

Hakuna Matada! The Lion King was the them of the Little Miss Coopersville Pageant.  Erin was one of ten contestants for the crown.  Mark, Sydney, Sam, and I went to watch.  Grandma & Grandpa Lillibridge, Aunt Arv, and Andrea also came to the show.  Katelyn Messock, a very close friend of Erin's, became the 2011 Little Miss Coopersville.  Erin won the "Community Service Award".  Erin did  wonderful and looked so cute up on stage.  If I think back to when I was 10, there weren't opportunities like this, however, I am pretty sure I would not have participated if there had been.  I would have been so initimidated to be on stage in front of a crowd.  I am so proud of Erin for taking advantage of these types of opportunities. 

Summertime!

Summer is supposed to be for kicking back and relaxing.  Not for us.  We keep going.  Sydney is helping out at Stone Plastics, and getting paid.  She is very excited about that.  However, without a driver's license this creates a trip for mom to take her in to work in Zeeland.  Mark goes into work around 5:45 to work on the military truck (the newest toy) to prepare it for the dunes so needless to say this hour of the morning isn't too appealing for Sydney to get up and go to work.  She is currently taking her second session of driver's training in Hudsonville and so ready to turn 16 to get her license. (me too!)

Erin tried out for the Georgetown Ranger's U11 soccer team on Monday night in Hudsonville, she was offered a position on the A team and wants to join the team.  So back to Hudsonville tonight to register for soccer.  Sam is taking part in Boot Camp at Coopersville High School (yeah, a local destination) 3 times a week. 
This leads me to wonder, why do we have a trailer up north?  Seems like we are spending more time here in Coopersville.  I am so thankful to have children that have the ability to be active and are involved.  Although, I miss the days when they were little and they didn't have such busy social lives outside of the family unit.

Bouncing Ball

I compare our lives in the Springtime to a bouncing ball.  We are constantly moving from one place to another and come home for short snippets of time to sleep, change clothes and maybe even eat.  Just last night I bounced between three soccer games.  Erin started the night with her game at Ravenna at 5pm, her team played well and won, then I bounced on to Sydney's game at 6pm, where I saw an easy win over Creston, 8-0, finally I landed in Reeths Puffer at Sam's game, a hard fought game which ended in a tie.  Not only did I move from city to city the temperature moved from 88 degrees at Erin's game down to 64 degrees at Sam's.  Bouncing around life can be crazy at times but it allows you to enjoy the company of many people and share in the experiences of those you love.

Mother's Day

We celebrated Mother's Day by going out to dinner with family.  It was a wonderful time for me because I was surrounded by not only my own kids and husband, but my parents, my siblings, my nephews and nieces, and great nephews and nieces. I love spending time with each of them.

One of the most precious gifts God has given women is to be a mother.

Banana Bread

Sydney baked banana bread.  The house smells so wonderful.  The funny thing is......it is gone already.  It came out of the oven and within 20 minutes it was eaten.  Sydney said we are like scavengers.  I did cut 2 slices, one for Sydney's lunch and one for Sam's.  Erin doesn't eat banana bread.  She doesn't know what she is missing.  Sydney used to want to have her own bakery.  I still think she should.  She is a wonderful baker.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

We are closing out our Sunday by watching The Wizard of Oz.  We are all here.  I remember this movie as a little kid and wanted to watch it every time it came on TV, even though it was a bit scary with those dreaded monkeys.  As I watch it with my children, I am amazed that this movie is one they choose to watch considering the age of the movie.  Love the time we spend together as a family.