NYC Cruise {the NYC part}

I think I mentioned awhile back that I earned another free vacation from Premier.  I really love my job, all the time.  But man, these trips are such an awesome perk and reason to love it even more!

Everyone always asks what I have to do to get them. These trips are just for leadership.  I've been in leadership with Premier for about 7 years now, maybe?  I really can't remember.  So every year we are eligible to go on the leadership trip.  It's based on points/sales, and we always have a period of about 6 months to earn our points.  You have to earn a certain amount of points to even be able to buy on for the trip.  Then I can increase my points and earn my trip cheaper and cheaper, eventually free, and at the maximum point status it's always free for me and Dave!  Except Disney...last year Disney was a trip they allowed us to earn free for the kids too.

And honestly, during the 6 months that we are given to qualify, typically I only have to bump up my usual activity just a little bit to end up getting both of our trips for free.  I have helped support my family in a huge way with my income from Premier for 6 years now.  Before then, it was just fun money.  So I definitely do more than the usual jeweler.  But it sure makes earning a trip much easier! I'm not saying it's easy...I have to push myself past what I usually do, and Dave and I always decide together if it's a trip worth me working extra for or not.  It's pretty awesome that I can earn a vacation from the work (plus a little more) that I'd typically be doing anyway.  In just 3 trips, we have been places that we would have never gone if we'd been paying and planning on our own.  In the end, I have to give so much thanks to all of my amazing hostesses, for supporting me and my business.  We definitely wouldn't be on these trips if it weren't for them!

Of the 7 years I've been eligible for the trips, this is our 3rd trip.  Most of the other trips I was either hugely pregnant or had a newborn.  We took our first cruise (of our lives) with Premier in 2010, and we absolutely loved it.  We had the most beautiful stops. Then we took the big kids to Disney World last year and now this cruise.  They tend to do cruises every other year, with a "land" trip in between.

This cruise had a little different spin...we sailed out of New York City, instead of the typical Miami.

The 24 hours leading up to getting on the flight to NYC will go in the record books as some of the most stressful hours of my life so far. Or possibly one of my biggest pity parties of all time.  Either way...not a good day.  Maybe it was God's way of helping us enjoy our time away even more.  Dave got the stomach flu and my mom (who was scheduled to be there in time for us to leave, and was watching the kids for the first 4.5 days of the 8 that we'd be gone) called and said she wouldn't make it because she was sick too.  More than once that day, through tears (or maybe some possible yelling), both of us wondered if we should just not go.

The hours I had spent getting every last detail of who needed to be where and when, and who was the emergency call numbers which days, and who was picking up and dropping off where and when, all had to be re-done. Dave had taken the day off before we left so we could finish the million things we needed to do...instead he was in the bathroom and bed all day.  With 3 kiddos at home with me all day, I started those million things at 9pm the night before we left.  I still didn't know whether Dave would be okay to get on a flight the next day day or not, but I kept going in hopes he was.  I was up until 4am finishing every last detail and packing myself and all the kids (who would now be away from the house for all 8 days).

The next morning all was good! We made it.  But to be honest, it took me a good 2-3 days to fully relax and breathe.

Off to New York City.

We opted not to spend extra days in NYC, even though we really really wanted to.  And obviously that turned out to be a good thing with all that happened before we left.

So we got into the city around dinner time Saturday night, and we were determined to make the most of the one night and next morning we had, to see as much of the city as we could.

I had been to NYC twice before, and I fell in love instantly.  This was Dave's first time, and he loved it as much as I did.

We checked into our hotel, threw our stuff down, and headed out.

Our hotel was walking distance to Times Square so we headed there first.  Times Square at night is a must.

We really didn't make it all that late, considering the day before, I was exhausted beyond belief.

So we got up the next morning and headed out.  We weren't sure what all we could fit in, but we jumped the subway and headed for the Financial District to the 9/11 Memorial, with the goal that we'd just keep moving and try to squeeze in everything we could until we had to be back to check out of the hotel and get to the pier.

 

The new World Trade Center building was amazing. Such an incredible symbol of resiliency.

Getting off the subway and being at the tip of Manhattan was surreal. The last time I was in New York I stood at the top of the Empire State Building and took a picture of the World Trade Center towers through the foggy sky.  I still have that picture in a box somewhere.  

Just being in that place made my heart feel so heavy.  Standing where those towers crumbled and buried so many people alive, and walking the same streets that were filled with debris and millions of office papers and complete destruction was eery.  In fact, even when we weren't down there, but we could see the skyline in the distance, I wondered what it would have been like for all those people, all over the area to sit and watch out their windows as those two giant towers burned and collapsed.

The memorial was beautiful.  2 large square holes in the ground to represent to the two towers.

We left the Financial District and rode the subway to Canal Street.  We knew this was a good street to to get a good taste of the city as we walked as far as we had time for. 

We walked through Chinatown, Little Italy, and saw parts of SoHo.

Pizza in Little Italy.

We made it back to our room at 11:45 for a 12:00 checkout. And then took a taxi to the pier.

Quite a different site than leaving from Miami.

Premier is so good to us.  Every jeweler on the trip got a balcony room. It was huge and so nice!

We sailed on the Norwegian Breakaway, a boat that isn't even a year old, and one of Norwegian's largest ships. It held about 5000 people I think.  4000 guests, 1000 crew.  About 1500 of the 4000 were with Premier.

We took a picture of the slides and kids area first thing and texted it to the kids and promised we'd do the slides for them. Aren't we nice?  You can't see the blue and red slides very well, but at the top, you stand there and the floor drops out from under you and drops you straight down and then twists you all around.  It was really awesome...on the 4th day when it was finally warm enough to get wet.

 

 The cold weather is definitely the big difference (in March anyway) in leaving from NYC as opposed to our previous cruises from Miami.  Normally we have our swim suits on under our clothes, or in our bags and head straight to lay out in the sun.  Instead, we boarded in coats and boots, and it didn't get warm until the end of the 3rd day at sea. Right as we got past the southern part of South Carolina, the air finally got warm.  Even for this winter lover, it was SUCH a treat to feel that warm air after such a long winter (that was still going on back home).

Despite the cold weather, it sure was an amazing view leaving, sailing right alongside Manhattan and out into the Atlantic.

A view of the very tip of Manhattan (Financial District) and the new World Trade Center building.

I had left my coat in our room, but we still went out on the deck to watch the boat sail past the city, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  It was freezing!

Manhattan is on the left, Jersey on the right. The Atlantic straight ahead.

Dave talked me out of taking my good camera, which was probably a good thing.  And my phone doesn't take the best pictures when I try to zoom.  But here she is...Lady Liberty.  This was our first time to see her.

We got really good at taking selfies.

 

 Our first 2.5 days were at sea.  And like I said, the air wasn't warm until the night of the 3rd day.  So the first time we were really outside was when we stopped at Port Canaveral, Florida.  I wouldn't say we were bored though, you're pretty much on a floating resort. There was so much to do. And even when we weren't doing something, the beauty of not having anything to do and just having a break from life was wonderful.

More to come. 

Mason turned 6! {a March Madness Party}

I would love to skip right to the cruise we got back from about a week ago, and pretend I'm still soaking up the sun in the Bahamas.  

But I'll be a good mom and not skip over the fact that our 2nd baby turned 6...awhile ago.

He's all about basketball these days (really, you could probably find him playing inside or outside at any given moment at our house), and with a February 28 birthday (March 3 party), it was the perfect timing for a March Madness party!  

We decided to throw in both of his favorite teams and the ones he was cheering for in the tournament - the Shockers and Wildcats (the RIGHT Wildcats, not the wrong ones). 

We had concession stand food for dinner...hot dogs with chili and other toppings, nachos, and I threw some coordinating colored fruit out in case someone needed something that wasn't junk on their plate.

 Figuring the cake out was pretty easy.  I borrowed the Wilton ball cake pan for the basketball. 

But piping all of those stars...holy smokes...my hand cramped up many times. 

And then, wouldn't ya know...the morning before the party, a certain little 2 year old decided to help himself to a bite of the cake when no one was looking.  I thought about patching it up but would have had to make more frosting.  I left it.  I think it added character. 

 Mason was so excited the entire month of his birthday that Aunt Rebekah would be here.  She and her best friend got picked for Megan's craft weekend, and it happened to fall on Mason's birthday weekend.  It was hard to explain to them that she would be in town but NOT at our house...they weren't so happy with that. So we waited till she was done on Sunday and got to have her at the party and for an extra day. 

 Give this boy some Legos and he's a happy guy.  But seriously, if anyone has mastered how to organize those things...HELP!!!  Honestly, I think it's way too late. Most of the sets he's gotten in the past are a complete mess and mixed up with others.  I get overwhelmed even looking at his Lego area and have no clue where to start in order to get them all back with the right sets.

For the most part we stick to family parties and let the kids have a friends party on the "big deal" birthdays...like 5 (although Taylor did 7 also), probably 10, 13...  

We haven't stayed completely consistent with that.  But it's working for now and the kids are happy with it.   They love having a house full of family and have tons of fun with their cousins.

 

 (it looks like he's picking his nose, but he wasn't)

 Man, what is it with these candle pictures...they got me all emotional.  Just looking at him and seeing how big he's gotten.  What a sweet sweet time celebrating him. 

And to make the weekend even better....

School was cancelled due to the cold the next day!  So we got to get up and head to the donut shop with Aunt Rebekah and Megan before they headed back home!

 Next up for this little guy is Kindergarten shots.  Shhhhh...he doesn't know yet.

Good Friday will not be so good for him :-(

anni

Still doing some catch up...

January brought the first big end to a chapter or our lives together.  We had to put our chocolate lab, Anni down.  Cancer was taking over her life and she wasn't doing well at all.  

I could say a TON about this dog.  I could tell you about how she was our first "baby".  We got her while we were dating in college. I could tell you about the 3 hour drive to pick her out, and then again, to pick her up in eastern Kansas. I have a picture of her riding in my lap and cuddling into my chest on that day we drove her home. I could tell you about the night that Dave put my engagement ring on her collar and had her run down the driveway to welcome me off a long shift at work.  I could tell you about how we were so afraid how she'd respond to us bringing our first baby home, and we laid baby Taylor beside her all the time. I could tell you stories about how she ran away all the time, owned the neighborhood and always showed up at Papa and Nana's house, after going for swims.  I could tell you about the pack of frozen steaks, wrapped in plastic, that she ate off the counter, completely...multiple times.  Or the 6 inch subway sandwiches or other plates of food, she ate within seconds of someone getting up to use the restroom during lunch.  And I could tell you about the countless times the mailman or UPS man rang the doorbell during nap time and her bark woke all of my sleeping children up.  I could tell you how safe she made us feel and how well she protected our house and how she loved to play ball and go swimming.

 

If you've seen Marley and Me.  I'll just tell you that is our life with our dog. Completely and perfectly.  It started with just the 3 of us.  And she welcomed all 3 of our babies home.  She was a crazy dog, who got worse and worse behaved with the less and less attention she got, but she loved us well.  And regardless of how many times I threatened to find her a new home, the day we had to say goodbye was so very hard.  It was hard watching our kiddos say goodbye to their first dog. 

But the Lord provided the perfect day for us.  School was cancelled because of low temperatures. So instead of Dave taking her off alone, we all went together.  It made it hard that way, but it made it way better that way too.  We got great closure and we were able to spend the entire day together. God knew what our hearts needed. 

After goodbyes and tears.  We headed to Build-a-Bear to pick out a dog that looked just like Anni.

They each got to put a heart inside her. And they named her Anni, and picked out a leash and brush. 

And on our way out we stopped at the photobooth for a keepsake. 

She was a good good dog.  Some people don't understand that connection when a dog is a member of your family.  But some of you know and you totally get it. 

She was part of the original "us".  The kids always counted her in as a member of the family.

She's definitely been missed and our kids are certain she is running happy and free in heaven.