Busy day...

This morning was time to beck to exercising. So up at 7am and done stairs to get back into the routine. My legs were not as bad as I thought so walking around the ship must have been good for them. We picked up Jojo from school today and took her to lunch. It was a great spending time with her. We had to go and get pool and spa chemicals. It is about a month away from the pool being opened. The we took Jojo to get a new princess outfit. She had worn the other one out. She found a Tinkerbell with wings and everything. We took her home and she had to try it on and show us. It was so cute. Then it was back to Lowe's for more grass seed and dirt. Also picked up tomato and strawberry plants. After dinner we went over to Maggie and Dj's for a visit and to give the boys their t-shirt from the cruise. Kyle loved his, but Payton could care us cause Dori was on TV. We had a great time. So no time to upload the rest of the pictures, maybe tomorrow.

Picture day...

We started the day with a visit to Dr. Bill for a much needed adjustment. Between the rough seas, a strange bed, and hauling luggage around our backs needed a fine tuning. I continued on to the grocery store for some much needed food and Beth headed to physical therapy. After lunch Beth headed to her moms for more computer training and I began to work on the vacation pictures. I was able to load half of them to face book and will load the rest tomorrow. If you don't have a face book account and would like the link to see them, let me know and I will sent it to you. After dinner we went to Lowe's for the start of the spring fling. We got grass seed, grass patch, and fertilizer. And so the spring process begins.

Lazy day...

We took advantage of the cloudy sky and slept in this morning. Beth went to 10:30 mass and I unloaded the suitcases and started laundry. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and as little as possible. We had dinner with Beth's mom and dad and brother Fran was up from North Caroline for a visit. We had roasted chicken with mashed spuds and gravy. Yum Yum... Still working on the vacation pictures and hope to have them ready in a couple of days.

Home sweet home...

We were up this morning at 6am to do some late minute paper work, shower, and have breakfast. We were scheduled to disembark the ship between 8:30 and 8:45. We got in line and made our way pass the last scan of our card to ensure we had left the ship. Then we got in line to find our luggage. The warehouse was color coded so it made our luggage easier to find. Then we shoot in line at the customs. Next we stood in line to board the bus to go to the airport. We flew southwest and if you have every flown them before you know the check in for curb side is a nightmare. Well the line was a far as you could see. So we jumped in line and waited an hour and 5 minutes to curb side check bags. The inside was just as bad but it was cooler. So we went inside to our gate, B6. The line for security check in did not look to bad, until we reached the bottom pf the step and found the end of the line was down around the hall. So again we stood in line. This time it was only for 40 minutes. It was a good thing our plan did not leave until 12:55pm. It still surprises me how many people thing they can carry on one or 2 big bottles of boozes. I just chuckle when it is taken away from people. The airport staff love getting free booze. We on the other hand knew to pack ours in the checked luggage. Our flight left about 25 minutes late but we arrived on time. A 3 hour fight, but we were able to catch some sleep and were so tired from standing in lines all day long. We stopped for dinner before going home, because we knew once home buster would not let us leave again. We have been through the mail and found nothing of great interest. We are now relaxing and enjoying being home. Hope you all enjoyed tagging along with us on our cruise journey. we will try to get pictures posted in the next couple of days.

Journey Home..

We spent our last day at Half Moon Cay. Our snorkeling was canceled, but so were many other excursions. We did rent a clam shell tent and some snorkel gear, there was nothing to see except sand. The water was very cold, but we got used to it after being in it for awhile. We ate what they called bar-b-que for lunch. It was just hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, and beans. We were sunburned and tired, so we made back to the ship. After a much needed shower we made our way to dinner. We were to leave at 4:30pm but an announcement came over the speaker say someone needed medical help and a helicopter was on it way to the island. We were about an our late leaving, but captain said we would dock on time. So it is time to pack and figure out how to get all the stuff home. It will take great skill and a lot of creativity to get it all home without being over in weight. We will be home tomorrow by 6pm and I am sure Buster will be glad to see us. Thanks to Chrissy and Angie for dog sitting while we were gone.

Another day at sea...

Today we were at sea all day on our way to Half Moon Cay which is Holland America private island. Beth had a spa treatment first thing this morning. I am not one for the spa so I slept in an little longer and we meet for breakfast. After breakfast we had a autograph session with the players. It was so cool. We were told that Brian Dawkins would only sign the picture we had taken due to contact issues. But when we got to the table he told us us would sign anything. What a guy to do that for us. We had took a quick nap and then to lunch. We have the late formal night tonight so we made reservation for 7:45 for dinner. Beth has ANOTHER spa treatment at 5pm so eating lunch late was not a big deal. We found out that our snorkel trip for tomorrow was cancelled. Two times trying to snorkel and zero times doing it. What a BIG disappointment. So we will just hang on the beach and do some swimming.

A day of walking...

We arrived in St. Thomas this morning about 8am. We did not plan an excursion, but went exploring on our own. We took the taxi to downtown and headed to Blackbeard's castle. We went to the Rum factory and I fell in love with rum punch. It tasted like Hawaiian punch with rum. But when the temperature is 87 degrees and the sun is beating on you it tasted great. After seeing the castle we found the 99 steps and worked our way down it. We would have never made it up, but coming down them was no great feat either. We finished the day with more shopping and headed back to the boat around 2pm. As we set sail it started to rain and tonight's sailing is rocky again. We are at sea tonight and all day tomorrow. We arrive at Half Moon Cay which is Holland's private island on Friday. We have tried to upload pictures, but have had no luck. We will load them to facebook once we get home.

What a day...

We finally docked at San Juan about 8am. We had a San Juan City and Bacardi tour at 10am, but wanted to shop before it. Well nothing opened until 11am, so we made our way back to the ship to wait. We went to the distillery first. The tour was a little weak in seeing anything related to making rum, but at least we can see we did it. Next we traveled around the city see different site, but nothing really worth taking any photos of. We finally stopped at Fort San Chistobal. It is a cool fort built in the 17th century to defend San Juan from landward attacks. After returning to the port, we dropped off our camera bag and began to shop. We walked around all the cool shops for about 4 hours and were dog tired when we returned to the ship about 6pm. We ate in the Lido deck, which is buffet style. We were too tired to shower and change for the sit down dinner. As we were returning to our room , our little gopher had delivered a surprise package from the eagles. It contained a jersey, little stress ball, and several other things in a really nice tote bag. So cool. We are resting tonight, as we are in St. Thomas tomorrow for more shopping and pool time.

Day 3...

So so sad today. We were not able to board at Grand Turk due to the wind and wave conditions. It was to dangerous to attempt it so we are now on our way to San Juan. So another day at rough sea. Good thing is that we were able to save excursion money, so we have more money for shopping.

Day 2...

The first day of the trip was very trying. We arrived in Florida on time from the flight. But getting the bus to the boat was a mess. No organization at all. Disney is so much better at this process. It was only a 3 mile ride to the port terminal from the airport. The checking process was not bad. We only have to wait in 3 lines, but were able to get to our room by 1:30pm. We had the life boat drill which is mandatory. If you have never been to one, you MUST go to your designated boat with your life vest on and wait until roll call is done. After that we set sail. It was a very rough ride the first hours. High waves and wind made it very bumpy. I was not feeling all that great at dinner and could barely eat. Beth on the other hand was fine. We left dinner early and headed back to the room. By this time I am pretty sure what I ate was not going to stay down and sure enough it did not. So it was cracker and water for me the rest of the evening and to bed early. We missed the cocktail party with the eagles players.

This morning was a lot better. We had a great buffet breakfast and then off to a tour of the ships second floor kitchen. I really enjoyed seeing the kitchen area and some of the things that go on back there. We then attended a Cooking session with 3 of the chefs on the ship. I purchased the cookbook and had it autographed by them. After lunch we had a photo session with the eagles players and then had a question and answer session with them. It was great. Dinner tonight was formal night. I was able to enjoy dinner more tonight than last night. We found out that the excursion we book tomorrow was cancelled. We were looking forward to the catamaran sail and snorkeling trip. Oh well things will work out in the end...

Already to go...

The house is clean, the bags are packed and loaded, and now just waiting for the house sitter to arrive to go over things. We have to get up at 3am to get ready and be at the airport by 5am. We are so looking forward to the trip. Warm and sunny weather for a whole week. We hope to be able to blog everyday about our trip, so you can enjoy it with us.

I did have a visit with the cancer doctor today and everything is great. I have no traces of protein which means the cancer is not back nor were there any lumps in the the lymph nodes. I have to go back in June to start the process of the 1 year body scan. So we will see what that holds. But for now, things are good and my mom is oh so thankful. YEAAAAA

A day at the doctor...

About five months ago the heel of my foot started to hurt. I had a bone spur problem about 7 years ago and it kinda felt like it again. I tried all the stuff recommended by the doctor then, night boot, which is a pain in the rear when you have to pee at night, arch supports, morning stretches, heel cup, and rest, but nothing worked as it did before. I knew the only solution was going to be a cortisone shot and was so not looking forward to it. But with the cruise this week-end and the Alaska trip in May I knew I could not do all the walking required with my foot hurting. So today was the day to see the doctor. She showed me the spur on the x-ray but said I was not a candidate for surgery. So anti-inflammatory pills, new shoe insoles, a foot taping, and a shot should fix it right up. I was ok with the first 3 items, but knew the shot was going to hurt like @&%* and true to my belief it did. Luckily she said I should not need another shot and I am not sure I could live through another one. It is still pretty sore, so I hope tomorrow it is better.

Beth has already started the count down, in hours, til we fly for Florida. Kinda scary hearing every morning when we wake how many more hours we have. Only a few little things left to pack and do around the house, so we are in good shape.

Giovanni's Pizza finally opened today. We ordered from them for dinner and it is great food. The have all types of pizza, salads, sandwiches, and 8 different french fries. The dinners are hugh. Beth said next time we would get one dinner and split it because they are hugh. They don't do delivery and are not open on Sunday, but have great food. Try them sometime. They are located on 724 right before you turn off to come to our house.

An Uneventful Tuesday

Today was an uneventful Tuesday, no real appointments, just kind of doing odds and ends which need to be done before we leave on Saturday. The week leading up to a vacation is filled with little things that seam really important, like getting the laundry done, cleaning the house for the housesitters, getting Buster's dog food (well this one is important). So this week's post are going to be boring. Sorry ...

But on a funny note - let me start by stating that when I'm on vacation, I eat Lucky Charms for breakfast. I cann't help it, I LOVE them. Kim, Lynne and JoJo (who turned 4 in Dec.) left for Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina today. Kim's family has a condo right on the beach, it is a great place to chillout. Jeanette & I went with them last September, and introduced JoJo to my tradition of Lucky Charms, her parents try hard to feed her mostly organic food. I was informed today by JoJo that she had Lucky Charms all packed for the trip. Her parents are doomed, they will now be eating Lucky Charms everytime they go on vacation! My job is done!

A Loooooong day...

We knew it was going to be a busy day, but we were not prepared for this kind of day. Payton sleep really well until 2am. We finally ended up putting him in bed with us about 2:30am hoping he would fall back asleep, but no such luck. Beth finally got up with him and went to the living room to put on some smooth jazz since all our kids take naps to that. He finally fell asleep around 4:30am and I found both of them sleeping on the couch when I got up at 6:45am. I had to give blood at 7:30am, so before I left I took a shower, got kyle up, made his breakfast. and got Beth up. Having blood drawn that early is always an experience. Lucky I had a appointment, if not I was told there were 15 people waiting in line when it opened at 7am. Only took me 10 minutes, so I was back on my way home by 7:40 to pick up kyle and get him to school by 8am. And since I was out already, I had to stop and bring a coffee home for Beth. I got home and Beth had to jump in the shower as she had PT for her neck at 10am. She said she called the doctor and was able to get in at 11:30 so she would go after PT. So Payton and I watched Dora the Explorer. I forgot what kids programs were like..LOL After watching 3 different episodes, we went to take a nap. He fall asleep right away, but I could not. Beth came home from the doctor and I fixed lunch. Payton woke up just in time to have lunch with us. Maggie and DJ arrived about 1pm to pick up Payton and Beth had to leave to go watch Jojo for the afternoon and then had to go up to her mom's to fix her computer. As I was looking out the window a hawk flew by and landed on the telephone wire. I was able to get several photos of him. Beautiful animal. I had a hair appt at 4;30pm and then had to go to Wal-mart to pick up meds for both of us. Dinner is over and we both are ready for bed. What a day. We need a vacation, Oh that's right we leave Saturday morning for it...

A day with the boys...

The boys arrived around 9:15am this morning. Kyle woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning so he was already grounded and in a bad mood. Payton on the other hand was ready to play and running around the house with Buster. We got our instructions on Payton's night time routine and then Maggie and DJ were off to Atlantic City. Beth and I had breakfast and Payton had half a pop tart. Kyle was watching TV and trying to get in a better mood. After breakfast, Payton found the wagon of teddy bears and lined them all on the couch. Kyle and I left to go to Target and to the grocery store while Beth and Payton took a nap. When we returned home I began fixing lunch, Chicken frys and potato wedges. Payton slept past lunch so he had 2 pieces of pizza. After lunch we played out side and Kyle was finally allowed to play Wii. Payton played in the dirt outside with his garden tools. It was such a site and he was covered in in dirt but had a great time. Beth made us a spaghetti dinner early since Kyle had baseball from 6 to 8pm. Not thinking the pan in the oven would be all that hot she burnt the end of her finger on the garlic bread pan and left a kitchen full of dishes from dinner. But dinner was great and it was nice to not have to cook for once. Payton took a bath, had his milk and was asleep by 8pm. Kyle was hungry when he got home. so he ate, showered and was in bed by 9pm. Beth and I are relaxing and enjoying the sound of silence with both kids in bed.

Food with friends

Today has been a very busy day. Beth and I meet Tammy, Sandy, and their two girls, Nikki and Baily, for breakfast at the cafe just down the road from us. It was great to see them again and we had a good time. We need to get together with them more often.

After breakfast we had to go drop off our deposit for reserving the Ringing Rock roller skating rink. We had a great time at Kyle's party, so we thought it would be great to get a bunch of people together and skate again. We will be sending out the invite to it with more details. If you don't get an invite and want to come just let us know. It will be a blast.

The rest of the afternoon was set aside for cleaning the house. Payton and Kyle will be coming over tomorrow to stay the night as Maggie and DJ are going to Atlantic City for a couple of days. Stay tune tomorrow for more on the sleep over.

We also spent the afternoon switching the Cherished Teddies from the Christmas/winter collection to the spring /summer collections. Takes a lot of time packing and unpacking 50 bears.

We had dinner with DJ, Maggie and the boys, Payton and Kyle. We had burgers and salad. After dinner we played Guitar Hero. I had so much fun watching Maggie, DJ, and Beth try to play the drums and guitars. Not a pretty site. But we did find out after they quit, that the sensor bar was not set right and might have been the reason they played so bad. Let's just go with that one ... LOL We also played Mario Kart and bowled one game. It was a lot of fun and we will have to do it more often.

So the day was spent enjoying food with good friends and having a good time. I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Pizza with the rhotinis

Tonight was pizza with the Rhotinis. Dawn picked up the boys from daycare and headed over while Jo came straight from work. We spent the evening visiting, eating pizza, and talking about our plans for Disney in January 2010. The boys had a great time playing with the toys and eating pizza, mac and cheese, and bananas. Beth is not felling well as she now has sinus problems and will be calling the doctor first thing in the morning.

A Day At The Zoo

We had an excellent day at the Philadelphia Zoo today. I have loved the zoo since I was little and visited it with my Mom and PopPop. Being the youngest of 5, these days of being the only child were exciting to me. But today I wasn't an only child, Jeanette also loves the zoo. We met Clayton around 10 am, he was our personal guide today. His real job involves fundraising and contributions, which is really why we were invited down. Clayton and Tammy, who is a Carnivore Supervisor (or something like that), took us all over the Polar Bear exhibit and behind the scenes of Big Cat Falls. IT WAS AWESOME!!! While we were watching Khan the Black Jaguar in his inside cage, a mouse ran across the top of a ledge boy did that get Khan's attention! He just missed swiping it with his paw. In the video you can see the mouse's body standing up right before it escapes through the ceiling grates. It was a perfect day to visit the zoo, the sun was warm and the air crisp, all the animals outside were loving it. The tigers had fun chasing each other and bouncing on each other's back. I think I now know were Tigger's bounce came from! The lions were just basking in the sun and letting everybody take as many pictures as they wanted. The paws on the male lion are huge. My favorites are the Polar Bears Goldie Locks and Klondike, they are both 29 year old females. Goldie Locks was sleeping in the grass with the sun shining on her. Klondike came right over to the exhibit wall and stayed for about 20 minutes, I don't think the fact that Tammy had fish with her had anything to do with it. It was very interesting listening to Tammy talk about all the work that goes on at the zoo that nobody sees. Clayton informed us that when the elephants leave to go to their sanctuaries, that the Elephant House will be converted into a new Children's Zoo. This will put the Children's Zoo closer to the front of the zoo. I was glad that I could see the elephants again before they move out. I think it is cool that the Zoo could find new homes for them where they can roam.

Spring..

Even through spring is still a week and half away, there are sure signs of it. We watched a squirrel attack the suet feeder today. A sign that winter is over and he was hungry. Our flowers have begun to pop out of the ground and are about 3 inches high. And of course the single most important one, Jeanette's allergies. She went to the doctor today and now she has bronchitis. The doctor gave her 3 different kinds of medicines and said it should be fine by the time of the cruise. We just love spring...

Traveling Papers...

We finally received our final paperwork for the Eastern Caribbean. We are leaving on March 21st for a 7 day cruise. The trip will feature several of the Philadelphia Eagles players. Of course the big name player is Brian Dawkins. Well low and below he is now a Denver Bronco. We did receive a letter today stating that he would still be on the cruise. But why would we want an autograph of a Denver Bronco player? And how strange is that his team will be playing the Eagles this year. Beth is still pretty sore over the Eagles letting him go, so it should be an interesting cruise. We have already planned to go snorkeling twice and take a trip at the Bacardi Distillery where free samples are available. What fun for a person who does not drink but used to love rum! It will be a great time and the weather will be in the 80's so we are looking forward to that.

This is the voice of Beth - I however do drink and will do my best not to waste any of the free samples!

Go Find a Fairy...

We fixed pork roast and sauerkraut for dinner. Not one of my favorite dishes but Beth loves it. We invited Kim, Lynne, and JoJo over for dinner. JoJo, who is 4years old, loves sauerkraut and calls it sour candy. How cute. After dinner we played with the Tinkerbell cards. It is based on the same premise as Old Maid excapt if you don't have the card they ask for you say 'Go find a fairy'. We played 5 hands and the the little munchkin won 3 of them. She wins at candyland and now at cards. It was a great night and the finally episode of the L word is on. How sad that it is finally coming to an end. At least I can watch it again on DVD...Have a great week for all you working folks...

A day with the twins...

We had the pleasure of watching the twins today, Aiden and Zach. What a handful they were. Their moms dropped them off at our house around noon today. We played in the downstairs for a little while until lunch was ready. Hot dogs and tater tots how can you go wrong with that. They were so tired from playing that they could barely keep their heads up. So we all went to take a nap. It only took them 5 minutes before they were out. Beth and I were able to leave the room without them knowing. What a site, two little angles sleeping. Of course the nap only lasted for an hour and 20 minutes. So we watched Barney for half an hour, then went outside to play. It was such a great day to play outside and they had a great time. We took them home around 4:30pm. We had to be at their house by 5pm. Their moms were having a suprise birthday party for Bonnie and we all needed to be there before the party started. It was a great time and we had a great time with them. We hope we can spend another day with them real soon.

A normal day...

Today was pretty much like most days. We got up ran to the computers to see what was happening in the world and then had breakfast. Most to the time we play rock, paper, and sissors to see who takes the first shower, but today was different. Beth had physical therapy on her neck and had to be there at 10am, so she had first shower. This allowed me more time to do nothing. As I went to put some dirty clothes in the hamper it became appearent that it was time to do laundry. After lunch Beth decided to try and find her desk. We both know it is a wooden desk but have not seen it in months. So off to the office she went. I peeked in there every so often to make sure the desk monster had not won. I spent the rest of the day doing laundry. I don't mind doing the wash but I oh so hate folding the clothes. Not sure why but it is one of my least favorite things to do. But Beth was fighting and Buster is of no help at all, so I folded the clothes. And with that said, another typical day of retirement. And Beth is still fighting the Desk Monster, but it looks like she has the upper hand.

The Beginning...

After hearing from Jennifer the last 3 years -" You need to setup a blog", we have taken her advise and set up a blog. You will be able to journey with us on vacation or just hear about our exciting retirement life. We can not promise to update it everyday but will try our hardest to make it happen. So set back and relax with The Adventures of the Ellington's...