Let the Games Begin!

Olympia was our last stop on the Greek cruise and the only stop that wasn't an island. It was also the only place that we paid for a group excursion and didn't do it on our own, as we wanted a tour of the ruins. Our guide was hilariously Greek and it was incredibly hot and such a long tour, but it was remarkable to set foot on the grounds of the ancient and original games' starting place! So much history in these places...it just kind of takes your breath away when you really stand there and think about it.

So many of the pillars were partially intact and you could envision what the original structure would have looked like. The top right picture where you can see it is roped off is where they start the torch for the olympic games every year because it was the original starting point- so cool! Although, they told us we would be visiting that spot and once we got there it was just a tiny rectangle stone on the ground and kind of anti climatic. I don't know what we were imagining, but it was pretty funny with all these amazing towers and palaces surrounding us. The bottom right is the field behind me of the original olympic games events.

Meet Alexander. His class was on some sort of field trip and when we were outside the gates to the ruins he saw our group and came over shouting Hey, Americans! in his broken English. He was the cutest, friendliest kid and was totally showing off to his classmates. Ryan went over and chatted with him from the other side of the gate for awhile before we left, and then when we saw him again in the museum we had to get a picture. Such a cute kid!

Inside the olympic museum there was also so much history. Pictured here is a recovered sundial, warrior helmets, and statues that were uncovered that would have decorated the outside eaves and pitches of the palaces.

Our cute tour guide straight out of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Not kidding here folks. the entire 4 hour tour she kept saying stuff like, "Now your English word 'kimono' is actually a Greek word. It comes from the Greek 'kimos', meaning..." This went on in about every sentence for the whole 2 hours and she was dead serious. Hilarious!

And finally, our last night on the cruise...tear. It was the chocoholic midnight buffet. Here you can see the chocolate sculpture picking my teeth. I guess I would take that over a toothpick any day though.

The cruise was AMAZING and seriously the trip of a lifetime! We were so incredibly grateful to have that opportunity, but after a week with only one limited Skype contact with Will from a junky internet connection on a remote Greek island, we were so ready to get back home to our little guy! What a magical and fun week and one that I will never forget and will be difficult to match!

Opa!

Mykonos was stop #3 and is the most popular celebrity destination in Greece. I read somewhere that it was made popular by the Kennedys. It is known for it's crystal water and happenin' beaches and nightlife, so naturally this was our beach stop while in Greece. But first we hopped on over to the island of Delos, the ancient capital of this ring of islands that is now covered in ruins.

Dancin in the Streets

The streets in Mykonos were originally designed to confuse pirates and are these tiny little walkways that twist and turn a million times over. You would be walking down one and a scooter would come zipping down the street and almost run you over if you didn't JUMP out of the way, so it kept us on our toes! The streets are painted to match the whitewashed houses (which are whitewashed according to Greek law), and we were cracking up at the streets like the one on the top right where they painted over the stones in the ground to make the ground look like stone. A little too ironic...don't ya think? ;) Also we came across this green door that I just had to get a picture of. After 3 days of straight up Greek blue, I had to laugh at the non-conformist in this city. Rebel.

A cool, colorful little church we stumbled upon while navigating the maze of streets.

The Ruins at Delos

A few memorable sites we saw were Apollo's Temple and the Avenue of Lions, as well as all of the recovered art and architecture stored in the museum.

Platis Gialos

From the cushioned chair underneath my umbrella, soaking up just the perfect amount of sun and view, I could understand why this island is the most famous. I took a picture of my toes in the water, as I was amazed that at about 10 feet of depth I could still see the fish at the bottom as clear as day. I think those Mediterranean waters must be the closest thing to a fountain of youth on this planet, as I felt like a kid again playing in the water and digging my toes in the sand.

Our beach day was a rejuvenating, fantastic success!

Heeeeee Haw

Wanna know my very favorite part of the entire cruise? (And it wasn't the chocoholic buffet at midnight.) DONKEYS!

I have always been a big planner when it comes to vacations, and we have learned that for cruises especially it pays to do your online homework before you go. So in my online ventures prior to the trip I learned that Santorini, our second stop, is a "caldera" meaning it used to be a volcano but the cone sunk into the ocean, leaving behind only this crescent moon of an island where all the buildings reside up on the ridge and you have to scale a few hundred feet to the top before any sightseeing can commence. I also learned that there are 3 ways to the top: cable car, footpath, or donkey! When I read that, I could already picture myself on the cover of the next "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" movie, sidesaddle on my donkey in my blue dress and all. I mean, we were going to be in Greece for crying out loud...we gotta do the donkeys!

Now, many in the online forums had much to say about the TERROR the donkey ride had in store for us, but I didn't buy it for one second. Even on the ship in the days prior to Santorini when people found out we were opting for the donkey ride they proceeded to tell us how crazy we were. What a bunch of old pansies, I say. We were laughing our heads off the whole way up at these crazy, drunk donkeys (because don't be fooled in thinking we had a guide taking us up the path...oh no, one slap on the donkey bum from the old Greek man and we were on our own!) and the even crazier tourists who were terrified and would go running anytime a donkey came their way. I am so glad we did the donkeys, despite all the concerns from fellow cruisers.

Pulling into Santorini from afar it resembles snow capped mountains and is a bit surreal considering you are in the Mediterranean in the summer. I couldn't get a good faraway shot with my junky camera to show that, but this closer up pic shows the zigzag donkey path really well. How I LOVED having a balcony on this cruise!

Top left- and we're off!

Top right- the path that was shared by hikers and donkeys alike bordered a very steep cliff face that may have been the source of all the donkey terror.

Bottom left- we didn't get our camera out in time but this man was the epitome of what you would imagine a Greek donkey caretaker to look like! Straight outta the movies, this one was.

Bottom right- all 3 forms of transport in Santorini captured in one photo.

Not only were the donkeys fun, but Santorini was hands down the most beautiful island we visited. The architecture here was also classically Greek, straight out of a travel guide, and much more breathtaking in person. You can see in the top right pic that the buildings are carved straight out of the rock face, as are all the buildings on this island. They don't use a/c here so being carved into the rock acts as a natural cooling system.

Beautiful windmills, cool little street, and our sunset viewing spot that was literally the edge of the cliff. One false move at the dinner table and you would be rolling down Greek countryside for hundreds of feet. They say there's not a bad view in Santorini and here you can see why.

This is how the Greeks do the blues. My outfit was no coincidence, and yes I am super cheesy like that :)

A.maz.ing

We ended up having to get down to our ship and didn't get to stay up top to watch the sunset, but either way you just can't beat the sunset in Santorini!

Cruisin' Together

The first couple days of the Greek isle cruise went as follows:

Day one is "at sea" day and we spent it exploring the ship, and then they had the first formal night that night.

Clockwise from left: dressed up for formal night and I had to get a picture in the cool entrance hall to the main theater; the beautiful curtain in the main theater; me taking a picture of myself with the sunset from our balcony the first night right after we shipped off because Ryan was snoozin'.

First stop: Corfu town! I read a book in my excitedness for our cruise called "A House in Corfu". I was so excited I found a book at the library about one of the islands we were actually going to. The book was painful to say the very least. All 200 pages a description of Corfu olive grove, isle, and sea. Bleh. But I do have to say it made me fall in love with the place before even meeting it. And while many said this was the least worthwhile stop on our cruise, I had a fondness for it as I knew the history and mystique of the place and felt that connection. One of the things I learned from the book is that Greece is actually very dry and rocky, so I think I was prepared to not expect lushness while others did and for them it was a disappointment.

Pics: this is just a cool little street we shopped on the way to downtown Corfu. Then we visited the church of St. Spiridon, patron saint of Corfu. We got to go inside and walk by a group who were having a service and chanting and go view St. Spiridon's sarcophagus. People were kissing the glass in front of his face and the priest would wipe it off for the next person in line. We just looked, didn't kiss. Spiridon was talked about much in the novel as the people are very superstitious that he is always watching and good or bad luck to the Corfiots is always a matter of if St. Spiridon is pleased with you.

Our final destination on Corfu was the fortress. It was crazy cool to step foot in a place with so much history. Corfu is the only island in Greece never taken over by Turkish rule due partly to their craftily planned fortresses. It therefore resembles more of a Venetian atmosphere than Turkish, as the rest of Greece does.

Clockwise from top left: Standing in that spot was an overwhelming glimpse of the massive size of the fortress and made you feel so small. I don't know how people built stuff like this back then without machines; Mote around the fortress; halfway to the top; bridge heading into the fortress.

Left- a little prison cell that creeped me out just thinking of being captured and locked away in. Right top- view from the top. Right bottom- walking the paths of the fortress you felt a connection to the guards and prisoners who used to walk there hundreds of years ago.

We met these guys on the ship and hung out in Corfu with them all day. They were also on the cruise with our insurance group and live about 5 minutes away from our house. After the fortress I had to stop and try some moussaka because I read about it so much in my book. We stopped at a roadside cafe and some guys came up and played music for us.

Bottom right- "don't drive your car in the ocean". Fair warning.

Mi Amore

As typical as it is (but then again I am a pretty typical girl), the place I would say when someone used to ask if I could visit anywhere in the world was always VENICE. Well at the beginning of the year we found out that Ryan had earned an incentive trip on a Greek isle cruise from one of the insurance carriers! If that wasn't enough, we later discovered that the itinerary was set to ship out of Venice! Having never been to Europe and always thinking it was a lofty dream that would never be obtained until retirement years and maybe not even then, I was more than elated.

The problem was that we had been on cruises before that shipped out of cool places (like Puerto Rico and Florida), and we knew from those experiences that the only real tour we get of the city a boat ships out of is of the city airport and the back seat of the transfer van. But we were able to check with the travel agent as well as our friends who have been there before and they helped us figure out exactly how to drop our stuff at the boat and navigate the pier to get us to Venice and back in plenty of time for the sail away party! My biggest fear was missing our ship, but I was not about to fly half way across the world and step foot in Venice, city of my dreams, and not actually see any of it. So we decided even if I had to slip off my heels and we had to run that we would do it! I am happy to say that there was only minimal running involved and we happily had a few hours in Venice, got to see St Marks, and finally got a taste of real Italian pizza, zucchini slices and all!

Heading into St Mark's Square- Even as I look at this pic I cannot believe I was standing there...in that very spot... with all the pigeons... just like in the movies!

St Mark's Basilica, the tower, and a pretty little cafe in the square with happy yellow chairs and a live band playing Italian music. You have permission to start humming now: "When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie..."

Counterclockwise from top left: Our first few glimpses (pause to catch breath) heading into the remarkable city; typical shot of the Grand Canal from the view of the water bus; gondola parking; one of many incredible buildings; and the most famous bridge on the grand canal called Rialto with many little window shops. You can see one of the water buses going under it.

We were told that the magic of Venice lies in traversing the narrow passageways and getting lost just in time to turn a corner and run into a sliver of a waterway. We found this to be the case, and it was just as magical as it sounds (even if we were halfway running at times). The big picture on the left was a street that was exactly what I pictured of Italy from pictures that my friends who went on missions there would send. I loved that street!

Left- Rialto bridge with all it's shops and close to where we had our real Italian pizza; Right- tiny waterways straight out of "The Tourist"

Doin' laundry. Another shot of my favorite street.

Goodbye Venice, my love! I hope to see you again one day for more than a few hours!

Mini Tiger

Recently Ryan bought Will his own set of cute little kid sized clubs and has taken him to the driving range a few times. These pics though are from one of the days Ryan actually took him golfing with the guys. It is fun to think that Will will grow up being taught the same sports his daddy loves! I am so curious to see over the years which sports Will really takes a liking to.

Superman Will

Doesn't this ginormous club look good on me?

Ok... so golfing for Will isn't so much about actually GOLFING as it is about sitting in the cart and eating the snacks :)

Driving or putting? You decide.

These are the clubs Will got after he golfed with dad that day and don't they look awfully cute? He can even carry them himself. I know I am an annoying gushing mother :)

29 & Leaving (the idea of) Las Vegas

So I turned 29 this last spring. I never thought I would ever be one of "those" who spent a second of her life thinking about turning 30. And for the most part I'm not. I truly do feel you are as only as old as you think (and I still pretty much think I'm a teenager), but I do have to admit the night before my birthday I did have a moment where I thought, "I only have one more year in my 20's and then I will never be one of those '20-somethings' again!" Yikes...deep breath...one more year prior to freak out :)

My birthday at our house with all the family and a few friends. I made myself cupcakes to save ourselves a dime or two even though Ryan fought me to let him buy me my birthday treat :) and Will helped me open presents.

The week of my birthday, my sister Amber spilled the news to us that her family wouldn't in fact be moving from their home in Virginia back to Vegas like they thought they would be doing for the several months prior. It was heartbreaking news for everyone, but especially for them. We were all SO excited that they would actually be on this side of the country again and we would have the opportunity to see each other more often than, oh, I don't know, like once in a decade. The transfer that my bro-in-law's work wanted him to make to Vegas ended up being revoked at the last minute because the company's Vegas division wasn't doing as well anymore. Amber already had a plane ticket to fly out there and look at houses that following week, so she told us if we met her there we could all hang out. Sold. I haven't seen my sister since I was pregnant with Will, and it breaks my heart that neither of us have been able to make it work to get out to see each other! I had been vowing to make it out to Virginia this year no matter what so she could meet Will, so it was perfect that she was coming to us. (The only downside is that Ryan couldn't take a week off of work on short notice.) So me and Will hopped in the car with my mom and John and headed down and my bro, Uncle Joey, drove up from Phoenix. It was a fabulous week filled with just visiting with family like old times, and it really made me sad that I now have two siblings far away in different states. The good news is hopefully Uncle Joey will be moving back to UT soon!

My mom and John stayed at a hotel where Will LOVED the pool and asked me to go swimming every morning when we woke up. In the bottom picture he is playing a game called "go get wet then run over and splash mom on her lounge chair!" Grandma, being the mischievous one that she is, only encouraged this behavior :)

The night that we got into town we met up with Amber and Mark on the strip to do a few of the more "touristy" things, since I thought Will would enjoy that. We mostly walked through the Bellagio and saw the gardens, butterflies, and then of course we couldn't miss the fountain show. I love the classical music they play during the show, and the water is always so breathtaking to me.

Top left-Will and Uncle Joey right when he got in town. I call him Uncle Joey for Will's sake even though he is my brother because he is seriously the most amazing uncle and loves Will so much! And Will totally adores him. Top right- we got to see my Grandpa and Grandma (not pictured) "S" and cousin Sarah! It is always such a treat to visit my grandparents, and I try to get down to Vegas at least every 6 months to visit them. Bottom- the girls and Will hangin' out shopping and laughing, Will playing with cousin Alex, and the whole crew downing some Pizookie courtesy of Mark. Thanks Mark!

This was the last day. We went to a buffet for lunch and then to my Aunt BJ's house to say our goodbyes before heading back out of town. The bottom right pic is a hilarious story. My mom took my camera to get one last pic of 3 of her 5 kids, but to her puzzlement she had it turned the wrong way and couldn't figure out why she couldn't see us. Meanwhile we could see her face in microscopic form since she had it held up right to her face the wrong way. It was so funny and we were laughing so hard that we were still busting a gut by time she turned it around to take the picture. Gotta love my cute mom!

I miss my sister and am sad that she won't be moving back to the west anytime soon, but what a blessing to get to spend that time with her and have Will meet Aunt Amber and Uncle Mark!

Bald Easter

Now that it has been a few months since I have posted and I am trying, again, to catch up on old pictures, it is kind of shocking to see Will with his bald head again from back when he took a chunk out of his own hair with scissors! Although I think he is adorable no matter the amount of hair on his head, I do have to say I am glad the hair has made reappearance in our lives :)

The Easter picnic on the Saturday before Easter is a big tradition for my mom as her mom, my grandma, always did an elaborate event when she was still alive. So my mom and her sisters have tried to carry on the tradition. This last year we just went to their church to do the potluck and egg hunt, but my mom really wants to do something big for this coming year like go out of town somewhere fun, so we will have to see how it all pans out.

Will hunting for eggs with Ryan and finally finding his basket after the egg hunt. He was pretty excited about his new How to Train Your Dragon movie, as you can see on his face.

My mom, Aunt Sherry, Will, and Ryan

Me lifting up Will to find a forgotten egg after the hunt was over, and then back to grandma and grandpa's house where uncle Richard had huge sparklers waiting for the kids because of a recent trip to WY. Who doesn't like sparklers on Easter? (Richard also let off a super loud popping kind of firework outside the kitchen door at the church that was meant for my mom cause she is a huge prankster, but instead my SIL Nikki, his wife, came outside at that moment that was meant for my mom. Of course he thought it was hilarious...wonder where he gets it from.)

Grandma and grandpa at the end of the day with the grandkids. What a fun Easter party!

No Exception to the Rule

Every kid cuts their own hair at least once when they are little, right? Or has a sibling cut their hair, etc. So I don't know why I was so shocked when Will walked in the room on a Saturday afternoon last month with his nice, long, thick hair that had a quarter sized chunk taken out all the way to the scalp and asked, "Mommy, do you like my hair?" He had even sprayed it with the spray bottle and combed it down. He is a regular ol' barber, I tell ya.

Will showing off the proud new 'do. Actually Ryan took this pic of this bench to send to a friend who was wondering about where we got our bench in our yard, but believe it or not it is the only picture I have of Will before it started growing back. Ryan couldn't believe I didn't take a pic before buzzing it. Then later he also told me I should have shaved something cool into the back of his head before I took it all off. Information that would have been helpful yesterday, Ry. I think I was so horrified cause I have always disliked buzz cuts and never wanted to do it on my boys and the thought that now I was going to have to do one was so sad to me that thoughts of this being a kodak moment did not really formulate.

So this pic is funny because Will has started to put himself to bed for naps randomly. He stopped napping about 9 months ago (ugh!) and so we deal with the "zombie tired at 6 pm but will stay up til midnight if he naps so we just deal with the monster every night for a few awful hours" phase. All you moms know what I am talking about. Well apparently he is not getting enough sleep cause on a couple different occasions now I have been doing something in a different room while he is playing in the afternoon then I will notice it is unusually quiet, only to go check on him and find this. Not only does he climb into bed on his own, he tucks himself in up to his chin! This is just completely astonishing to me, who fought him for months to take naps in the afternoon and tried every method possible until finally giving in to the notion that the nap stage of life was over for my little one and spending 3 hours every afternoon trying to get him to lay down wasn't really panning out.

I was so spoiled for Mother's Day this year! This was my delicious breakfast, and Ryan even took my specific Weight Watchers worthy requests for food (minus the choc covered strawberries, I think he was shooting from the hip on that one), otherwise you can believe there would have been more than a yogurt parfait for breakfast. But it was exactly what I wanted and I loved it! Then after church I didn't have to lift a finger and had a delicious pasta dinner (my favorite!). I got this tiered stand as my gift, and my two boys just took such good care of me all day. I felt so blessed to be a mom this year and hope I can make Ryan feel half as special on Father's Day! I also had such a great time thinking of all the ways my mother has been so incredibly influential in my life and was able to call and thank her for all she has given me. Motherhood truly is the greatest gift, and to be a mother is one of the greatest sacrifices and blessings all in the same!

Cousins, need I say more? These two are just too adorable together. Thanks Jen for posting this pic so I could steal it!