December 2013 updates

Apparently I never posted this.  Probably because I just finished typing my blog entries from the cruise today.  Better late than never.

12/31 - They boys went to Atlanta with Doug for the A&M game so Kasey and I had a few days just us.  We took the boys to the airport in the morning.  Unfortunately had to wake Kasey up.  Then we ran a few errands getting dog food and some donuts for breakfast.    We got ready for the day, and then I had to run to work for a little while to print some stuff to get ready for my trip.  Then we had lunch with Grandma.  We then went home to hang out with Patch for a little while.   We had a block new years party to go to.   We all had snacks and drinks.  The kids took off playing and having a good time.  Luckily I got Kasey down to eat a little bit.    About 8pm we had a pretend new years with hats and blowers for the kids.   We headed home after that so Kasey could get some rest.

I started watching the A&M game which wasn't a good thing at the time so I decided to watch one of the cheesy Christmas movies I had recorded and never had time to watch.   It finished and I went back to the A&M game just in time to see them take the lead at the end to win the game.  Gigem Aggies.

I decided to let Kasey sleep in my bed just for fun.  Thinking maybe she's sleep in a little longer.   That didn't work.  Took her a little while to settle down, Patch and I woke her up when we went to bed, and then Greg's alarm woke us up at 6:30 (he left it on which I have done many times when going out of town) and I don't think she went back to sleep.   I let her watch some TV so I could sleep in a little longer.

Landon got to go to Ruth Chris with Greg and Doug.    He got to hang out with the guys watching football during the day.   By 3rd quarter of A&M game Landon really wanted to go.  It was late for him and A&M wasn't doing so well.   As usual Greg said no (We don't leave A&M sporting events early).  It all ended well.

12/30 - After our Cruise we had our Christmas back home.  We started off the day taking breakfast to Grammy and Gramps.  Greg made a great egg and crescent roll quiche which was great.  We all had coffee, hot chocolate or apple cider on the cold morning.   Then kids got to open presents from Grammy and Gramps.  One of the things they got was an Easy Bake Oven - oh the memories.  They made some cookies in it which were pretty good.   Landon brought over his Chinese Checkers from Santa so we played that, and then we played new scrabble game that Grammy and Gramps got Landon.  We had fun, good food and family time, and took a few pictures as well.  Kasey got a Get Well baby that tells her mommy she's sick and Mommy can give her medicine, a bandaid or just make her feel better.  Landon of course got Lego.  They got some other fun crafts, books and toys.
We headed home and then went to grab some lunch at Panera.   Silly kids have lots of energy. 
We headed home for some laundry and packing for the boys and then we had our own little Christmas at home for the rest of the gifts for kids.  They got a few games to share including Disney Apples to Apples.   Kasey got to open her just like home cleaning cart.  The kids decided that every other Monday when the housekeepers don't come they will clean the house.  It has a little vacuum that sounds like a vacuum but doesn't suck, a spray bottle and mop and scrub brush and broom and pan.   they went around cleaning the floors which was ok until there was water all over the floor.  We went back to more pretend cleaning.

That evening we went to have Christmas with Greg's family.  We had Mexican food which I've been craving since we got off the cruise.   Landon got another Lego and Kasey got some clothes and gift certificate to the salon we go to.

Kasey and Landon both got a big keyboard from Grandma and Pops.  We'll have to start piano lessons next year.

Kids said they had a great Christmas.    We  stopped listening to Christmas music and told the kids no more singing Jingle Bells which they do a lot.  


12/29 - We got up about 7 (although Greg had been up since about 5:30am), grabbed breakfast with mom, dad and aunt Mary.   I finally got new CD for pictures (which of course was missing the whole family picture when I got home).

Our number was supposed to be called at 9:30 but it was called about 8:45am.   We headed out got our luggage, went through customs, found the bus to our car and were on the road about 9:30am.  We had one rest stop to potty, quick lunch and Wataburger and went home to unpack.   Then we headed to Greg's grandmother's house to visit with her and some of his cousins and aunt/uncle.  Then we went to pick up patch and had quick dinner with Grandma and Pops.  We headed home to sleep in our own beds.

12/28 - Last day of the cruise and day at sea.   Of course kids woke up at 6am.  We went to breakfast I think before 8 with Grammy, Gramps and Mary.  We were glad Mary was starting to feel better.  After that Grammy and I went to do pictures.  Then we headed up to the pool.  We started in the hot tub then kids wanted to swim in thebpool.  Then they started a bean bag toss competition.  Landon and Greg entered as a group under the name Johnny Football.  Greg got them through the first round, and then Landon carried them and they won the whole thing.  In final round Landon got 2 in the hole for 6 points vs the other teams 5 points.  They were so excited and got little gold medals.  We had some lunch @ the pool.   Landon really wanted to do family scavenger hunt.  Kasey had a break down during it and we did ok but the team that won was a family over 6 members who kept having people bring stuff long after the time was up.   I had to explain to Landon how cheating was wrong.  Kasy was napping so Greg and Landon went to the pool area with David, Cheri, Craig and Lynne.   As we got closer to the US the temperature dropped.  It was chilly up top but those in hot tub were ok.  Landon enjoyed hanging out having a Pina Colada & doing math with David.  Kasey woke up so we played Uno, Bunco and a little Left, Right, Center.  I needed a 15 minute nap Kasey went to visit Grammy.  I went to get Landon.  His towel was blowing away in the wind.  Landon went to change and then went to Grammy and Gramps too.   Next was shower time before dinner.  Everyone came to dinner but Mary.  She wasn't feeling well.  We had good dinner.  Very cool tricks from assistant waiter balancing forks on toothpicks, moving straws in circles using only another straw.   We sang Happy Birthday to David which he wasn't thrilled about!  I tried to take kids to a show - kept them up late and they cancelled the show for technical difficulties.  Landon loved the cruise - he said multiple times it was awesome.

Kids got towel animals most nights monkey, stingray, lobster, rabbit, etc.  They got paper or napkin animals every night at dinner. They got special drinks, tried strawberry daquiris, shirley temples, pina colada (Landon).   Tried new foods - excargo, lobster, meats with sauces and many desserts.
Kasey today was pretending to be Barbie on the phone, in high heels, firing people - not sure Barbie movies are a good thing.

Landon liked Jamaica and Kasey said she liked getting strawberry daquiri's.  Overall we had a great vacation.

Mom and Dad seamed to have a great time.  Wish Mary had felt better.

12/27 - We had breakfast with Grammy and Gramps.  Then we did a couple things around the ship and got ready for our Couzamel excursion.  We had dolphin encounter planned.  We got off the boat, did a little bit of shopping and headed to the encounter in one of about 20 taxi vans of cruise people.  We got checked in and ready to get in the water.  About 16 of us in a group walked onto a platform where water was up to our chests.   There were 2 dolphins in our area.  Ours was named Diego.  Each one of us got to pet the dolphin, have him kiss our cheek, kiss him on the snout and shake his fins, and have him jump up and touch our hand.   Of course they took pictures all along the way.  They also talked about some facts about the dolphins like their blow holes, ears, their skin sheds every 2 hours and heal 3x faster than humans.   They showed how fast they can swim and how they can jump.  Then each person got to choose to tell the dolphin to dance, spin around, sing,wave or do water fight (spitting water).   After that of course they take you into buy pictures right away.  Then we sat down for lunch - guacamole, hand fried chips, tacos and nachos - Yum.   Greg and I even had some Cerveza.  It was really good.   Then it started pooring rain.  We stayed under umbrella at our lunch table for a little while eating lunch.  I got pictures and we started walking along the property.  Landon wanted to go play on beach and Kasey didn't.   I took Landon to sand to play and Kasey and Greg went to walk through botanical gardens.  Landon got to play about 10 minutes and it started raining pretty hard.  We headed back to the front.   Greg and Kasey got to see crocodiles on their walk.  We took the taxi back in the rain.   Did a little shopping before heading back to the ship.  Kasey got a new purse made from candy wrappers and Landon got a little seal.  Then we walked back to the ship in the pouring rain.   We got soaked.   We went straight upstairs for dry towels and got in the hot tub.
After showers we headed to dinner.  8 of us were there (6 of us plus Craig and Lynne).  We had great dinner with lobster - yum.  We ate enough for those that weren't there.   Grammy, Gramps, Lynne, Craig and I went to the show - Savannah Jack.  They were really good.  We sang along with many songs.  Great group that writes for many artists and have some of their own.   They were great singing with guitar and fiddle.  After that Greg and I went out while Grammy stayed with kids.  We went to the pub for a drink then headed to the Quest - Game with groups - lets just say people were showing thongs, guys dirty dancing, bras were being taken off and guys were dressing up like women.   It was a good time :)  It was fun and we enjoyed it including seeing one of my cousins dress up like a woman.

12/26 - We woke up early and we were already in Grand Caymen.  There were 6 cruise ships coming in that day and we tried booking excursion to late so they were sold out.  We had breakfast just the 4 of us.  Then we headed into town with David, Cheri, Nina, Craig and Lynne.  We walked around doing some shopping and then headed to Margaritaville for a little lunch.  Kids were pretty tired and whiny.   We went to one place for tshirts after lunch then headed back to the tenders and ship.  It was raining a little but not to bad.  We got back and kids instantly wanted to call and go hang out with Grammy and Gramps.   So kids went to their room to play games and Greg and I got to rest for a little while.   After that we all had showers and had dinner just the 6 of us.  Greg and I stayed in and crashed early.


12/25 - Merry Christmas!  Little weird since wasn't our usual Christmas Eve and Christmas at home.  We were in Jamaica.  We got to see the ship pull into the dock from our balcony.  The pier crew was yelling Merry Christmas to everyone.  We went to breakfast with Grammy, Gramps and Mary.  We booked an excursion to beach in Montego Bay.  It was a private beach where we got chairs for each of us.  We paid $6 for an umbrella.  Included in the excursion was lunch - Jerk pork, salad, hush puppies with dessert and all the drinks you wanted.  The kids just wanted to play in the ocean and build in the sand.  Landon and Greg swam out to a big trampoline in the water.  They had to crawl on top of it and jump off.  I took Kasey for a few piggy back rides.  We spent some time sitting on the sand letting the waves hit us.  Overall we had a good time in the sun on the beach.  We had about  a 30 minute ride back to the boat.  Kasey fell asleep.   We all got showers and headed to dinner.  Kids got to have a little Christmas with Grammy and Gramps.   Mom and Aunt Mary came over to our room to be with the kids and get Landon to bed.   We met David, Cheri, Craig, Lynne and Nina at the hot tub for drink and hanging out.  We had fun and even did a little dancing.   Nina tried to get everyone to go out afterwards, but I think she was the only one that went.


12/24 - We got up after 8 and went to breakfast with Grammy and Gramps.  Landon and Gramps were wearing their matching Rangers shirts.  After breakfast we went up to the 14th deck to play games.  We played bunco for a little while then Landon wanted to play Apples to Apples.  Grammy and Kasey played Princess Go Fish while Landon, Greg, Gramps and I played Apples to Apples.  Then we went to get kids faces painted.  The lady was great.  She made Kasey's face a rainbow butterfly, and drew a fire breathing dragon on Landon's.   We had lunch again in the Windjammer.  Went to say hi to family by the pool and then headed down for ice dancing show.   Greg, Grammy, Mary, kids and I went.  It was the best show we had seen on this ship.  Fun music and themes for the ice dancing.  One act (I think from Russia) changes clothes several times on the ice very fast and some of them were very difficult to figure out they did the change the fast.  We had formal night at dinner so we got  picture of the whole family dressed up.  We had a time change so we let Landon go to the show with me that night.  It was a group from the 50s/60s (the original Drifters) so he wasn't to impressed, but the rest of us knew at least some of the songs.  He did have a Shirley Temple though.  After that took Landon back to get ready for bed.   Grammy and Gramps came over so Greg and I went out for a few drinks.  We walked around some and went to the piano bar to listen to music, talk and have a few drinks.


12/23 - We had breakfast with Grammy and Gramps in the dining room.  Kids got donuts, eggs, bacon and hot chocolate.   After that Landon and I went ice skating.  He did pretty well, but I was pretty much holding on to the edge the whole time.  I guess it's been a while or something.  After that we went to play miniature golf - Nina, David, Cheri, Craig, Greg and kids and I all went.   We all had some silly shots and laughs.  Some balls ended up in bushes or off the course completely, but it was fun.


Then we all headed upstairs to play games.  Most of us played Apples to Apples, and Grammy/Gramps/Greg and Kasey played dominoes.

Since we had 5:30 dinner we decided we should have lunch.  We headed to the Windjammer with Grammy and Gramps.  Then we headed to Grammy/Gramps room to play Go Fish.  Kids liked their room because it was bigger and had bigger balcony.  After that Grammy took kids for a walk around so I could take a little nap.  Grammy and I then took the kids to pool deck to hang out in the hot tubs.  The pools were closed for some reason.

There was a lot of movement in the ocean so the boat was rocking back and forth quite a bit.  I often get sea sick, but was ok surprisingly.   The water in the pools and hot tubs would move back and forth and flood the decks.   Just sitting there you could see the water moving as the boat moved.

Greg came up and got Grammy and I the drink of the day and we watched some salsa lessons on deck.  Then it was time to change for dinner.

With 12 of us now we were in a different dining room than the first night, 2 tables but waiter said he would put them together for the rest of the week.

I went to show with the family - it was ballroom dancing which was just ok.   We went to bed before 11, and slept til about 7:40 except for Grammy's 7am wake up call.   I had woken her up the previous morning.


12/22 - Cruise Day!   We got up about 6 and Kasey came down about 6:15am saying we told her she had to get up early.

We left about 7 to head down to Galveston to catch the Navigator of the Seas - Royal Caribbean.  We texted with Grammy and Gramps on the way down and met them in the parking lot.
Once we got through dropping off luggage we headed on the boat.  We had to get special arm bands for kids and drink packages for water and such on the way.  Our cabins were ready so we went and dropped off everything then headed to the Windjammer for some lunch.  Huge Buffet, what's not to like!

They always have safety drill before leaving and so we headed down for ours.  We got to our location and saw our cousin Craig and Lynne standing there.  We were surprised to see them and didn't expect them to be there.  No one on the cruise knew they were coming.  We had 12 in all from the family.  4 of us, my parents, my Aunt Mary, Cousins David, Cheri, Nina, Craig and Lynne.   Good times.   Mary, David,Cheri and Nina were at elevator it opened up and there were Craig and Lynne - Surprise.  After the drill we took them to my parents room to surprise them as well.

We had our first multicourse dinner with the kids.  Kasey tried spinach salad and liked it.  We told them we wanted them to order off the adult menu and try new things this week.  Landon did more than Kasey, but they both did good.

We got the kids to bed after dinner and I went out with the family.  We went to the first show which was intro and comedian, we went to watch some Karaoke which is always amusing, then we headed to piano bar for a while and ended up at the Casino.  Good times!

12/20 - We had a great dinner with the traveling crew.  We  went to Al Biernat's which had good food, fun atmosphere and great friends.

12/19 - what a fun day.  I worked from home in the morning.  Went to get Freebirds and had lunch with Landon at his school.  Greg and I went to Landon's class party at school which was fun with games, craft and snacks.  Landon wanted to stay and go to PE so I let him. Then I took Kasey to her dance class.  They played games and then performed part of the nutcracker which was really cute for 5 year olds.   The nutcracker gave all the girls a little candy cane.  After that Kasey and I went to get our hair cut.   We stopped for a little shopping and the parking lot was filled with birds.  Ugh.  They got bird poop all over the car and Kasey was not happy about it.  She wanted a wash down right then. We were in traffic on the way home so we didn't have time to get home for dinner with the boys.  We stopped for dinner at Razoos in Plano which was fun.


12/15 - Kasey had her Christmas dance recital today.  She had fun doing ballet and tap dances.  All of the grandparents were there to see her too.  Was a cute little show and they had cookies and lemonade afterwards.  Kasey was excited to get flowers.


12/14 - Today was the father/daughter dance.  Greg and Kasey went for the first time.   They seemed to have fun.  From what I was told they both danced and had fun :).  Kasey wore one of her new fancy dresses and Greg wore a suit.  They both looked very nice.   I put Kasey's hair in a bun which with a Bun donut is actually pretty easy.
while they were dancing Landon and i went bowling and then went to dinner just the two of us.  It was fun to catch up on what's going on in his life and for him to try to convince me of reason just like Greg.

We were discussing that if weather is bad before the cruise we will need to go down early and stay in hotel.  He said he didn't want to stay in a hotel, it was a waste of money with all the money we were spending on the cruise.  Sounded just like a little Greg :)

12/13 - Kasey had her friend birthday party.  She just had a few girls over for Girls Just want to Have fun party in pajamas.   They had pizza, watch Madagascar 3, we had to stop in the middle for some cake and a dance party, and then finished up the movie at the end.  It was fun.  first drop off party we've had for her.  I can't believe how big she's getting.  She was so excited and had a good time.
Landon got Knight of the week for 2nd time this school year.

12/12 - Greg made Kasey's birthday cake and I got to decorate it.   We made a butterfly out of Heart shaped cakes.  I think it turned out really cute.

12/8 - kids made a fort in Landon's room using comforter.  They put just about every pillow from upstairs and many stuffed animals in the fort with them.  We finally got out of the house to have dinner. Streets weren't great, but we needed to get out :)

12/7 - We are still stuck in house from ice on streets.   Next weekend Kasey and Greg will be going to their first father daughter dance.  She thinks they are getting married at the dance.  I've tried to tell her they are not.  Tonight as she's going to be she says, you know what?  I said what.  She said, your married days are over.  When I dance with Daddy we will be married and then I can kiss him.   I told her I'd fight her for him :)   Silly girl.


12/6 - Since had to stay home we all go to have breakfast and lunch together today.   Fun to get to see the kids some during the day.

12/5 - I had another crazy work week.  We had 80+ FAEs in town for training so I had work dinners Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.   All day trainings and evening events made me tired :)   thursday the weather started getting bad in Dallas.  It was almost 80 degrees on Wednesday and then was below freezing on Thursday.  It started raining, sleeting and didn't really stop.  so we woke up Friday morning to white ice outside and really cold weather.  Needless to say no school, and I'm working from home.

12/1 - We have an Allen event center about 10 minutes from our house.  They play minor league hockey, indoor soccer and have performance events.   I took kids to see 100 years anniversary of Disney with Disney on Ice.  It was great.  They had many of the princesses and their stories with some of favorite songs, Toy story, Lion King, Its a small World after all, and of course Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy and the chipmunks

Christmas Letter 2013

Hello family and friends:

I hope this letter finds everyone doing well.   I’ve decided to save some trees and write a blog Christmas letter :-)

We’ve had a good year.   We’ve been keeping busy as usual. I’m still working for TI (working too much) and Greg is still working part time.   I traveled more than in the past few years – I went to China twice, Las Vegas, San Jose, Denver and was gone for few days 3 times in November.

I broke my pinky toe this year and had to have surgery on it.  The nurse in the hospital laughed when I came to check in.   All went well, but I ended up having to cancel a business trip to Brazil and had to go to A&M vs Alabama game on crutches and couldn’t put any weight on one leg.  I wouldn’t recommend it!  I’m still involved in the board/PTA at both schools but haven’t been able to do quite as much because of travel and work.  Hopefully next year when they are at the same school I can do more.
Greg went to London for a long weekend with the boys basically to watch soccer and hang out.  Greg has been doing some volunteering at the school.  He did Watchdog (basically being a male presence at the school all day to help out) and has helped me with my PTA role and done a few other things with Landon’s class.

We got a new puppy this year.   She was abandoned at an apartment complex and then brought to Pop’s clinic.  She was 5 pounds when we got her in September (when I was on crutches).  She’s now over 20 pounds and keeps us on our toes like a toddler.  Her name is Patch for the black/brown patch on her eye.  She’s very much a puppy and goes from crazy puppy to sweet puppy.

We had a couple vacations this year.  We went to A&M for a baseball tournament in March and also went for several football games in the Fall. Greg and I went just the two of us for a long weekend in Napa.  One of our favorite places to go.  We enjoyed ourselves and are just now getting all the wine in (we ask them to hold it so it doesn’t ship in Texas heat).   We also went for a week to Lake Tahoe with the kids.   We had a great time several firsts for the kids –sailing, hiking, rafting, Geocaching.  We also got to go to the beach, play putt putt and do other fun family activities.  We are also looking forward to family cruise around Christmas with my family to the Western Caribbean.  Grammy and I took the kids to the State Fair and to see the Lion King – both firsts for the kids.  We had a great time.

Kasey is now 5.  She goes from wanting to be 2 again and having everything done for her to wanting to be grown up with cell phone, car keys etc.   She keeps us entertained.  Kasey started back up with gymnastics again, but didn’t really like it after few months.  She is still enjoying dance – she’s doing ballet and tap and likes tap better.   She had her first dance recital – I used curlers on her hair that I used in high school and had fun putting a little make up on her.  We are very proud of her.  She has also been playing softball – Greg has been head coach in both the spring and fall.  The girls have had fun.  Kasey got a few outs, and was hitting pretty well for a while.  She’s also learning the game more.   Kasey is in PreK this year and seems to like it – she’s definitely a leader.  She’s also been taking phonics which she doesn’t want to practice reading at home but seems to keep making progress at school.  Homework in elementary with her will be interesting.

As part of my job I make several videos.   We did one recently that both Kasey and I got to star in.  Check is out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XOaUkEAUrY

Landon is 7 ½ now.   Landon played soccer and baseball and did gymnastics in the spring, and then he only played on a club baseball team in the fall.   We don’t think we will stay on the club team and hoping to play with friends in the spring.   They were nice people, but the boys had to play up a level and it was not fun for them.  He’s going to play basketball again this winter with a friend which he really enjoyed last time he played.   Landon is also doing Cub Scouts which brings some fun activities to the mix.  He did his first pinewood derby this year and had fun making a Johnny Football car for the race.   His wasn’t the fastest, but did get a medal for decoration.  He’s doing great in school and loves reading and math problems.  He still loves legos  - Star Wars and Chima are his favorite.  In his AIM class (for gifted and talented) they are studying China this year.   I was able to set up a conference call with a colleague in China for them to talk to.  I also had some friends at work that went to several parts of China and took great pictures so I shared them with the AIM teacher to show the kids.  I think it’s great that they are learning about international places at this age. 

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year.  May God Bless you this coming year.

Love,     Dana, Greg, Landon, Kasey & Patch Myers