Happy Saturday.....

Happy Saturday Blog Friends!

Hope you've all had a fabulous day.

My new job is going great. I love it and am so happy to be there. I spent 2 days at our Corporate Headquarters in Montgomery this week for a conference. There were 10 of us that went. We had a blast. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time.

Haley got registered for her Fall classes. She is officially ready for college. Her first day of class is August 23rd.

Kylee starts 8th grade on August 9th.

College football season is just around the corner. I've ordered our season tickets so they should be here in the next couple weeks.

Thought I'd share a few pictures from our cruise with you.

Hope you enjoy.....

So beautiful

Hayden and "Fun Ship" Freddy

Bless it!

Hayden loved the animals they made for us every night

The Family

Hayden in the beautiful waters of Jamaica

Jamaica was my favorite port

I stayed under the palm tree in the shade

It was so beautiful there

The Cayman Islands

Beautiful water there too

Sting ray right next to the shore where the kids were standing in the previous picture

I'd love to sail away on this boat

Paul, Kylee and Hayden

I love this boy

On the bus in Mexico

Kylee and Haley in Mexico

Haley enjoying the shade in Mexico,
Life is Good!

I stayed under the palm tree here too

The water in Mexico was pretty but not as pretty because of seaweed from a tropical storm

Mexican Band

The Children
From left- Kylee 13, Haley 18, Hayden 4

He loved Freddy

My baby girl and baby boy

After about 32,938,938 cokes, the girls made a friend

Land That I Love.....

Of course I have many, many more but I won't make you suffer through them, lol.

Hope you have a great night and a fabulous Sunday.

Love you MUCH!

=],

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together.....

So, there's been some changes on the blog, hope that you like them. I do. They make me happy.I didn't plan to change it but something messed up with my previous template so time for a new one.

Hope life has been treating you all well.

It has been B-U-S-Y for me!

I've hardly stopped even for a second.

I was talking to my BFF today about how there hadn't been any time to just talk.

I don't like that. Not that I have anything urgent I need to talk about, I just wanna talk.

Hopefully, things will settle down soon and that can happen soon.

I am SO loving my new job.

In some ways, I wonder why I waited so long to change in the first place.

It's funny how things work out like that. We wrestle with a particular decision, going back and forth, spend many sleepless nights worrying about what will happen, yet when "IT" happens, we wish we had done whatever it is a long time ago, or we see how it worked out for our good.

I love it when a plan comes together. =)

My kids are all great.

Here we go oldest to youngest......

Haley has enrolled in College and just today got registered for all her classes. Boy, was that an ordeal! The system was overloaded and it took what seemed forever to do. She did receive a scholarship that will take care of her tuition for which we are so thankful. She will be playing softball and has met with her team a couple times. They are planning a trip to Disney World in March to play in a tournament.

Kylee is fabulous. I told you her awesome news in my previous post. She has been enjoying her summer by staying busy with the youth from Church.Last week they went to Six Flags in Atlanta, the week before Alabama Adventure Theme Park.
She lost her glasses on a roller coaster at Alabama Adventure so she has a new pair of glasses and is wearing contacts for the first time. She is finally getting the hang of putting them in and taking them out of her eyes. First time she tried, I swear it took her 3 hours if not longer to put them in, lol. Bless it, she's progressing right along now though.

Hayden is just as cute as ever. He is playing outside every chance he gets and has learned to swim this summer. He is asking a million questions a minute and always wants to help.He has learned what a smart mouth is so we have been working on that. He wants to go back on the "Big Boat". He had the best time. He is still living with us full time. Hopefully, there is no end in sight where that is concerned. He is still a Policeman, writing tickets. You ALL know how I love my Man in Blue. =)

On a side note, it is 39 days until Auburn Tiger Football! Oh my, I am so excited. I can't wait.

I just gotta say it just one time.....

WAR EAGLE!

Man, that felt good!

Who has been enjoying fresh vegetables out of the garden?

I don't have a garden but I love some fresh veggies from the market. One of these days I'm gonna grown my own.

What's your favorite?I LOVE me some squash!

Mmmmmmmmm, makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

It's probably by far my favorite. Well, squash and tomatoes are my favorites. Man, I gotta quit talking about that, makes me crave it, lol. I hope you all have a great week. Love you MUCH! =],

The Real World.....

Hi Blog Friends!

We had a great trip to Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel however, it's back to the Real World now and with the "Real World" comes work.

I have a new job.

I attended some meetings the end of June, but I officially started in the Facility yesterday.

It is weird being the "new kid on the block" but I am so excited to be there.

I do have some even better news to share with you.

Kylee went Tuesday for her 6 month follow-up EEG.

As you'll recall, she has been totally off her seizure medicine for several months and has done fabulous.

Not only was her EEG COMPLETELY normal, Dr. Mathisen said her Seizure Disorder had COMPLETELY resolved, and there was no need for her to go back to him unless there was a problem which he didn't expect AT ALL.

I am so thankful.

Hope you all are having as great a week as I am.

Love you MUCH!

=],

Just So You Know.....

There's this boy,



He stole my


Heart.....


=],

Bond, James Bond.....

Good Morning from Cozumel, Mexico.

We have once again left the Carnival Elation and are now on Bus T 05 with our Tour Guide, Bond, James Bond, no I'm not kidding and our Driver, Fredericko, heading to Playa Mia Beach to spend the day in the water and in the sun.

We will only have about a 15 minute bus trip from the Port to the Beach unlike the hour and a half in Jamaica day before yesterday.

The weather is beautiful today. Bond said it had been raining the last few days but thankfully it has cleared up today.

We will be feasting on a Mexican buffet for lunch. I'm hoping it's familiar cheese dip like at El Tap, our favorite Mexican Restaurant back home in Bama, lol and some tacos and NO goat of any kind.

I've just discovered the Mexican drivers are no better than the Jamaican drivers and follow the same "rules" of the road.

Have a great day, Friends! I'm about to enjoy some turquoise water and some sunshine.

Love you MUCH!

=],
Gracie

Fish & Eggs.....

We had a fabulous day yesterday in Jamaica.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and as I told you in the previous post, we spent the day at Beaches Resort in Negril.

It is a beautiful resort. The water is an aquamarine blue/green color and it is crystal clear.

We had a Jamaican buffet for lunch. Most of it was delicious and note I do say most of it, lol.

The buffet had Jerk chicken, steak and pork along with mixed vegetables and an assortment of salad fixings and fresh fruit.

It also had curry goat, yes goat and yes, I tried it against my better judgement and no, I didn't like it at all.

I also had something that looked and tasted like squash but when I asked what it was I found out it was some type of fish and egg dish.

Just the thought of fish and eggs made it not taste good anymore, lol.

I will have lots of pictures to share with you when I get back. I'm still updating through my BlackBerry right now because of limited internet access on the ship.

Hope you all had a great day.

We spent today in the Cayman Islands. I'll be sharing that with you soon.

Love you MUCH!

=],
Gracie

Beaches Resort Negril, Jamaica

No Problem, Just a Situation.....

"No Problem, Just a Situation", at least that's what Donna, our Jamaican Island Guide says.

We left the Elation behind this morning and have now boarded a private bus for an hour and a half trip to Beaches Resort in Negril.

Today is our Bus Driver, Clinton's birthday. He is 62, so of course we had to sing Happy Birthday to him.


We are the only cruise ship here today so our tour only has 14 in it.

The weather is gorgeous, lots and lots of beautiful sunshine.

So far, I've learned there are lots and lots of goats in Jamaica and they love to eat them, especially in goat soup.

I'm praying goat soup or any other kind of goat for that matter will not be on the lunch menu.

I've also learned Jamaican's drive on the opposite side of the road from us and they basically follow the rule of whoever gets there first, goes first.

I will update you guys later.

Have a great Tuesday and remember No problem, just a situation.

Love you MUCH!

=],
Gracie

Rockin' The Night Away.....

We continue our journey to Jamaica tonight with rough sailing aboard the Elation.

We woke up to rain this morning. It was cloudy for most of the day with sunshine breaking through the clouds at various times during the day.

Many of the outside deck areas were closed today because of the strong winds.

Though winds have died down some, it's still rough out there tonight and we continue to rock the night away.

I've had a relaxing day today. I got me another long nap this afternoon and it was delightful.

We went to karaoke tonight. My, my there really are no words for some of the folks that "entertained" us. I'm not really sure what possesses some people to hop up on a stage with a microphone in their hand when they have to know they can't sing a bit.

Tomorrow morning we will arrive in Jamaica. We will be leaving the ship at 9am to spend the day at a Beach Resort there. I am keeping my fingers crossed we will be way passed all of the rain by the time we arrive in Montego Bay.

Hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday!

Love you, MUCH!

=],
Gracie

Fun Day At Sea.....

Our Fun Day at Sea #2 began with lots of clouds and rain which meant LOTS of swaying for the Elation.

I was probably the only person out of 2600 on this ship thankful for the warm, cloudy overcast skies but it makes perfect pool weather for a sun phobic girl like me.

It has since cleared up and is now BLAZING hot! I'm back up to the 70 spf sunscreen now. I had took it down to 45 spf this morning.

We are still in pretty high seas though so we are still really rocking.

We have seen some pretty sick people this morning. None of us have been sick, thankfully.

I'm not sure the time difference to back home. Ship time is 11:40am. as I'm writing this.

I know many of my favorite people are enjoying their 4th of July off work today since the actual holiday was on a Sunday.

Enjoy your day!

I hope you have a fabulous Monday!

Love you, MUCH!

=],
Gracie

Happy Birthday America

Happy 4th of July, Friends.

We have celebrated Independence Day aboard the Carnival Elation in the middle of the Caribbean.

We left Mobile, Alabama yesterday on a 7 day cruise to Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel.

Today has been what Carnival describes as a "Fun Day at Sea".

My fun day has consisted of a little sun, a lot of 70 spf sunscreen, a breeze blowing in my hair, food, food, and more food, topped off by a long nap this afternoon.

We are somewhere off the Coast of Cuba now. We are scheduled to arrive on schedule in Jamaica Tuesday morning.

I did bring my computer but my internet doesn't want to cooperate so I am updating this from my BlackBerry. I will keep my fingers crossed that it posts ok.

I hope you all have had a fabulous 4th. I am so proud to be an American.

I've said it before, and I'll tell you again, Freedom isn't free. I am so thankful to all our past and present Armed Forces Men and Women who have made Freedom possible.

Our Dining Room Staff, none of which were American, serenaded us tonight at dinner with a rendition of Yankee Doodle Dandy and God Bless America.

I thought it was really sweet of them, cause when I say none of them are Americans, I'm not exaggerating.

Our Waiter, Roberto, was from the Philippines. I wanted to ask him how he felt about singing, "God bless America, Land that I love....." but my Children about died when I mentioned asking him.

He will be our Waiter each night at Dinner so I may get the opportunity before the week is up.

I'll keep you posted.

Stay safe!

Love you MUCH!

=],
Gracie

Life Comes At You Fast.....

Life Comes At You Fast.....

It seems like yesterday I was bringing this
sweet, baby girl home from the Hospital.....




Now.....
She is a member of the National Honor Society,
graduating with the Class of 2010,
heading to College,
where she will be playing Softball,
while majoring in Accounting.

Congratulations, Haley!
Class of 2010

I am so proud of you!


=],