We're Cruisin' To Alaska!

Only two days left before we leave on the most exciting summer vacation we've ever taken! Joshua's parents are treating our family to an Alaskan cruise aboard the ms Noordam! His parents and sister are coming as well, so we'll just be one big, happy family! (I hope!) The cruise ship leaves from Seattle, WA on July 1 and will have us back on July 8. We're going a couple of days early to see some sights in Seattle, and visit some wonderful friends, Brian and Lindsey Jacobs, who now live in a suburb of Seattle. For those of you who know Brian and Lindsey, they have four kids now! I'm excited to get a Lindsey hug! We leave on Thursday, so we've been running around all weekend doing last minute shopping. I was already in the early stages of packing yesterday, so hopefully I won't be up too late on Wednesday trying to get everything done! I probably will anyway! I always do that. :-( Packing for this trip has proved to be a monumental task! Because we're headed for Alaska, the weather will be somewhat "rugged!" I checked the weather forecast in all the cities we'll be docking in, and it looks like it will never be any warmer than 60 F (15 C). And I don't think we'll see the sun very often either - there was a lot of clouds and rain in the forecast! But, I'm not complaining....we're going on a cruise, baby! So, we're packing everything from swimsuits (indoor pool), casual clothes, jackets and mitts, to formal wear! At least two outfits per day and three on some days! There are two formal dinner nights, so we had fun shopping for that one! I finally found that perfect "little black dress" and I just love it! We will be docking in Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka and Victoria, BC. I'll share details later, but the on-shore excursions we've booked include whale-watching, walking on a glacier, a salmon bake, kayaking, a zip-line expedition through the rain forest, The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, and a semi-sub boat tour! The more strenuous, adventurous sounding ones will be Joshua and his Dad only! The kids and I are doing stuff like the Lumberjack show! Grandma and Auntie Shannon are going on a couple loooong nature hikes and I knew little legs would never be able to handle that! So, keep us in your prayers that everyone will be safe! I know it will be an amazing time and I'm so ready to get away from normal life for awhile. I will post plenty of pictures and stories when we return!

In other news....the kids had their last gymnastics class for the season on Friday. The last class of each 10 week session is always fun because the kids get to roam the gym and do whatever they want! There's always a pretty good scattering at the beginning, but as time goes on, you can see the definite favourite spots! There's always a line-up at the trampoline, the rope swing, and the high jump into the pit of foam blocks! Nobody wants to walk the balance beams! Anyway, here's a few pics of Sara and Sky showing off their stuff! Sky does an amazing job on the pommel horse! He has very strong arms!