Cruisin' Part Deux

It will seriously take me forever to post about this vacation. I have 627 photos to go through, vertigo to somehow deal with, a Pudgie boy who is congested and piles and piles of laundry that somehow procreated on board that fabulous ship we sailed on.

I have to start out by saying that this family is seriously FORTUNATE. Tommy works his tail off for the things we have and the standard of life we live. This trip surely showed our kids how privileged they are to have a house with a/c, let alone running water in it. Jax was the one that was most aware of surroundings but Brinkley noticed little things. The most notable was the little girl that I tried desperately to photograph, sleeping on top of a car. She was maybe 5. Brinkley immediately worried for her. Then she wondered if she even had a bed to sleep in. "Be thankful little girl," was all I could even choke out of my mouth as we drove by her in our air conditioned suburban.

Our FIRST DAY at sea was breath taking. The kids wandered non-stop with us. Exploring Carnival Cruise Lines newest ship, 'The Splendor', became Jax and Brinkley's main form of entertainment for the entire week. I know most will be in shock, but we let the two of them go out, alone, but together, when ever they wanted to. Jax is big enough to protect his little munchkin of a sister and Brinkley is mean enough to hold her own. Dinner was casual and we just enjoyed learning all we could about the ship.DAY TWO brought on all kinds of fun. Tommy's birthday was the main event and then hitting the schacuzzi (as Binky calls it) was next on our list. Pudgie fell in love with the water slide on the top deck and Jax was amazed that he could amble up to the bar, give them his sail and sign card and get a virgin pina colada whenever he wanted to. (NOTE TO SELF: Do not ever tell your children they are signers with free reign on a sail and sign card aboard a cruise ship!!!)

We all played dress up for the elegant dining experience in the Black Pearl Dining Room. This only happened one time the entire cruise so we were glad to get a few good pictures out of the experience.Later that night, we were slipped notes under our door. A tropical storm was unavoidable and the ship would be hit with some serious weather.

DAY THREE brought on the storm. The waves were amazing to watch slamming against the massive ship and feeling the rocking of the boat lulled me to sleep on the balcony off and on during the day. I absolutely loved it, right along with Brinkley. Tommy and Jax... not so much. Dramamine and their beds became their buddies for the afternoon. The sway of the boat was the best thing to me... until we finished our cruise and the earth was still rocking on dry land. That is a whole other story for Brinkley and I to tell.

DAY FOUR took us to:
PUERTO VALLARTA~
We opted out of every ship excursion even though I had saved for almost 10 different ones. We took the advice of many and just exited the boat to find the local tours for 1/10 the cost of the ships prices! We drove through downtown, to flea markets, old town, to the Tequila factory where they gave us samples of REAL tequila that has not been Americanized. This stuff was delicious and I can't gag Tequila down for dollars I tell you! Off to the set of Predator to eat and watch zip liners and see the pools from the waterfalls. Jax's favorite part was when he would get his free gold charms in each port to add to his collection Grampie Frank has started for him. I bought him a beautiful 18kt gold dog tag as a token of being such an amazing son and brother while we were there. A little more shopping and we were set to re-board our ship and get into the cool a/c of the Splendor. I have to say, it was really funny to see the parking lot of ships when we were docked. My kids and I will probably never really understand how those ginormous puppies float! We were over an hour and a half late leaving port. We watched with curiosity as they off-loaded a person from the ship into a waiting ambulance. Off and sailing we were... on our way to Mazatlan.MORE TO COME FROM OUR NEXT STOP!!!

Cruisin'

Here are a few pis of our week at sea. I don't feel too well, but when I do, boy do I have tons to write about!!!!

A LOVE LETTER

BIRTHDAY PRESENT #2

It is officially your birthday today. I know we are loving every second we are sharing right now. 100% family time and then some. I am sure we are eating til our tummys hurt and then eating some more. Hopefully we are playing until we are out of breath and then resting like there is no tomorrow.

I am sure that there is sunshine galore. I am sure wherever we go you are lacing your fingers with mine as we walk the decks of the Splendor.

I am sure all three of our babies are having a blast. They, undoubtely, are making friends one after the other.

I am sure our shopping is getting out of control and someone has gotten sunburned.

I can take bets as to how many people are staring at Brinkley's pink and blue hair.

I have no doubt in my mind that we are loving life like never before.

And I know, no matter where we are, I am loving you!

Happy Official Birthday Day!

Love,
DeAnna

~EMBARKING~

My mom made a list of spelling words for Jax. He was distraught, to say the least, that he had to look them up to find out what the heck they meant.

There must have been 30 words.

I thought it was pretty cool. Even if it is fall break, learning about our trip is beyond important.

So we are "embarking" on our trip and I am sure he will love watching "tug boats" off the "bow" or the "stern" or "port side."

Because once we get to sailing....it is all about the water slides, food and fun on that baby!! And we already know the definitions to those words!!!

Lies~

I wrote about how songs take me back, instantly, here . It happened again this morning, at the most inopportune time for me. I was getting my nails done, after the dentist. I was not exactly a, "happy camper," you might guess.

Sarah McLachlan's, "In the Arms of the Angels," came on. It was a flash. And I started to get tears.

Al.

Tommy asked for him, in his moment of weakness and sheer confusion when I was in the trauma room. Many stood stunned and confused?

He was my partner in crime. My back up and my friend. My 3L16 while I was his 3L17. We worked our asses off Wednesday through Friday, mid watch 11:00AM to 9:00 PM so we could fluff off all day Saturday when it was slow.

We used to tour model homes in between calls. We would look at how they were decorated and get ideas. We were both building new houses at the same time. He would talk about Nieko, his Shiba Inu puppy he was training and I would talk about the color of my new leather couch. We rambled about our loves. Mine, Tommy. His, Gracie. We we inseparable until I moved beats and tested for motors.

I remember one afternoon we met at Chaparral Suites after I was a day motor. He wanted me to show him what we had to learn during motor school. I did the circle in the square between parking spaces. He rode motorcycles and wanted to try. Of course I would never let someone do that, that was not certified....;) (He never did get that bike to do a circle in the square!!) I loved Al. He was like the brother I never had and the partner that would never let me get hurt on duty.

He was the first person to teach me about, "The Body for Life." And how to smile through anything. God how I loved him. He was one guy that Tommy never questioned his intentions behind our friendship. Al was a stand up guy and Tommy loved him too!

Al died when I was almost 5 months pregnant with Brinkley. A random freak motocross accident on the track. They buried him in his police uniform. It was him. It was fitting. He loved being a cop. And he was a great cop.

For years, anyone who knew about this, asked me if I had any kind of, "out of body experience?" I lied. I lied to everyone who asked and anytime they asked I held back the tears by biting my cheeks, hard. I didn't want to talk about that with family, friends, or just random people, let alone shed tears in front of them. I lied often and I lied well about it.

Not exactly the thing I am most proud of in life.

Today, it hit me. Hard.

I did have that, "experience," or I, "saw something," or however some may describe it. I just never talked about it or told anyone...not even Tommy, which is strange because although Al had died nearly a year before I tried to, Tommy asked for Al in that trauma room when I was dying.

In the blink of an eye I was back there. Remembering. Reliving it all, as I was sitting at my nail salon.

I heard the drill again, I heard the nurses and I heard Dr. Wachtel. It was all the same...

but this time I let it finish.

The song was playing from Al's funeral on the radio while the drill was whirring away on my nails. I felt frozen to my memory of Al.. but it was not his funeral we were at. It was my trauma room.....

and he was there. He was holding my hand. Smiling. I wanted to leave with him. He stood firm. It was hours it seemed. No words. A smile and holding hands and then I finally turned to leave.

The next time I woke up, I was looking at a Priest, my Dad and Tommy.

I am not proud of the fact that I have lied about this for almost 8 years but it was something I could not bear to discuss with anyone.

It was mine.

A memory, a moment, a chance encounter that saved my life. Today, I am thankful for that second chance Al. So much more that I can express.

I am also thankful for my Dr. and friend who is giving me the courage to open up about this through the faith he is instilling in me everytime I visit him and he prays for me!

~BIRTHDAY MONTH~

BIRTHDAY PRESENT #1!!!

Dear Tommy,

This is officially our 11th birthday of yours that we will be spending together. I am amazed every single day how each and every day is going by faster and faster than the last.

I must say that this year, while our most exciting yet, has also been our most trying. It has made us grow and change in ways that only keeps us going and makes this crazy thing called marriage so much stronger than ever!!

We have come into our own over the course of the birthdays we have celebrated together and I love all the traditions we have started because of this life we lead.

Thank you for introducing me to the infamous, "Birthday Month!" I think this is the greatest gift ever. The fact that we are a family of 5 makes our year so much fun. No matter what we do to celebrate, we always have a blast doing it! I think this year, your birthday month TRUMPS everyone elses birthday but I love that Jaxi and I finally really surprised you tonight. I think that we may have watch connoisseur #2 on our hands when Jax saw this baby!

Not only do I Love You more than words can explain, but your three little crumb snatchers do, as well. You make every morning amazing, especially Sunday breakfast when I am sleeping in. Then there are the days that we have a few minutes of alone adult time, that you make unforgettable.

Here's to many, many more birthday months together. (along with an amazing few remaing weeks of this one as well!!!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

All my Love,
DeAnna

~ IT'S ALL JUST STUFF ~

What would you take if you literally had seconds to get out of your house?

I had never ever once thought about that until an hour ago when Southwest Gas advised us to evacuate our house immediately. IMMEDIATELY. Do not touch the microwave, light switches, anything electrical....JUST EVACUATE THE HOUSE, NOW! (Just a not so funny side note... I literally had just finished microwaving last night's Oregano's leftovers, turned on the kitchen lights, and Jax was happily playing his XBOX 360 via remote..... all the while I was on my cell phone texting. Nothing at all like living dangrously through electricity!! SHEESH!)

A crew was quickly dispatched to our address. So we sat anxiously waiting... outside, together.

Boy did I feel like a triple grade A ass. My garage has been smelling gross all week. I thought it was the garbage can and the food all the neighborhood kids had been throwing into it. I washed it out three times but that didn't help. I kept looking for a dead animal, wrappers from something... anything... I just couldn't figure out what the smell was. I literally thought nothing of it because I have had kids in and out of my garage all week since the weather was changing. I seriously thought I had a dead mouse, somewhere.

Then it hit Tommy and I both, at exactly the same time, like a brick, this morning when we took my truck to get new window tint.

Eggs. Rotten Eggs.

Our entire house, not just the garage anymore, was smelling like rotten eggs.

We quickly got the kids and Dozer out of the house and waited...... and that was when the reality of STUFF set in with our kids.

"Mom, what about my necklace? What if our house explodes and I lose my necklace? My T.V.? My this and that." It went on and on. We calmly explained priorities to the kids and with Jax, our smarter than smart guy, we explained home owner's insurance.

We literally scurried out of the house with clothes on our backs and I grabbed my purse so I had my debit card, just in case, ....... and we waited and waited.

Tommy and I were not really that worried... at least I don't think he was. Maybe I was a little, but I just laughed a lot as to not worry the crumb-snatchers. They were consumed with eating all the ice-cream Tommy had grabbed for them. You see, gas scares me. The thought of explosions and fire just freak me out, especially when it comes to my house.

The kiddies were slightly freaked and we had to explain that, "STUFF IS STUFF. IT IS ALL REPLACEABLE!" Even though some stuff really is not. I didn't care. Pictures, computers, clothes, toys... nothing mattered to me at that point, except 3 munchies and their father. (Brinkley was hysterical we left her cat inside. We justified it by saying the garage door was open, there was a breeze and no chance of electrical sparks from switches since we were all outside. Then I thought about the A/C units turning on, but did not even mention that!)

My kids were outside and we were together and yep.... we actually had a gas leak that they fixed immediately. Thank you Southwest Gas man.

No harm no foul, even if my house still stinks, now I know...and so do the kids.....

STUFF IS STUFF AND I HAD NO PROBLEM LEAVING EVERY SINGLE THING BEHIND.......

even my diamonds.................

~#4 for us~

When Tommy and I were in Las Vegas, my girlfriend Susan and I laughed about how I am 38 years old and I no longer had a car to call my own.

Really, it has been since May that I have not owned a car. It is nice that I have not had to make payments (but I didn't have payments before I traded in our Excursion either) but Tommy started getting antsy since we need a vehicle to seat 7 come October.

I am not complaining at all. You see, I actually think it is funny all the looks I am getting when the people in my neighborhood drive by. It appears that we are either the Soprano family of our neighborhood, I have an illegal job that pays a lot of money under the table, or every car Tommy stops at work comes home with us and we get to drive them around for awhile..... Don't I wish!!!

I mean after all, we went from this one......

to this one........to this one......and now, we have finally made a match. I fell out of Love with the white one almost 3 weeks into our relationship. She was cheating on me and I don't take kindly to that. The problem then arose that Escalades are hard to come by right now. In May they were a like sunshine in AZ on a July afternoon.... EVERYWHERE. Today, unfortunately, not so much. I was not willing to pay a shipping company to ship a "used in the snow vehicle" either. I probably could have taken serious advantage of this situation and just driven loaner after loaner until the end of the year, but that was getting kind of old.

This morning Tommy got all of us up for family breakfast out. We ate and laughed and enjoyed our family time. This was the first time our entire family has really eaten a meal together in 12 days. We needed this time together to basically catch up and to see that Jax is growing so much he is capable of eating a double cheeseburger at Village Inn.....That really scares me!

Then off to pick up this pretty girl.

I really think it is gonna work out this time. I even have a temporary tag on her this time, when all the others had a dealer plate. I took the time to bathe her and polish her up. After all, all girls love their tootsies all shiny and bright. I found myself talking to her a little too... and Dozer jumped right in and slobbered on the back seats as a sign of true love for this red hot lady! Not keeping my fingers crossed or putting my whole heart into her yet, but I think she is the one..........

After all, I thought that the 3rd time was supposed to be the charm, but being the family that we are.... maybe it is the 4th time for us!!!!.

I told Tommy if this does fall through, I am getting a bug and the kids can walk.......I am so over this whole new car thing.

~BOYZ NIGHT OUT~

Happy Birthday Grampie Jensen!

Tommy wanted to take all the boys out for a baseball game to celebrate Grampa's birthday today. With the help of a friend, they had phenomenal seats, it was bobble head night, everyone was decked out in their Diamondbacks attire........but to top it all off.....

Grampa caught a foul ball and gave it to Jax!!

About halfway through the game Tommy sent me a text message to tell me that our family flirt..Pudgie man... was up to his typical tricks. He has a way of smiling at pretty girls and just flat out saying, "Ohhh Pudgie likes her!" all the while nodding his sweet little blonde head, flashing his baby blues and trying to get closer to the girl. Well, suffice to say, it worked, it always works. Within minutes the players wives and girlfriends were feeding Pudgie nachos and sharing treats with him. Tommy drew the line at Pudgie kissing the girls good-bye. This kid is gonna be trouble but at least he is picking the hot chicks!!!

The boys came home grinning ear to ear talking non-stop about the game, food, playing on the toys, the bobble heads and Grampa's foul ball.

I wish we had enough tickets for the girls to join but I am thankful that the boys got their time together. Tommy and his dad never really do anything at all together and that makes me so sad. I am hoping that tonight was the first of many boys' nights out because I know how much times like these mean to Tommy.

*ROCKIN KIX*

Growing up, my mom always made random days very special for me. We would do a Mom and daughter day and it would be all about us. It was a little harder for her with two girls and some days we did the special thing with all three of us, but no matter how we went about our girls day... it was always awesome.

I was more than happy to have just one daughter. When Binky was born, the big thing for me was... I had a daughter to decorate. Tommy proudly boasted that Binky was always, and I mean always, decorated to the hilt. She would sit for hours while I did her hair and we would go out together and people would always comment on what a doll with her hair done up like a celebrity she was. Thinking back I will always remember the piggies that took hours to separate to make perfect so I could finally get them to end in poofs on the sides of her head.

Now that she is 8, I want to make sure our Mommy and Daughter days are so special that she remembers them forever, just like I do.

When Tommy came up with the idea of Miley Cyrus tickets for her 8th birthday, I couldn't say no. I was not real sure if she would love it or just be bored. It was, after all, her first concert.

We planned for months how we were going to spend this very special day. It had to include our nails and toenails. Lunch. A new rockin' outfit for the concert of the century for girly girls. Hair do's and dinner. Most importantly, it had to be all about girls.

We started our day out taking the boys to school. She was all smiles when we loaded up and headed to our first appointment: mani's and pedi's. She was in relaxation heaven.

Next... A little Chic-fil-A to keep our energy up while we searched for the perfect outfit to dance in.

Then came the boots.

Then onto Victoria's Secret for lip gloss. Who knew they have brought back the roll on lip smackers lip gloss. Such a fan I am.

We hurried home to relax before it was time to get dressed. It was then that I locked my keys inside the Escalade truck that does not even belong to us. Go figure. On to changing out the truck for the real Escalade, that we have decided is not going to work for us... but she did get us to the concert in style......

Hair...check... make-up.....check.....clothing....check.... boys from school...check.... we were on our way.

After a quick drop off of the boys, Binky and I headed to Pf Changs for our dinner date. We laughed about the silliest things, took notice of the hot boys ambling around the restaurant, took bets on whether or not all the little girls at the restaurant were going to the concert. Hand in hand we headed to our final destination of the night....

Miley.

She rocked!

At 38, I am so not ashamed to say that the girl is awesome. She has definitely gone from the Hannah Montana innocent era to a little more risque...but I knew that was gonna happen.

Binky rocked to the Hoe Down Throw Down, Girls Night Out and all the other songs in between. Her concert ended with, "The Climb," which was simple and beautiful. It was a blast watching Brinkley socialize with all the little girls around us that she didn't even know and dance until she wore herself completely out.

I loved our entire day together. Binky is undoubtedly my concert girl. She loves loud music, singing and dancing and all the hustle and bustle of the crowds. This was her first and FOR SURE....will not be her last.

Our ride home was nearly silent. Less than 7 minutes on the surface streets and she was out like a baby. When we pulled into the garage she smiled and said she had so much fun. Two new concert T-shirts to start her collection and hopefully a lifetime of memories, all packed into one fun ~ filled day.

I have joked with many that I could have sold our tickets for a mint. There were parents in tears begging to buy seats at the doors. Although I actually paid a mint for these tickets, after seeing the pure delight in Brinkley's face all throughout the concert, I wouldn't have traded them for all the money in the world.

WAKING UP IN VEGAS

Vegas has become mine and Tommy's "it" spot. It is our place to get away from our kids and family and work and the house and all things....... AZ.

This trip was special. We went with about 25 friends and had actual plans. The only people, besides Tommy, that really mattered for me was Susan and Traci. Susan and I got together last week for a quickie little catch up, and planned this mini-vacay together. I had not seen Traci since my Junior year in high school so we knew it was going to be a reunion to remember!!

We had the time of our life. The laughter was non-stop. The 5 AM room service was to die for (seeing as that we had just crawled into our rooms, because our feet hurt so bad from our boots we were wearing) from a night of dancing and laughing on top of the PALMS casino. There were a couple times that liquid spilled out our noses from the non-stop laughter.

We simply had a blast re-hashing life and learning all about each other again. Tommy got to find out even more things about his wife that I guess I "forgot" to tell him about and he finally realized why Susan and I were inseperable all throughout school.

Vegas also brings out other feelings for Tommy and I. It happens at the most random times. This time is was 0600 hours on Saturday when we had just crawled into bed. We realized how amazing being married to each other really is. We watched some friends have a hideous fight at dinner. Then we watched singles who are just dating try to laugh it all off. Then there was the one going through a divorce. It was all really sad. Realizations that what we have is not perfect for some, but is perfect for us, hit home. For us, Vegas just gives us a breather from the life that we work so hard to have and we love more than anything.

We are still recovering from our lack of sleep. I think we got enough fresh air on top of the Palms Casino. We surely did not have enough water.... but when in Vegas...........well.... if you don't know the rest....