Our Boat...The Carnival Liberty
We just got on the boat, and Charlie already has an ice cream cone!
Some of the rest of the family above us!These pictures are all from the first day! I'll post more tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Pictures from the Cruise...Finally
Our Boat...The Carnival LibertyWe just got on the boat, and Charlie already has an ice cream cone!Some of the rest of the family above us!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
We are back!!
I have so much to tell you! Unfortunately I just don't have the time to write it all down because I am posting from work! I've come home and my laptop has bit the dust! I can't download my pics or anything :(
I am planning on taking my digital cards to Sam's and having all the pics developed and put on a CD. That way I can share them with you all.
Needless to say we had a fabulous time! The time off was very relaxing. We slept, ate, slept, ate, and then we'd get off the ship at a port, oh and then we'd sleep and eat again! Lots of sleeping and eating. I do have some wonderful pictures of the gardens in Jamaica, Hell in Grand Cayman, and the coral reef in Roatan Honduras. I know you'll all love them, once I can share!
My google bloglines was over 1000. This is the first time that I have had to say "mark all as read" without really reading them. I just don't think I'll ever get caught up so I'm starting fresh.
I am planning on taking my digital cards to Sam's and having all the pics developed and put on a CD. That way I can share them with you all.
Needless to say we had a fabulous time! The time off was very relaxing. We slept, ate, slept, ate, and then we'd get off the ship at a port, oh and then we'd sleep and eat again! Lots of sleeping and eating. I do have some wonderful pictures of the gardens in Jamaica, Hell in Grand Cayman, and the coral reef in Roatan Honduras. I know you'll all love them, once I can share!
My google bloglines was over 1000. This is the first time that I have had to say "mark all as read" without really reading them. I just don't think I'll ever get caught up so I'm starting fresh.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Out on the Ocean Sailing
As of Saturday morning, me & 15 of my family will be boarding the Carnival Liberty setting sail for Ocho Rios Jamaica, Grand Cayman, & Roatan Honduras! I'll see you back here on Monday, June 8th! Monday, February 9, 2009
Making Plans...
When life is at it's fullest we began to make plans. Plans for what do you say? Well, usually plans for vacation!
Sometimes when I am tired and worn out from just the daily tasks of life I began to get depressed, and just the thoughts of vacation rejuvenate me. We've been talking about vacation with the kids for several months now. Since our kids have been old enough to have a suggestion about vacation we've let them be in on the discussion. If you know my kids then you probably know that this started when they were about 2. My kids are talkers... Wonder where they get that from? anyway, back to my point. We had several ideas, and couldn't come down to just one. Of course money is always a factor, and we know we have to go somewhere that is within our budget. My husband is a big Disney fan, so his suggestion was to rent a house in Orlando/Kissimmee and spend the week at Disney World and Universal Studios with maybe a day or two in Daytona. I had a couple of ideas. There are two places that I would love to take my kids. I've been there, but they haven't. My first idea was to fly to Las Vegas then rent a car. After spending a couple of days in Las Vegas then we could drive to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, even LA isn't far away. My second idea was to drive up north, going to New York City, and then drive back down through Washington DC. Staying a few days in each place. Charlie and the kids didn't want to go anywhere that we had to drive a lot, so that pretty much nixed my ideas. We've been to Disney multiple times, and the kids are getting older so that doesn't interest them very much. The kids ganged up on us and want to go on a cruise. Charlie and I have been on 2 cruises, but they've not been with us either time. At first we were afraid that a cruise would be over budget, but I began to look. Because of our past cruiser discounts we can save over $200 per person. This brought it within budget. We began to talk about it with our extended family, and now there are 16 of us going! We are going to have a blast! The great thing about it is that it is all family. That was one of the stipulations that my children had. They just wanted family to go because they want to be able to relax & have a good time.
I am really excited. Our trip is planned for May 30 - June 6. We will be going to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel Mexico. Beth & I have started shopping for formal dresses. Thankfully, she is a very modest girl. It does make it a little hard though. She wants a formal dress that isn't too short, low cut, and it has to have sleeves. We are having a tough time finding something that isn't too expensive and doesn't look to old for her. We will persevere and I know that we will find something! We have several months too look and I know that we will find the perfect dress!
Yesterday after church I began to think about making plans for vacation and about how it has changed my mood the last couple of days. I then began to think about going to Heaven. Sometimes we lose our focus, and forget about our ultimate destination. It is very easy to become downhearted. Sometimes I began to even doubt my salvation. Don't tell me that you've not done that too because you know that you have! Our Pastor preached a wonderful doctrinal subject yesterday about the true sheep fold. Not everyone enjoys those times when we go to church and the preacher is teaching, but I do. I always learn something new. The sermon led me to thinking about something my grandfather used to say. He would call those types of sermons "nuggets". He said that you just take it and put it back because you'll need it someday. I began to correlate the two things in my mind; vacation & Heaven. There are so many similarities, but Heaven will be our ultimate vacation. Will I have everything I need to make this journey? Do I have everything packed correctly? Are my garments ready? Do I have the right clothes on? Each time I go to church and receive something new I should be "packing" it away so that I'll be ready when Jesus calls.
Just like preparing for a cruise...do we have our passports ready? Do we have our clothes packed? Do we have the right kind of clothes for every event? Is our life in order? Are we ready?
Sometimes when I am tired and worn out from just the daily tasks of life I began to get depressed, and just the thoughts of vacation rejuvenate me. We've been talking about vacation with the kids for several months now. Since our kids have been old enough to have a suggestion about vacation we've let them be in on the discussion. If you know my kids then you probably know that this started when they were about 2. My kids are talkers... Wonder where they get that from? anyway, back to my point. We had several ideas, and couldn't come down to just one. Of course money is always a factor, and we know we have to go somewhere that is within our budget. My husband is a big Disney fan, so his suggestion was to rent a house in Orlando/Kissimmee and spend the week at Disney World and Universal Studios with maybe a day or two in Daytona. I had a couple of ideas. There are two places that I would love to take my kids. I've been there, but they haven't. My first idea was to fly to Las Vegas then rent a car. After spending a couple of days in Las Vegas then we could drive to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, even LA isn't far away. My second idea was to drive up north, going to New York City, and then drive back down through Washington DC. Staying a few days in each place. Charlie and the kids didn't want to go anywhere that we had to drive a lot, so that pretty much nixed my ideas. We've been to Disney multiple times, and the kids are getting older so that doesn't interest them very much. The kids ganged up on us and want to go on a cruise. Charlie and I have been on 2 cruises, but they've not been with us either time. At first we were afraid that a cruise would be over budget, but I began to look. Because of our past cruiser discounts we can save over $200 per person. This brought it within budget. We began to talk about it with our extended family, and now there are 16 of us going! We are going to have a blast! The great thing about it is that it is all family. That was one of the stipulations that my children had. They just wanted family to go because they want to be able to relax & have a good time.
I am really excited. Our trip is planned for May 30 - June 6. We will be going to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel Mexico. Beth & I have started shopping for formal dresses. Thankfully, she is a very modest girl. It does make it a little hard though. She wants a formal dress that isn't too short, low cut, and it has to have sleeves. We are having a tough time finding something that isn't too expensive and doesn't look to old for her. We will persevere and I know that we will find something! We have several months too look and I know that we will find the perfect dress!
Yesterday after church I began to think about making plans for vacation and about how it has changed my mood the last couple of days. I then began to think about going to Heaven. Sometimes we lose our focus, and forget about our ultimate destination. It is very easy to become downhearted. Sometimes I began to even doubt my salvation. Don't tell me that you've not done that too because you know that you have! Our Pastor preached a wonderful doctrinal subject yesterday about the true sheep fold. Not everyone enjoys those times when we go to church and the preacher is teaching, but I do. I always learn something new. The sermon led me to thinking about something my grandfather used to say. He would call those types of sermons "nuggets". He said that you just take it and put it back because you'll need it someday. I began to correlate the two things in my mind; vacation & Heaven. There are so many similarities, but Heaven will be our ultimate vacation. Will I have everything I need to make this journey? Do I have everything packed correctly? Are my garments ready? Do I have the right clothes on? Each time I go to church and receive something new I should be "packing" it away so that I'll be ready when Jesus calls.
Just like preparing for a cruise...do we have our passports ready? Do we have our clothes packed? Do we have the right kind of clothes for every event? Is our life in order? Are we ready?
Monday, July 21, 2008
Rocky Top you'll always be Home Sweet Home to me...
Have you ever wondered why the song Rocky Top has that name? The Rocky Mountains are in the west, and the song is written about the Smoky Mountains, right? hmmmm, my family, for generations and generations is from East Tennessee, and I've always wondered that....
Well, needless to say I've spent many a' weekends in Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg, but I've never felt the desire to spend a vacation there until this year. With minimal cash I begin to look for an economical solution for a very much needed vacation, and I found it right out my back door! Thankfully we had a great time!
Charlie & I left for Gatlinburg on Wednesday about 5pm. It usually only takes about an hour to get there from our house, but it didn't even seem like it took that long. That was the best hour Charlie & I have spent together in a long time. It was a great time to reconnect. Once we checked into our hotel room, which was very nice for the price. We decided to walk the town! Charlie loves to walk, me not so much! We walked and walked and walked and walked....you get my point. It was a lot of fun, but I was extremely tired by the time we got back to our hotel room. Thursday we were still by ourselves, and we spent the day looking over the town. Thursday night we ate at The Peddler. I remember as a child my parents going there for special occasions, but I'd never been. My parents always said it was an expensive restaurant and they couldn't afford to take the entire troupe of children! It was very expensive, but worth it. Charlie thoroughly enjoyed his meal. I enjoyed my meal too much. I ate so much that I was sick the entire night. We walked back to our hotel down River Rd. The night before Charlie had been trying to show me all the trout that was in the river, but I just couldn't see them. Well, they stocked the river on Thursday morning, and Thursday night you could see thousands of little trout. We spent about an hour just watching the river and the fish. I remember as a child going to Gatlinburg and seeing all the "old" people standing looking over the river. I remember thinking there are so many fun things to do why are you wasting your time just looking at the river?!?!? Well, I must be "old" now! I had fun just looking at the river and watching the schools of fish. I think I forgot to mention that our hotel terrace was about 100ft from the river. It was very peaceful, and beautiful. Thursday night or should I say Friday morning, anyway at Midnight between Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th, Gatlinburg has a parade. It was a very special tribute to all the armed forces. The parade lasted about an hour. It made you remember why we celebrate the 4th and those that are fighting for our freedom.
Well, Friday the peace was over! We drove to Knoxville to pick up the kids. Just kidding. I should actually say the fun began! Our kids are just like us. They are full of life, and exciting. They love adventure, and trying new things. ....and yes, they love to eat! We had a plan for the restaurants we had to eat at before the weekend was over. On Friday night we ate at Bubba Gumps, on Saturday night we ate at the Dixie Stampede, and on Sunday we ate at Johnny Carino's then on the way home on Monday we ate at Tony Gore's Barbecue! I'm surprised that after our vacation we didn't all gain 50lbs, but all that walking must have paid off because none of us gained a pound! Friday night after going to Bubba Gumps we sat right outside our room and watched the fireworks. We spent Saturday at the pool, then Sunday we walked, and walked and walked some more!!! Beth just had to go in all the little stores, and shops. Then we spent a couple of hours in an arcade playing pool, and ice hockey together. As we walked back towards the hotel we stopped several times to listen to the 'Tunes and Tales'. In my pictures you'll see the different groups and their interesting instruments. It was entertaining, and it took you back to a time when families sat on their front porches and spent time together 'singing and pickin' At least that is what my family did. There was even a lady that sat by the road quilting, and teaching the kids how to quilt as they walked by. Very laid back trip, except for all that walking....
By the time Monday morning rolled around we were all so tired that we couldn't wait to get home. Good thing home was only about an hour away!
Sorry it took me so long to post, I hope you all enjoy the pictures!
Well, needless to say I've spent many a' weekends in Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg, but I've never felt the desire to spend a vacation there until this year. With minimal cash I begin to look for an economical solution for a very much needed vacation, and I found it right out my back door! Thankfully we had a great time!
Charlie & I left for Gatlinburg on Wednesday about 5pm. It usually only takes about an hour to get there from our house, but it didn't even seem like it took that long. That was the best hour Charlie & I have spent together in a long time. It was a great time to reconnect. Once we checked into our hotel room, which was very nice for the price. We decided to walk the town! Charlie loves to walk, me not so much! We walked and walked and walked and walked....you get my point. It was a lot of fun, but I was extremely tired by the time we got back to our hotel room. Thursday we were still by ourselves, and we spent the day looking over the town. Thursday night we ate at The Peddler. I remember as a child my parents going there for special occasions, but I'd never been. My parents always said it was an expensive restaurant and they couldn't afford to take the entire troupe of children! It was very expensive, but worth it. Charlie thoroughly enjoyed his meal. I enjoyed my meal too much. I ate so much that I was sick the entire night. We walked back to our hotel down River Rd. The night before Charlie had been trying to show me all the trout that was in the river, but I just couldn't see them. Well, they stocked the river on Thursday morning, and Thursday night you could see thousands of little trout. We spent about an hour just watching the river and the fish. I remember as a child going to Gatlinburg and seeing all the "old" people standing looking over the river. I remember thinking there are so many fun things to do why are you wasting your time just looking at the river?!?!? Well, I must be "old" now! I had fun just looking at the river and watching the schools of fish. I think I forgot to mention that our hotel terrace was about 100ft from the river. It was very peaceful, and beautiful. Thursday night or should I say Friday morning, anyway at Midnight between Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th, Gatlinburg has a parade. It was a very special tribute to all the armed forces. The parade lasted about an hour. It made you remember why we celebrate the 4th and those that are fighting for our freedom.
Well, Friday the peace was over! We drove to Knoxville to pick up the kids. Just kidding. I should actually say the fun began! Our kids are just like us. They are full of life, and exciting. They love adventure, and trying new things. ....and yes, they love to eat! We had a plan for the restaurants we had to eat at before the weekend was over. On Friday night we ate at Bubba Gumps, on Saturday night we ate at the Dixie Stampede, and on Sunday we ate at Johnny Carino's then on the way home on Monday we ate at Tony Gore's Barbecue! I'm surprised that after our vacation we didn't all gain 50lbs, but all that walking must have paid off because none of us gained a pound! Friday night after going to Bubba Gumps we sat right outside our room and watched the fireworks. We spent Saturday at the pool, then Sunday we walked, and walked and walked some more!!! Beth just had to go in all the little stores, and shops. Then we spent a couple of hours in an arcade playing pool, and ice hockey together. As we walked back towards the hotel we stopped several times to listen to the 'Tunes and Tales'. In my pictures you'll see the different groups and their interesting instruments. It was entertaining, and it took you back to a time when families sat on their front porches and spent time together 'singing and pickin' At least that is what my family did. There was even a lady that sat by the road quilting, and teaching the kids how to quilt as they walked by. Very laid back trip, except for all that walking....
By the time Monday morning rolled around we were all so tired that we couldn't wait to get home. Good thing home was only about an hour away!
Sorry it took me so long to post, I hope you all enjoy the pictures!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Vacation...Finally!
This evening Charlie & I are leaving on a much needed vacation! I am not taking my laptop so I'll be AWOL until Monday.
We are going to Gatlinburg TN for 6 days & 5 nights! I am so excited! We didn't think we were going to be able to afford a vacation this year, but I was able to find a wonderful deal at a nice little motel right on the river. My kids are in Florida with my sister on a little mini-vacation and they won't be back until late Thursday night, so Charlie and I get a couple of days entirely to ourselves!
I'll probably have lots of pictures when I return!
We are going to Gatlinburg TN for 6 days & 5 nights! I am so excited! We didn't think we were going to be able to afford a vacation this year, but I was able to find a wonderful deal at a nice little motel right on the river. My kids are in Florida with my sister on a little mini-vacation and they won't be back until late Thursday night, so Charlie and I get a couple of days entirely to ourselves!
I'll probably have lots of pictures when I return!
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