Norweigan's Professional Pics...

These were tooo much fun NOT to share!! The photographers were running all around the ship and on the island snapping shots you could buy... these were our 4 favorites...

books, beer, and beautiful waters... paradise!!

cheers!!

we got this one becuase we knew the girls would LOVE us hugging a HUGE dolphin!

nothing says service like a bartending in the ocean!!

Bon Voyage!!

We've had a few crazy months, so we decided we needed a "little break" and booked a cruise for ourselves... sans kids! We left on friday June 18th for Miami. We boarded the Norwegian Sky at the port of Miami and then the party really started.

(the ship, the room, and even the SPIN room - yes, I took a class...) We enjoyed EVERY second of this cruise. We left Miami at 5pm and arrived in the Bahamas on saturday morning. We woke up to the sun greeting us on our balcony each morning. It was GREAT to have the door open and hear the waves and other ocean sounds. We got off the ship in Nassau and headed over to Atlantis for the day.

(Nassau and Atlantis)

The beaches and water are pristine... too beautiful for words! We swam and relaxed our day away... then it was time for some shopping in "downtown" and off to the ship. We enjoyed dinner on our balcony, then off for a few drinks, a show, a party on the upper deck and then some hot tub time! We had a blast!!

(Grand Stirrup Cay... ) On sunday we arrived in Grand Stirrup Cay. This is Norweigan's private island. It is TOTALLY uninhabited, and the only people who venture to the island is the cruise company. It was almost "fake looking" becuase it was soooo crystal clear and blue. We snorkled out into the ocean and enjoyed kicking back and reading books while sitting in the beautiful waters. It truely was paradise!! And that was before we hit the hammocks... truely a GREAT day!! Then we headed back to the ship after 5 or 6 hours on the island for our last evening at sea!! It was truely a vacation to remember! We arrived in Miami on monday morning and our vacation was over - but it was great and it was FANTASTIC to spend some time alone with Scott... Hope you enjoy the pics!!

Cake time!!

So, although we already had the "family birthday party" for both of the girls, and their "friends" one is coming up soon, we still celebrated Angela's official b-day at home! Angela picked out her own cake, and grandmom came to enjoy the day with us. We had a nice dinner, the girls opened up some presents and Angela enjoyed blowing out her 5 BIG candles. Where has the time gone??

5 Candles on Angela's Cake

It's hard to believe that 5 years ago, Miss Angela was born at 4:26am. I can still remember every moment of that morning and the days following. It was an emotional rollercoaster, but in the end, she did GREAT!! Our little princess STILL holds the record for the shortest stay in the hospital. We were originally told she would be in the NICU for at LEAST 1 month (minumum), averyage was about 2 month and some babies were there for more than 6 months until they came home. Since Angela had "spunk" she had her surgery very soon after birth (2 days old) and was home in 17 day. Then the fun started. She pulled her NG tube out of her nose the first night (she wasn't great at drinking all of her milk via mouth, so we had to feed her through the NG tube upon discharge from the hospital). But she "must have" known she could do it on her own and never needed that tube again! From that day on she's been amazing us and the doctors and bringing smiles to faces all of the place! Today, at 5 years old, she still amazes us with how smart and grown up she is. Our litle girl is growing up before our very eyes... Happy ... you've conquered every obsticle set before you until this point, and we are SURE you'll do the same in the future!

Happy Birthday Angela!!!

her hospital picture (they didn't take them of the children in the NICU since most were VERY sick...)

this is what we saw when we saw Angela for the first time... more wires and tubes than baby....

little did we know what a fighter she was going to be!and here are pictures from age 1 through 4 - you can definately see some changes... losing any "baby fat" and turning into a beautiful young lady!and Finally... our 5 year old - Miss Angela Kirstin

We love you more than you could ever know!! Happy 5th Birthday Angela!!

Batter up!!

We figured that Angela could do a sport if she chose when she was in kindergarten. She was totally fine with that, until we got the phone call "would Angela want to "fill in" on the Grasshoppers t-ball team next week?" Of course Angela was jumping up and down when she heard she had the chance to play. She asked EVERY single morning, do I play t-ball today? Finally, the day was here. We picked up uniform, made some "adjustments" so they'd fit and she was ready to go. Mind you, she's NEVER played on a team and NEVER played t-ball with a team who has been together for the whole season. She was VERY good at hitting pitched softballs so we were hoping she'd do well!! We arrived at the field and she was practicing fielding and throwing... and still had a bit of work to do, but was doing well enough to "blend in". She was in the 6th batting spot and stepped up to the plate like she knew what she was doing. One swing and the ball was into the field... she ran to first base without a close throw. Before she knew it she was home and scored a "run". She played near 2nd and near 3rd base in the field. It was fun to watch the entire team go after the ball... yeah, positions mean NOTHING to 4 and 5 year olds... too cute!! The second time she batted was pretty much just like the first. Step up, whack the ball, no whiffing for Miss Angela. She had a great time, congratulated the other team and then we all went out for ice cream to celebrate a great game!! Her second (and last) game of this season will be on friday... and we KNOW she'll be asking to play next season now!