I am so excited to relive this amazing adventure that Reggie and I were so blessed to embark upon this past spring! We knew about a year in advance that this trip of a lifetime was coming up, however, I don’t think it truly hit us until we saw it. Before I get to the incredible vessel that is the Norwegian Epic, I’ll first go back to the beginning. We flew from Indianapolis to Philadelphia, and then boarded the plane for our trans-Atlantic flight to Barcelona, Spain. Reggie has traveled to Spain when he was a young kid. I myself had never been there, so we were both looking forward to get a glimpse of this city. When we arrived it was very early in the morning, and it was rainy. And since we couldn’t yet board the cruise ship, we opted to stay on our airport shuttle for a driving tour of Barcelona. We got to see some of most popular points, like the amazing church that is under construction, Sagrada Familia. We drove through market and shopping districts, admiring the architecture and culture that is embedded in every square inch of Barcelona. In my sleepy haze, I took some photos and videos on my iPhone…which I need to go through! Before we knew it, we were back at the port of Barcelona to begin the embarkation process. I’ve seen cruise ships while traveling in Key West, however, I’ve never set foot on one, and merely driving up and seeing it and all of the process it takes to embark, it was really something! Once we boarded the ship, we found our room. We learned our luggage would be delivered later that evening, and, fortunately, everything arrived as promised. Our room featured a balcony, a few closets, plenty of drawer and cubby space, life jackets, and a complimentary bottle of champagne! It was time to go check out the ship, and we met a wonderful bartender by the pool who made THE best margaritas and mojitos! We enjoyed hearing about his life and how he came to work for Norwegian. By then our day of traveling had caught up with us, so we took a little afternoon nap, before attending a ship-wide, mandatory safety drill. They are serious about safety! There’s never a lack of anything to do aboard a cruise, there is always something going on somewhere! If you don’t want to get too social, you can always grab a snack, hang out by the pool, walk around, whatever your heart desires! Pro: They have self-serve ice cream machines! Con: They have self-serve ice cream machines! Ha ha! (There’s also a fitness center, a running track along one side of the ship, a rock climbing wall (which we both successfully completed!), and many, many staircases to test your endurance if you don’t want to take the elevators! Some days we’d try to beat our previous day’s stair climbing, thanks to Reggie’s cool techy watch!
By early evening, the ship’s horn sounded to signal that we were setting sail for the night. Everyone was invited to a Welcome Aboard Party, and to enjoy the views as we left the port of Barcelona. We had a Day at Sea (Day 2), and we met a wonderful couple (hi Shane and Donna!) and we decided to explore Naples with them the next day. Since we had a day to hang out on the ship, we climbed the rock wall, enjoyed time in the hot tub, and saw a show that evening called “Burn the Floor.” Reggie and I both like watching “So You Think You Can Dance”…and this show was crazy good! The dancers were all so very talented, and they performed a variety of dance styles. It was, in a word, spectacular! When we returned to our room that night, our cabin steward had left a towels folded into an elephant on our bed! (Note to self: search the art of towel folding on YouTube.)
In the morning, we woke up to the view of Mount Vesuvius. It was beautiful! A fantastic way to start Day 3, which was one of our favorite days! I’ll let the story of Day 3 unfold in a forthcoming post, so for now, here’s a sneak peek at the beautiful coast of Naples, Italy on our way to the charming town of Sorrento. Ok, first I have to mention that we decided to hire our own taxi driver. And we couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful way to see this part of Italy! Carlo was awesome! He was a stylish older man who came to feel almost fatherly to the 4 of us as the day went on. And the photos below are where he had us stop to take pictures and to try delicious, freshly pressed orange and lemon drinks! Stay tuned for more soon!!! Ciao!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Season’s Greetings! May this magical season fill you with peace and joy and hope for a Happy New Year! Thank you for making 2017 another amazing year of photographing your most treasured times, it is truly such an honor to witness and document engagements, weddings, the addition of new family members, and special milestones like graduating high school and anniversaries. Sharing all of these life moments with my clients is an incredible experience that I don’t take for granted. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much! A big thank you to my hubby, my family, and friends who have supported me and cared for our boys on so many occasions! Love you all so much!!!
And a blog post simply wouldn’t be complete without a photo or two…or many! 😉 It was a chilly day and some snowflakes were flying for a quick wintery session with my little loves! Remington and Emerson, thank you for being the best gifts we could ever dream of, we love you so much! xoxoxo
The boys’ adorable matching outfits (I never thought I would I love dressing them alike so much…not all the time, but they have a few matching outfits!) are from my parents…and my Mom custom-made their hats to match!
It seems like 2017 has flown by even faster than any other year! I can hardly believe that we were bringing home our second baby boy on Christmas Day in 2015! And now he’s turning 2 today! Last year on his 1st birthday, I remember rocking him at nap time, which was at his time of birth and my eyes filled with tears. The bittersweet kind of tears. He was entering the toddler phase, and leaving behind the infant and baby stage. Being Emerson’s mommy has been such a wonderful experience! He is a happy little guy, with a quiet and serious side at times. He loves to run around the kitchen table, just like his big brother Remington. And his favorite color is blue…blue trucks! Blue choo-choos! Blue shoes! He loves counting to 2! If there are two of something, he will let count them for you! He loves his blue (!) hippo, his soft white blankie, and his stuffed shoo-wahs (which is what he calls dinosaurs). He loves imitating noises and sounds. And sliding through my legs while wearing Mickey Mouse slippers is a favorite game he likes to play in the kitchen! I adore how he grabs my hand to lead me where he wants to go, or points to tell me where to sit. He simply fills my heart with so much love and happiness! His warm hugs, his adorable giggles, his little babbles and growing vocabulary keep us entertained and truly smitten each and every day!
Emerson Ray, we love you so much and we wish you a very Happy 2nd Birthday!!!
Wishing a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! We’ll be enjoying time with family, eating yummy food, and playing card games! I’m looking forward to a much needed break after a whirlwind of a fall season! And that means I have so much blogging to catch up on, from throughout the whole year, in fact! To my wonderful clients, thank you for the great honor of capturing your beautiful lives and joyful moments! To my “village” consisting of my amazing hubby, Reggie, my parents, family members, and dear friends who have helped with the boys and my crazy schedule…thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you and truly appreciate you all so much!!!
Here is a sneak peek at our own family photos, taken by the lovely and talented Stefanie of SB Childs Photography! She photographed our maternity session while we awaited Remington’s arrival, and it was such fun to have her document our family of 4 on a sunny autumn evening! We have sooo many favorites!!! What treasures you have given us! Thank you, Stefanie!!!
Dear Remington,
Five years ago, I became one of the luckiest moms in the world! Little did I know then how much you would change my life! You’ve blessed me and our family with your smiles and laughter, with your endless energy, with your creativity and excitement for everything around you. It seems like yesterday that we celebrated your 1st birthday at Forest Park, and you screamed and squealed with joy and glee with friends running around you as you smashed your first cake. With your love of animals, we surprised you by taking you to the zoo for the next few birthdays with feeding the giraffes being a highlight each time! This year, we thought you may be on to us with going to the zoo…so we switched it up and surprised you with a road trip to Columbus, Ohio to see one of your favorite animal enthusiasts and educators, Coyote Peterson. You were so excited! On this your 5th birthday, we wish you a day (and weekend!) full of fun, time with family and friends, and love beyond measure! We are so proud of you, especially for becoming such a great big brother for Emerson. My heart melts when I see the two of you playing, hugging, running, and laughing the way that you two do! You asked me once to tell about when you were born, and it was such a sweet moment for you and me, one that filled my heart with happiness to share with you. We both cried happy tears as I described those first 24 hours in the hospital to you. I won’t ever forget the story of the day you were born…each time I think of it, even now as I write this, it brings tears to my eyes…seeing you for the very first time and not being able to fathom how it would be to love someone so deeply. Thank you for being my amazing, sweet, funny, incredible Baby Bear, my Pumpkin Pie, my little Remington James! I love you so much, so much, so much…to the moon and back! xoxoxo, Mommy
