Day 2, Captain's Dinner

As luck would have it, my and Rusty's 8th Anniversary fell on the same night as formal night on the cruise, the captain's dinner!  We started the night early with a champagne toast with the entire group outside our state rooms, then it was up to the promenade for formal portraits, then onto the dining room!

Day 2

Day 2 was a sea day, spent cruising and relaxing.  Lorelai and I had breakfast on deck with my dad and then wandered the ship exploring everything and playing putt-putt, and sipping pina coladas, we also had our one and only stop at Camp Carnival for their beary cuddly event, which is basically the exact same thing as build-a-bear.  Rusty and my dad made it to afternoon tea and they brought me some delicious scones back to the room, yum!

Family Vacation Day 1, Carnival Elation

We boarded our ship and went straight to the buffet on the lido deck, then it was off to the pool for a quick splash as we embarked on our voyage.  We enjoyed our first sit-down dinner, and then saw the welcome show!

Family Vacation, Day 1 NOLA

We took a family (including my parents, aunt, and my mom's cousin) cruise to Mexico (we missed you Derek and Angie)!  We started the trip with a train ride to New Orleans, Lousiana (bringing the total states visted by Lorelai to 17, an impressive feat at five years old).  We stayed the night and ate at The Market Place Café and Cafe Du Monde. 

Dolphin Day

In Cozumel, Mexico (our second port day) my dad, Rusty, Lorelai and I went on a dolphin swim excursion at Dolphinaris.  It was super fun, and a memorable day!  We spent 40 minutes in the water with our dolphin, and were impressed with how well he was trained and his strength!

8 years

Rusty and I will celebrate our 8th Anniversary in style this year!  Pictures coming soon!

In the mean time, I'll share our anniversary present with y'all... McCarty lamps to go with the 8th anniversary guide chart suggestion of pottery!  The 'melon ball' globes are being custom made for us, unfortunately the process takes longer than I anticipated and we won't have them in time for our actual anniversary.  This is the gist of them though, and I can hardly wait!

She's a star!

I'd heard from a few friends that Lorelai was on a tv commercial for a local advertisement for a huge fair/ carnival that happens every year (we always go)  .. I haven't been able to see my little star on tv yet, but tonight my co-worker (thanks Sherry!!) saw her and snapped this shot for me!  SO cool!  

The second tooth has gone and come again!

Lorelai's lost a second tooth, and she's not even six yet!  This one was also from the bottom row. Last week the dentist told us the permanent tooth was already up and it was unlikely based on placement that the baby one would fall out on it's own, the dentist told Lorelai to really work on wiggling the baby one out of there and, ever the hard worker, she did it!!!

She proudly called all the family last night, telling everyone she was hoping for $80,000 since she was so brave and worked so hard. Haha!

Leigh's SURPRISE Bridal Shower

I went to NJ to celebrate my oldest and dearest friend's upcoming wedding at her SURPRISE Bridal Shower!  It was so amazing to see Leigh and her family and meet all of her friends!  

Philadelphia

I got to visit my dad's cousin Nancy in Philadelphia on Saturday, yay!

1st trip to the eye doctor

Arms hugged around the dogs neck...

sleeping so soundly she's drooling on CCs head. And sweet Cs wouldn't move for all the dog bones in the house!  Love.