A Very Busy Fall - Leading to an Even Busier Spring

As is typical in Ohio, we once again went pretty much straight from Summer into Winter. We had a week or so of fall-like weather, marked mostly by the beautiful colors of the changing leaves. As I began to write this, we were on our first day of spitting snow turning into rain. I was nearing the end of the ever-joyful Parent-Teacher Conference week. I work much longer hours during this week, not only in preparation for conference, but actually holding them; and in the week following Thanksgiving, in which I have to get Progress Reports written. In the past, we've gotten the Friday following conferences as a comp day for all the extra hours we spend at school in the evenings actually holding our conferences. However, this year we voted to work on Friday and get the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off. Now that I have finally gotten to finishing this entry, I can tell you that it was nice to have that 5-day weekend to get me through Progress Report week.

So, speaking of Thanksgiving, this year we have one more thing to be Thankful for. We are expecting Baby #3, with a due date of May 16th. (That's right Mark and Leah, we're due shortly after you!!!) We had planned to start trying at the beginning of the fall and, sure enough, in spite of my advancing years (ha ha!) we got pregnant right away. Of course the grandparents were totally thrilled (they found out on Halloween.) But, the most excited were the big brothers.

Ben was with us at the initial ultrasound and was fascinated to see his little brother or sister kicking around on the monitor. Our wonderful doctor printed out an ultrasound picture for each boy to have of his very own. Liam was still at school during the appointment, so I got a card that said, "Congratulations on your new baby!" and gave it to him when he got home. He opened the card, read it, his eyes got wide and he exclaimed, "We're going to have a new baby?!" He then proceeded to clutch the card and ultrasound picture to his chest and yell, "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Think he was excited?

Ben and Liam show off the first picture of their new baby brother or sister.

Liam has been through this whole "new baby" thing before when we were pregnant with Ben, but since he was less than two at the time, he doesn't really remember much about it. Ben is being an absolute doll. I'll come home from work and he'll say, "How is your baby Mommy?" and pat me on the belly. And he's very careful not to do anything that might hurt the baby. When he gives me hugs, he barely puts his arms around me for fear of crushing the baby. It's quite cute.

Not much is different about being pregnant with #3 than with #1 and #2, except that I'm not chasing after a toddler this time and I'm about 30 pounds lighter to begin with on this one. What I'd forgotten is how quickly you start to show once you've already been pregnant. Wow, do those stomach muscles and skin remember what to do. I started showing by 10 weeks or so. We were going to try to wait for Thanksgiving to tell the family (just to make sure we were out of the woods and everything) but Kevin looked at me one day before Halloween and said, "You're not going to be able to wait till Thanksgiving." I totally looked pregnant. So, by Thanksgiving everyone had been told and I could openly release my breath and let my belly all hang out.

GREAT Summer - Part 2 - The Cruise

Time has just flown by since the last time I posted to my blog. I've had a couple of requests for more on the rest of our summer vacation, so here it is. Just a warning: it's quite long because I've put in a lot of detail and has a lot of pictures.

THE CRUISE

On August 5, we boarded the Carnival Conquest for seven days of rest, relaxation and fun. We left from Galveston, Texas headed for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Mexico. Kevin and I had been on a cruise before the boys were born, but Liam and Ben had never been on a cruise. When we booked the cruise, we learned that Carnival had a kids' program called Camp Carnival. We weren't sure how into it the boys would be, but we were soon pleasantly surprised. From the moment the boys found out about all the programs offered as well as the gigantic water slide, they couldn't wait to get to the ship.

The Carnival Conquest

One of the benefits of traveling as a family of four is the Family Stateroom. Not only did we have floor to ceiling windows, but we had a bed large enough for Kevin and me...

...and bunk beds for Liam and Ben. This thrilled them beyond belief.

Our first day on board was spent exploring the ship and learning about all that was being offered to us on our brief stay. There are a lot of people out there who need to have tons of activities to occupy their day, to feel like they've gotten their money's worth. Nope, I feel like I've gotten my money's worth when I can do exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it. Don't get me wrong, there were more activities on board the ship than I could even dream of doing. But, the only things that really interested me were sleeping in, laying by the pool reading a good book, and heading to the beach when we got into a port.

The morning of our first full day, Camp Carnival was open for the kids. We took Liam and Ben up (it was directly above our stateroom, only one floor up) and signed them into their respective playrooms. There was a room for kids ages 2-5 and one for kids ages 6-8. They didn't get to be together, but that didn't bother them. Once you dropped the kids off, you had to come back and get them at noon, then you could drop them off again from 2-5. If they wanted, they could join the youth staff for dinner at 5:45 and then stay until 10:00. Anything beyond 10:00 was babysitting and charged extra. We had to practically drag them out every day.

The boys joined us for dinner on our very first night on board (before Camp Carnival was open) and then not again for the rest of the cruise. They wanted to be with the rest of the kids. Kevin makes fun of me because this upset me at first. But, he made a good point. He said, "This is their vacation too. They should be able to do what they want to do and have fun." That finally got through to me and we enjoyed our dinners for two every night after that.

One of the other things the boys were looking forward to was the water slide. It was so cool. They went down it a few times the first couple of days, but the fact that the water on the slide and in the pools was sea water kind of turned them off from it. Whenever they got water up their nose or in their mouth, it really bothered them. So, they were happy to just spend most of their time playing in Camp Carnival.

The huge water slide that the boys couldn't wait to experience.

Liam makes it to the bottom of the slide.

Ben heads down the water slide.

Even Kevin got in on the action, and made a big splash!

In Camp Carnival, they had regularly scheduled activities published in a newsletter for the kids. They had video games, crafts, scavenger hunts, decorating a backpack, decorating a t-shirt. They were always busy and had lots of fun. They absolutely loved the Youth Staff, and based on one autograph on Liam's t-shirt, the feeling was mutual. (One of his counselors signed, "To the best boy in the world!") I think the time that they had in Camp Carnival made it all worth it.

Ben with his favorite counselor, Zulfiyah ("Sophie")

Liam with two of his favorite counselors, Olga and Regina.

Liam in the kids' disco dancing with "Funship Freddy". He's in the white t-shirt in the middle of the picture, right in front of the boy all in black.

Liam with a bunch of the other kids in Camp Carnival.

Ben and Liam on Pirate Day.

Our first port was Montego Bay, Jamaica. The boys did not want to get off the ship; they just wanted to stay in Camp Carnival all day. But, they reluctantly got off the ship and went into Jamaica far enough to take a picture and get their passports stamped (after all we went through to get them in time for the cruise, I was going to make sure we got at least one stamp.) They complained about how hot is was and that they didn't want to walk around. So, after a very brief stay, we took them back to Camp Carnival.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Kevin, Carolyn, Ben and Liam on our brief visit in Jamaica.

After lunch and depositing the boys back in Camp Carnival, Kevin and I headed back to see more of Jamaica. Boy, was that scary. The minute we stepped out of the main building of the port, women started coming up to us wanting to show us their crafts and their shops. It was incredibly intimidating. I got a few braids, typical of Jamaica, then we walked into a few shops looking for a charm for my charm bracelet and some t-shirts for the boys. We found a t-shirt of Spiderman with dredlocks for Liam that said "Spidermon" and one for Ben of Spongebob Squarepants with dredlocks on a beach.

Each night, while we were at dinner, our room steward turned down our beds, left the Carnival Caper news for the next day, and made animals out of towels for the boys. They loved coming back to the room each night to see what animal had been left for then. Then, they took great pleasure in tearing it apart. It was hysterical to watch.

Ben and Liam found cookies with their dog towel animal.

A swan

A frog

Our second port was Grand Cayman. We had booked a shore excursion for the whole family this day. It was a bus ride to Seven Mile Beach where we could play in the sand and the water for a few hours. We had a beautiful day for it. The water was clear and warm and we had a great time. We even hunted for seashells and found lots of coral.

Ben and Liam ready for a fun day at the beach in Grand Cayman.

Kevin allowed himself to be buried in the sand by Liam and Ben.

The beautiful clear water of Grand Cayman. What a view to enjoy for the day.

Ben, Carolyn, Kevin and Liam enjoy the crystal clear water of Grand Cayman.

Each night at dinner, we were entertained by our waitstaff. Just before serving dessert, they put on music and funny hats and danced around the dining room. On a couple of occasions, they even got us up to dance too. Our waiter Sherwin and our assistant waiter, Ardana took very good care of us.

Carolyn gets pulled into the nightly entertainment with Ardana.

Kevin gets his own special "hat" from Sherwin.

Kevin and Carolyn with our wait staff, Ardana and Sherwin.

Our last port was Cozumel, Mexico. We decided to just leave the boys where they wanted to be, Camp Carnival, while Kevin and I took an excursion into Mexico. We booked the "Twister" activity. It is a speedboat that does 360 degree turns and then takes us to a private beach, Isla Pasion - Passion Island. I was a bit nervous about it at first. The idea of doing complete turns in a speedboat made me a little nervous. But, like anything adventurous, once Kevin drags me into it, I have a total blast. This was so much fun!

The excursion we booked included the boat ride to and from the island, 3 hours on the island, and unlimited soda. They had beach chairs and hammocks for us to enjoy as well. While we were waiting to board the tour, we met a nice couple, Ashley and Mike from Colorado. They were passengers on another ship, but had the same tour opportunities as we did. However, on this tour, they paid for a buffet and open bar.

When we got to the island, Kevin chose to hang out in a hammock in the shade and I went down by the beach and laid in a beach chair in the sun. After a little while, I went up to the hammocks too. Kevin took a quick trip down to the water to cool off. On his way back to me he met another couple and struck up a conversation. Turns out that the island we were on was where they film the Corona beer commercials. The couple Kevin met was from the ship that got the open bar and gave us a couple of Coronas. So, we were incredibly cheesy and re-created a couple of the Corona ads.

As we headed back to the boat to go back to our ship, we met up with Mike and Ashley again. She told us that we should have hung out with them and they would have kept us in Coronas all day! Next thing we knew, she sent Mike back to the bar for four more Coronas. He raced down the beach and back again to get us all a beer before we had to get back on the boat again. We had a great time.

The beach of Isla Pasion with the water in the distance.

Kevin and Carolyn on the shoreline of Isla Pasion.

Kevin in his hammock re-creating the Corona ad.

Carolyn in her beach chair re-enacting a Corona ad.

After returning from our excursion, it was almost time to head back to reality. We had a great time on our cruise and can't wait until we can go again. The boys were happy that they got to spend seven uninterrupted days with us as well as all of the activities they did and friends they made in Camp Carnival.

The debarkation process was tiring to say the least. By the end of the cruise, we didn't have any cash left for a porter, so we had to carry all of our bags ourselves. The lines were long and winding as well as hot. I learned that our next trip needs to involve a lot less luggage.

We had originally thought we would make some stops on the way home, but by the time we had gone to San Diego, Texas, and the cruise, we were ready to go straight home. Besides, I had to be back at work just a few short days later and wanted some time to unwind at home before getting back to it.

For the most part, summer is pretty boring and uneventful. But our road trips are well worth the wait we have to get to them.

What a GREAT Summer!

It has been so long since I've been able to sit down and write down my thoughts and the events in my life. Mostly it's been because I've been away from my computer and the only one at home is the one that Kevin uses for work; which means he's always using it. Now that I'm back at school I can use the one in my office during my lunch to catch up on all the Carr Family info. Hope you've got some time to spare, this may take a while.

Looking back on it, it seems like the summer just flew by. I had a few things I wanted to get done...and only got to a small portion of them. But I got to spend time with the boys. We played, went to the Library, went to the gym and the pool and just hung out together. Then came vacation!

What a fantastic 3 weeks we spent together. Now, before I go on I have to explain that our summer vacations are Road Trips in the truest sense of the word. I pack the car with a week's worth of clothes, a bag of snacks (because it's cheaper to get them from the grocery store than at every gas station we come across) and a cooler of drinks and we hit the road. I have a whole system for this. I make lists. Yep, I'm a list maker. I write down what each family member will need for the trip and then check it off when it is packed. One of the keys to packing for an extended trip is to pack one bag with the clothes for 3 days for each one of us. That way when we stop for the night, we only have to bring one bag into the hotel every three days. At the end of 7 days, I find a laundry facility and do laundry. It works out really well.

So, first we headed West with San Diego as our goal. Our first big stop was Amarillo, Texas. A couple of years ago we discovered the Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the FREE 72 oz. steak dinner. You might think, "Woo hoo, I'm heading there for my next vacation!" But of course, there's a catch. You have to eat that 72 oz. steak--with a salad, baked potato, shrimp cocktail and roll--in an hour or less to get it for FREE. Our first trip there, Kevin attempted it but was just a couple of bites shy of finishing the whole thing. But this time, he had a plan. He started fast and made sure he ate the side items as he went along, rather than saving them for last. This time he was successful! He had just under 10 minutes to spare, too! You may ask, "What happens if he doesn't eat it all in under an hour?" Well, he would have had to pay for the dinner. A whopping $72. As Kevin ate, Liam, Ben and I enjoyed our own, much smaller, steak dinner.

Here is the massive dinner that Kevin was destined to devour in an hour.

Liam makes quick work of his steak dinner.

The smaller brother has a smaller appetite.

A very stuffed Kevin is victorious.
He finished the entire thing with 9 minutes and 44 seconds to spare.

From Amarillo, we headed to San Diego, California for Kevin and his "Fat Guys at the Movies" partner Neil to attend the San Diego ComicCon. The boys and I spent the day at the beach or the hotel while Kevin enjoyed all things entertainment at the convention center. I sure learned my way around San Diego in a few days. We also visited a Maritime Museum that had 5 different types of ships from throughout history for us to explore. After one last trip to the beach, we headed East.

Liam at the edge of the ocean.

Ben isn't quite ready to get too close to the water.

Ben and Liam meet a "real" ship's captain.

One of the classic ships that we got to tour.

One last trip to Ocean Beach. Daddy got to join us on this trip.

Our next stop was the sand dunes in Yuma, California. They were so vast you would think that was all there was in the world. There's quite a funny story there too. We were all wearing sandals and tried to climb to the top of the dunes, but the sand was so hot pouring in through our sandals that we didn't make it very far before we had to turn back. But as we're turning around, we see Ben just truckin' along up the dunes. We realized it was because he didn't weigh as much, the sand wasn't getting to his feet. So, by the time we headed back to the car and got tennis shoes on so that the rest of us could travel to the top, Ben was tired of being in the heat.

Ben climbs to the top of the dunes.

Liam and Ben pose with Mommy before heading to Texas.

Our next stop was Texas. We were there for a few days and made the most of it. We drove to Texarkana, Arkansas and stood in both Arkansas and Texas at the same time. We also saw the only Federal Building that operates in two states.

"Arkansas...Texas...Arkansas...Texas"
This was Liam and Ben's mantra as we stood in two states at once.

The Post Office/Federal Building that serves two states.

After visiting Texarkana, we drove down to Shreveport, Louisiana and had dinner at a CiCi's pizza there. In one day, we added two more states to the total number of states we've been to. Our total is now 39. We then headed back to Keller, Texas just north of Fort Worth to visit our friends the Sanfords who just moved to Texas a few weeks prior to our visit. We spent a couple of nights with them before heading to our next destination.

The Three Amigos, Liam, JJ, and Ben goof around at Sandy's Steak and Shake.

The Carrs and the Sanfords have one last big dinner together before we leave Keller.

Our next stop is The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. That was a bit of a shock to us, in that it is in the middle of downtown San Antonio. I was expecting it to be in the middle of a desert-like area, but nope, skyscrapers and modern buildings all around. After dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the riverwalk, we headed toward Galveston and the Carnival Conquest.

The family perches on a canon at the Alamo.

One of the few buildings of the Alamo that are the still-standing originals.

Yep, The Alamo sits in downton San Antonio.

A delicious Mexican dinner at a local favorite.

Well, this is getting a little long. Needless to say, our trip is only half over. I think I'll make a second post just about the cruise. Keep an eye out for part two of the Carr Family Vacation 2007.

One Busy Family

I can't believe that it's already July! The last couple of weeks have been so hectic here at the Carr house. It's not that big things are happening, but our days are definitely filled. We've made it through the boys' birthday parties, had numerous play dates, taken a couple of trips to the library, and just filled our days with running errands and hanging out. Liam has discovered chapter books and silent reading. I rarely see him without a book in his hand. He takes after his mom. The boys got the game Cootie as a joint gift for their birthday and are really enjoying it. In fact, as I'm writing this, I can hear them in their room playing a game right now. Liam has always been very competitive when it comes to games, starting with Candyland and his quest to stick the other players with the card that makes the player go back to the beginning. But it was funny the first time they played Cootie, Ben said, "I'm really good at this game!" It was so cute.

One event that has been coming up for a while now has finally arrived. My best friend, Michelle is moving out of state. It seemed like such a long time away when she first told me that it was happening, but this weekend their house was packed and off they went. Her husband's job transferred him to Texas and she was able to transfer with her job as well. We have been so close since before our kids were born and even our boys have become friends and love spending time together. I know that we'll still talk on the phone practically every day, email constantly, send pictures back and forth and we're even planning a visit during our summer vacation this year. But I'll still miss her and the times we spend together scrapbooking, going to movies, having dinner and being able to run over to her house in under 20 minutes.

So, we are one busy family, but we're definitely not bored!