Sailing in the Open Sea

Once we set sail we had two full days at sea. It was so fun. I always thought I would be sitting on a deck reading book after book and relaxing if I ever went on a cruise. That was so not the case! There was so much to do on the ship! There were so many activities and movies and so much food to eat, and oh my goodness. I knew we were on a ship with tons of kids, but there were so many things going on that it hardly seemed like we saw any kids! The only time that we really were aware of kids was at dinner time. They have so many areas on there that keep them busy and there are even "kids only" places! 

Sunday, we all met together in a room named Outlook and had a Family Home Evening. It was nice to be together and it helped it seem more like the Sabbath. 

That night was the formal night. Our dinner was in Animator's Palate. It is so amazing the technology and entertainment they have on this ship. It was so much fun!  

Jason & Elizabeth

 For dinner we sat with either Jason and Elizabeth or Brenda and David. We love all of them and enjoyed sitting with them and catching up!

It was quite the party!!  

Almost everyone was up on their feet and enjoying the party!

Hixson Family Cruise 2013

This year we had the greatest opportunity to join Vaughn's family on a week long cruise! This cruise had been in the works for about a year and a half and we opted out of it. In the initial planning stages, we knew we would be having or have a new baby, and we didn't know if I would even be able to go, depending on how far along I was, or pay extra to take a baby with us. So we just put it out of our minds and forgot about it. At least I did. 

Fast forward to two weeks before the cruise. I had taken my bff's kids to their basketball games when Vaughn called. I was talking with a friend and didn't want to be rude, so I sent him to voicemail. He called again and again and finally I got a call from his brother, Aaron. At that point I knew I had better answer the phone. 

He had the craziest idea that we should go on the cruise. I was worried about Taysom and being away from him, since I am still nursing, but I told Vaughn we could make it work, if he REALLY wanted to go. 

The next two weeks it was a whirlwind of trying to find care for four kids! It was stressful, but we figured it out and we felt good about it. Taysom would be split between Malita and Tiffany. Malita on the weekends and Tiffany during the week. Malita stayed at our house and took Drew to and home from school. We took Mason and Sam down to my parents and they stayed with them for the week. I felt like this was the best option, so that not just one person was bombarded with four extra kids.  

We flew out early Friday morning. The trip was interesting. Trying to pump in an airport bathroom was really uncomfortable! I survived, but it nearly broke my heart each time I had to dump the milk. I think that was the hardest part about being away from Taysom. We flew from Salt Lake to Minneapolis and then on to Orlando.  

Once arriving in Orlando we board the Magical Express! The weather was so nice! It was in the 70's and it was so awesome to leave behind the snow and frozen rain in Idaho and Salt Lake. The cruise we were going on was the Disney Fantasy. The beautiful thing about Disney is we had these tags on the bags and the Disney employees takes care of your bags at every step of the way! They took them from the airport to our hotel room and were in our room waiting for us later that night! Then the next morning they took our bags from our room and took them directly to the ship and into our rooms! It was so hassle free! 

We stayed at the Art of Animation in Walt Disney World and it was amazing to see how they have incorporated so many movies into this hotel. There were so many cool things to look at and to see. I don't think we saw half of what they had. 

Jessica, Magen, Austin, McKay and Emma

This was the elephant cemetery from Lion King.  

Emma, McKay, Magen, Vaughn, Disney worker, David, Brenda, Austin and Jessica

This worker was beyond amazing! He found out that my nephew, Johnathan, had some homework that he had to turn in before losing the internet connection on the ship, and that he was having issues with the laptop, so he offered to let Johnathan come down to the back room where only employees are allowed and do his homework there! He also was asking us trivia and award us with stickers and even a couple of stuffed Disney characters! He definitely went above and beyond with customer services!  

Even though it was getting late in Orlando time, we decided we wanted to go and see Downtown Disney. We figured that we are only there for that night and why not go see what was down there. It made us parents feel like we were young again! Plus being with all the teenagers and young adults helped too!

Vaughn, me, Jessica, McKay, Brenda, David, Austin, Emma and Magen

On the shuttle to Downtown Disney. Once we were down there it it was pretty dark, but that didn't stop us from taking pictures and goofing off! We saw some really neat stuff and I am really glad that I convinced Vaughn to come with us. He wanted to stay at the hotel and go to bed, but I think he is glad he went.

One of Sam's favorite princesses!

Cinderella!! 

And her other favorite!

Sleeping Beauty!

While we were there some ate dinner and some ate dessert and we walked around a little more. Even though they didn't close for another hour or so, it was pretty dead. We decided that we probably should head back and get a little bit of sleep before waking up super early to get to the ship.

The next morning we woke up early (for our time at least) and met the rest of the family out front to catch our chartered bus to the ship. It was amazing to see all 32 of us and the amount of luggage that we all had!  

Mom and Dad Hixson 

Us!

I'm not going to lie. I was SUPER nervous about going on this cruise. I have never been on one and I have seen Titanic one too many times. I had full on panic attacks and had to remind myself to breath. I was so sure that we were going to end up on the bottom of the ocean. I tried to tell people not to pack so much, because the heavier the ship was, the faster we'd sink. Nobody listened. As we were driving to the ship I told my bil Chris that I was afraid it would sink and he said, "No, it's too big to sink." I said, "that's what they said about the Titanic!!" He probably thought I was kidding, but no. I was serious. I know it's lame to be so afraid of something like that, but man oh man. I was.  

The boarding process was so easy! I was so surprised! I thought we would be standing in lines for hours!! The longest line we stood in was to take a picture with Minnie with the replica of the ship! 

The entrance onto the ship was so cool! They had workers standing in two lines and as each family entered, they give you a warm welcome! I loved hearing, "Welcome Aboard Hixson Family!" The atrium was beautiful and very elegant. There were so many times that I  leaned over to Vaughn and said, "oh ______ (fill in one of our children's name) would love that! We definitely were missing our kids, but then seeing kids at the end of the day. Exhausted and throwing fits, made us not miss our kids. It definitely didn't look like a vacation for some of the parents with small children! Especially, if we would have had to go back to the cabin early each night for bed times we would have missed so much!

 Our cozy room!

 It really was a great size for the two of us and even if we brought a couple of the kids with us! Since ours was an inside cabin we had a video port hole. It really was amazing! Looking at the bed from this direction we really were facing the back of the ship, so our view was always the ship's wake. We peeked into a room facing the other way and it showed where the ship was going. It really was amazing and made the room feel so much bigger! 

While we were waiting for everyone to board we found the Eye Scream parlor! It had the absolute best strawberry ice cream! We found this comfy patio furniture and just sat and waited for the fun to really begin!

As we were leaving the port!  

The ships horn played several different tunes! It was awesome and so loud from where we were standing! Click on HERE to hear it. It is pretty amazing! 

Shortly after setting sail, it was time to go down for dinner. They had two assigned dinner times and we had the first one with all of the Hixson party. They have three restaurants on board and you rotate through them. Your servers rotate with you and so you really can get a good chance to get to know them!  

Sarah Jessica Parker

It's always been a joke that we needed to get a picture of all three of them, and we finally had them all together to do it!  

Our first night we were in the Royal Court. We were in a private room and it was so nice! The menu was definitely things that you don't get to eat every day. I told myself that I would step out of my box and try some of the different things. That night I tried duck, wild boar and rack of lamb. Some people may eat those all the time, but it was a new experience for me! I was surprised about the duck. It was surprising good. Which made me think...maybe the Robertson's on Duck Dynasty are on to something!!

After dinner we wanted to get a picture of everyone on the stairs in the atrium. Unfortunately, most people took off for one reason or another, so here is who was there. The obedient ones! Ha, just kidding!

Basketball

This year Drew was old enough to play basketball at the rec center. He was so excited and was randomly put on a team. He knew just a couple of the kids on the team, but he quickly made friends. His team was coached by an amazing coach, who is also the girls high school basketball coach. The team had practice for a half hour before the games and they went undefeated! Drew made several baskets throughout the season and really loved being out on the court.

Its blurry, but he made the shot!  

Mason wanted a picture of him taken, so I said ok, but I get to pose you. He said ok, so here's a picture of Mason!

The last game of the season. He was sad that it was over, but so excited to get the ribbon and a cookie that looked like a basketball. Oh the simple pleasures! 

Taysom loved being in the noisy gym. He has a really high pitch squeal when he talks and he was able to just squeal to his hearts desires! 

So Sweet!

Once in a while Sam and Mason are so sweet to one another. Usually, they are rough housing and chasing each other. So when I see they are getting along so well it almost makes me want to cry!

Idaho Falls & Blowouts

 This last Friday, Taysom and I decided to go on a road trip to Idaho Falls. My Uncle Marlow's Mother passed away and they were having a funeral for her Rigby. My mom was going to go up to it and so I decided we'd go over too. 

I decided I would take Vaughn's car since he would have the three other kids and it turned out it was not a good choice on my part. I was probably 40 minutes into the two hour drive when I realized that the car was not getting warm. Taysom was bundled up in his car seat and I really wasn't that cold, so I decided to just keep on going. 

By the time I got to Idaho Falls I was frozen!! I couldn't really move my fingers and my toes...oh boy! They were icicles! I sent out a post on FB asking if anyone knew of any mechanics open for the next day, a Saturday, and literally in no time at all, I received a call from an old friend that grew next door. He lives in Idaho Falls and had been contacted by his sister in-law that saw my post. He was so very kind and asked if I had a place to stay and if I needed a ride. I told him I was ok and with my mom. He told me of some places to go and if I couldn't get it figured out that he could fix it for me. I was so grateful for his willingness and told him I would let him know, but I was sure I could get it figured out with the information he gave me.

Don't mind the gross dust on the dash!

The thermostat broke and it has a fail safe feature that just turns off the heat, so the car doesn't overheat. 

Saturday morning we drove out to Driggs to go to the funeral. We got there early enough to go to the viewing and for me to feed Taysom before it started. Right after I fed him he had a MAJOR blowout! It was everywhere!! I finally got him changed and back into the chapel just as it was about to start.

Taysom and I headed home after eating lunch at Jimmy Johns with my mom and decided that in the day time it wouldn't be as cold, and so I could make it home and not freeze. I couldn't have been more wrong! I was almost frozen before I even got to Pocatello! Taysom was bundled up nice and cozy in his car seat and he slept the whole way there and back. 

When I got back to Jerome, my legs and toes were dark purple!! It seriously took all night for me to get the full feeling back in them! Even with all of this, I am glad that we went. We had fun and it was nice to see some cousins and my aunt and uncle. 

So I think this church outfit of his is cursed! After getting home, I scrubbed the outfit and got it all nice and clean for him to wear the next day. Right when we got home he had another blow out!! This kid and his blowouts. Seriously, so gross!

Citizen of the Month

Today, when Drew came home from school today was so excited to tell me that he had been made Citizen of the Month. Not just once but twice in December! I didn't even know that was possible! His teacher, Mr. Avery, chose him for the award and the playground teacher, Mrs. Butts, also picked him! He was so excited! Grandma Linkenhoker was excited for him as well and promised him that she would take him to dinner, to a place of his choice, the next time we went down to Utah.

Taysom's First Cereal

Taysom had his 4 month check up this last Friday and I was told to start Taysom on cereal. I really didn't want too, but I figured I would do it once to see how he liked it.

He was not a fan. None of my kids have liked the cereal.

After gagging down most of it, I felt I had subjected him to enough torture. I got him all cleaned up and he then threw it all back up. It was pretty gross!

At his appointment he weighed 15 lbs! He is sleeping through the night and is a very laid back, happy baby. He loves to smile, talk and laugh. His laugh is contagious and is like a toddlers laugh! His brothers and sister are usually happy to help me with him, and love holding him and giving him hugs and kisses.

Taysom & Max

I've caught Max a few times in the past few months over by Taysom's crib, gently smelling him! Tonight we had Taysom sit next to Max and pet him. It was so sweet to see Max be extra gentle with him and Taysom wasn't too sure what to think, but he pulled his ears and his hair!

I bet this is the beginning of a life long friendship!

Sleeping Taysom

After a long weekend of people being sick and the holiday, it felt like we needed a vacation to get past the long dreary weekend! Taysom must have felt it too, because he slept a lot the week after New Years.

New Years

The week between Christmas and New Years was pretty uneventful. The kids and I hung out around the house and played games, watched movies, read books, and just enjoyed not having to do the running around which has since become our life!

We were all looking forward to New Years, because my mom was coming! Wahoo! We were so excited! And then Sam got sick. She was sick for about a day and then it went away. Well Sunday almost right after church I started to feel not so great. I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I just didn't feel good at all. I knew that if my mom knew I was sick she would go home and I did not want that! We had waited all week for her to come and I wasn't going to let myself get sick. That is until about 4 am on Monday morning. It was really weird. I was sick for about six or seven hours and as soon as I got it all out of my system I was still a little queasy, but I felt better than I had. I was so glad that it passed so quickly. 

Monday, Vaughn woke up not feeling well. He had to call into work and his his day, but he did not even move during the day. He obviously got it a lot worse than I did. My mom planned on going home New Years Eve, so that she wouldn't get sick and I was selfish and talked her into staying. Since I was feeling better I was ready to go have fun and enjoy the New Year. 

She ended up staying and on Monday night we went to my Aunt Ilene's house to play games with her, my grandma, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Garth, Cindy, Carolyn, Ben and Nathan. We had so much fun and decided to celebrate the new at 10 pm since everyone was tired and I was feeling guilty that Vaughn was home alone on New Years. 

New Years day my mom came out of her room and said she was sick. I was so mad at myself that I had insisted that she stay longer with us. She probably wouldn't have been sick if I hadn't been selfish and just let her go. She left early that morning and made it home and spent the rest of the day in her bed. We were happy she was here, but not so happy that she picked up our germs.

Anyway, a week before Christmas or so, Vaughn and I were watching the food network and saw this recipe for a burger that looked so delicious! We decided to try and make it while my mom was here and it turned out sooo good! It tasted like a burger you could get at a fancy restaurant! Yum, Yum, Yum!!  Vaughn was in charge of it and he did a great job!!

This was a cajun pulled pork and coleslaw burger. 

It was soooo good!!!