Big Winner (And Not)

I played a few games of trivia on the cruise. It was mostly Disney themed (and I don't really know much about Disney). 

But then we played TV theme song trivia and I knew I couldn't be beat. I knew almost all 25 of them (I didn't know 24 or Dexter but my team did) And we walked away winners of these "awesome"  Disney cruise baseball hats.

The last day of the cruise the bingo pot was up to $10,000.  Kyle and Reed begged to play, so we went (along with the rest of the ship).   People were buying hundreds of dollars worth of bingo cards.  I walked up and said "My kids want to play, what's the cheapest way I can do this?"  

So for 30 bucks they got to play 4 games of bingo and not win $10,000.

Stars of the Show

Kyle was picked out of the audience to go up on stage during one of the mainstage shows.

And it's pretty easy to see why he got picked when you see what he was wearing.

He was funny and did a great job. 

Another night Reed asked me to go to the "How Well Do You Know Your Family" gameshow.

He wanted to get picked so badly, and of course, I know how to get picked out of an audience...which we were.

We did pretty good, and came in 2nd place. (I didn't know who his favorite Disney character was)

One of his answers 

So Many Crafts

Reed was all about the activities this trip.

Even Kyle who normally doesn't care for "Farts and Crafts" (as he calls them) did a few.

They both came back to the room with Mickeys they had made.

And I had a bed full of origami one afternoon.

Reed and I went to towel folding class, where we didn't do terrible.

 

 monkey

our bears

Except I never could get my swan to stay up by itself.

Reed's did, of course.

Speaking of my crafts, I thought my Disney door decorations were cute.

I even made our friends'.

But who needs to go make stuff when you can just ask for it?

Kyle liked the decorative fish made out of a lemon at lunch so they just gave it to him. 

(And just check out that lunch of sushi and mac-and-cheese. Wow.)

11

Kyle and Reed turned 11 while we were on our cruise.

That means everyone in the family, except JR, has celebrated a birthday on a cruise ship.

I decorated our door for them.

And then they ran around with their friends all day.
(You will see Kyle wearing this shirt in almost every picture from the cruise. I bought it for him in Grand Cayman and he never took it off.) 

It just so happened that their birthday was lobster night for us.  Which couldn't have been better!

Then they each got a birthday cake, plus another dessert.

They said it was the best birthday ever.

What Day Is It?

I honestly hardly even know what day it is.

We got home on the 2nd and then Kyle and Reed and I left on the 3rd going on a Disney Cruise for our neighbor's 40th birthday. 

(Which means in the last 18 days, Kyle, Reed, and I have slept in our own beds once.) 

There were 6 families (3 "single mom" families....which I was one of, and 3 full families).

Jason and JR had to stay home and work, go to play practice, and go to school.  

(But don't worry about them, they're doing their own trip for spring break.)

I'll have more in the coming days when I'm not trying to play catch-up on life, but for now, here's the only picture the 3 of us took on the whole trip!  Oh, and we had so much fun!

2018 Spectacular

I didn't do my 2018 review in a timely manner this year, but here it is!

January

Kyle and Reed turned double digits

February

Reed's basketball team made it all the way to the championship game, and lost by 1. 

JR went to California to perform in the Junior Theater Festival.

March

I got to meet Dr. Jen from The Little Couple

April

Kyle took home his first 1st place medal in a diving meet on the 3 meter springboard. 

May

Reed was runner-up in a club tennis tournament

 JR looked handsome going to the 8th grade dance

Kyle walked on his stilts for the whole school 

June

JR went to Spain for 2 weeks

Reed went to waterski camp.

July

 Grandpa Gary, Jason, Traci, Kyle, and Reed went to Africa

And then Kyle went to AAU diving nationals and placed 2nd in 1 meter. 

August

School started- and I can't even find a picture

September

I got to pretend it was 1988 and went to see Def Leppard

We had a funeral for Tickle the hamster.

JR tolerated the Aggies for 1 game. 

October

JR had his 1st high school choir concert and took my favorite picture ever with next door neighbor, Mary. 

And he went to homecoming and I made the best mum ever. 

Kyle won more diving meets

And Reed played basketball tournaments (And won)

November

JR made Region Choir

Jason and I let the boys ski by themselves….a whole new world for us. 

December 

We celebrated a great 2018! 

Home

We made it home yesterday afternoon.  We came through after the snow in Colorado and New Mexico and then we were ahead of the ice in Texas so we made it home in one piece.

Chloe mostly tolerated the trip.

And then she was over it.

I mean, really over it. 

She was very happy to be back on her couch and pillows in her own house last night.