Deep thoughts with Nolan

Nolan does his deep thinking on Sunday mornings. He has asked or commented all of the following last Sunday morning and this morning. 

"What's sin?"

(while reading the announcements on the screen at the front of the sanctuary) "It's a good thing they tell you to turn your cell phone off. You shouldn't be on your phone during worship."

"What are the other 7 planets for?"

"Why aren't babies born with clothes on?" (Bill had a great answer for that. He told Nolan that God makes the babies and people make the clothes)

"Everyone has someone who is hard to love."

**And finally, this morning we were singing 'The First Noel'. As usual, Nolan was standing next to me, following along in the hymn book with his finger. I can't possibly sing unless he helps, you know. I leaned down and whispered to him that he if had been a girl, I was going to name him Noelle. Nolan looked shocked. He said, "What do you mean? Don't the moms and dads get to pick what the babies are going to be?" 

I guess he thought we ordered three boys. 

Oh....Christmas tree...

Christmas 2000. That was the year we discovered Christmas trees and pets don't mix. Cadence and Aria loved to remove ornaments from the tree and hide them behind the piano. Bill and I learned over the next few years to keep the fragile ornaments up high and to pinch ornament hooks as tightly as we could on the lower branches. That helped some, but I would still find treasures each time we moved the piano. 

Fast forward to 2008. By now, we had figured out that the best place for the tree was behind closed doors, so we put the tree in the Florida room and kept the doors shut, thus keeping the tree safe from cats and children alike. 

Christmas 2011. Tree in Florida room falls over, lands on stone floor. Huge mess, broken ornaments, upset children and Mom. Tree is relocated to living room where Katie uses certain ornaments as 'batting' practice. Get it??

Christmas 2014. Tree is assembled in the living room. Fragile ornaments up high, non-fragile, non-sentimental ornaments down low. We were worried about the cats and Copper messing with the tree. 

But they have left it alone. Instead, Copper ate my tree skirt. 

I'm not happy, but I'm not devastated either. I got it on the clearance rack adte Christmas a few years ago. I've learned not to invest too much in decor. A pet or child will just ruin it eventually anyway. 

Tie Guy

Nolan loves to dress up for church. I'm not being sarcastic, he really does love it. He is a huge fan of ties. His brothers prefer polo shirts or sweaters, but Nolan wants to rock a tie. 

This morning, I laid out a dress shirt and a sweater vest, along with his precious blue tie. Bill said Nolan came down the stairs, struggling with his apparel and asking for help with his tie. 

Bill saw him and almost lost it. Nolan had put on the sweater vest first, then the dress shirt, and was trying to clip his tie on top. Bill gently explained that Nolan had gotten the order wrong and that the shirt needed to go on before the vest. 

Nolan wasn't happy with this. "But Dad! Then no one will see my tie!"

Here he is, correctly attired. He took a look at this picture and was pleased to see that his tie is still noticeable. 

Keeping it surreal

Some days, Bill and I feel like our lives aren't real. It's like we are stuck in some sort of slapstick sitcom. 

Sunday morning, there was no Sunday school, so the boys all stayed with us for the entire service. About halfway through the sermon, Nolan decided he was dying of thirst. DYING, I say. I really want him to learn to sit and be patient, so I was trying to distract him. I kept giving him a 'look'. He eventually leaned close and said, "Mom, what is wrong with your eyes?"

At dinner that night, everyone was eating when TJ suddenly blurted out, "Llamas are nature's greatest warriors."

What?

Tonight at dinner, Sam spilled his milk. It hit the crack in the center of the table (where the leaf goes in) and rained down underneath...and all over Copper, who was in the midst of patrolling for crumbs. Her fur is crunchy now. But since it was coconut milk, I bet her skin is moisturized. 

Does anyone want to give my dog a bath?

Inexplicable

Tomorrow is TJ's 11th birthday. Eleven. How is that possible?  It seems just like yesterday that he was running around the house with a yard stick (his favorite toy) and chattering on about the 'tees' (trees). 

TJ is having a pool party at an area high school on Sunday. He loves to swim and this was actually the most affordable party option I came up with. I told him yesterday that I was going to order a cake made out of two dozen cupcakes to feed the kids at the party. TJ requested that I get cupcakes that were white inside. He informed me he doesn't like chocolate cake. This was news to me, but I promised there would be no chocolate.

Tonight, Nolan had therapy and TJ and Sam had their first practice for the Christmas program at church. I was with Nolan and Bill had the other two. I asked him to stop by the grocery store on the way home so TJ could pick out a dessert for his birthday dinner tomorrow. That's right. I didn't bake. I haven't had the time, the energy, or the desire. 

I got home from therapy and was very surprised to see TJ picked out this cake:

Sure looks like a lot of chocolate for a kid who doesn't want a chocolate cake! Bill said he was surprised too. You know why TJ wanted this specific cake? He thought the name on the label was hysterical. 

TJ saw me looking at the cake and said, "Isn't that a funny name for a cake? But I sure hope there isn't chocolate cake under the frosting!"

Oh, my Dear. That's pretty much the point of Death by Chocolate!

Happy birthday, TJ!

Not a puppy!

Would someone please tell Copper that she is not a puppy? She puts everything in her mouth! Just last night, she got in trouble twice. 

I was sitting on the floor, doing my nails. I set down a wrapped chocolate Tootsie Roll Pop. Copper was in her bed just behind me. I thought she was chewing on her Nyla bone. I reached for my lollipop and it was gone. I turned toward the dog and was shocked to see she had unwrapped it and was happily gnawing on it. I snatched it away before she could determine how many licks it takes to get to the center. I was quite sad about throwing it away. It was the only Tootsie Roll Pop I found in the boys' Halloween candy.

I was applying some new Jamberry nail wraps and was using a nice new emery board. I finished applying the last wrap and reached for the emery board one last time. And it was gone. Once again, I turned toward Copper and found her gnawing on it. Seriously?! Was she trying to file her teeth? Wouldn't that be a painful sensation? Like fingernails on a chalkboard! 

I guess this story has a happy ending. She didn't actually ingest either item and my nails are super cute. 

Single white male seeks girlfriend

This afternoon, Nolan was sitting at the counter, working on his homework. He's supposed to read a story, then do a writing activity about the story. Nolan dislikes this because he has to read the same story several days in a row (and it's only interesting the first time) and he detests the writing portion because writing is so tedious for him. So he often gets sidetracked while he procrastinates. 

Today was no exception. He actually interrupted his own reading to ask, "Do you have to be in college before you have a girlfriend?"

I thought this was a pretty random question, but I told him I thought it would be okay if he went on dates in high school, as long as he was with groups of kids. 

Nolan said, "what about now?" I asked him what he meant. He replied, "I want a girlfriend now!" I started laughing. I asked him if there was any particular girl he liked. No, no one in particular. So I laughed again and told him that for now, he should just have girls as his friends.

Well, that answer was boring, but he let it go. I'm sure he'll ask again tomorrow if he's old enough then. 

Watch out, fellow first graders. Nolan is on the prowl!

Bad blogger

I know, I know. I've been really bad about blogging lately. I've been adjusting to having a dog in the family. Now that Copper is settling in, I've caught a cold and have zero motivation. 

So this will be short. Last night, we had a fall harvest party at church. We all had a great time. The boys were excited for this bonus opportunity to wear their costumes. 

Nolan wanted to be something 'evil' this year. I'm not a fan of gore, and he doesn't like to be scared, so we spent awhile searching before we found the right costume. Nolan is a vampire. I wanted to make it look authentic, so I put some white face paint on him to make him look pale. 

I had to do some convincing, because Nolan DID NOT want to wear makeup. But once I got it on him, he was impressed. His comment? "Wow. I look a little bit dead!"

Here's Nolan and Sam, the escaped prisoner. I will get more pictures next week. TJ was off being social and I didn't get a single picture of him. 

Dawdling is hereditary

The other night, I was trying to get the kids to ready themselves for bed. Sam was dawdling. This is not surprising, as Sam's head is usually somewhere else. This particular evening, he managed to put his pajamas on, but then became engrossed in an old State Farm map book I had given him and forgot all about brushing his teeth. 

Bill came upstairs to assist in the bedtime rituals. This is what I saw the next time I came down the hall. They were deep in a discussion on towns in Tennesee. Clearly, they are two of a kind. 

End of an era

Nolan has a loose tooth. A very loose tooth. My baby is about to lose his first tooth. He is so excited about it. I am feeling far more nostalgic. It's like we are leaving another stage of babyhood behind. 

Nolan had therapy tonight. He is usually the last patient on Wednesdays. Tonight the receptionist was locking up the back doors while Nolan was finishing up. He asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm making sure the doors are all locked."

I could hear Nolan's reply from my spot in the waiting area. He sounded very wise. "Oh yes. You have to lock the doors to keep the bugs out."

The receptionist laughed and said, "Yes. That's exactly why we lock the doors."

Here's a picture of my sweet baby with all his baby teeth. 

Deep Thoughts by TJ and Nolan

Tonight at bedtime, Nolan asked me if I've ever met anyone who spoke British. 

At dinner tonight, we were talking about the Tigers game. TJ had a question about their opponent. But he either didn't know that word or couldn't think of it. Instead he said, 'what about the team they were versus-ing?'

Yesterday, Nolan asked me if he was six and a half. I told he almost was...he hits that crucial milestone on October 1. He said, 'okay, so am I six and an inch?'

Sam isn't feeling well today. I think he has a touch of the stomach flu. He's sleeping in my bed tonight because he gets panicky if he feels sick and I'm not right there with him. He was fine this morning though, and was in church with us. He was sitting right next to Bill and kept grilling him as to which pipe rank the organist was using at any given time. He shares his Dad's obsession with pipe organs. 

Advance planning

TJ's completed birthday list is on my fridge. So many thoughts running through my head...

Wow. His handwriting is atrocious. 

His birthday isn't until the end of November!

A kitten. Really? He says it is staying on his list for every birthday and Christmas until he gets it. His father says he's fine with it on the list, rather than having a third cat in the house. 

But it's the last item that totally cracks me up. A top hat? What in the world for? And does he need to specify that it should be black?

Part of me wants to get him the top hat, just to see where he wears it. 

Sound the alarm!

A couple times this past week, Sam mentioned that they had a fire drill at school. He really enjoys those. He likes the procedure and seeing how the alarms and lights work together. I made the mistake of telling him that we used to do fire drills at the day care where I worked. He was extremely intrigued. He wanted to know what it was like to pull the alarm, how you shut it off, where the kids exited, if we timed the kids, etc. 

Then he got on YouTube. YouTube is a lifesaver for parents with children like Sam. He knows he isn't alone. He found other people who shared his fascination with fire alarms. He spent this weekend learning about the different brands and models. He watched videos of people who had wired their houses with commercial fire alarm systems.  Wow. That would be much worse than putting up with a pipe organ in one's basement. 

Needless to say, I heard A LOT of fire alarms this weekend. And I'm telling you, it doesn't matter where you go in this house. If your second grader is watching a video with a fire alarm sounding, you cannot escape that sound. 

Now that I am reading this over, I wonder if I should be concerned about Sam pulling the fire alarm at school. I don't think we would do that....maybe if he stays interested in these, we will have to buy him his own fire alarm (thank goodness for eBay too!)  I am sure he would have it wired and installed in no time. I am pretty certain his dad would be thrilled to help him with that. 

Birthdays and boogers

Monday was my birthday.  I told the boys that I wanted two things for my birthday: I wanted to go out to eat and I wanted them to be on their best behavior all day.

TJ and Nolan were awesome until we got back from the restaurant.  Then there may have been a re-enactment of a Civil War battle in the upstairs hallway.  It wasn't pretty.

Sam was an angel all day.  When we got back from dinner, Bill gave me a couple small gifts he had picked up.  Sam was looking concerned during this.  He had signed a rather cute birthday card (as had TJ and Nolan), but Sam clearly felt he hadn't done enough.  He disappeared for 15 minutes and came back with a card he had made himself.  I hugged him a complimented him, but he still wasn't satisfied.  "I didn't get you a present," he kept saying.  I kept telling him that I didn't need a gift, but he clearly thought I was lying.

He left and came back, carrying $2.  It's all the spending money he has.  He wanted to give it to me.  Okay.  Big lump in my throat.  I gently told him that I would never take all of his money, but that it meant so much to me that he was willing to share it.  Sam smiled, then frowned and disappeared again.  He returned a third time with a small, hard ball in his hand.

He explained to me that when Bill was digging the trenches in the yard for the sprinklers, he and Sam discovered that our soil is pretty lousy.  It's basically just clay.  So Sam dug out some of the clay, and spent some time rounding it into the perfect ball.  When it dried, you couldn't even tell it was something a child had made.

I again thanked Sam sincerely, but I also told him that just seeing what he had made was special to me.  I told him that having him behave and be sweet and loving meant more to me than any present.  Sam still looked puzzled, but he finally decided to give me a big birthday hug and give up.  Clearly, moms are too difficult to shop for.

The next day, I discovered that someone had left me a rather unpleasant gift on the wall in the stairwell.  A large booger was smeared on the wall.  One thing that dries harder than Sam's clay is a booger.  Oh, lovely.  I soaked it for awhile and then scrubbed.  Got the booger off, along some of the drywall.  Oh, lovely.  I guess it's a good thing that we hadn't painted the stairwell yet.

Sam's well-child visit

I took Sam in for his 8-year well-child exam today. It was also the first appointment he had with his new doctor, Dr. Eberhardt. Sam was in a great mood and had the nurse laughing right away ('I'm not highly intelligent. I'm just intelligent.'). The doctor checked him for scoliosis and a hernia. Sam wasn't embarrassed, he just needed to know exactly what a hernia was before she checked. He also got a flu shot. The boys have always gotten the flu mist, but that isn't an option at this office. Sam needed to know exactly what was going to happen, and then he was cool with it. No tears. No big deal. 

Dr Eberhardt spent some time talking with us and getting to know Sam. She quickly started to piece things together. Highly intelligent. Very verbal. Not really social. Only a couple close friends. Would rather learn and observe adults than play with toys. Hates to make mistakes. Falls apart when embarrassed. Prone to panic attacks. 

She asked me if anyone had we've suggested that Sam might have a mild form of Aspberger's. I laughed. I told her we had often considered that. She said it's nothing to be concerned about. We just need to keep it in mind if he starts to struggle socially or have problems in school. It pleased me to know she would help us keep an eye on that. 

Anyway, Sam is 50 inches and 59 pounds. A little shorter and thinner than most boys his age. I told him it wasn't too long ago that was off the weight chart; he was such a chubby baby. Sam was very amused by that. 

Here's Sam acing his eye test at the doctor. The nurse was having him read things backwards, just to keep him on his toes. 

Who's hungry?

We were sitting at the dinner table tonight, happily dining on grilled brats and corn on the cob when Nolan extended his index finger.  There was a small, orangish blob on his finger tip. 

"What is this?" he asked me. "I just pulled it out of my ear."

Mmmmmm. Yummy. 

On a less disgusting note, this morning, Sam was asking about the evolution of the washing machine. He always wants more information than I have. 

Motorcycle safety tips from Nolan

We are currently heading to our downstate house from our UP house. A groups of motorcyclists just passed us. Nolan was quite impressed with this group. They have matching leather jackets and seem to be pretty serious about their biking. As we watched them go by, Nolan commented, "You know one thing you should never be doing on a motorcycle? Sleeping!"

We laughed and then I told Nolan about a lady I used to work with. Trilby and her husband would take out-of-state trips on their motorcycle and Trilby told me she had successfully learned to nap while on the bike. So I shared this story with Nolan and he was fascinated. He said, "Was she the one DRIVING?!"

His innocent comments just crack me up. 

The magic house

We are at our U.P. house again this week. We figured there was no better way to spend the last week of summer. I can't believe school starts next week!

I have found a flaw with this house. The rest of my family is under the mistaken impression that it is a magic house. Why else would they:

*Put empty ice cube trays in the freezer, waiting for them to magically refill

*Leave their dirty dishes scattered all over the dining room table, waiting for them to magically put themselves in the sink or dishwasher

*Leave their dirty clothes in piles on the floors of the bedrooms, waiting for them to magically transport themselves to the laundry basket in the bathroom 

*Drink every last drop out of our Brita-type pitcher and then put it back in the fridge totally empty. This one really kills me. Bill is concerned about lead in our water pipes, so the kids are not to drink the water out of the tap. Water must filter through the pitcher first. So if someone puts it in the fridge empty, it means the next person has no drinking water. 

So either everyone thinks the house has some magic qualities or the only reason they bring me along is to play the role of the Maid. I need to retrain them, and fast, before I hurt someone. 

A few other tidbits. Sam is fascinated with the radiators here. He wishes it was colder so we could run them more. He thinks they are beautiful.  He also thinks the ladder that goes up to the third floor is beautiful. 

I put new Jamberry wraps on tonight. After I finished, I noticed they coordinated perfectly with the toilet. I'm so stylish!

Two for Tuesday

The boys were full of it today.  Nolan had one of his moments where he was deep in thought and had an epiphany. "Mom, Wednesdays are really busy for me! I have therapy AND I have to take a shower! That's a lot of stuff!"

While I was chuckling over this, he suddenly looked stunned. "And tomorrow" (which, yes, is Wednesday), "I also have to play at the campground with Grandma. An even busier day!"

My parents are camping this week just a few miles from our house. So the boys have been playing at the lake right by their camper. They love it. But boy, it sure is filling up Nolan's social calendar!

On the way home from the campground, TJ said to me, "You know Mom, I have a lot of imagitivity."

I'll let you ponder that one. 

Perpetual Project

So, we bought a vacation house in the Keweenaw. I'm sure it will go down as one of the craziest things I did in my lifetime. 

The house is over 100 years old and it had been vacant for the past three years. The previous owners were elderly. The wife died first. Three years ago, the husband moved to a nursing home. He passed away last year so his children finally put the house on the market. We got a great deal on it. 

But you must remember...very old home, owned by aging people who were in poor health. And it hasn't been lived in since 2011. So it has tons of things that need updating, repair, or replacement. 

*The ceiling in the half bath off the kitchen is cracked. Bill thinks it's due to the...

*Fact that the house needs a new roof

*The full bath upstairs was originally a bedroom. So it's pointlessly large and everything in it is blue. EVERYTHING--the door, the toilet, the tub, the radiator...it's so bad it's comical. Bill replaced the toilet seat, so that's white, but now it's even more hideous. 

*The carpet in the master bedroom is the color of newborn baby poop. 

*There isn't carpet in the other two bedrooms. It's linoleum. And it's lumpy. 

*Electrical outlets are at a premium. The smaller two bedrooms each have a pair of outlets. They splurged in our bedroom and gave us two pairs. But the bathroom only has two outlets. We have to get creative, especially when we are trying to work remotely. Hard to plug in all of our electronics in just two outlets. And the wiring is a bit sketchy. 

*The wood floor underneath the carpet in the front hall and the dining room buckled in two spots. I have tripped over those lumps more than once. That's one of the first things we will have repaired, but it does involve pulling up a lot of thick, early 80s carpet. 

*The basement is scary and unsafe. I haven't been down there since we walked through with the realtor. I get a kick out of watching Bill go down there. He hates it. He has to psych himself up to go down there. 

*There are a series of ancient cupboards lining the narrow staircase to the basement. My mom and I made the mistake of opening them. We quickly closed them. We will deal with that trash some other day. 

*We bought new mattresses for this house. We have since discovered we can't get the box spring for our queen bed up the stairs. Bill is going to have to remove some trim and perhaps part of the wall so we can get it upstairs. In the meantime, we got the mattress upstairs and that's working just fine. 

Lest you think I'm miserable and resentful, let me assure you that I find most of these problems highly amusing. The house has so much character and it's in one of my favorite places in the world. We just need to be patient and tackle these projects one at a time. And Bill keeps telling me how happy he is. Even thought many of these projects are going to fall on his shoulders!

Here are a few pictures, for your viewing enjoyment. 

My. Spot.

This is Willoughby's spot on the couch. You'll notice he is oozing into the couch. He is literally becoming part of the couch. 

I sat on the couch last night. In HIS spot. Wow. That really confounded him. 

I'm just thankful he hardly sheds. I really like that couch. 

Cash or charge?

We stopped at the grocery store on our way home from church today. I needed some ground turkey for dinner and I had forgotten to pick it up on my weekly grocery run. I found the turkey and then pondered my dilemma: I had no cash on me. I knew I could go through the self-checkout lane and no one would know I was charging $2.50 worth of fresh ground turkey. But I felt guilty. I know the store pays a fee with every credit card transaction and I felt like I would be ripping them off with my measly purchase. 

So I decided to buy something else, to make my credit card purchase more worthwhile. I have been slowly collecting items for our vacation home in the Upper Peninsula (more on that once we've closed on the house), and one thing "must have" that was still on my list was a plunger. So I grabbed one, checked out, and headed back to the van where Bill and the boys had been waiting. 

Bill looked totally baffled by my purchase so I reminded him that we needed a plunger for the house in Laurium and I didn't want to charge just turkey, because that would have been embarrassing. Bill's comment was, "Yet you thought it was LESS embarrassing to buy only ground turkey and a plunger?"

Oh. I hadn't thought about it that way. We had a good laugh over that. 

Can't sit still

The boys and I have been gone for eleven days. We all camped together for a week and then Bill headed home. The boys stayed at the campground with my parents for another four days and I worked in Grand Rapids this week. I made a couple trips back up to Cran-Hill this week, at TJ's request. He was worried about being homesick, but he did absolutely fine. 

I left work early today, drove back up to Big Rapids, picked up the boys and all their gear, then drove home. I was exhausted. I made four trips from Big Rapids to Grand Rapids over the past 11 days. I've been living out of an overnight bag. I had to make one emergency stop at Meijer for a pair of underwear because all of my clean pairs were in a different location than I was (thank you, clearance rack. That was only a $2 mistake!)

So...I was absolutely thrilled when we pulled in our driveway at 7:15 tonight. I am SO ready to sleep in my own bed (and be in the same location as ALL of my underwear!) Sam was thrilled as well. He immediately started wandering around the yard, checking on the progress Bill has made this week on the underground sprinkling. TJ was happy too. He immediately sought out Katie, gave her a thorough brushing, then weighed her (he weighs her a lot. No idea why. It's always the same number). 

Nolan was a different story. After we had been home for about a half hour, he said, "We need to go somewhere else. I don't want to just sit at home for the rest of the summer." We do have a few fun family events coming up this weekend with Bill's family, so I filled Nolan in on the details. Nolan nodded, then said, "What else? You've got to come up with other fun thing to do, or you need to line up some play dates with Will."

Or perhaps the child needs to learn to entertain himself! We do have more fun activities lined up this summer, and he will certainly have some play dates with his friends, but he also needs to learn to enjoy just being at home with his family. 

An upgrade to dorm life?

Sam asked me the other day how old he had to be before he could buy his own camper. I told him he needed to be able to pay for it and be able to drive the truck that would pull it. 

I then started thinking about this. I can totally see Sam graduating from high school and buying a truck and a camper. He wouldn't live in a college dorm, he'd have his camper. His friends would either think he was totally crazy or super cool. I guess as long as he showers occasionally and does some laundry, his mother could cope with this. 

Yesterday was Sunday, the day when many of the campground lots at Cran Hill change hands. Sam spent most of the afternoon riding his bike slowly around the grounds, monitoring which units were coming in and which were leaving. He also had a rather lengthy discussion with an elderly gentleman down the road about his unit, what the gentleman's wife wanted in a camper, and why they finally made their choice. 

I wonder if that guy had ever had such an in depth trailer conversation...with a seven-year-old. And one who really knows his facts!

Sam's second favorite thing

We are camping at Cran Hill this week. It's a tradition that goes back over 20 years and my boys look forward to it just like I did when I was a kid. 

We left Sunday afternoon. That morning there was no children's programming at our church in Brighton, since it was a holiday weekend. The boys were extremely well-behaved, other than the occasional wiggle and whisper. I had three different women come up to me after the service to compliment the boys. And here I had been cringing over every little noise they made. Those compliments told me that I need to relax a little. Anyway, Sam spent part of the service making drawings of campers for each of us. 

Sam didn't ride up to the campground with me. He was determined to go up with Papa, his brand new truck, and the Jay Flight camper. My dad said that Sam talked nearly non-stop the whole way there. When I arrived, Sam immediately started helping me unpack and set up our unit (we borrowed Jared and Sarah's camper for the week). Sam gave me the biggest smile and announced that camping was his second-favorite thing to do. I asked him what his number one favorite was. He told me it was going to the Upper Peninsula with his family. 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love that boy?

Souvenirs

One of our favorite things to do as a family is spend time in the Upper Peninsula.  For the past several years, we've rented a house in Laurium, which is between Houghton and Copper Harbor in the Keweenaw Peninsula.  We have made some traditions that we 'always' do when we are Up North.  We always make at least one drive to Copper Harbor.  We always stop by the Jam Pot and buy a year's supply of jelly from the monks who run the place.  We always spend one afternoon playing in Torch Lake.  We always tour a copper mine (we alternate between the Quincy Mine and the Delaware Mine).  And we always make a stop at Copper World in Calumet to buy souvenirs. 

Sometimes the boys only get one small item.  This year, I just let them tell me what they wanted, then Bill and I decided if it was appropriate or not.  Surprisingly, none of them asked for anything really outlandish or expensive.

TJ.  Last year, TJ got a copper eagle necklace.  He loved it and wore it everywhere.  It broke at the beginning of June, and he was devastated.  We had promised he could get a new one, so he did (not a bad investment for $5).  He also requested a U.P. hat, which Bill could not say 'no' to...

 

Nolan is my stuffed animal lover.  He can't be surrounded by too many of them.  He wanted a large husky dog, but I asked him if he would mind a smaller one instead.  Of course not!  He also got a tiny $1 piece of copper.  He was overjoyed.  The dog's name is Kip.

Then there's Sam.  All Sam wanted was information on copper mines.  Bill helped him find a book on the Delaware Mine, and well, you can see how happy Sam was.  The shop owner, Tony, told Sam that the book he had selected was very special, as it is now out of print.  Sam was pretty proud when he heard that.  He also selected a nice piece of copper.

 

Bill was happy, because I  let him pick out a new tee shirt AND a new sweatshirt (we happened to be in the store on Father's Day, so I was feeling somewhat generous).  And I scored a tee shirt on the clearance rack.  Everyone was happy.  But no one was quite as pleased as Sam.

7 a.m. wake-up

School mornings are tough for Sam. He is NOT a morning person, and he tends to move slowly, even when he's in a good mood. That means getting him up, dressed, and fed by 7:45 can be a bit rough. I start at 7 a.m. by turning the light on and telling him it's time to get up. As I walk down the hallway to do this, I pass TJ. He is already dressed and heading downstairs. He is just like his dad, who enjoys mornings. I wake up Nolan right after Sam and he promptly gets up and gets dressed. 

Around 7:05, I yell down the hall to Sam that he'd better be moving. Around 7:10, I'll check and see he is still in bed. I remind him that he MUST be heading downstairs by 7:20 or he will be in trouble with me. At 7:19, Sam finally gets moving and races downstairs just in the nick of time. Then I have to prod him through breakfast in time to catch the bus. 

So mornings can be very exhausting. I feel like a prison warden. Imagine my surprise last week Wednesday when I looked in Sam's room to see his bed was empty. I figured he was in the bathroom but that was empty too. I asked TJ where Sam was and he had no idea. 

We found him. The day before, Bill had finally gotten a couple sprinkler zones working. Sam was up, dressed, and outside at 7:00, just checking on the sprinklers. He did the same thing on Thursday, the last day of school. It was wonderful!

I'm wondering if we can keep the sprinklers on year-round. 

Mass and Energy

The other day, shortly before bedtime, Nolan came trotting into my bedroom. He informed me he was really tired and he needed to see what he weighed. He messed around the with the scale for a minute ('tap on it, wait for the zero, then step on it'!). After a long pause he said, "That's funny. I still weigh 44. Even though I'm really tired."

I laughed and explained that your weight doesn't change even when you're tired. Nolan was a bit annoyed. That wasn't interesting to him at all. So he decided to weigh his wristwatch. He has quite the watch. He says it weighs four pounds. 

Newfound freedom

Sam does things on his own timetable.  He apparently waits to learn a new skill until he feels he can perfect it.  He didn't potty train until he was 3 1/2, but the day he finally decided to train, he never had another accident.  Not even at night.

The same is true for riding a two-wheeler.  We have been bugging Sam to learn to ride a bike for over a year.  He was very resistant to practicing.  He didn't even like to ride the bike with training wheels on.  He simply walked everywhere. 

Well, he finally decided he was ready.  He mastered the skill with minimal help from Bill (and zero help from me).  And now, the kid is everywhere.  He is so proud of himself and he loves to ride his bike (which is a hand-me-down from TJ).  He spent hours tooling around the neighborhood after school today.  To look at him, you'd never know this was a brand-new skill.

It took him so long to master this, that he's really outgrown this bike already.  I guess it's a good thing he has a birthday coming up later this summer.

In case you are wondering, it is now much easier for him to check on the neighbor's sprinklers.  He can zoom over as soon as he sees one turn on!

Here he is, practicing at Grandma's house yesterday.

A new perspective

On Saturday evening, I got the phone call I had been dreading.  My beloved grandmother had passed away.  We all knew it was coming.  I just kept hoping it wouldn't be for awhile.  That I'd have time to go visit her again.  That I'd be able to see her smile again.  That I'd be able to kiss her soft cheek again.

But she's gone.  After I hung up the phone, I cried harder than I've ever cried before.  I've struggled to figure out why.  I loved my grandpa just as much, but his death didn't hit me quite as hard.  I think it's because they are both gone.  The two of them are part of my most cherished childhood memories.  Now that they are both gone, it's like that part of my childhood is gone.

The boys are sad, to be sure.  But they really dislike how sad I am.  I can understand.  As I child, I hated seeing grownups cry.  A child's world feels less secure when grownups cry.  But I can't help it.  I've explained to the boys that I am not sad for Grandma.  I know she's in heaven, and I know she's happy to be with Grandpa again.  It's just that I miss her so very much.

TJ listened to me explaining this for probably the third or fourth time the other night.  Then he said, "Yes.  But think about her mom and dad.  They were probably awfully happy to see her."

I hadn't thought about that once.  My grandma hadn't seen her dad in 30 years.  And honestly, I have no idea when my great-grandma died.  It was much longer ago than that.  She must've been overjoyed to see her parents again.

His comment was made very matter-of-factly, but it did cheer me up.

I still miss her though.  Heaven just got one amazing lady.

And I'll probably still cry.  I can't help it.

Tigers Game

Last week Friday, we went to the Tigers Game.  We got tickets through the boys' school and some of the proceeds went back to the school.  It was so much fun.  Bill's mom came with us, and it was the very first Tigers game Sam and Nolan had been to. 

We made it through the entire game, which the Tigers won quite handily.  The boys all enjoyed it, but Sam was enthralled.  He never left his seat once.  No bathroom trips, no trips to explore the park, no trips for snacks (although he did almost single-handedly polish off a bag of peanuts Bill bought).  Sam was just soaking everything in.  He asked questions about the game.  He watched the idiotic seagulls flying around.  He noticed the lighting.  He noticed the moths flying in front of the lights.  Bill pointed out some bats (as in, blind flying mammals, not baseball bats), and Sam studied those.  Sam kept saying, "This.  Is.  Awesome!"  Two Tigers hit home runs.  The Chevy fountain in the outfield shoots up water when a home run is hit.  Sam was ecstatic.  Sam's most favorite part was the fireworks display at the end.

As we left, Sam asked when we could come back.  It's too bad Tigers tickets aren't cheaper.  He'd be there every week if he could.

Hollyword Week

The kindergarten classes have had 'Hollyword Week' all week. They've been doing fun activities utilizing the popcorn words they've learned all year (one activity was a paper snowball fight. The papers had words written on them and when a kid was 'hit', they had to read the words to the class. Cute). Today they capped off the week by dressing like Hollywood stars. I pondered this one all week. I didn't want Nolan to get too dressed up, as he still had outdoor recess. I thought about covering him in tattoos and pants that were falling down and having him go as Justin Beiber, but opted not to do that. Finally, I just put him in a preppy button-down shirt and some khaki pants and told him to look cool. He had brand-new sunglasses to wear as well. His awesome Angry Birds sunglasses met a grizzly fate last week. He still has no explanation for why he'd put them out in the grass right before Daddy started mowing. 

Anyway, Nolan got dressed this morning and asked me to snap his pants. He said the snap was too hard for him. This concerned me, as he obviously would need to go to the bathroom at some point during the day. I asked him if his teacher could help him. Nolan said yes, but then he added, "or Ricky could help me. He's a good helper". Ricky lives a couple houses down from us and is in Nolan's class at school. They are good buddies and I was touched to hear that Ricky looks out for Nolan. 

While the boys were eating breakfast, I was finishing packing up their lunches. I commented that in exactly four weeks, I wouldn't be packing their lunches because they would be on summer vacation. Nolan grinned and said, "Yep, and I'll be a first grader!" I looked shocked and I asked who told him that. "Ricky. He knows lots of stuff."

That comment cracked me up but part of me was saddened. First grade? My baby? How can this be happening?

Here's Sam posing with our nutty little super star, and then a picture his teacher emailed me:

Super Hero Second

Nolan was snuggling next to me at bedtime. He asked me if I would carry him down the hall to bed. I nodded and he jumped in my arms. I had a good grip around his waist so his head was way over mine. He was thrilled and told me I was a super hero. I was feeling pretty good about myself until he proudly added, "I can call you Big Mama."

Moment over. Ego deflated. 

Happy Mother's Day!

My favorite part about Mother's Day is the cute projects the kids bring home from school. It really gives me insight into what they are thinking. And they almost always make me laugh. 

Sam's paper cracked me up right away. He gave it to me on Thursday. I pointed out to Bill that I wasn't going to church that day, so there were no expectations for me to look good. I also laughed about Sam's understanding on how I love a good vacation. Finally, I love my walks with Sam, too. He's so observant and insightful while we walk. 

Nolan had made me a small book. The cover said "I love you because.." and each page was a different reason Nolan loves me. My favorite page said 'you made me a minion cake'. On that page, I'm saying "Nolan is going to love this!" 

TJ didn't make me anything this year. Guess he's getting too old for that. He mopped for me instead, which I totally appreciated!

I love when they love each other

Sam made Nolan another card at school the other day. He did a great job drawing the minion. Much better than his mother would have done. I teared up when I found the card in Sam's backpack. 

Today was a bit stormy, so Sam had the radar on the iPad and was checking for storms all across the U.S.  He zoomed way in on a section of Rhode Island and found a street name he liked. He told Nolan he thought he'd move there when he grew up. Nolan sat next to Sam and looked at the map. He decided he would live just down the street and around the corner from Sam. It was so sweet. (Five minutes later they were fighting over something but their mother chose to ignore that). 

"Dear Nolan, you are the best brother I could ever have. I love you so much! Sincerely, your brother Sam"

Is it okay if their mother vetoes them moving to Rhode Island???

Interrupted sleep

I've been having a tough week, health-wise. I've been so exhausted that I have been taking daily afternoon naps, just so I can make it through dinner. And I called my cardiologist to inquire about some annoying palpitations I had been having. I get a very strange sensation in my chest and I feel a need to cough to correct whatever my heart is going. It was even doing it in the middle of the night earlier this week. I leapt out of bed in a sheer panic. I didn't fully wake up until I was in the bathroom and breathing normally. That was scary. So the doctor put me back on a cardiac event monitor. Ugh. I feel like I have a leash. For the next 30 days! 

So, back to those naps I was talking about. Overall, the boys understand I need rest, but they also see me sleeping A LOT. So they will come and talk to me, as if I am awake. I don't do a very good job at carrying on conversations when I'm mostly asleep. 

Today was a classic example. Nolan, my little sweetheart, saw we had forgotten to bring in the Sunday paper (whoever delivers it chucks it at the end of the driveway. Out of sight, out of mind.) So Nolan brought in the paper. He lugged it all the way up into my bedroom, took it out of its two bright orange plastic bags and proudly presented it to me. Perhaps I grunted a 'thank you' in his general direction. Two hours later, I was awake and working on my grocery list. I wanted to check the Meijer ad, but neither Bill or I could find the paper. Poor Nolan went back upstairs, retrieved it, and brought it back down to me. I guess I wasn't awake enough to remember he had brought it to me once already. 

Same day. Same nap. TJ comes in my room and sadly announces he broke the pink puke bucket. I mumbled my sympathy. He said he dropped his stainless steel water bottle in it and cracked the bottom of the container. I told him to recycle it. (He isn't sick. I don't even know why he had it out). TJ was carrying on about how we now only have a gray puke bucket. He asked me if I could get a new one. I mumbled that I would have to go to the hospital and have a baby in order to get a new bucket. I have NO idea why I told him that. But he left me alone after that. 

For once, Sam didn't have any questions. He just needed to spend some time with me. So he crawled into bed next to me and rested for awhile. I really liked that. 

Earth friendly, wet, and naked

Sam likes to take his showers in my bathroom. I'm not quite sure why, but as long as he doesn't make a mess, I don't mind sharing my space. 

The one item I am somewhat protective of is my shampoo. I get it on Etsy from a company called Gudonyatoo. This stuff is amazing. Sam is allowed to use it, but only if he uses a small amount. 

This type of shampoo is a cream that comes in a jar. I knew the jar in the shower was running low, and sure enough, Sam used the last little bit the other night when he was showering. He flipped the jar over and spotted the symbol indicating it is recyclable. Sam wanted to make SURE this container was properly recycled, so he jumped out of the shower and was heading for the garage when I stopped him. I reminded him that we recycle everything possible, so there was no way I would have accidentally thrown the container away. I also pointed out that there was no hurry. We could put it in the recyclables later. Finally, I pointed out that he was stark naked, dripping water all over the hall, and he still had shampoo in his hair. 

I suggested perhaps he would like to finish his shower and then recycle. He laughed, but followed directions. 

That boy. I never know whether to laugh, be super proud of him, or try to shake some sense into him. Usually I do a little bit of each. 

Stretch until it hurts

Nolan saw his doctor at Mary Free Bed last week. I mentioned to him that Nolan had been complaining of foot pain again. Dr. Rush examined Nolan, then had him do some walking up and down the halls. He then told me that Nolan's calves down to his heels were tightening up and Nolan had lost some range of motion. He was compensating for that loss of motion with bad techniques, which was causing the pain. 

So...back into private physical therapy Nolan will go. The PT and OT he is getting at school isn't enough. In addition, Nolan has to do some daily stretching. He has to stand on a step with his heels hanging off the edge. He has to hold that position for 2 minutes so the backs of his legs can slowly stretch. 

Nolan doesn't like this stretch because it hurts. But he also acknowledges that it will help him walk better during the day, so he cooperates and even reminds me when it's time to stretch. I set the timer on my phone so he can watch the seconds tick down. 

You can see how hard he's concentrating in this picture. 

Bathroom confessions

The other day, I was sitting on my bed, reading, when Nolan came barreling into my room and headed right into the bathroom. The main bathroom upstairs is the boys' bathroom, but they prefer to use 'my' bathroom (probably because it's cleaner...). A moment later, I heard a loud splash. It sounded like Nolan had dropped an apple (or perhaps a small melon?) in the toilet. 

"Good grief!" I said to the culprit. "When did you last go to the bathroom?"

There was a pause and then a small voice said, "Um...a couple seconds ago."

Gee. Thanks for clarifying. 

Samuel Baron, Resident Artist

We spent the first couple days of Spring Break in West Michigan. On Monday, Amanda and her crew came to visit my mom and the boys while I was at work. In honor of his cousin's visiting, Sam drew a picture. He figured out the spellings of their names without help from anyone else. Just to clarify, Amanda's children are Charlotte, Allison, Georgie, and Henry. So Sam was in the ball park...

He has started to refer to himself as 'Samuel'. I'm not too sure how I feel about that. He's always been Sam to me. 

Journaling

In Nolan's kindergarten class, they regularly do some journaling. I believe it's supposed to be an independent writing time. No one is telling Nolan how to spell the words, he's just doing his best. He also draws a picture to go along with his entry.  If his teacher suspects we will have trouble translating his entry, she will usually jot a note of explanation at the bottom. 

It's been fun reading these as they come home. We have seen tremendous growth in Nolan's writing and spelling skills. And we are also highly entertained by what topic of the day is on Nolan's mind. My all-time favorite was the one Nolan did right before mid-winter break. He drew a picture of a sad little boy saying good-bye. Then he wrote a sad tale of how his mom and dad were going on a vacation without him and he had to go to grandma's house instead. It was so funny. I would take a picture of it, but I can't find it!

Shifting subjects. Nolan loves our new church. The pastor is very personable. The kids' programming is great. But the best part is the coffee time after the morning service. There's a long table set up with all sorts of foods to choose from: veggies, fresh fruits, crackers and cheese, cookies, donuts, pastries...it's a dream come true for a small boy. Bill and I usually have to limit the kids to four items on their plates or they would be up there all day, eating. 

This snack table has made a huge impression on Nolan. He's usually the first one up and dressed on Sunday. He even (finally!) learned to button his shirt, in his desire to make sure we weren't late for church. 

He loves snack time at church so much he even journaled about it last week!

Dr. Jekyll, Katie Cat

Thursday afternoon, Bill came home early with a migraine. It intensified as the afternoon went on. He started out on the floor of the family room, then moved downstairs where he lay face-down in the kitchenette area. I knew he was miserable, so I did my best to keep the kids quiet and out of his way. Around the time I fed the boys dinner, Bill finally felt well enough to go upstairs and climb into bed, where he was able to sleep for awhile. 

Some time after dinner, I went upstairs to fold laundry. Bill was sound asleep, and Katie was sitting with him, keeping a protective eye on him. I took a picture, it was such a cute moment. 

Then night fell. Good Katie was transformed into Naughty Katie. I have had a bad cold for over a week now. I have a cough that makes me sound like an eighty-year-old chain smoker. Bill has been sleeping on a spare mattress in the office so he isn't disturbed by my hacking. This meant he was able to miss out on what happened next. 

Around 3:30 in the morning, I was sound asleep, actually not coughing at the moment. Suddenly, Katie used my head as a landing pad. My guess is she tried to jump up in the transom window over our bed. She got up there, discovered the blind was down and she had no ledge to sit on, so she came right back down and landed on me. This scared her (and me!), so she jumped over to my nightstand, knocked off half the stuff on it, then took off running. 

So here I am. It's the middle of the night, I'm bleeding, there's a mess on my floor, and I can't even see what is going on, because Katie had knocked my glasses down. I had to find those first before I could deal with the mess and my face. It took me a long time to fall back asleep. 

All day Friday, my face hurt. It wasn't really the scratches that bothered me. It was the bruising from the weight of a full grown cat crash-landing on my head. 

She sure is lucky we love her. 

Green Acres

Earlier this week, shortly after I picked up the boys from the bus, I noticed the light to the basement was on. I flipped it off and went about my afternoon. The next day, I noticed it was on again. This time, I thought it was a little strange. The boys rarely go downstairs and Bill was still at work. Again, I turned the light off. 

On Friday afternoon, I noticed the light was on AGAIN. By this point, I was getting frustrated. Who was doing this and why?? I marched over to the stairs to turn the light off and then heard Sam coming up the stairs. He was very excited. 

About a week and a half ago, Bill and Sam planted some seeds indoors to get their summer garden started. Bill put the tray on the window sill in the basement bedroom, to protect the plants from the cats. Sam had been going down there every day to check his plants. On Friday, he was overjoyed to see the lettuce was coming up. 

I love his enthusiasm and the fact that he and Bill can do this together. Now, I just need to train them to turn off the lights when they are done. 

Bad choice of a towel rack

To my dear son Sam,

While I appreciate your attempts to hang up your towel after showering, I feel like draping it across the open toilet seat may not have been the wisest choice. It is true that no parts of the towel had actually fallen into the toilet, but you and your brothers have rather 'suspect' aim at times and I cannot guarantee the state of cleanliness of the rim of the toilet. 

Therefore, I have taken the liberty to wash and dry your towel and hang it back up on its proper spot on the towel rack. I also cleaned the toilet for the 12th time this week. 

I love you. Even when you're gross. 

Mom

That's gonna leave a mark...

This morning, while Nolan was getting dressed, he had a not-so-fresh feeling.  I have a container of kid-friendly, flushable wipes for just such a situation.  However, the container was empty.  I had more wipes in the refill baggie, but Nolan can't pull that packaging open (still doesn't have the best fine motor strength).  Rather than ask me for help, or his dad, or his brothers, or even his cousins (Clark and Miles are visiting this weekend), Nolan opted to use a product in a container he could open.

Lysol Disinfecting Wipes.

He used one of those on his body.  Nolan has sensitive skin.  So if Nolan happens to mention getting a rash in a rather unlikely location, well, that's why.

Facts about the Eurodam

Today was another at-sea day.  Bill and I went to a one-hour Question and Answer session this afternoon with the ship Captain, the Chief Engineer, and the Hotel Director.  It was really quite interesting, and the three men had great senses of humor.  One question, for example, had to do with the leftover food.  The chief engineer said all unused food, and any food that had been on the buffet for more than four hours was carefully packaged up into 3 large containers and given to a company called Royal Caribbean.  That brought howls of laughter from the audience.

Bill and I looked around at the crowd and noticed it was mostly the older guests that attended the Q & A.  I know without a doubt, though, that my boys would have enjoyed the session and probably would have been very unhappy that each person could ask a maximum of one question, and they ran out of time for everyone's questions.  Here is some of what we learned:

**The ship gets 62 feet per gallon.  That sounds horrible (and amusing) until you consider that the ship is generating power to move it forward, electricity, heat, air conditioning, and it's making its own water.  And 2900 people (including crew) are on board.  So maybe 62 feet per gallon isn't so bad.

**The ship can stop in as little as 400 meters.  It can stop in 3 ways, by 'slamming on the brakes', by slowing and then reversing the azipods (sort of like propellers) or by turning in a large circle. If I recall correctly, doing a large circle was actually the most efficient way of stopping in a hurry.

**The ship must go in to dry-dock for repairs and maintenance twice every five years. It may not be at sea for more than 3 years without being in dry-dock.  The Eurodam was just in dry-dock in December 2013.

**The ship captains work in 3-month shifts.  They work for 3 straight months, then go home for 3 months.  Every 2-3 years, they change to a new vessel.

**The majority of the crew works a 10-month contract.  So they work for 10 straight months, then go home and have a few months off before they sign a new contract and start all over again.

**The crew (not the officers) are all from Indonesia and the Philippines.  Holland America has training schools in Jakarta and Manila.  The more training and education you have, the better position you have.  Eric, who is the host of the dining room, is very polite and well-spoken.  He told me he has been with Holland America for 13 years.  He and I get along well.

**The crew is all unionized.  That makes perfect sense because it means that Holland America doesn't have to hire each staff member one by one.  That isn't practical when there are 800 staff on board.

**The Eurodam has its own gym/fitness center for just the crew to use  It's called DAM Fit.  Haha!

**The ship distills sea water into water that is potable right onboard the ship.  It also cleans gray water before putting it back in the ocean.  There is a sewage treatment plant on board for the black water.

**A new engine/generator has just been installed on Deck 10.  It is being tested and approved for use this very week.  Its sole purpose is to be an emergency backup in case something catastrophic happens in the engine room.  So the Eurodam will NEVER be in a position where it has no power, water, toilet facilities, etc.  Carnival owns Holland America and Carnival is learning from its past mistakes and the mistakes of other cruise lines.

**Holland America has just started construction on its newest vessel.  It will be just slightly larger than the Eurodam (which is currently its largest ship) and will hold a few hundred more people.  Information is still being released regarding the new ship, and it hasn't even been named yet.  It was just announced today that the new ship will have a Dutch restaurant on board. Bill muttered that he hoped its focus would be desserts only.

Tomorrow is our last full day on board.  We will be in Key West, so I have promised to call home and see how the boys are doing.  I can tell you I am very ready to see my kids and sleep in my own bed, but I will dearly miss cruising.  But I know we will be back.  We put down a deposit on our next cruise today.  And we have 4 years to figure out when that next cruise will be!

Notice the radar in the lower picture.  It says 'Sam'.  We don't know what that stands for, but we knew our Sam would be proud.

Cayman Islands

Today was another first for us.  We spent the day in Grand Cayman, which is part of the British West Indies.  Like our earlier stops, this country was also breathtakingly beautiful, but in almost every other way, it was very different from Jamaica.  For one, the island is almost perfectly flat...no hills at all.  This hasn't helped them during hurricane season.  Jamaica's hilly terrain helps protect it from the worst of the damage, but the Cayman Islands have sustained several direct hits over the years.  But the country is fairly wealthy, so they just keep rebuilding everything.  Our tour guide today told us that their top two industries are tourism and banking.  They have over 200 banks in the country, but only six are public banks.  He said they call the rest 'washing machine' banks....think about it.  We laughed.

The island was full of resorts and spectacular homes.  I felt like I was in an episode of 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'.  Everything was so beautiful, and so out of my league.

Traffic was heavy and the cars seemed oblivious to this.  They just plow ahead and you'd better get out of the way. And since they are a British territory, they drive on the wrong side of the road.  I found myself holding my breath the first time we went through a traffic circle backwards.  They don't have 'Yield' signs. Their signs say 'Give Way'.  To me, that sounds more like a vague suggestion than an actual traffic sign.

We went on an boating excursion that was a two-part trip.  Our first stop was out on a sand bar, in an area the locals call Stingray City.  We were a few miles from shore, but the water was so shallow, it was only chest-deep.  There are stingrays everywhere here.  And they are huge!  Everyone in our group had our pictures taken up close with a stingray (by a photographer employed by the boating company), then we were given pieces of calamari to feed to the rays.  Some of the largest females weigh well over 100 pounds.  When one of those decides you have calamari and they want it, they can knock you over.  Bill had gotten back in our boat and was taking pictures of me, attempting to feed the stingrays.  Watching me get shoved around by overly excited stingrays was apparently quite comical to him.

Our second stop was snorkeling in a coral reef.  This was not my first experience snorkeling, but I think it was the best trip I've had.  We saw so many different types of fish!  Some of them were so brightly colored!  Our boat crew was attracting even more fish to our area by throwing calamari in the water.  Somehow, they managed to smack me in the head with a piece.  I had no idea snorkeling was a contact sport.

We were so pleased with our photos that we wound up buying them.  I have them on a CD, and I'll put some of the pictures on this post once I get home.

We've decided that we enjoyed Grand Cayman MUCH more than Jamaica and Cozumel, and a little more than San Juan.  Saint Thomas is still our favorite port of call.  I think we'll be returning to the Eastern Caribbean on our next cruise.