Catching Up – Caribbean Cruise

Although it kinda seems like a distant memory now, Tyson and I went on a 5 night Caribbean cruise just after Camryn’s first birthday in February. Oh man, was it fun! :) Both sets of grandparents made sure that Camryn was taken care of while we were gone, and they did a great job! We sure missed our girl, but we had a great time together celebrating the fact that we made it through our first year of parenting!

Day 1 – Embarkation: We got up super early (I think it was in the 4’s somewhere), and flew to Miami to catch our boat, and it was beautiful (the city and the ship!). We got off the plane, caught a cab to the port, and we were on the boat by lunch time on Saturday, February 20th. The weather was breezy and warm…such a nice change from the mountains of snow we received in Dallas just a week before!

Our first day on the boat was spent familiarizing ourselves with the layout of the ship, unpacking in our somewhat-small-but-cozy stateroom, and enjoying our first of several great meals. We played a round of bingo after dinner, but didn’t make it to that night’s show because of our previously mentioned SUPER early wake up time that day!

Day 2 – Sea Day: Our first full day on the boat was spent at sea travelling between Miami and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, readily available ice cream, and all the activities on board. We went to an improv comedy show and played shuffleboard with a couple of older gentlemen from Ohio. Dinner that night was formal night, so we got all dressed up and another yummy dinner (Tyson had Colorado rack of lamb that he said was amazing! I wouldn’t know because I was too busy enjoying my escargot and coq au vin!)

Day 3 – Ocho Rios, Jamaica: I had hoped to watch the process of our ship coming in to port, but we were already in Jamaica by the time we made it to breakfast. We ate on a deck at the very back of the ship looking over the port of Ocho Rios.

We had a great tour guide that took us to Dunn’s River Falls, floating in tubes down a river, and to scenic overlooks and interesting places around town. He even brought us some fruit from his backyard…all varieties native to Jamaica, and none of which we had ever seen before! We tasted each one, and they were all interesting, but not all were so tasty. :)

Then it was back to the boat!

Day 4 – Grand Cayman Sea Day: Overnight we travelled from Jamaica to Grand Cayman (where we were supposed to ride jet skis and swim with the sting rays!). The water was too choppy that day for ships to get into port safely, so the port authority closed the port! Wop wop… So, that day was spent at sea travelling to Key West, Florida instead. This was another relaxing day spent by the pool, playing ping pong, eating of course, and game show activities on board. By the way, that night for dinner I had the Lobster Bisque and the Ossobucco ala Milanese, in case you were wondering. :)

Day 5 – Key West: Although we had booked a tour to go snorkeling, a long line trying to get off the boat kept us from making it on time…boo! So we just took our time wandering around the streets of Key West, people watching, and eating Mexican food. :) It was a cloudy, rainy day, so we didn’t spend too much time there before getting back on the boat.

This was our last night on board, and our last dinner in the main dining room. Our tablemates and our waiters were awesome! The other couples we were seated with were so nice and funny and easy to talk to…made dinner fun! Our head waiter, Limon was hilarious and so nice…we miss him reading the desserts to us every night and calling us “Ma’am Sarah” and “Sir Tyson” !

Day 6 – Debarkation and Travel Home: We got off the boat after breakfast that morning, and travelled home, excited to see our baby girl! After a LONG day of waiting in lines, delayed flights, and Dallas traffic, my parents were waiting at our house with sweet Camryn! She was pretty much SUPER excited to see us…the feeling was mutual! :) Unbeknownst to us (and it was probably better that way), Camryn had decided to get her first ear infection and trip to the ER while we were gone! Some yummy pink antibiotics fixed her right up, but it was sure a long night for her Gigi and OK who were up with her all night!

We’re so thankful to Tyson’s parents and my parents for making our getaway possible! I’m so sorry that Camryn got sick while she was with y’all, but we sure appreciate the great job you did of caring for her…she loves y’all so much! :)

Whew, I think I’m caught up on the major events of the last several months…finally!

Favorite book…

Right now, Camryn is on a book kick – she will bring me a book, stand there and turn pages while I read, then bring me another.  This goes on and on!  We usually do about 6 books in a row, but I have a feeling she would do more!  It’s pretty fun and sweet.  One of her favorites right now is a classic:

Maybe it’s just because I read it so often, but I’ve seen a couple of things around our house lately that remind me of it:

Hopefully we’ll get to see the end of the book in our backyard, too!

Catching Up – Camryn is One!

For Camryn’s first birthday party, our little family loaded everything up in the car, and took the party to all of our family in Tyler. Camryn turned one on February 15, so we planned the party for the weekend before – on February 13.  The thing is, February 11 – 12, 2010 was the day of all-time record snowfall for DFW – 12 inches in 24 hours…Crazy!  So this is what our drive looked like… 

It was just nuts.  Anyway, we made it safely there Saturday morning, and spent the day preparing for the shin dig!

Everyone participated by wearing their western get-up…

There were (borrowed) toy ponies to ride, which the birthday girl LOVED!

Then there were presents…

…games (the girls won, by the way!)…

…and cupcakes!  A great time was had by all!

Next up, catching up with Sarah and Tyson’s Caribbean cruise…and Camryn’s first trip to the E.R.! 

Catching Up - Four Christmases

I'm starting a series of short-and-sweet posts to catch up on events of the last few months. So, we'll start with our family's four different Christmases that we were blessed to be a part of! :)





Christmas #1 - Big Kirksey Christmas in Houston, December 19th - Lots of food, family, and fun. Camryn was a little overwhelmed with it all, but she had fun and got lots of love from Tyson's extended family.

Christmas #2 - Grubb Family Christmas in Tyler, Christmas Eve - It SNOWED!! Craziness! Camryn enjoyed playing with her Gigi & OK, my Grandaddy, Aunt Sassy and Uncle Matt, and her sweet cousin Emery. Oh, and there were cake balls! :)
Christmas #3 - Kirksey Family Christmas in Tyler, Christmas Morning - Camryn slept through half of the festivities (hey, a girl's gotta nap!). We had lots of fun gifts, the traditional Christmas omelets, and lots of time with Gramma & Grandad, and Uncle Kevan & Aunt Katie.
Christmas #4 - Our Family Christmas in Carrollton, sometime after we got home?? - Whew! We made it back home (without an inch to spare in our 4 door sedan!), and now we have a little Christmas as a family. Camryn got a play table and chairs from us and a book in her stocking (which I made! it's in the middle), then Tyson and I exchanged gifts, too.

Up next, catching up on Camryn's birthday!

Where Have I Been?

Good question! I feel like I just blinked and it has been three months since I last blogged! It has been a busy three months with four Christmases, a just-the-two-of-us Caribbean cruise, and a certain little person's first birthday! Whew! I promise to catch you up soon on all of that, but for now, here's a taste of life at our house recently (in case you didn't catch this on Facebook). Enjoy the video!

Christmas Cheer

The best way to spread holiday cheer is...posting pics on your blog! (and singing loud for all to hear, of course! I heart you, Buddy.)

This year, we used our slim tree and put it in the living room. Usually we have a bigger tree set up in the den...which has become Camryn's playroom...hence the moving of the tree. :)

But I did let her have a look at it for fun...she wanted the gold ball ornament REALLY bad!

Yeah, so I have orange and lime green on my tree...so what! :) There's red and gold in there, too. I gotta have something to go with my orange couch!

This ornament says it all! Merry Christmas!

Before and After

If you know us very well at all, you know that we LOVE a good before and after moment. Well, we must, because we've had SO many of them! :) You know, when you've finished a project that has turned out great, then look back on what you started with. It's so satisfying! Here are some of the before and afters that we've experienced over the years, mainly home updating/renovation projects. :) Enjoy!

Yard sale coffee table from our first home as married people - Harding West Marrieds apartment B-16. :) We simplified it and made it smaller to fit our tiny living room.

Dining room of our current house. Do not adjust your monitor settings...that really is a matching padded wall, table runner, and curtains! That's how the former owners had it decorated. Once again, we simplified. And, I heart orangey red. :)

Bathroom in our current house. Can you say, "major overhaul?" We took it from 1983 with his and hers sides (one vanity, closet and entrance door each), brown cultered marble, and carpet (ewww, in a bathroom?!?) to 1 big vanity, 1 big closet, and nice new tile. Major thanks go to Tyson's parents for their huge help on this project! And, yes, these two pictures were taken from the same spot in the room...did I mention this was a major overhaul?

In the living room we took down the dark paneling and replaced it with painted drywall. A much simpler project than the bathroom, and it really brightened the room, made it feel bigger, and brought it out of the 1980's.

Camryn's room. I don't have a good before picture of the opposite corner...that's where the huge mural of Gotham City was. Not very girly, so we changed it to golden yellow walls with black, cream, and pink...but not too much pink. :)

Just had to throw this one in there. :) The pregnancy wasn't always easy, but so worth it now! The before picture was about 1 week before Camryn came, and the after was last month...such a sweet girl!

The den/office/play room. For the last 3 years it has been brown paneling and dingy white drywall. We recently finished painting everything and rearranging the layout. Aaaaah, much better. :) (Anyone remember Kevan's dog Bailey? Apparently she came to visit us once!)

This is a little project that I saw on Martha this week, and it actually looked easy enough for me attempt. By just folding old magazines (no cutting, no glue, no nothing) I got a couple of cute, office-y Christmas trees! It took a while to fold each page three times, but really, what else do I have to do. ;)

So, there you have it...our favorite before-and-after moments. What about you...what's your best before-and-after? Pictures, please! :)