It's so nice to be back home with my boys (well, except for the temperature). I was so excited to see them last night. I thought I had booked our flight home for 9am; getting us home before noon. Well, as it turns out, I had actually booked it for 9pm. This gave us another full day in Washington. But, I was really missing my boys.

It seems they survived our time away. There was only one mishap to report. Nate decided to give himself a haircut (again). We had this conversation last night.
Me: Why did you cut your hair?
Nate: Because it was getting too long in the front.
Me: What are you supposed to do when your hair gets too long? (based on the fact that he had done this before)
Nate: Tell you.
Me: Why didn't you tell me?
Nate: You weren't here.
There's logic in that! Well, at least hair grows back.
When I asked Nate what he wanted me to bring him back from our trip, he said "a toy." I could not resist this Alaskan Husky puppet. I think he was happy with it too. A real Husky would melt here, lol.

Jacob requested a T-shirt. So this one seemed very appropriate for him. Jacob grew while we were gone. Shawn measured him just now, and he was 4'7". That is exactly one foot shorter than me.

My friend Jodi sent this Tag reading thing back for Nate. It seems to be a hit. He is still playing with it. He has taken a liking to books on CD. So this might be quite helpful for him to learn more sounds and read more.

The older boys got souvenirs too. But, they didn't model theirs for me. I think we did a good job of matching their souvenirs to their personalities too. It was fun to shop for them while we were gone. They were never far from our mind.

Be sure to check in regularly. I will be posting more pictures from our trip in the coming days. I have lots of pictures.

Today, I'm going to share a peek at the pretty food and drinks on this cruise. The food is amazing, beautiful and delicious (and always available!). Its no wonder people gain ten pounds in a week on a cruise.

Pretty umbrella drinks, in real pineapples

These are all make of chocolate!What better to go with chocolate, than champagne?

Yum, chocolate dolphins

Pretty, pretty chocolate

Another chocolate carving

Is this not the most horribly, amazing plate of food your have ever seen? In my defense, I (honestly) only had a bite or two of each thing. I simply could not choose which treat to try. And, it seems whatever I didn't get, Brian did. So, we were totally suger loaded.

Mel K. and Amy, I hang my head in shame. But, OMG it was so worth it. I do not look forward to stepping on the scale when I get home. I'm going to REALLY need you guys to rally around me me the next few months to repair the damage done, lol.

Ok, so I have had some trouble posting blogs from my laptop on the ship. I tried three times the other day and finally gave up. Don't even ask me how much I have to pay to even have internet access on here, lol. So, this time I am using the ship's computer cafe', ooh la la. Anyway, I just hope it will post. We are having a great time. Since I have not been able to post like I had hoped, I am just going to tease you with a preview of some of our activities. When I get home, I will post the details.

Without further ado:

So that was a bit cheesy, but it fell right into place. Yesterday, we visited Juneau the capital of Alaska. We also took an excursion to see the Mendenhall Glacier. Wow, it's beautiful, magnificent. I mean words fail to describe the awe, lol. It makes me think of one of my other favorite places, Yosemite, which was also carved out by a glacier. I can't imagine Yosemite looking like this thousands of years ago.

This is Mendenhall Glacier. It has receded over many years. Where you see water was at one time part of the glacier. The ice burgs in the water have broken off from the face of the glacier. This and the glacier itself melting are causing the receding.
After we left Juneau, we down Endicott Fjord to see another glacier (I can't remember it's name at the moment). We were supposed to go up Tracy Arm Fjord, but it was too dangerous due to ice conditions. Hmmm. In this picture, Brian and I are on our balcony. I am taking the picture, using the reflection of our sliding door (cool, huh?). Do you see that big chunk of ice behind us? Um, I seem to remember tales of another ship that did not fair so well in icy water...

This is just the tip of the ice burg. Couldn't resist! See how is goes out under the water? These things were huge. It's hard to get perspective in a photo. I took lots of pictures of ice, lol. Not to worry, we survived.

Today, we visited Skagway, the first city in Alaska. It's a really small town and quaint (think Old Town Clovis looking, in the whole town). We rode the White Pass train over the pass and into Canada. I got to use my passport, for the first time ever...TO GO TO CANADA! That was pretty uneventful, but the views were breathtaking, again. Alaska is beautiful. Here we are crossing a trundle bridge and entering a tunnel. It was pitch black in there. Kind of eerie, but fun.

Another photo as our car got closer. There were some other great views from the train. But, like I said, this is going to be a teaser post.

I hope this posts. I need to go get something to eat. I just realized that its nearly 9:00 and I haven't eaten dinner. It's hard to gauge when the sun doesn't set until 11:00 (seriously). It also rises before 4:00am. Talk about long days.

Anyway, keep checking in. Tomorrow, we have a stop in Canada. Then we arrive back in Seattle for a couple of days of visiting. And we will be back home on Monday. I miss my boys, but we have had a great time. Next time, I think we'll bring the whole family.

Today's the day (well actually, it was yesterday, but I was too busy to log in and post). Jodi had to leave early for class; so she left us with this greeting, along with the birthday crown I made Brian the night before at Gabriel's birthday party.

This was the first view of our ship, from the highway as we were heading to the port. This thing is huge; like a floating hotel. It is beautiful though!

The view of Seattle from our balcony, before we left

Leaving Seattle, already have our umbrella drinks

Bon Voyage Barbeque, poolside

Cool view from the back of the ship

The wait staff singing Happy Birthday to Brian

The evening sky, about 10:30 last night, long days here.

This chess set is not as big as the one Jacob and I played in Seattle, but it still reminded me of him!

We are having so much. I think we will have to do this again; with the whole family next time. There is so much to do.

Happy Father's Day to Brian, my Dad, and all of my daddy friends. I hope you all have great day. Here is a picture of the guys at Jodi's house with their Father's Day t-shirts.

Today was our touristy day in Seattle. Our awesome tour guide/chauffeur Jason showed us around. Our first stop was Pike's Place Market, known for throwing fish. If you look closely at this picture, you can see the flying fish. It draws quite the crowd.

Then there was "The Starbucks." This was the beginning of it all. Today there was life entertainment out front. Notice the original Starbucks logo. This is a must see destination for Seattle tourists.
Then we headed out for lunch. And where would we go on our tourist day other than the Space Needle? So here it is. It is still quite impressive (the third time for me). This was Brian's and Jason's first time. I think they enjoyed it too.

Pretty food - and yummy too!

We shared a Lunar Orbiter for desert. I don't think any were even hungry at that point. But, it is the touristy thing to do :-)

Brian and I on the observation deck

Aimee, thank you for lending us your hubby today. We had a great time. Wish you were here!

Jacob: Tonight we are having a birthday party for Gabriel. Wish you were here. I love you!

After getting up at 4am to catch a 6:30am flight, I had priorities upon arriving in Seattle. Even before claiming my luggage:
One of things to see on our list was Snoqualmie Falls. I didn't expect it to be today. But, apparently it was nearby, or at least on the way home. So, we stopped to see the falls. Quite an impressive view. It doesn't quite compare to my beloved Yosemite Falls, but it will meet my waterfall needs when we move to Seattle.

Finally meeting Aimee's husband, Jason. It seems the guys will get along just fine. They played quite nicely together!

The Rock Star

Gabriel: "Best Buddies"

A new game, Ticket to Ride. We have wanted to get this game for a while and found it at the game store today. It's going to be a fun evening. I look forward to teaching my boys how to play too.

Joshua: You and I will have fun with this. It can be quite cut throat. Dad probably won't want to play with us.

Jacob: We are having fun. I hope you are having a good time with Raymond. I love you.

My friend Aimee introduced me to 12 for 12; 12 random photos of your day on the 12th of each month. My first 12 for 12 was Easter Sunday, April 12th. I didn't quite get it right, but I got 12 photos on there. Then, last month, I took the photos, but never got them posted. Today, I was determined to get it right and woke up with 12 for 12 on my mind. So, here I am again attempting 12 for 12, June 2009.

8:36 am - It's the first day of summer vacation and I slept in. My cell phone is also my clock since its on my night, within reach, and I cannot see the alarm clock across the room.

9:41 am - He slept in too.

9:42 am - Not sure when he woke up. But, I think it's safe to say he's not officially "up" yet.

10:07 am - My hubby has an interview, with another school district. Doesn't he clean up nice?

10:30 am - Since I didn't get the teachers gift soon enough, we went to their school to see if we could catch them cleaning their rooms, or something, today. We caught Mrs. G and gave her her gift. Jacob's teacher was not their, so we left her gift in her mailbox. Hopefully, she will be in soon.

2:30 pm - Shawn hula-ing with the Wii. This will be a good photo to show the girlfriends...

3: 15 pm - went to the store this morning and let Jacob pick out his birthday cake makings. He chose devil's food, vanilla frosting and M&M's. Tomorrow, we will bake.

3:30 pm - My camera died! In the middle of 12 for 12. So, I put the battery on the charger.

4:30 pm - After a little charge, I am good to go (although, it needs an over night charge). Joshua and the cat, having a meaningful conversation.
4:35 pm - Nate has two speeds: stop and go fast. Today, he stopped, for about 2 hours. Not sure if he's going to sleep tonight. But, it was a nice break in the middle of the day.

5:15 pm - "New message" from Brandi! They text constantly. (No comments about my texting habits now).

6:30 pm - working from home. I love my job. I love the flexibility to be able to bring work home and do some of it after the kids are in bed.

I think I have successfully completed a 12 for 12 post. I am so proud of myself. Stayed tuned for graduation photos in the next couple of days. This has been the week for graduations. And Sunday is Jacob's birthday. So, no slowing down. Then, I get to pack...fun stuff. I am so ready for a vacation!