Cruising with Friends in 2010!

Well we made it back from a wonderful week long cruise to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica with some great friends. This picture shows The Voyager of the Seas which became our home away from home.

One of my precious friends, Meredith, has a talented husband who sings in a Texas Swing Band called Mark Powell and Lariet. We went on the cruise with them because they were some of the entertainment for the ship. It was so much fun! I did not know what to expect since we had not been able to make it any of his gigs so I was very impressed with the talent of Mark and the rest of his family who also plays in the band.

Here we are shortly after boarding the ship. Don't we look excited to be able to be with each other with no interruptions for the next week. I think one of the best parts of the trip was being cut off from the world with no cell phone (except for checking on the girls at home), internet, or facebook. Of course, we could have paid to have any of these but we opted to really have a vacation away from everything. This was good for both of us before tax season hits for Cary and I become a semi-single parent for a few months.

Our first port was Cozumel, Mexico. Since we had been there a few times we decided to skip the shopping and take a catamaran to a private island with Mark and Kelly. Look at that amazing view. Laying out on the beautiful beach I decided a private island is definitely the way to go as long as you have a restaurant, massage therapist, bathroom attendant, house keeper, and support staff to take care of all of your needs (desires). Who's with me? I am sure if we all chipped in it could be a reality;-) It was so relaxing that I did not even open my book, I just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Two hours definitely went by way too quickly.

Each night we got to have an amazing meal with our precious friends and talk about all the day's activities. Our head waiter was "V", we could not pronounce his full name and evidently most people cannot so on the first night he told us to just refer to him as "V". He warmed up to our Texas charm by the second night. I am guessing the people from his country are a little more serious. By the end of the cruise we had him telling us all kinds of great stories!

Our second port was Grand Cayman and it was Grand indeed. We did not book an excursion on this port because we heard how beautiful the public beach was and they were not lying. Since today was my precious friend Kelly's birthday we let her make the decisions on her special day. As soon as we hit the shore we got a taxi to the beach. Let me just say they make use of every square inch of those vans. They pull extra seats out of ever nook and cranny they can find. I kept waiting for them to load people on the roof. At $4 a person for about a 5 minute ride with 14 passengers, that is a nice profit. On the first night of our cruise Cary found the stowaway pictured here in his backpack so we decided to get pictures of him in different places along our journey. The girls thought that was great!

The Birthday Girl!!

Our third and final port of the cruise was Jamaica! We did book an excursion on this port and I am so glad that we did. The Perkins and us went to the White Witch Golf Course owned by The Ritz Carlton and had a wonderful day. The weather was perfect and the views were amazing! This photo is proof of the views we enjoyed all day long.

Since Kelly and I do not golf so they gave us our own golf cart to ride around in. (Driving the golf cart took me back to third grade when my friend Jennifer's dad use to let us drive around our neighborhood in his golf cart. We thought we were so big. haha) I am proud to say that we made it to hole 10 before we checked out to the clubhouse for a delicious lunch. It was so nice just to take in the beauty God has created. After our meal we joined up with our husbands on the 15th hole and let me just say we had a wild ride trying to catch up to them.

Here we are at the end of the day. In the picture are Cary, me, Craig (our very funny and extremely informative caddy), Sharon (the other knowledgeable caddy who had a fun sense of humor, Mark had her cracking up), Mark and Kelly. Throughout the day I kept telling Craig to keep our husbands happy with their golf game, he thought that was funny. Then at one point I asked Cary if his Love Jar was full. (At several marriage classes we have attended they talk about making deposits into each others "love jar" with kind words, acts of kindness, and other

sweet gestures so that at moments on "intense fellowship" you have something to draw from.) Craig overheard me ask this and a little bit later he asked Cary if his love cup was full. Kelly and I got a big kick out of that. I bet Cary never thought a guy would be asking him about his "Love Cup", Craig thought he was pretty funny too. We really wanted to take Craig and Sharon home with us because they were so sweet and entertaining. At the end of the day we bought a few things for the girls and returned to the ship. I would definitely go on that excursion again if we ever return to Jamaica.

In the end we had an amazing cruise and look forward to going with friends again sometime. The last two days of the cruise we spent catching up on sleep and relaxing by the pool. It was so nice to come back well rested and ready to take on the new year.

Thanks to my Mom, Papaw, and Dad who took great care of the girls while we were gone. We love you all and are so blessed to have you each in our lives.

Oliver

Sweet Oliver is adjusting to life around our house quite nicely. I would definitely say we are all enjoying his presence. He seems to be really smart so far and lets us know most of the time when he needs to go outside. I think that is pretty remarkable for an 8 week old puppy. It is a lot like having a baby though. He has to be watched or he will get into something that he should not. His favorite thing to do is chew on the corner of the rug in the den which is a big "no no!" Oliver does not like to be left alone and he prefers to cuddle with someone or on a comfy blanket.

Kaylee is still "over the moon" about having a puppy. She has been so responsible with him and really does love him. He was definitely the biggest surprise that she has had so far in her life. After bringing home books about puppies each week from the library for two years we finally caved. Seeing the look on her face when she got him is something I will never forget and I do not think that she will either.

Several friends have asked where the name Oliver came from. Evidently several places. A friend texted me with the suggestion but I did not remember that because we discussed names for what seem like hours. I wanted Murphy or Winston. Cary was going down the Rangers roster looking for names and of course there is a Darren Oliver on the Rangers. When I suggested the name I was thinking of the Disney movie Oliver and Company. For whatever reason we all agreed on Oliver.

Campbell loves to carry him around like this picture. Often times I will find him in her room with doll clothes on or laying in her bed while she reads him a book. She is very gentle with him and he does not run when he sees her coming so I think that is a good sign;-)

Welcome to the family Oliver!!

Surprise Grandma!!

Not only did we celebrate Christmas with Cary's family over the weekend but we also threw Cary's Mom a surprise Birthday Party. On Friday in between Christmas #1 and #2, Landrea, Chiara and I all went shopping and decorating for the party that was happening on Saturday afternoon. I think that Teresia was a little put out with us girls for being gone "shopping" all day but she forgave us in the end;-) I think from the look on her face and the fact that she was speechless we pulled it off.

I will never know how we got all of the grandkids to not let the "cat out of the bag" but somehow we did. I did not capture one picture of the decorations so you will just have to take my word for it that they were cute.

Thank goodness Teresia's sisters could help us with some of the preparations we had to wait for Saturday to complete or else we would have had a lot of explaining to do again. This picture shows all of Teresia's siblings minus her brother Kevin who lives in Tacoma, Washington and was unable to make it. They are always there for each other which I think is amazing considering there are so many of them.

In this picture are:

Back row: Matt, Tiffany, Landrea, Travis, Chiara, me and Cary

Second row: Catch, Teresia holding Devon, Great Grandma and Kaylee

Front row:Colt, Campbell and Chenna

After many photos and catching up with dear friends it was time for the Crenshaw family tradition of breakfast for dinner. When all those sisters get in the kitchen I just stay out of the way for fear of throwing off their rhythm. Dinner was delicious! Next on the agenda was a Chinese gift exchange. It is always interesting to see what people bring and then end up taking home. All the gifts were great I thought. We ended up with a small ice chest and the new Rachel Ray cookbook. At the end of the night it was so wonderful to see all the hard work pay off and to be able to see Teresia smile and enjoy herself after the tough year she had in 2009. Praying for a better 2010!

(The above picture shows all of the Crenshaw side of the family that was able to make it )

Once everything was cleaned up we loaded up the car and headed back home so that the girls could have a day at home to play with their toys and puppy before school started on Monday.

Christmas at Grandma's House

This first post is going to have to just contain pictures because there is way too much to tell and too many pictures so in order to save some time we will go with pictures.

Friday Morning before opening presents for Christmas #1.

(Colt, Kaylee, Catch, Chenna & Campbell)

Kaylee and Catch patiently posing for a photo. They are only about 3 1/2 months apart in age so they have a lot of fun playing together. There was a lot of laughter coming from these two over the few days we were there.

Kaylee with some of the Boxcar Children books, she loves to read.

(Great-Grandma Crenshaw with Grandma)

We were so excited that Great Grandma was able to be with us this year, what a blessing. Campbell took a special liking to her especially when they found they had a common love of putting together puzzles.

All the grandkids plus one for Christmas #2 on Friday night.

(Colt, Chenna, Campbell, Kaylee holding Devon and Catch holding his foster brother Shane)

Colt giving the Hook'em sign, I love that he has such good taste despite being born and raised in Oklahoma;-)

Campbell and Chenna posing.

The youngest member of the family. Sweet Devon celebrated his First Christmas this year. He was very excited about all the toys that made sounds so I am sure his Mom and Dad will have all of the catchy tunes running through their heads in no time.

The last Christmas complete. I have to say that although the Christmas Season was fun I was glad to get back to our routine on Monday.

Christmas Day Take 3

We managed to get all of the presents from the morning put away before my Uncle Don, Aunt Trudy and cousin Duncan arrived with round three of gifts. We always look forward to seeing them because this is the one time of year that we can count on getting to catch up with each other. After eating lunch it was time to start the fun all over again. Of course the girls had to first show Oliver off a little.

This year it was so much fun to watch Kaylee open gifts because with each package she would let out a "whoo-hoo" like it was the gift she had wanted the most in the world. Campbell on the other hand is more like her Mom and just says a quite "Thanks" and then moves on to the next one. Too funny!

It was wonderful to be able to spend time together. The rest of the day included, eating, playing games, talking, more eating, and at the end of the evening the girls all went to look at Christmas lights, one of our favorite traditions. We are all truly blessed and thankful for our time together and safe arrivals to our homes.

Christmas Day Take 2

Once we had all filled our stomachs it was time for round two. We went ahead and opened presents from all of us to each other. My Mom even had a Santa gift for Cary and I which is always fun! You are never too old for Santa, or at least that is what I think. The girls again were excited and surprised by their presents from Nana and Papa. I think they were most excited about their ipods and American Girl dolls. (Kaylee has a nicer ipod than me and the only way I got one was because Cary won it at a conference. She already knows how to work hers better than I can operate mine. Talk about feeling old!) I may have to borrow hers while she is at school;-)

Thanks to Nana and Papa for all of the time, love and preparation they put into our day to make it special for all of us. We all look forward to the spoiling that we receive while we are there each Christmas. Notice Papa was the only one looking away from the camera, but I love the expression on his face. I also think Kaylee has had that smile plastered on her face since Oliver arrived.

Christmas Day Take One

Christmas was yet again a very eventful and magical day for our girls. They were so excited for Santa to arrive and he definitely did. This picture is of the tree after Santa had unloaded the loot. In those packages were the desires of Kaylee and Campbell's hearts. This year their lists included Zhu-Zhu pets, a baby doll that walked, a pony, the Mindflex game, Wii games, Legos, a guitar and Lulu the animated cat.We tried to get the girls to only ask for the things that they really wanted this year and not everything they saw on the television or Target aisle.Once the girls had opened all the presents Nana got busy working on breakfast while Papa, Cary, and I worked on getting all the new things unattached from their boxes so they could actually be played with. There really should be a class on this. I think we only had one casualty this year when Papa cut his hand with the end of a screwdriver trying to free an animal.

The famous Zhu-Zhu pets.

Campbell with the pony she asked for repeatedly from Santa.

Kaylee with her Legos.

Christmas Eve II

After the excitement of the puppy we did get the girls calmed down enough to enjoy an early Christmas with GG and Great Papaw. They both arrived within moments of the girls getting Oliver. Here are the girls with their Great Papaw. They both love him so much and were looking forward to his arrival for the whole day before he got there. I love watching them play together. There is nothing like the blessing I feel when I see them enjoying a game together like I did with him as a child. We love you Papaw!!

Kaylee and Campbell were also looking forward to seeing GG since we only get to see her a few times a year. They could not wait to see what she got them either since she always does such a great job. I love my grandmother's sweet, quiet spirit. She is so precious to the girls and laughs on cue at all of their funny stories and performances. Another blessing!

Once we had eaten, opened presents and played a few games it was time for the girls to make sugar cookies with Nana for Santa. They love anything that involves baking and frosting. I can't blame them either. santa was very lucky to get some of these delicious cookies with egg nog.

We also had another Christmas surprise when it started to snow in Waco on Christmas Eve. Campbell had said for weeks that Santa would not come till it snowed. I suppose she came to this conclusion from all the Christmas movies we have watched the past month with snow in them. Imagine our surprise when her wish came true too. Thank you Lord for taking care of the desire of a little girl's heart. It truly made her night even though it did not stick to the ground. She was just happy to feel it coming down and so was Kaylee.

We all went to sleep that night feeling very blessed and looking forward to another beautiful Lord's day filled with the magic of Christmas!

The Big Surprise

On the day before Christmas Eve we packed up the car and headed to Waco to spend some time with my parents. I am so glad we did not wait till the next morning because we would have had to stay put in Abilene since we got lots of snow here for Christmas. That would have been a problem since several of their presents were in Waco along with the most important one.

Once we arrived at my parents' home the girls immediately went to their room to look for presents under their tree. Each year my Mom buys a few things for the girls to open as a kind of countdown to the big day. Both of them look forward to this so much. I am so glad that my Mom started this tradition for them to enjoy. This year they opened Snuggies for each of them and some adorable leopard print dresses from Gymboree. They also got matching Christmas pajamas and two games. One of them was Toss Across, I do not know who was more excited about that one Kaylee or me?

We woke up Christmas Eve and spent the morning relaxing along with playing a few rounds of Toss Across and My Little Pony. Next we loaded up in two cars and went to Fudrucker's for some yummy lunch. Cary and my Dad left the restaurant to go pick up a surprise for the girls while Mom and I ran a few errands with Kaylee and Campbell in tow. Upon arrival at the house the girls found a BIG surprise waiting on the back porch with a note attached from Santa. Apparently, sometimes Santa's sleigh is a little too loaded down so he chooses to drop off a few live animals early.(For my friends who I told Kaylee was not getting a dog, she wasn't but I caved a few days before Christmas and brought Cary down with me;-) I do not think Kaylee or Campbell minded that at all!

The girls finding their surprise.

Two very happy faces! Kaylee claimed it was the "most amazing and awesome Christmas ever!"

The looks on their faces just made my heart fill with joy. I am so glad that we decided to add Oliver to our family. Thanks Santa!!

Gingerbread Houses

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned how the 2nd graders at Kaylee's school make Gingerbread Houses for their Christmas Party, well Kaylee did not have enough time to finish hers so we made it a project on one of our Christmas vacation days. Of course, Campbell had to get in on the action too. The three of us had a lot of fun making them and they even turned out pretty cute. I helped Campbell with hers, in other words she told me where to place all of the candy.

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours