Cruisin'...

Sailed out from Miami last Saturday...

This was my 4th Carnival cruise and I love Carnival for various reasons... some silly... like the nightly "towel animals"...

Things for EVERYONE to participate in from mini golf, basketball, jogging track, gym, waterslide, shows, spa, and the most delicious food!

Speaking of food, between regular meals, snacks, room service and 11 pm french fry runs, these two were in cholesterol heaven!

Can you believe his plate?

We ate nightly with another family in the dining room. My favorite night is always the second night when they serve lobster and the warm chocolate melting cake which I ate each night in addition to other favorites that showed up on the menu...

Could my girls have been any luckier with this family pre-selected to sit at our table? Two boys age 19 and 16. Eye candy each evening for Hillary (19) and Hailey (15-1/2)...

First port--Cozumel...

Snorkeling on a glass bottom boat...

Lounging for several hours with MORE food and drinks at a beach resort...

Shopping before returning to the ship...

Next stop--Grand Cayman...

Stingray City--loved it!

They made us feed these guys squid and kiss them too. (the stingrays, not John...)

Final port--Jamaica and Dunn's River Falls.

Enjoyed a last day at sea before returning to Miami Friday in time to tour the Everglades before we flew home...

Garrett got to hold a gator...

Until our next trip...

Basketball Begins...

I have two kids that are totally immersed in basketball season and for both, it's a "size" thing. For Hailey, size DOES matter...

... or four teenage girls wouldn't be able to toss her up this high!

For Grayson, believe it or not, size DOESN'T matter.

He's an amazing point guard...

He averages 2-3, 3-point shots per game...

He's just a "little" stud!

Bring on those games!!! (About 3-4 per week between the two of them)

The last November birthday...

Hillary is 19 today. Wow. What does that make me?! She came up last night since she doesn't have class on Thursdays and was able to join our family...

as Grayson was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood...

... with Garrett, Papa Milne, John, Bro. Gourley (representing the Bishop) and Grandad Tebbs.

Fun to have a group to celebrate Hillary's special day too.

But today, Hillary wanted to have lunch with her siblings before she went back to BYU so she had dessert first with Grayson...

...then picked Hailey and Garrett up for their short 40-minute lunch and ran to Wok Lin for quick student specials...

I can't believe how old my "kids" are looking and that I'm actually old enough to be their mom.

The Best Birthday Trip Ever!

I was so excited to carry on the tradition of taking the last child on a NYC trip for the 12th birthday celebration. Grayson and I left Thursday morning and started our exploration of NYC via subway--one of almost 100 subway trips we made during our 4-day trip.

First stop--Time Square--had to make sure he was "wowed" right off the bat...

Went up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building...

...and enjoyed the view!

We stopped off at the best toy store ever...

...and Grayson promised he wouldn't complain about practicing if he had one of these ($250,000 price tag won't cut it for one of his Christmas gifts)

Couldn't miss stopping off at Mr. Trump's place since Grayson enjoys watching The Apprentice.

Spent a couple of hours in the amazing Sony Wonder Technology Lab...

Climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty and visited Ellis Island...

Took a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge...

Went to dinner with my nephew Cameron King, his beautiful wife Erin and darling boys Hudson and Sawyer...

Played a little after dinner at the fun stores in Times Square...

The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center arrived just that morning via truck and the decorating will begin so the tree can be lit after Thanksgiving...

Celebrated Grayson's actual birthday (FINALLY!) on Saturday morning performing baptisms at the Manhattan Temple--I LOVE how Angel Moroni is just there in the middle of Manhattan!

Found great finds in Chinatown, visited Little Italy and stopped at the World Trade Center where they're working on new buildings to replace the twin towers...

OK. Favorite place. Dylan's Candy Bar. 5 pound sundae for $10. Grayson a bit embarrassed. We both couldn't finish it. Heaven.

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum with my favorite actress of all time...

Grayson loved every minute of The Lion King and enjoyed the best birthday of his life (so far)!

After church in the Manhattan 1st Ward with Cameron and his family, we made our last stops at the Museum of Natural History...

...and beautiful Central Park in 65-degree weather before heading back to Utah. Brrr....