Good times at Sea

There was plenty to do while we were at sea.

We did a little rock climbing.

Love the helmets.

Dave spent some time trying to master the Flowrider. It was a lot harder than it looked. There were some pretty fancy tricks they all tried.

And of course, there was Kareoke! (In a private booth)

Boy, was that fun to watch. Just picture these four singing, "Bye, Bye, Bye"

Bon Voyage...Let the fun begin!

The first week of November, Dave and I went on an Eastern Carribean cruise with 3 other couples. We had been on a Western Carribean cruise a few years ago and just loved it. This time we thought it would be fun to go with friends, which it was. We went on one of Royal Carribean's biggest ships-"The Freedom of the Seas" which had a lot of cool things to do on it. Our ports of call included San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Maartin.

South Beach
Miami

Jason, Kimberly, Karin, Dave, Kimber, and Brett. Michelle was already sick before we even left the port. It only lasted the first day, thank goodness!

Here we all are one evening on the ship.

Trick or Treat?

This Halloween we had a Pirate, a Witch, and an 80's Wardrobe!?

Ryan's "Jack Sparrow" pirate costume won him 2nd place for the costume contest at the school carnival. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

Yes, the back of her off the shoulder sweatshirt said, "Gag me with a spoon!" She thought she was totally awesome.

My teeny tiny witch

Halloween Birthday Bash

Ryan's birthday is on Nov. 9th, but this year we decided to have a costume party on Halloween, just after school, before everyone went trick or treating. It turned out great and we all had many laughs. Especially at Dave's groovy afro!

Peace, baby!

We had a skeleton pinata.

Grandpa Rusick and Grandpa Nieffenegger? (we think)

Ella and Grandma Nieffenegger

The kids played a game where you had to bounce the "eye balls" into the cups to win a prize.

Cute friends from school, Jacob and James.

Witch hat Ring toss.

Happy 6th Birthday Ry!

Preschool Halloween Party

Ella decided to be a witch this year for Halloween. Dave's mom had made this costume for his sister, Joilyn, over 20 years ago. It fit her perfect. The costume and the attitude!

Her BFF, Tessa!

Of course, there was food!

What a cute witch!

She was happy to see that her teacher, Mrs. Foster was also a witch this year. She's so fun! Ella loves her and listens to her every word. Why can't she do the same for me?

Swim, Bike, Run...

Back in October (I know, I'm way behind) Ryan and Kylie did another triathlon. It was a fun to watch them and since it wasn't 100 degrees outside, they had a little more fun than the last tri. Kylie got first place in her age group and was pretty excited about that. Ryan had a few problems along the way. He got knocked over on his bike and was scraped up a bit. But that didn't stop him! He got up and finished the race in a sprint. We were so proud of him. He had no tears, just sheer determination to finish the race. I hope that determination sticks with him!

Cactus Cha-Cha

No, we didn't take dancing lessons, but we did run our first race together. The Cactus Cha-Cha was a 3 mile trail run in the White Tanks Mountains. We had a really good time and learned it's a bad idea to start off too fast in the beginning. A good lesson for the upcoming YMCA triathon! Out of 170 runners we were both in the top 25. We felt good about that! Plus, it was really pretty up there...which I don't often say about Arizona. I think this place is growing on me.