Pumpkin carving 2008

For those of you who don't know, anytime there is some event (usually a bad one) in the family, we name it.....and then we attach a date to the end. We started this when I was younger and it seems to work in jogging our memory. Some of the most memorable ones have been Pancake 1995, Thanksgiving 03', and Halloween carving 07'. Each one of them has meaning to us that either brings back good or bad memories, but either way, it now makes us laugh. You may look at all of these pictures and not see the "behind the scenes". Kids are smiling, knives are all in the appropriate hands, etc. What you didn't see was the conversation prior to carving about how it is going to be different this year. All of the kids remembered Halloween carving 07 very clearly. No one wanted to revisit that memory. Last year, we were going to carve pumpkins and then head to a movie (I don't remember which one, but it was supposed to be a good one). Right before we started carving, the kids got in a fight and there were words exchanged along with a physical altercation. After deliberation from the boss and myself, we decided the movie was off and then they all had to carve pumpkins separated by at least ten feet. Hence, Halloween carving 07. the kids all remember this. So, this year, I started out the event with a small speech essentially stating that we didn't want another Halloween 07 this year and they all adamantly agreed. So here are the edited pictures from this year. No major scuffles to report.

My favorite part of carving pumpkins is collecting the seeds and roasting them with salt. It smells great and they are the best. It is tedious, but worth it.

I thought this picture was extra special freaky. I seem a little too comfortable with the knife in this picture and Noah seems to be watching pretty intently. Have a Happy Halloween and may all of your special events not be named.

Do you like the tast of coconuts?

So the kids really wanted us to bring a coconut home from the Bahamas. We were going to try and smuggle one into the states but decided that we didn't want to be detained all due to a coconut. We actually found one on the ground down there and had it in our room to pack, but decided against it. In hindsight, I am glad we did. So Rebecca bought one from the store this week and we cracked it open this morning. The kids were so excited and even more excited to hear me say, "Stand back kids, this could get dangerous." I hacked at it and we drained the milk out first. Then they got to try it.



Noah is the most adventurous about trying things so he went first. They scraped the inside and he tried it and didn't really like it. You can see his reaction in the next picture.










Not so much. He also tried the milk and gave me a look of dissatisfaction.












I was surprised that Jacob tried it since he had been watching Noah, but he did and he almost gagged, which is definitely the Jacob I know.











Jonah was almost sure he was going to like this, but he too, was perplexed by the taste.













As you can see, Jonah is the one in the family who has a background in drama. He really didn't like it and then chased me around the house because he thought I was playing a trick on him. I explained after eluding him that sometimes real coconut doesn't taste like the store bought flakes with sugar sprinkled all over. Another day of experiencing new things.

Pumpkins everywhere!

The day started out where Noah's school went to the pumpkin patch to walk around the farm and bring home a pumpkin. This is the 5th year that we have been through it with our kids. They love it and have a good time with their friends. Noah had two filed trips back to back this week. I went to the play with Noah on Wednesday and Reba went to the pumpkin patch the next day.







Noah always takes him sweet time picking out a pumpkin. Most kids just grab one and are done. Noah will pick up 10 different ones and then go back and trade one more time. He is very particular about what pumpkin will fit the best.









This is Noah's best friend Sam. They always have a great time together. You have to watch them close though because they are fast when you aren't looking.










On Friday night, we all went over to Grandma and Grandpa LeRoy's house for orange dinner and then went out to the pumpkin walk on Bainbridge Island. Orange dinner was hot dogs for the kids, carrots sticks, and Cheetos. What is not to like about that? You walk through the forest with flashlights and they have lit pumpkins everywhere. The kids think it is great. The get into having all of the flashlights. Here is our clan.





I think their faces are really genuine. Noah didn't have to work too hard to make his scared face.












These are the two hams of the group. Jonah and Isabelle. Afterwards. we went back to grandma's house for dessert and to get jammies on for the ride home. They were tired when we got home.

Last Days in the Bahamas

This was the view from the infinity pool looking out at the ocean. We spent a lot of time looking out this direction and falling asleep under the umbrella.











Rebecca at the poolside bar ordering a drink and having a great time with the bartender












Sensaria threw a couple dinners and hor 'devourer's gatherings throughout the Westin's different grounds. They were always picture perfect. This picture was taken on the balcony of the Westin, overlooking the water. They always had Bahama Mama's flowing like water, but we never drank any..







In the Bahamas, the had these little creatures that I would call gecko's, but they called them something different. It was hard to catch their picture and even harder to catch them. Their tales would curl up at the end which made it very strange. I did finally get one on film close enough to see. They were cool. They go around eating all of the bugs on the island.






This was one of the many pools that you could just swim laps in. It was beautiful.












Jacob, Jonah, and Noah desperately wanted us to bring coconuts home, but we couldn't bring them through customs. So, we took a picture of a woman carving out the coconut so we could show the kids. We both actually did catch some before we found out we couldn't bring them home.








We did take walks on the beach and the water was incredibly warm. One day we did go to the grocery store and we were amazed at how expensive things were. We paid $7 for a bag of chips and $8 for a jar of salsa. I don't know how the locals do it. Gas was $5.85 a gallon and we only had to get one gallon for all four mopeds.








We spent a lot of time with our friends, Stacy and David. They always had us in stitches. They live in Wisconsin so we don't get to see them very often. We usually played cards with them at night with Deanna and Steve out by the pool.









Enough said.














Stacy and Reba took naps while David and I made a sand castle on the beach. We thought we should let them sleep since they had worked all year to earn the trip for us.










It is hard to play all day long and rest at night. I could have used help from the boys.












David and I created a shark in the sand. It took awhile and we didn't get to finish the whole thing.

Here is part of the finished product. We had our last dinner tonight and ended up walking around the pool and beach. It was our last dinner and we head out on Tuesday to go home. We have had a great time and are very fortunate to have been able to take this trip. Relaxing doesn't even begin to express how this trip was for us.

Too many crazies on the road

Stacy, David, Deanna, Steve, Reba and I all decided to rent mo peds today for a couple hours. We had a lot of fun driving around the Island. I think the most fun part was laughing at each other since we had to wear these great looking helmets. The guys didn't feel very manly as we were riding around on our "hogs" with our little, yellow, helmets on. Safety first though. No one got hurt or in any accidents which we were thankful for.





Rebecca looks pretty cool on her scooter. I think she may get one for when she gets home. She was a speed demon.


This is also a look that Rebecca is going to try and re-create at home. She could be the crossing guard at the children's school. Safety first.











Rebecca said that I looked like a 10 year old boy wearing this...she was right.












This is Deanna and her husband Steve getting ready to roll. Deanna celebrated her 49th birthday today and she had a blast.











Last night was the first dinner that Sensaria hosted and it was outside overlooking the water. They did a great job. It was great food.











This is a picture of all the women who earned the trip this year. Next year is Cancun.












Rebecca and Stacy on the beach. We finally got to walk the beach which was something I had wanted to do. The water is so warm.











By the pool. Hey kids, we are still trying to find a coconut.












Nice little rain squall this morning as we sipped our coffee from our balcony.

First day in the Bahamas

We all stayed up and played cards by the pool last night until sprinkles of rain pushed us back inside.












The three amigos!! Stacy, Deanna, and Reba

We got up this morning and headed over to a Market across the street from our hotel to get something to eat. We spent the rest of the day laying under a palm tree and walking around the grounds making sure we could find everything. There is so much land here. They have a great work out facility which Robb took advantage of while I read my book. Some other friends arrived today and we all went out to dinner and then came back and played cards by the pool until 11 p.m. Great relaxing day.



We had to take this picture for the boys who are desperately asking us to take a picture of coconuts and bring one home for them. So boys, here you go.











They have two big water trampoline's straight out from the hotel. They also have two infinity pools. It is beautiful here.











This is a picture from our room. How can you not relax in a place like this.












This is a picture from our room. No complaints. A big Hello to Jacob, Jonah and Noah and Marna and Papa who have made this all possible by caring for the boys. Until tomorrow.

RnR

We have arrived in the Bahamas!!

No pictures yet, but we arrived tonight at 9:30p.m. We had our Bahama Mamma complimentary drink and had dinner. We will try to take some pictures and start updating the blog if there is time in between sitting under a palm tree, reading a book, and playing in the pool. Until next time.

RnR