Sage masters snorkeling...check!

So Thanksgiving morning started with Jack and the boys playing in the traditional ward Turkey Bowl.  Thankfully there were no injuries and what's to complain about weather in the 60's in November?  Later we headed over to our friends the Hayes for a lovely Thanksgiving. They knew we were heading out on our trip first thing the next morning so they offered to do it at their house which made for a stress free day.  We were very excited to test out Rick's "fried turkey" as we had only had traditional turkeys in the past.  Thankfully you won't find a YouTube video of the event as no houses burnt down during the process and Rick still has his hair but we can say it was seriously one of the best turkey's we'd had if not the best! (My roasted one may come in at a close second!!!)  We so appreciated them having us over and everyone had a great time!

Jack had told me months back that come November he'd be in need of a vacation and I wasn't about to let that subtle hint go unnoticed so of course I'd have something planned. Taking advantage of the Thanksgiving break seemed like the perfect time to go. We usually try to get away in early November or early December but with his busy schedule we wanted to take advantage of as many weekends and holidays as we could so a departure date of the day after Thanksgiving was established. Mind you Jack and I had gotten in our fair share of vacation time this year and Sage even got in a girls trip with me but it was time for a family trip. The boys had been to Utah a couple times but we wanted to get them somewhere special too.  As usual I was looking for a nice warm place with good snorkeling since Sage had gotten a new snorkel set for her birthday that was ready for some use! I've always had a desire to see Tortola and as I was looking for places to stay I came across a new Marriott property on it's own private island called Scrub Island which is off of Tortola. It sounded perfect and being that the resort is only a couple years old, sealed the deal as we tend to prefer newer properties. We also found that arriving the day after Thanksgiving made us feel like we had the resort to ourselves as most people were leaving as we were arriving!

So after an early morning trip that included a couple plane rides, a cab ride, an hour ferry, a wait to get through customs, another cab ride and a final water taxi to our resort, we finally made it. I have to applaud the kids for being such awesome travelers but thankfully when we travel with Jack the travel isn't too bad. There are never any lines to wait in and we get club lounge access at the airports.

This was what the kids awoke to on their first morning. Thankfully they said after breakfast it was "totally worth all that travel"...



Sage getting her first snorkeling lesson. She turned into quite the fish diving down for shells and blowing out her snorkel as she came up for air. She has indeed just outdone her mom when it comes to snorkeling!!!



Lazy nights...



So after spending our first full day exploring Scrub we spent the next day catching a water taxi over to Tortola and renting a car to explore the island. Although the weather was fine there had been a swell so the snorkeling spots I had researched turned into body surfing spots instead. The kids were just as excited about that though and we found ourselves spending several hours here at Brewers Bay watching them attempt the waves...



Tortola is actually very mountainous to the point you'd be traveling up a steep hill and have to stop at the top and strain to look over the hood of the car to figure out which way the road was going to turn as it proceeded back down. There was even a sign that I wish I had captured a photo of that was of a steep incline and a seat belt. I guess they were worried you could fall out of your seat as you traveled up or down the hills.   In the end our final thought on Tortola was it was a bit too quaint and rustic for our taste with certain areas almost feeling a bit third world.   It became a joke as to which farm animal you wouldn't find roaming the streets.  We came across wild horses, cows, goats, and chickens to name a few just slowly wandering down the roads.  We had lunch in Cane Garden Bay which had a lovely beach area but we determined we were happy to have seen it but it wasn't a place we'd rush back to see again!

Here is a photo we took from the top of one of the winding roads we were on.



Back at Scrub the kids enjoyed kayaking to the island across the way to snorkel, jumping on the water tramp, chasing hermit crabs at the north shore beach and swimming in the pool!  My favorite comment from Sage was "mom, I feel really sorry for the worker at the bar.  He has no customers.  Maybe we could go be his customers."  Although it may sound so sweet, her motives were purely selfish... :)



Another day trip we did was over to Virgin Gorda. This was by far one of our favorite days of the whole trip. We took a water taxi to Tortola and then jumped on a ferry over to Virgin Gorda. Our hotel had arranged for a rental car to be waiting for us at the ferry terminal which was very convenient. I had read the Baths were not to be missed and actually is the number one thing to see in all the British/US Virgin Islands. Basically there all these boulders that lie along the beach and in the ocean. It looks like someone just dropped them there as they are no where else on the island. There is a path you take that leads you around, on top of, and through all the boulders. Most of the time you are walking through knee deep water and holding on to rope or climbing up stairs that have been placed amongst the boulders to help you get through difficult parts. It's cool because you know the ocean is just on the other side but you are protected. We all had a blast and decided we'd go back to Virgin Gorda in the future!



Connor thinking, "Hurry mom and take the photo, water is on the way!"



At the end of the path you come to a nice beach area!



After we were done we ate lunch at the restaurant at the top of the Baths where they had shops and a nice pool to swim in if you ate there!



Next we headed to Spring Bay which was right next to the Baths. We took the kids out snorkeling around some of the big boulders which was fun and tiring...



The beach was beautiful at Savannah Bay:



As we headed back to Scrub we decided that we'd definitely return to Virgin Gorda. Bitter End Yacht Club seemed like a great place on the north east sound and a place we'd like to test out. Overall Virgin Gorda was more in line with our taste!



So our time at Scrub had ended and it was now time to head back to Tortola to catch a ferry to our new location, St. John!  I knew ten days on one island would be way too long so after researching I decided to spend the balance of the trip on St. John as it was supposed to have the best snorkeling between the US and British Virgin Islands. We stayed at the Westin which was perfect as it is huge and very kid friendly. We rented a jeep for the whole time there which gave us the flexibility to go off and do stuff whenever we wanted.



Sadly we determined on this trip that we have become snorkel snobs.  After traveling to the Maldives and Moorea, even Turks and Caicos, we have been spoiled and unfortunately St. John didn't live up to the hype.  As a local diver told me once you've done the Pacific and Indian, the Atlantic and Caribbean don't have much to offer.   We did enjoy the beaches at Hawknest and Trunk Bay and for being a tourist hot spot Trunk Bay had better snorkeling than many of the off the beaten paths we had been told about with the exception of Waterlemon which after a mile walk did offer the best snorkeling on the island.  The current was pretty strong there though at points which is always a little scary when the kids are with you but we did see a decent variety but not the schools and amounts of fish that we have seen at other places. Driving around St. John though is beautiful as it is mountainous also and there are many awesome look out points that you can pull over at. We had a great time exploring and enjoying their beaches.



When we weren't exploring we were taking advantage of the resort to keep us occupied. As you can see the kids were just as happy doing this.



Roddy style of Wipe Out! All three boys had a blast doing this...



The life of a six year old...



Connor and a beautiful sunset...



With the exception of all the mosquito bites we came home with and the boys tennis shoes which we did not come home with we had a fantastic time but what's not to like about spending time with the ones you love in a beautiful location!!!

Happy Halloween!

I can hardly believe another Halloween has come and gone. We spent the night before Halloween carving pumpkins. Michael was kind enough to come over to help out but as it turned out Sage was the only one that needed help carving hers. It's so nice that the boys can do their own. Long gone are the days of Jack frantically carving 3-4 pumpkins in one night! As you can see they were pretty happy with their work!



This year Sage was the only one that knew what she was going to be months in advance (a pirate) and yet the day before Halloween changed her mind. The boys weren't sure what they wanted to be but did agree that they wanted the $20 I'd pay them each to wear something from around the house. Connor decided on using the costume Ty used for the wax museum project at school last year and went as Neil Armstrong. Ty has become a big Manti Te'o fan (Notre Dame linebacker) so after Jack came back from the Notre Dame/BYU game a couple weeks ago, Ty had a costume ready to go.

A couple days before Halloween Jack learned that he would need to dress up at work. Apparently Halloween is really big at Lux. So, on Halloween eve, he found himself frantically searching the bare racks of the Halloween Costume store looking for a costume. I recommended him going as a Replacement Ref or Big Bird but when you are looking for a costume at the 11th hour, beggars can't be choosers. Annoying Orange was all that was left...lol! Once Sage saw the costume dad was going to wear she insisted she wanted to wear it trick or treating so my cute pirate quickly became really annoying!!! Sadly I didn't get a photo of Jack in all his glory...and then for the first time I didn't get a photo of the kids before they headed out. I did manage to grab one when they returned but due to the damp weather all of Connor's stickers had fallen off so Neil Armstrong looked more like a skier!







The houses in our neighborhood sit on much larger pieces of land which means there is a lot more walking involved and less trick or treating but we were so proud of our kids who respectfully walked up and down each walkway or driveway rather than running across lawns like most the other kids we saw doing as they trick or treated. It was a great teaching opportunity to explain that just because everyone is doing it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. They still had a great time and as you can see the neighborhood rewarded them quite nicely!

Introducing Players #80 and #88...

The boys were very excited to play football here in Ohio. It seemed like the perfect way to make friends quickly and we were also anxious to see how they played in comparison to the kids out here. (We knew they came from a very competitive program in WA but had no idea how their skills would translate out here.) After all, the first thing people said to us when we moved to Ohio was you better love football because we are a football loving people!

With so many kids out here we learned there would be four fifth grade teams for Mason. Three of the four teams had been playing together since 1st grade. We were placed on one of those teams that happened to have a couple openings. The beginning of the season was a bit of a disappointment. The coaching staff although nice seemed very disorganized spending the majority of time during the first week running the kids non stop. Being that the kids condition the first week we expected running but it seemed this was all they were prepared to do.

The weather was also a big change for the boys. They had several practices where it was almost 100 degrees but the humidity made it feel much more nasty. I really felt bad for them the first few weeks and after finding out that Connor was experiencing sports induced asthma from the combo of the weather and because he's prone to respiratory issues made for an even tougher start to the season. I have to give them credit though for continuing on even when we said we would not be disappointed if they decided to quit. Had they been on a team with coaches that seemed better prepared and more strategic practices we may not have offered the choice to quit but I sure didn't want to see my kids struggling so terribly during practices that felt more like cross country meets.

It was clear the boys had great defense skills and the coaches could see it. Immediately they were told they'd be playing both sides which was a compliment considering many of the kids had been with the team for years and still only played one side. Their primary positions were tight end and defensive end which was fun to watch as they were both easy to spot on the ends. Ty wasn't too thrilled playing tight end but as they started throwing him the ball he enjoyed it more. Connor was very excited after the first game to receive the candy bar for best defensive player on the line. Although they lost it was good for his self esteem especially since he had struggled so much with his breathing during the first few weeks.

After a rough beginning to the season with several losses the team finally came together and started winning. Amazingly they won all their playoff games and made it to the championship game but unfortunately couldn't seal in a championship win.

Unfortunately I neglected to take many photos at all. Here are a few I grabbed but sadly they don't capture the best highlights...

Looking good in green and white:



Here they are on each end, with their red easy to spot Under Armour:




Connor sacking:



and Tyler catching:




Championship game (unfortunately a loss):



Party time:



Football isn't all about winning. There are fantastic lessons to be learned on the field that will carry on with the boys throughout their lives. No doubt Jack and I and some of the other parents got frustrated with the organization of the coaching staff but in the end they were good men doing what I hope was their best to work with our children. The kids had a great time and that's the most important part!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, everyone knows I'm not a fan of my birthday which was on Sept. 17th. In fact, I'm not very great with anyone else's birthday either but this year Jack was determined to get me a bike. He had wanted to do this back in WA but really there isn't a lot of nice bike riding weather out there and for Mother's Day I knew we'd be moving so I figured it best to wait until we got out to Ohio. Every time we go on the Disney Cruise we rent beach cruisers at Disney's private island. I love riding them as they are much more comfy so I finally agreed he could buy me one of those. Now to be honest I found one at Wal Mart that I fell in love with. It was super cute but Jack refused to get me one from Wal Mart and insisted on one from the local bike shop. Of course they are triple the price and don't look quite as cute but they do have better gears and components (at least that's what they tell me). They also are bare bones so he added a cute bell and basket to it. Later I saw another one at Target that was super cute but in the end I keep telling myself that mine will probably last a lot longer and how lucky I am to have a hubby that cares so much about getting me what he thinks is the nicest stuff...even if frugal me would be just as happy with the Wal Mart bike!!! So here it is in all it's glory. Sage loved that it was pink and that it had a bell on it!



Here is Ty getting artsy with the camera. He kept laughing at the size of the seat...

The Cincinnati Zoo

So this year Jack's work party was held at the Cincinnati Zoo which was great since I had read it was one of the top zoos in America. We had perfect weather and it had been a long time since we had been to the zoo as a family. Good times!

Look who has an extra set of eyes...

So here in Mason, the kids are required to have sports check ups before they can participate in football. Being it was the last minute and I had yet to find the kids a doctor we rushed over to an urgent care. One of the things they check for is vision which makes sense but to be honest I couldn't remember the last time their eyes had been checked. I know they do it sometimes at the school but I really had no idea. When it was Ty's turn to read the letters out loud I thought he was goofing off when he said he couldn't read the first line the doctor asked him to read. Needless to say by the end of the appt. it was clear Ty needed to see an eye doctor. Thankfully, he was excited about the idea of wearing glasses, which I'm sure had something to do with his dad mentioning that Oakley sold not only great sunglasses but also nice frames. So after a couple hours at Lenscrafters, Ty walked out with a whole new outlook on life...

Here he is noticing what a difference his glasses make when reading from his iTouch...



I have to say I almost started crying at the appt. when they had him put on his new frames for the first time and he exclaimed "Oh my gosh Mom, I can read that over there so clearly". I thought he was going to start crying too. What a terrible mom I felt like. Who knows how long he would have gone thinking it was normal to be staring at a blurry board at school. Just so glad we figured it out now!

Getting situated and acclimated!

Cincinnati...

How nice it was to have my brother Steve as our first house guest here in Ohio. He was doing recruiting at Indiana for his company and decided to rent a car to drive down to see us for the weekend. It worked out perfectly because we had planned on doing a little site seeing this weekend so it was nice to share the sites with Steve. Now, I must admit we were not thrilled with Cincinnati. There is really nothing exciting to see. We did cross over the river into Newport, Kentucky and enjoyed lunch there but really Cinci has no real charm to it. Let's just say we've lived in or near some big cities in our lifetime and Cincinnati doesn't rank in our top ten. Perhaps as time goes by and we see more of it we'll find some hidden gems but on first impressions...not too impressed! I can say that the skyline as you come from the airport through Kentucky into Ohio is quite impressive. I'll have to catch a shot of that sometime. The stadiums are pretty much the highlight of the city.

Here is the one tourist spot in the city. It's some fountain in the city center.



Here Ty is experiencing his first grilled cheese donut. Yummy but wow, there are reasons that americans in the midwest are known for their weight issues...