Going, Going, Gone!

Now for the part that you've all been waiting for -- the demise of the infamous cypress trees.

Paul Bunyan begins his work

Timber-r-r-r-r-r

Ready for #2

Wonder if he's finding any critters?

Yuck!!

And there she finally goes!

All ready to pole dance.

Let's feed this hungry horse.

Hey, Nicole!!  We found your tennis balls!!!

Changes Are Coming

We've been wanting for many years to do some major renovation to our landscaping.   We've put it off as long as we could and finally decided that it was now or never. 

It all started with an asphalt driveway that has more than seen it's day, and as with every project, it has opened up a can of worms.   Unfortunately, we failed to get a picture of the driveway before it was demo'd, so this is the after and you'll just have to rely on your memory to help you remember how "lovely" it used to look.  And don't forget the memories of all the very competitive basketball games that took place there over the years:

One thing led to another, and we decided to remove the back patio as well since it was a bad "do-it-yourself" job done by a previous owner, was poorly designed, had major cracks, and was built without re-bar.  One last picture:

Well, you can't remove the patio without removing the rotting patio cover as well.  The sidewalk underneath the kitchen window went as well since it wouldn't blend in with the patio and was so narrow that anyone walking on it always ran into the awning.

Good-bye patio!

Next the contractor convinces us that if we're replacing the front and the back, we really should replace the sidewalk on the side of the house that links them together.

So now it looks like this:

Last of the patio cover:

And this is how we get in and out:

And it all went bye-bye in the dumpsters!!

Stay tuned -- more excitement to follow. . .

Crus'in Part II

This is the tiny little place that we called "home" for 4 days and 5 nights.  There wasn't much room to move around in, so we didn't spend a lot of time here.

Almost every night we would return to our cabin and find something like this in the center of our bed:

Ivan, our stateroom attendant, was very creative with the towels.

I think this one was in the Hooper's cabin:

The last night, this was hanging in our room:

Come to think of it, we had several wild animals in our cabin!

Cruising the Summer Away

One thing that Steve and I have had on our "bucket list" was going on a cruise.  Thanks to some encouragement from Stefani, we can now check that off the "list", although maybe not, because hopefully we're going to get to do this again.

Grandpa and Noah are so excited to be together.

Anxiously awaiting the shuttle to the port.

The Hoopers are on the ship and ready to set sail.

We're on our way . . .

The little tug that could.

Leaving Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale.

The beaches of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami -- this certainly doesn't look like the beaches in California.

Hmmm -- wonder who lives here?  Obviously, they have $$$$$.

Arriving in the Grand Cayman's.

Noah, Sammy and Grandpa playing on the beach.

Beautiful water!!

So clear that you can see our toes!!

On 7-mile beach, (which is really only 5 1/2 miles), looking back to the port.

Sandy toes -- not my most favorite thing.

Headed back to the ship.  The water is soooooo blue and clear.

Stef and Mike have just enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

Gene and Joeleen waiting for dessert.

Grandpa and the kids

What a handsome dude!!  I sure do love this guy!!!!!!

Sammy models the napkin hat made by our head waiter, Eva.

A clever balancing act created by our clever assistant waiter, Deka.

Entering the port at Cozumel in a downpour.

Docked next the Oasis -- a ship 3 times the size of ours.

It also has 3 times as many people on it too.

The Hoopers are ready to check out the island.  It started pouring again right after this picture was taken.

Our tour took us to a tequila farm.  The agave plant is in the background and this is the fruit.  They mash up the fruit and then let it ferment.  They even offered free samples to all of us.  We did purchase some Mexican vanilla here.

A stop on a rocky beach on the south side of Cozumel.

More crystal clear water.

Look what Steve created!!  Just kidding.

A visit to the island's "famous" Mayan ruin.

Stef and the kids examine the infamous, but disappointing landmark.

Returning back to reality.

Waiting for our shuttle back to the hotel.