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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Bahamas

Last week we took a little vacation. Bud arranged it all by himself. I only had to show up with passport in hand. We took a little cruise (it was only overnight) to the Bahamas. The island we were on is called the Grand Bahamas, in the city of Freeport. I'll just show you some random photos of the hotel (the Grand Lucayan) and comment when necessary.
This is a sunrise not a sunset, taken from our balcony. 


Do I look relaxed? 

Sunrise, the same day as the other sunrise, but from the beach. 


The swimming pool curved and was a fresh water pool. 

This was the only day Bud swam as the wind was a little tricky on the other days. 

I didn't ever get by bathing suit wet. This was as close to "swimming" as I got.





The hotel had a volleyball net available. 




We stayed at the Lighthouse Pointe end of the hotel. 
The room was quite spacious. The a/c was pretty loud, so we would turn it on when we left the room and turn it off when we came back. We opened the sliding door for fresh air and it was quite acceptable that way. I think if it was the middle of summer the noisy a/c may have been more of a concern. 

This is across the road from our hotel, on our way to the little "market" where they sell food and crafts and souvenirs. 

While waiting for our bus to take us back to the cruise ship, we chatted with this lady, Roz. She bought this..."hat"...which doubles as a vase (one that will not hold water, just artificial flowers). She kept Bud entertained for about an hour while I read my book. 

This guy is made from newspaper.

While in a foreign country, we really experiment with local food. For instance, the first night we ate here at- SUBWAY!


The following few photos are of the Craft Market. I loved the colors. 




And this is why we don't experiment with food. Sheep tongue? No, thanks. 

This is where we ate our second night! See? We really get involved in the local cuisine. 




This is inside the hotel. 

There was a huge convention while we were there. Hundreds of Italians were at a conference regarding a new phone that is coming out, so they were the sales people or otherwise connected to the company. 

The hotel has three different areas. This is the high-rise area. 


This is the swimming pool and then the ocean. You can see the break where the darker strip goes across the photo. 

Jonathan Livingston Seagull. 

Or is this one Jonathan? Not sure. They all look alike to me. Do you think we all look alike to them? 

The high-rise edge of the hotel. Interesting architecture. 

We had a good time on the island. I would recommend the experience. I was tempted to try parasailing, but resisted the urge. I thought it would be fun to fly like Jonathan. 




Friday, February 8, 2013

Princess Claire and Family

Claire turned three while I was visiting. Here she is wearing her birthday tiara.



The toy stuff that is usually in the basement was brought to the living room for the party. It's funny how a change of location brings instant desire to use the thing...such as this painting table. 


Jackson was always willing to give me a smile. 


Claire loved this cake but it was too big and expensive, so Erin ordered a smaller cake. The bakery got it wrong and made the bigger cake anyway. Claire was happy! 



Taste-testing

She had lots of presents to open

A little more painting...

Trying out her new tennis racket from her Grandparents

I briefly tried to take a family picture, but these guys are too crazy to sit still! This was as close as I came, so then I just snapped the crazy pictures instead. 




Here is one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip- Danny smiling and showing his teeth! He NEVER does that! I love it!



Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Grandkids Nearby

My sister found these little mailboxes at Target and kindly bought them for me. I jazzed them up a little bit by putting names on them. I can't wait to give them to my babies tomorrow. 


In other news, here's something I found in my refrigerator yesterday. It made me laugh! 
I'm going with Eliot on this one. I could be wrong, but that's my guess. It's a blast having grandchildren living close by now! I'm loving it!




Monday, February 4, 2013

Aquarium

We went to the aquarium in Chattanooga. Erin says it has won some awards for being one of the best in the nation.  Claire does not take after me because she was willing to hold this creature. I was nervous just getting close enough to snap the photos. 



Jackson touched the snake and then showed me his fingers. There were black marks on his fingers. At first I thought it came from the snake. Then I realized it came from a black marker he had used earlier!
I don't remember this guy's name. Anyone out there know?
There were parrots and other flying things to learn about. 


I have always thought seahorses were cute. 
Crazy creatures
I think the turtle wishes it was a giraffe
Touching stuff
This guy was swimming around with his mouth open, hoping for lunch to swim right in. 
Hi Jack! (Just don't say that in an airplane)
This fish and the next remind me of the artistry of James Christensen

And the strangest fish of all...
I wonder if they keep her in there all the time.