Our Sweet Katelyn is 3!

October 27, 2008 - Katelyn still has those cute cheeks and little, button nose

Josh welcoming everyone to Katelyn's Dora Birthday Party
Happy Birthday, Dear Katelyn...

Our 3 year old!

Grandma and Granddad Squires gave Katelyn these little puppies. She slept with them last night and carries them around wherever she goes. Thank you!

Happy, Happy Birthday Katelyn

We celebrated Katelyn's actual birthday as a family. She opened a few presents and we headed to Friendly's (or Happy's as Josh calls it) for dinner and ice cream. We had a fun time together!

Birthday Celebration at School

Mommy got to bring in cupcakes for Katelyn's birthday. She shares her birthday with another classmate, so it was a week of cupcakes!

Mrs. Cummings gave Katelyn a big birthday hug. We love her!

Mommy and Katelyn
Katelyn praying before chowing down.

Attempted class photo with the birthday girl. Macy scooted as close as she could to Katelyn.

Mrs. Cummings has the kiddos line up as a "choo-choo" by putting their hands on their shoulders. As soon as they start moving, they just run - there is no order!

While waiting for music class, Mrs. Cummings sang songs with the children. They all sat and listened so well!

The Cruise

I didn't get a lot of cruise pictures and will post some when I get them. The first night of the cruise was rocky - there was a storm and 20-30 foot swells. But when we woke up the next morning, the sea was calm and we all felt better.

Each night on the cruise we had dinner in the dining room. We had an ocean view and we watched the sunset. The dinners were amazing. The food was so good...we still miss desserts after every meal!

Katelyn enjoyed the dinner entertainment.
She and Josh are still singing, "Hot, Hot, Hot!"

Josh and our waiter, Glenn. Glenn was thoughtful and kind. He paid attention to what everyone liked and even had the kids' favorite fruit (each plate different) waiting for them after the first dinner. We couldn't have asked for better service, and honestly, we were thankful that we got to spend five evenings getting to know him.

Turtles - Grand Cayman

Our second port day was on Grand Cayman Island. It was beautiful and peaceful.

We started the day at the Cayman Turtle Farm. They breed Hawksbill Turtles (for all you Diego fans!) and there was one there that was 65 years old and over 500 lbs. They have released thousands of turtles into the wild and it was so cool to be that close to these creatures.

These baby turtles are just two weeks old. They were so cute and the kids fed them. I don't think we stopped saying, "Gentle. Be careful, " the entire time, but no turtles were harmed!
There were larger turtles that we could pick up too. No...we didn't get go in the tanks with the really big turtles and let them give us rides!

And the kids' favorite part was the wading pool where they swam with the turtles and picked them up. It was really cool. They were probably in there for 30 minutes.

Katelyn thought the turtles were, "so cute."

Grant gave a big smile!

Paradise - Grand Cayman

We found paradise! The water was beautiful and warm - we could have stayed there all day!

Uncie and Joshy

Daddy and Katelyn
Jackson and Katelyn found a shady spot to play in the sand.

Jackson and Aunt Betsy

First Port Day - Jamaica

I'm finally getting back on the blog to post about our cruise vacation! We had a great time - enjoy the pictures!

Our first day to port was in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We negotiated with a taxi to take us to the Dunn's River Falls and spent a few hours hiking up the falls. It was quite an adventure! Josh was very proud that he climbed most of the way himself - he still talks about "climbing up the waterfall."

This was not a secluded activity - it's a popular tourist destination. We were there with a few hundred of our closest friends. However, thankfully we were also there with the guides who always seemed to be in the right spot just when you needed a hand.
Katelyn scared off the sharks at Margaritaville!

As you can see, Josh was ready to get back on board. I think both kids fell asleep while we were in line on the way back to the ship!

Works of Art

Jeff made the cup and bowl. Betsy made the pumpkin (sitting on our front table in the first photo) and the pendant. We are so pleased with how they turned out! Now you go out and try it too!

First Hot Chocolate of the Season

It's chilly out - that means it's time to break out the cocomotion and start making some hot chocolate!

Adventurous Date

Jeff and I went on a surprise date on Saturday to McFadden Art Glass. I first discovered Jeff's interest of glass blowing when we watched it in Maui on our honeymoon. When I found an online deal to attend a glass blowing workshop and actually make some products, I couldn't resist. It was a fun surprise for Jeff. Glass blowing is pretty cool to watch - and even more amazing to do! We highly recommend it and hope to go again someday. Heating up the glass

Rolling the glass in color
Putting on the final touches...

...and here is our finished product. Yes, we made a new sink for our bathroom at home!

Just kidding! This is the sink that the owner Tim made. We will post pictures of the items we made later after we pick them up. They had to slowly cool for 14 hours. More to come...and we'll use our camera and not the cell phone to show you!