Anniversary Cruise at Christmas - Christmas on the seas

We realised that a) Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the tinsel tree and b) the cousins didn't know its history. We gathered round it on Christmas Eve and Mark read The Gift of the Magi. And on Christmas night we came together again and shared our one gift a piece, which were so thoughtful and fun.

Speaking of gifts, the big Christmas gift from George & Lorraine to all of us was a snorkelling trip off Grand Turk - on Christmas Day no less!

Child 1

Child 2 (it was hard to tell underwater)

Man 1

The rays of light were captivating

Making her way down the stairs. Flippers are tricky things; she abandoned them on the 2nd swim

The gang

What we did and might have seen

And then it was time to hit the beach!

None of us tanned exactly but we didn't burn either!

Great fish lunch and local beer from the snack shack

and yes, I was indeed there too

Anniversary Cruise at Christmas - the vessel

Ah the Carnival Glory - what a ship. Though truth be told, we enjoyed admiring elements of other ships when we docked. They all look so small (but tall) on the seas - and then so huge in port. 3000 passengers, 300 crew?. The crew were from 64 countries and only 12 were American. We will all remember the Cruise Director - Chris AKA C.Love coming at us over the airwaves.

And yes, we did a lifeboat drill in the first hour or so - plus there was a staff-only abandon ship drill one day in port. That was exciting!

George & Lorraine's cabin had a view from the prow that was just stunning!

Our cabin with a window and a drop down bed

Rumour was true - every night we had a new origami towel animal

Anniversary Cruise at Christmas - on our way

Finally, after oh 9 years of discussion and 1 solid year of planning, we headed to Florida for the 50th wedding anniversary cruise!

We were the last ones to arrive but despite snow and some sleet that morning, the travel all went smoothly.Before we headed to the cruse ship the following day, Sophie even got to visit a Target. 

And then we loaded up the maxi-bus AND the luggage trailer - some family members (no names!) had rather a lot of luggage (though as they pointed out, they were vacationing for a longer stint).

And boarded!!!!

Leading up to Christmas 2017

Just had to tr: gingerbread, eggnog and peppermint cupcakes

One of the taste testers

The end result + a thumbs up

Sophie performing in her class skit

and seeking some audience participation 

Her longed-for pre-cruise pedicure

Our annual family date

"Christmas cornettos" was the weird treat

even the dog got something

Snowy days

We had some lovely snow a few days back. The dog, it turns out, adores it! The cold snap made him frisky.

And then our gal pal made us dinner (with a little help to peel the butternut squash)

A hop, skip and a jump to #1

Croatia!

 It was only a week and again I didn't leave the hotel where the Red Cross workshop was held. However, I did have 6 waking hours in Zagreb on my departure.

My hotel was on the main square

Just lovely views

I returned to my favourite, small department store and picked consumable and non-consumable treats

and wandered the Advent market buying roast chestnuts

and mulled wine.

I retraced my steps to a lovely patisserie (and brought one + macaroons home)

Enjoying the smells and sights of sausages everywhere

and the super moon at my 5:20 a.m. departure

Greeting me at our nearest UP stop was this sign!

A December evening out

We nipped downtown last weekend with out Oakville pals (even the 17 year old) to partake of a wonderful animated movie, The Breadwinner (from the novels of Canadian author Deborah Ellis and starring a handful of Canadian artists). Sophie and I saw the shop windows (not the Galerie Lafayette but fun nevertheless)

Meanwhile Seb is eagerly anticipating the fan preview night on Thursday

Low key party for 11

Sophie wanted a low key party for a just a few friends - dinner out, the chance to see Wonder on the big screen, and then a sleepover - complete with Dad's pancakes for breakfast. And what pancakes they were! Thumbs up all around, thanks to Mona's recipe and years of practice.

Seeing double

Can you tell which one is ours?
Hint: not the well-groomed one

Fun styles

She really does love playing with her hairstyles!