Cruisin' (Vacation Part II)

In case you missed it, Emma posted tons of pictures on facebook of our cruise, so I’m only including a select few in this post…

Early afternoon on Monday, we were actually on a cruise ship, called “Monarch of the Seas”. Poor boat is retiring in a few months because it’s so old—21 to be exact. Apparently, 21 in “ship years” is retirement worthy. Anyway, the boat was pretty big, or at least it seemed that way to me; it looked much different on the inside than I expected, too. Most of the afternoon was spent wandering around the ship. We eventually found our rooms. They were…tiny. But we had a cute window that made the room not feel claustrophobic J 

Being completely unplugged from technology was awesome, seriously. (I will admit, however, that is was odd not talking to Micah.) But not having our phones or internet was very…refreshing. There were no text messages that just had to get responded to, no facebook updating, no tweeting, no checking for “important” emails, no “google-ing” something just to prove a point...The good thing about this lack of technology?  We actually had to talk to each other!  We couldn’t all sit in the same room playing on our phones. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m VERY thankful for technology, especially since I’m 6+ hours away from my family and 3+ hours away from Micah…but it was a good reminder to “unplug” every once in a while!)

Anyway, back to being on a cruise ship. You can feel the boat move, a lot more than I thought. I’m not the most coordinated person ever (it’s possible I’m the LEAST coordinated person ever), but it was seriously hard to walk without falling over at times. Granted, I did have heels on part of that time, but nonetheless, I could definitely tell we were moving. After dinner on Monday night, we went to a comedy show. The comedian was funny, but Mark (the “cruise director”) was MUCH funnier! Here's our first night onboard...

Tuesday morning came quickly—we ordered room service for breakfast. Because ordering room service was an option! J We spent the day at Coco Cay, which is Royal Caribbean’s private island. It was beautiful—so, so, so beautiful! It’s 80 degrees, sunny, blue skies, fluffy white sand, and you just happen to be with 4 of your favorite people on planet Earth—that is perfection! We booked a Cabana for the day, so we had a couch, and some comfy chairs, too…we felt spoiled! Mid-morning, while lying on the couch, Dad says “I could do this for a living!” Lunch brought more delicious food—the grilled chicken was my favorite! And the fruit—oh, the pineapple was to die for!

Emma and I tried to use these “floating mats”, which was umm…epic failure. Supposedly, you could lay on these mats (in the water) without getting totally drenched. Well, these mats sunk—quickly. Maybe we exceeded the weight limit?? It was a cool concept if it would have worked J Thomas did some snorkeling, which he seemed to enjoy.

Mom, Thomas, Emma, and I all went parasailing. (Dad had gone parasailing with Mom on their previous cruise—he really doesn’t like heights and had no desire to go again. It’s a good thing he had not planned on it, though—his wrist would have stopped him!) Anyway, there were 4 groups of 2 that headed out in this boat. Thomas and Mom were the third group to go; Emma and I went last. Once Emma and I got all the way up (at which point, we were taller than our cruise ship), the guys on the boat started flicking the rope, which TOTALLY freaked Emma out. (Obviously, we were harnessed in and had handlebars to hold onto). While we were taking in the sights from far above the water…

Me: “What happens if you let go of the handles?”  

Emma: You DIE!

I did let go, and I’m still here J

When we started to descend, Emma says “Smile for the pictures—pretend that you like it!”

Once back on the boat, she says “I am NEVER doing that again. I thought I was going to die!” I thought it was pretty fun, though I would not go again with Emma J

That night, back on the ship, it was formal night. Dinner was one of my favorite things about the whole cruise, and not just because of the food! We got all dressed up, took some pictures, then enjoyed some impeccable food! {On this particular night, I ate this delectable beef and ordered 2 desserts. I only ate 1 of the desserts, promise!} After dinner, we put on more comfortable clothing, then headed to a musical show.

^^When we returned to our room after dinner, there was always a cute little animal on the bed! 

Wednesday morning, we slept in, had breakfast at the “Wind Jammer”, then got off the boat…in Nassau, Bahamas! It was an absolutely beautiful day—sunny & 70something. Our first stop of the day was at the straw market for {cheap} souvenirs. There were oodles of skinny aisles full of overcrowded booths and people saying “Pretty lady, pretty lady” because they wanted you to buy their crap. And they say “pretty lady” to everyone, regardless of how young, old, or non-thin you may be J  It was a little stressful at first. Emma really did not enjoy the straw market! I was able to get a few cute, random items…For lunch, we ate at Hard Rock Café. While we did spend approximately 6 hours on land, it still felt like we were moving. I concluded at the end of this day that I wanted to move to Nassau, partially because of the weather, but honestly because I could wear hippie dresses or long skirts & tank tops every day. And not wear makeup. Or do my hair. Seriously, I could get use to that! 

That afternoon, we found ourselves back on the ship, poolside. It was the “Casual Caribbean dinner” onboard. I have no idea what we ate that night J After dinner, there was a juggling comedian. Picture this: Some guy standing on a big exercise ball while juggling 4 bowling pins…Seriously, I won’t even try to explain all the cool things we saw that night, but I was impressed! At 11:30 pm {which is *several* hours past my usual bedtime}, there was a poolside party, complete with a buffet and dancing under the stars. Did I mention that the food presentation was incredible?

Sorry if the pig grosses you out, but I'm tellin' you--best pork I've ever had!

Thursday was our last full day of crusin’—we did lots of laying around, soaking up the sunshine! Somehow, I soaked up a sunburn…We bought our souvenir t-shirts, then had Mexican food for lunch—poolside, of course! Mom, Emma, and I walked on the track. Thomas, Emma, and I did some rock climbing that afternoon. And I actually made it to the top J The only thing I will tell you about dinner is that we had the most wonderful chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. I’m not a huge fan of cake, but this was phenomenal.

My parents...aren't they cute?

Friday morning came way, way, way too fast, and it was time to disembark. This vacation is definitely one of the best vacations we’ve ever gone on. Have I mentioned that I loved every single second I was able to have with my entire family?! This vacation was our last big vacation as a family of 5, and I’ll always treasure this time together...*tear* :) 

^^ Last breakfast at the Windjammer...

…You may be wondering why it took me so long to blog about the rest of our trip. I concluded that I would not post this until I had completely unpacked everything from this trip; truthfully, my suitcase wasn’t empty until about 2 weeks ago! 

Ok, I went a little picture happy...but this is the last one!

It's a Wonderful Life :)

 Over the weekend, my mom, sister, and Neva came to Illinois--it was a busy time for me, with clinical on Friday, then work Saturday and Sunday. But we still managed to squeeze in time for some fun :) After Neva's dr. appointment on Monday, we did a little shopping. I think we have found shoes for my bridesmaids, which is pretty exciting. They are fabulous, and will look great with their dresses!

This ^^ was today. It looks absolutely beautiful out there! And I came home today to a house that smelled most wonderful. Crockpot chicken chili was a hit with "the boys" {Sam and Jordan}. Thank you to my mom for throwing this in the crockpot this morning! I'll definitely make it again.

"Just" another weekend..."just" another Tuesday. But again, I'm doing my best to be intentionally thankful for this wonderful life that God has so graciously given me :)

A Weekend @ Home!

It’s time for another earth-shattering blog post :) This past weekend, I was able to go home {to WI} for a much-anticipated, long-overdue trip. I hadn’t seen my family since we got back from vacation—about 5 weeks! And in my world—that is a LONG time.

Anyway, on Friday, we got out of clinical early because our instructor had a conflicting appointment…Instead of getting out of the psychiatric unit at 3 pm, we got out at noon—a whole 3 hours early! In other good news of the day, I found out about an A on my public health exam {truly a miracle}. You can imagine my excitement.

Eventually, I made it to Chetek, just in time for half-price appetizers from Applebee’s. Dad and I headed to Rice Lake to meet up with Kaydie. Thomas met us there, too. {Emma and her friends were there celebrating a birthday, but we weren’t cool enough to sit with them!} You know the “Happy, happy birthday” song they sing at Applebee’s, right? Well, the waitresses started clapping, so you knew the song was coming. And I said to the boys, “You guys should go over there!” Before I had even finished the statement, Dad had literally jumped out of his chair and was on the other side of the restaurant {by Emma and her friends}. He clapped along with them. People cheered—and not just for the birthday girl ;) It was hilarious.

Saturday morning, Mom and I headed to Eau Claire for a day of shopping. We ate a restaurant that was new-to-me, and had the best chicken, ever. I was skeptical about trying a new place and ordering chicken, of all things. Who does that?! Mom said it was the “best chicken ever” and it would “melt in your mouth”. And she was right—it was delicious. In fact, I could eat it again…right now. The restaurant had antler chandeliers; it was pretty rustic, but actually kind of adorable. As usual, we found some good deals while shopping, too J

We got back to Chetek a little before 5, and picked up Dad and Neva….because I just *had* to go to Casa. If you’ve never been to Casa Mexicana, you are seriously missing out. They have the best Mexican food you will ever eat. Be warned: I don’t think they have heat, so dress accordingly…

Sunday morning, we went to church, then to Culver’s {Sunday tradition}. Most of the afternoon, Emma and I worked on homework, because we are truly exciting people ;) It was back to church, then home in time for Mom’s BBQ chicken pizza. So good.

Monday came all too quickly—Mom, Dad, Emma, Neva, and I headed back to Eau Claire. We ate lunch together before I headed back to Illinois. I’m so glad I was able to get home, even if it was below zero while I was there! My family is awesome, and I love the time we can spend together. 

**In re-reading this post, I see that we look like a family of fatties—which is not entirely false. However, we don’t always eat like this, promise! 

Locked Out and other randoms

On Saturday, I locked my keys out of the car van I was driving —only part way through my 13 hour shift at work. This is the second time in my life that I have tragically locked myself out…

Before lunch, I decided to work 4 hours over my scheduled shift, so I would get off at 7pm. Basically, I would have 11 hours from the time I left work that night until I had to be back in the morning :/ But for the sake of paying the rest of my spring tuition, I decided to stay. I grabbed some lunch at Subway, then called my mom, who was doing my taxes and needed some information from me. I opened the door, locked the doors, got out of the van (with my phone in hand!), shut the door, took 3 steps—and I knew the keys were still in the ignition. Talk about frustrating. But there was nothing I could do about it!

Like anyone would, I immediately called my mom back. She said I would have to call a locksmith. The extra set of keys were in WI, which did me absolutely no good! When I got back to work, I found out that the Morton Police would come get your keys out—for free! I called the non-emergency number, and this cop showed up about 5 minutes later. So, for future reference, if you happen to lock yourself out of your vehicle while in Morton, call the police.

When the cop got there, he asked a couple logical questions.
Cop: Who does the vehicle belong to?
Me: My parents
Cop: And they’re out of state?
Me: Yes
Cop: Can I see your license?
Me: It’s actually in my purse—in the front seat.
Cop: Do you have your work ID?
Me: Umm, no…it’s in my car. My other car.
{Awkward pause}
Cop: I’m going to assume a couple things right now. Number 1, you don’t look like someone who would steal a vehicle. Number 2, if you do steal a vehicle, I have absolutely no idea why you would steal this. Number 3, if you steal a vehicle, I don’t think you would call the police to get the keys out.
Me: Correct.

Approximately 30 seconds later, the doors were unlocked and I got my keys. Needless to say, I am fairly certain the cop thought I was sketchy. But seriously, I was driving my parent’s mini-van with out-of-state plates and just-so-happened for the first time ever to not have my work nametag {because it was in my car}. Why was I not driving my car, you may be wondering. Let’s just say—it received a little damage and needed to be repaired ;) And seriously, *that* wasn’t my fault!

On a completely unrelated note, I got a beautiful calla lillie plant from Micah today. It came in this Snoopy Mug, and it gives me the perfect excuse to go shopping for a cute little pot :) 10 months and 10 days from today, we are (finally!) getting married!

And on Saturday, I'm heading home {to WI} for a super quick trip to see my family. I'm SO excited! 

Adventures in Indiana

In case you are still one of the 3 people who actually reads this blog, I’ll just state the obvious: I really blog so I remember the “little things”. Sure, I’ll blog about the rest of our vacation at some point, but I want to remember the simple, everyday occurrences because I can so easily take them for granted. I want to be purposefully thankful for what God has given me!

After clinical on Friday, I headed to Indiana. Micah and I went to his brother’s house, and this is what I saw…Micah’s brother, “J”, is standing in his dining room with a blowgun. He proceeds to tape balloons to his back door and subsequently use them as targets. These were not just any balloons—they were heart-shaped, but only partially blown up. They resembled a cat once a face was drawn on them. This IS how you entertain yourself on a Friday night, right?!

With my school schedule this semester, I had a few assignments that required attention on Saturday morning. Mom texted me to ask about invitations, but the picture didn't come through. Eventually, I was able to see the picture, and I told her to buy them :) She also bought programs. According to her and Emma, they are going to "tweak" the invitations and programs quite a bit--I'm excited to see what they have in mind :) And, since were on the wedding topic, I'll just add more one thing: Micah and I may have found our "unity candle". It's a little...nontraditional, sort of. But Emma thinks with a little bedazzling, it will work just fine :)

On Saturday afternoon, Micah and I (along with 6 other family members) headed to Indianapolis for some shopping and a hockey game. We went to Circle Center Mall, which is 4 levels. Think Mall of America. Anyway, Micah’s nephew, “W”, had never been to an indoor mall in his life. An 8 year old that had never been to a mall—“W” didn’t really know what such a thing was or why you would want to go in the first place. He became more impressed with his mall experience after finding the candy store!

We all had supper at the mall, then Micah and I got a Cinnabon. (That’s totally NOT on my “wedding diet”!) Don’t tell Emma! ;) Eventually, we made it to the hockey game. Our team lost, but hockey really is a fun sport to watch. However, I was disappointed they didn’t let the guys fight—that’s one of the best parts!

Sunday came quickly—we went to church, then to my future in-laws J We all had lunch together, then celebrated Micah’s birthday. His mom had made one of her delicious pies—this one was cherry. “W” made Micah a card—on the front cover, it said “What is ugly and sweet?” On the inside, it said “Micah and pie!” It was hilarious! The day was fun.

It was another adventure—and seriously, you can’t make this stuff up! ;) Today is Micah’s birthday; it was a little sad not to spend this day together, but I’m thankful for the time we had over the weekend. I’m seriously so blessed to have him in my life! 

Weekend in Cocoa Beach: (Vacation Part I)

Since I’m sure many of you are anxiously waiting for the next segment of the Bunton Family Vacation, I’ll continue on. In case you missed it, that was sarcastic ^^ ;)

8:30 am: Mom’s tooth is fixed, gas tank is full, breakfast is being eaten (Krispy Kreme and Starbuck’s), and we are finally, FINALLY on our way to Florida. As you can imagine, it was quite exciting. We drove and drove, then drove some more. Friday afternoon, I got a call informing me that I was receiving $500 toward my spring semester! Financially, this semester has been (and continues to be) very tight, so this was absolutely an answer to prayer, as it allows me to be debt-free for a little bit longer.

While driving through Atlanta, in fairly significant traffic, this is the conversation that transpired:

     Emma: This is worse than driving through Madison!

     Dad: It’s Atlanta, Georgia!

     Emma: I don’t know where Atlanta, Georgia is!!

…Maybe you had to be there, but I still find it rather hilarious.

After grabbing supper at Chik-Fil-A that night, we made it to our hotel in Cocoa Beach around 3:30 am. It was 60 degrees—in the middle of the night!

The next day (Saturday), we headed to Ron Jon, which was within walking distance of our hotel. We got a few souvenirs, then had lunch at “a N.Y. Pizza House”. In the afternoon, Thomas tried his hand at surfing while the rest of us enjoyed quality time at the beach—soaking up the sunshine!

No day could be complete without some sort of—wrinkle. Before leaving our hotel that morning, Mom realized she forgot to pack any of her sandals! (We found out later she had left them on the ping pong table in the basement…in Wisconsin!). Much to the dismay of Emma, Mom, and I, we were forced to head to the mall for some shoe shopping. On our way back from the shoe shopping expedition, we stopped for ice cream at the “Ice Cream Junction”, a local place with delicious hand-dipped ice cream.

Sunday was another relaxing day for us. We headed for breakfast at Dunkin’ Donuts. Dark chocolate hot chocolate and blueberry munchkins (donut holes) made my morning—I highly recommend both of these things, but am glad (for the sake of my jeans fitting) that there is not a Dunkin’ Donuts nearby J Thomas wanted to try surfing again, so Emma and Dad went along to watch. Mom and I walked on the beach for a while (which is *quite* the workout. Don’t believe me? Go walk through sand!), and collected some sea shells. Mid-seventies and sunny, white sand in between your toes, waves rolling in…you can picture it, right?? That afternoon, we came back to the pool and talked about wedding stuff.

Here’s the “funnies” from Sunday:

     Dad (in the pool): Look, I found a toy!

     Emma (laying out by the pool): I say so many things, and then think ‘wow, I’m an idiot’!

On our way to supper….

     Thomas: I wonder what kind of injuries you would get around here?

     Dad (quickly responds): Python squeezes!

At supper…

     Emma: I’m gonna move to Florida and just live off the government. That way, I can be at the beach every day!

…Maybe she’s on to something?!

That brings me to talk about food…again. We ate slightly ridiculous amounts of delicious food on this vacation. We tried out this place called “Florida Seafood”; it was a local, family-owned place about 10 minutes away. Food was amazing! Emma and I shared blackened Tilapia with garlic butter pasta. And our waitress kept bringing these corn fritters—think funnel cake, only better!

After our seafood dinner that night, we headed back to the hotel. Dad and Thomas watched football in the lobby while Mom, Emma, and I did some re-packing—We watched the premiere of Biggest Loser at 9. Watching people work out made us feel better about all the corn fritters we had eaten only a few hours prior J    

Monday morning arrived, and we spent the morning walking around some shops that were nearby. At noon, we shuttled to the port. Just prior to actually getting on the cruise ship, Thomas says “I’m gonna touch the butt”! (Finding Nemo, people…surely you’ve seen Finding Nemo?)

…This is just the beginning of our cruise, but I’ll have to blog about the rest of it later. 

3 day weekend

Another weekend with my fiance has come and gone. Fortunately, we both had today off, so we were able to extend our time together J 

On Saturday, we saw Lincoln (which makes me want to some historical research), did some shopping, and went to Meatheads for a greasy burger when it was all said and done. FYI: If you go to a movie on a Saturday afternoon, you will find yourselves in a theater full of senior citizens. Not kidding.

On Sunday, we went to church, had tacos for lunch, then spent 2 ½ hours in Bass Pro Shops! Yes, seriously—never thought I’d ever spend that long in such a store. And as much as I hate to admit it, we had a blast! We’ll never have a $27,000 “Party Barge” (aka huge pontoon), but I’m totally ok with that J We went to a Peoria Riverman hockey game, too—they played the Houston Aeros. The Riverman won 6-2. Micah made sure we had fabulous seats—right in the middle, in the 2^nd row, next to the penalty box J It was a fun time. After the game, we stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel (at 8 pm) on our way back to the farm…

…Did I mention that we’re getting married 11 months from today?!