Whoopie Pie

Summer in Boston brings a very famous dessert:  whoopie pies!

Pulling into Port

One of the hardest parts of a vacation is the last day.  Ashley turned it into an exciting event, because she found a TV screen showing Formula 1 racing clips.  Adam was so excited to watch real race cars that he didn't even mind sharing the seat:

Final Day at Sea

During the days at sea, the citizens attended Splash Academy.  At first they weren't thrilled with the idea, but by the end of the first morning, they were sold.

For the last day of the trip, Splash Academy staged a circus performance for the parents.  It was fun to watch, but a little heartbreaking for me.  The saddest lion (dressed in blue) and happiest tiger (dressed in pink) belong to us.  The recording is broken up into clips, and you should be able to see A+A in each one.

Nassau, Bahamas

On Day 5 of our vacation we met up with Marvelous Marvin who gave us an air conditioned tour of the island.  We went to lots of great places:

Jailed at Ft. Fincastle

Smiling after our escape

Climbed down the Queen's Staircase

Smiled at the base near the stairs

Checked out the fountains at the Atlantis resort.

Great Stirrup Cay (Post 700!)

Thank you dear readers, fo staying with us through 700 posts.  Not bad, eh?  But on to today's story:

On the fourth day of our vacation, the Norwegian Gem dropped anchor off of Great Stirrup Cay.  First we went on an eco-boat tour and then we set up camp (literally) on the beach and went swimming.  Even MLM went in the water! 

the cabana we hauled with us from Boston was a key addition to the day

Cocoa Pier

After two days at sea, our first stop was at Port Canaveral, FL.  We took a taxi to check out Cocoa Pier.  Safe to say, the kids loved it.  We were planning to take another trip that was cancelled at the last minute, so we navigated the beach and ocean without swimsuits, which makes for a funny story.

We somehow left Adam's sneakers (his only shoes) at the beach.  But we didn't realize this until we were back at the port.  So I took two giggling kids through customs (one of them barefoot), much to the amusement of the port officials.  Even better?  The knowing smiles and laughs Ilya got for walking through customs just 20 minutes later holding a pair of kids sneakers.  

Fourth of July (a bit belated)

We didn't get to see fireworks on the 4th (it's past our bedtime), but we did make up for it by going to the annual carnival in Lexington.  If you don't have time to watch all of the clips then scroll down to the bottom to catch the final verdict of the day.

First up:  The Jungle Safari Ride:

Ashley tried the Super Slide first:

And she had so much fun that Adam gave it a shot too:

Next it was on to the Rocking Tub:

And for the grand finale, we tried out the Tilt-A-Whirl (look for Ilya in white, Ashley in a pink hat and Adam in a blue hat).  The pod to focus on is in the back row, sorta in the center:

Ashley's verdict:
"I was scared on the whirl, but I weally liked it.  Can we have some ice cream?"

Adam's verdict:
"The slide!  I like the slide!  I went lightning fast!"

Calm down... vacation photos are on the way.  One step at a time....

Teamwork

I am so proud of these two.  They asked to help unload the dishwasher the other day.  Together they dutifully marched off to get their stools, set them up and patiently waited for me to carry over the silverware.  I hope this continues for many years!

Slidin' with Cousins

What's even better than visiting Grandma and Papa and eating cookies at every meal?  Playing with our cousins!

Soccer with Papa

Before we left for our first cruise, we stayed for two days with Grandma and Papa.  Papa decided this was the time to teach the citizens how to play soccer:

G'malim Graduates

We've taken a lot of photos and videos over the past few weeks.  Thanks for your patience as I sort through all of them to find the funniest / best ones to share.

In today's clip we see Adam and Ashley graduating from the G'malim preschool class.  In the following clip, we see their class singing a very cute song.  Lyrics are below.

The moon at night goes blink-a blink-a blink-a
Right in to my eye.
The stars at night go twinkle twinkle twinkle
Way up in the sky.
The skunk at night goes stink-a stink-a stink-a
Makes me want to cry.
Oh blink-a blink-a blink
Oh twinkle twinkle twink
Oh stink-a stink-a stink
Oh my!