Recap

Tis (already) the season.... Our schedule gets a bit nuts from October through January, so I'm lagging in my posts. Here's a brief recap of the past two weeks.

My Pee Wee school is going awesome. I've learned all of my letters, can correctly count to fourteen (when I get to fifteen I call it "five-teen"), and can do some serious finger painting. We've gone on two field trips - one to an apple picking farm and one to a pumpkin patch at Cox Farm. We've made kites, painted rocks, cooked muffins, and walked a pretend tight rope. If this is what all school is like, the next 18 years are going to be fun! (Do med students get to paint rocks?)

We also scored a visit from our fun friends from Bosnia - Liam and Mary (Todd had to stay home and work this trip). While brief, we packed it full of bike rides, tackling each other, and train-playing.

Christine made us dinner one night and came to hang out with me. She's the best - really, who just makes you dinner and comes to play? So cool.

Most of our Halloween decorations are up. We have a big, furry spider that drops down from the front door when you make loud noises so I like to stand near it and jump and yell - my mom said the spider may not survive until Halloween, I wonder if he's sick?

We attended the annual "heart picnic" hosted by the hospital. I got to hang out with Dr. Shen, the awesome doctor that repaired my heart and gave me my power line. He's so incredibly cool, WAY cooler than any superhero. (Geez I was tiny!)

 

And then we scored a bonus visit from my Grandpa! He had a last-minute work meeting in DC, so I filled the gaps between his meetings - bike riding, soccer, cars, and time in the hammock. He's the best.

Cruising

What's not to love about cruising? The open sea, tons of activities, endless food, exciting destinations. My parents weren't sure how I'd like cruising, so we took a "test run" to Bermuda last week and my grandparents joined us. Maybe my folks are also wondering if I'd like a puppy or a giant chocolate cake or a trampoline? Good grief mom and dad, who wouldn't like cruising!?!?!

So I guess they had a concern about the sleeping arrangements on a cruise - small, cramped quarters. Here's what we found out - stick me on a bunk bed in the pitch black and I sleep eleven consecutive hours...and so does my dad. We slept well.

Things I quickly learned. If you're my height and you zip around a cruise (and people think you might fall off the boat), EVERY staff and guest quickly gets to know you. When you yell "BINGO!" someone gives you money. There is no bacon limit at breakfast or shrimp limit at dinner (and if you're with my grandpa, there is no ice cream cone limit any time of day!)

"Cruise wear" comes in all shapes and sizes and looks ridiculous on everyone...even me. They clean the glass doors on the ship so well they are hard to see (I ran full speed into one - funny for everyone but me). Shuffle board is harder than it looks. The pools are fun any time of day. The tall, colorful drinks with umbrellas are better than a homemade smoothie. My parents can turn anything into a competition - ping pong, the rock climbing wall, the foos ball game in the teen lounge - but I guess I already knew this. The destination is just as much fun as the boat itself.

We decided driving around the island of Bermuda was too boring and that we'd miss too much if we took the ferry from one side to the other. So in a moment of brilliance, we decided to bike the island. Yes, me, my parents, and my grandparents rented four very rusty bikes, found THE ONLY kid bike seat on the island (literally), put our trust in the cartoon-like tourist map, and started riding. It was beautiful - really beautiful.

The only real challenge was the map...and the trail...or lack of trail...and the cars whizzing by...and the enormous hills no one mentioned....and the stairs on the trail....and the foot-deep mud....and that the bike shop was closed when we got there to return the bikes...did I mention the scenery was simply breathe-taking? Yes, the whole day was a comedy of errors BUT we would do it again in a second (hmm, maybe don't ask my grandma this question). We definitely got to see the island in a way no one else did. (We were the only bikers!)

We made stops throughout the day, including at Horseshoe Bay Beach. Wow.

Other time during the cruise was spent snorkeling, paddle boating, and adventuring. A great trip.