Christmas Season Begins............

Well Christmas is upon us and Jim loves to decorate, well he loves me to decorate.
So here is what I've been up to for the past two days.
Looks great especially the three new nutcrackers that Melissa found for Jim's collection. Thanks Melissa!




This is the front of the garage where Jim worked hard putting stuff up. We had a real scare though when he fell off the ladder hanging the last sled up. He's OK but has a lump the size of a golf ball on his shin. His wrist was bleeding and pretty sore.
His face has a fat lip where his teeth went into his lip. I wasn't out there with him but he says the foot of the ladder slid out from under him backwards and he went down flat on top of the ladder. He was very lucky cause as you can see the driveway is cement. He'll be plenty sore tomorrow.

Thanksgiving Dinner

What an incredible feast! What could be better food and family. The dinner came out awesome. Jim and I make a good team I couldn't have done it without him.
Here are Dave, Melissa and Caiden, Caiden was too busy eating to smile. He kept saying I eat!

This was the Hart table Merrill, Woody, Pam, Jim, Michelle, little Woody and Robby. I thought I heard some pretty excited voices when the conversation turned to Christmas! Knotts Berry Farm here we come.

Last but not least here we are celebrating how thankful Jim and I are for all the things God has blessed us with. Parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, children, grandchildren. Life is good!

We were sorry that Michel, Arayna, Rachel and Michael couldn't make it today. I hope they are feeling better soon! I hear that they didn't miss out on Thanksgiving dinner. The Hart meals on wheels could be seen making a home delivery to the Harb house and to the fish pond friends who worked hard all day so that people could fish.
Love to all this day!

Thanksgiving Day Fishing

What fun we had today! Everyone showed up early enough to go fishing across the street in the trout pond.
As always Papa Jim aka Uncle Jim was there to help, baiting the hooks and fixing the lines so that all the kids would catch something. And shhhh its a secret Jim knows all the best spots to fish. Meanwhile the the turkey in the oven was filling the house with a hint of the fabulous dinner to come.
As you can see little Woody and Robby teamed up and worked together to bring in the big ones! They are both looking forward to a fish dinner.

David was teaching Caiden the art of fishing. Good job! I don't think I would have lasted long on the ground like that. They both had a great time and Caiden even touched a fish!

Melissa joined the family to enjoy the fishing event. Here she is with Caiden and Merrill. I was so gateful that she took these wonderful pictures while visiting with family.

Here are Jim and Woody the master fisherman there to help. How lucky the kids are! What a great day!

A Visit to San Jose

We had such a good time visiting Jeff and Wendy. We had plenty of time to babysit Micah while Wendy went to work and time to shop when she got home. Micah is getting so big its hard to believe. Soon he will be sitting up. Can't wait to see them at Christmas!!!!




After leaving Wendy's we visited grandma in Arnold. We helped with some chores, took her to town to shop and did some sight seeing of the lakes in the area.

Well its home again in time for Thanksgiving! There is nothing better in life than family!!!!!!!!!!!!

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

October13, at sea
We had our midnight chocolate extravaganza.........mmmmmm!

October 14, Haalf Moon Cay, Bahamas

Holland America owns this little Cay. It was our last stop before Florida. We spent the day swimming and the ship put on a huge barbeque. And no that sn't Jim in speedos! Tomorrow DISNEY WORLD!

St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

October 11, at sea

October 12, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

We had a good time here. We went on a tour of part of the islands. We had a chance to stop at Megby beach and swim for a couple of hours. Then we headed to Blackbeards Castle. It was interesting they had alot of statues and a great view of the harbor. I guess all pirates picked a place with a view of the harbor. We saw houses of some people like Shaq etc.... Then we headed into town to walk around and shop. The fauna was incredible.

Willemstad, Curacao

October 9, At sea

October 10, Willemstad, Curacao

A beautiful little island, so colorful! We took a tour of the city and went to a liquor factory. The beaches were pristine. The rest of the day we went shopping downtown in the colorful district near the pontoon footbridge.

Happy Anniversary

October 8, Panama Canal

What a wonderful anniversary! Here is what we looked like all day out on the deck of the ship. Later that evening we celebrated with our table friends. We took this photo next to one of the beautiful arrangements that the ship got in Costa Rica. The flowers were gorgious. I'm so lucky to have such a great guy!!!!!!!!

Panama Canal

October 8, Panama Canal

This was Jims favorite day. We spent most of the morning at the bow of the ship seeing the locks.
We entered on the Pacific Ocean side, you then go through 3 locks raising the ship about 85 feet. Then you sail through about 50 miles of canals and a huge lake in the middle of Panama. On the Atlantic side we went down another 3 locks into the Atlantic Ocean.

Gulfo Dulce

October 6, Gulfo Dulce at sea

Today we were actually at sea all day. We were cruising through Gulfo Dulce. It was very beautiful, tropical forest all the way down to the ocean. Even though we were quarantined part of the day it didn't maatter we just sat out on the balcony and enjoyed the view. There were about a dozen private estates that were incredible. We joked and decided that in such a poor country these homes must belong to either politicians or drug lords.

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

October 6, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Today we had planned a shore excursion into the canopy in the jungle. Jim however was sooooo sick all night that he was unable to leave the ship. I however left the ship as soon as possible to go for the canopy ride knowing that Jim was going down to the ship hospital and would be quarantined. Costa Rica was beautiful. I rode on a bus through the city and out into the jungle where the canopy trip was like a giant ski lift through the jungle. In the city all the homes had bars on all the windows and doors. I asked if crime was a problem. The guide said that the Nicaraguans come across the border and rob the people and the homes.

The excursion was awesome, I saw beautiful flowers as brilliant as you see in Hawaii. We saw many colorful birds and learned all about the rainforest ecosystem. It was a long day but fun. I was anxious to get back and see how Jim was feeling.




Here are a couple of Tucans in the trees.



As soon as I got back on board ship I was quarantined also. We were given ship board credit of 150.00 each for every 24 hours we had to stay in the room. Free room service was also provided, full dining room meals. It wasn't so bad we had a great balcony for sight seeing. We received a letter saying they were sorry we were ill and that they appreciated of staying in our room to prevent the illness from spreading on the ship. They also said that if we chose not to stay in the room we would be disembarked at the next port.

San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

October 5, San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua

The port looked really nice from the ship, however upon arrival we found only the first row of businesses or bars were nice. If you went even one street away from the shore it was all boarded up buildings and very trashy. Along the main street lots of people were selling things on tables. They got too pushy for us one person even grabbed my arm when I tried to walk away. Jim wasn't feeling very well so we decided to go back to the ship. I must say that the environment was incredibly beautiful but we just didn't feel safe.