The Latest and Greatest in our World

I know I rarely get time to post here, but I did want to follow up and tell you what's going on in our lives at the moment. We're back from our cruise and just dealing with the rest of the winter season as we hope to see spring soon. (Oh we so hope!)

Cruise
We had a really enjoyable holiday. The big surprise was that my parents showed up to surprise us! They were at the hotel when we arrived in Miami and they were booked to go on the cruise with us.

Mom and Dad with Petite

In Miami, we did some shopping (Dolphin Mall) and went to eat at a couple of spots. We were looking forward to The Outback but we didn't have a good meal there, unfortunately. However a meal at a mom-and-pop Italian spot across from the hotel was to die for! Yum!

On February 4, we boarded the Carnival Victory (thank goodness it wasn't the Triumph! Yikes!) and that evening, we set sail from Miami en route to Nassau.

On deck for sailaway, you can see the slide, sunning areas,
and the big screen that played shows and movies all through the trip. 

Miami as we set sail.

February 5, Nassau -- We spent the day at the Atlantis Resort. WOW!

Atlantis as seen from the ship while we are docking.

Petite enjoying Atlantis.

No fear!

One of the many slides in Atlantis.

I'd love to go back there when Petite is older so we can all enjoy more of the rides!

February 6, Half Moon Cay (Carnival's and Holland America's private island)

K&K at the entrance to Half Moon Cay

Petite and her big brother; we had rented this cabana for the day and it was absolutely lovely! 

The Carnival Victory as seen from our cabana.

The kids on the beach; a sand castle takes shape.

February 7, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos -- the adults had booked a snorkelling expedition through a private company

Hubby on board one of the skiffs from Blue Water Divers; en route to our snorkelling sites. 

Me and K snorkelling (thanks to Chris from Blue Water Divers for taking this photo!). If you are in Grand Turk,
Blue Water Divers is THE place to go for private dives and snorkelling expeditions. 

The sea floor as seen from about 12 feet above. 

A very good shot of "The Wall" in Grand Turk; the sea floor drops from about 30 feet to over 7000 feet!
This is an example of how quickly the dropoff can occur! 

February 8, at sea

Petite hugs one of the decorative octopi on board. 

Lady Liberty! By the end of the cruise, Petite was handing napkins to every server in sight and saying,
"Make something please!" It was pretty funny. They all adored her though. 

On Saturday, February 9, we disembarked at Miami and after seeing Mom and Dad off at the airport, we headed to our hotel for one day. We got settled in and we were all pretty tired so just took it easy for the day. We were up bright and early on Sunday, February 10 to fly home and we made it home by about 8 p.m. Back to the snow and cold... brr.

A HUGE shout-out and thank-you to our neighbours, M&M across the street, who graciously agreed to take care of our elderly cats while we were away. They're the most incredible people and we DO have a little something for you both for your kindness. Thank you both.


Work
There is movement afoot to attempt to retain me at my current location, which is spectacular. I love the more hands-on work that I do, in the technical side of the house. And the guys that I work with are wonderful. We have a new manager as of January and he's been quite fantastic as well. All in all, it's a good turn of events. We shall see how it all pans out. Oh I'm still looking for a job at home in NL; however, everything that suits me is restricted to those who are already in the area or employed by a specific organization AND living in the area. Ugh. Thus my options are extremely limited.

Milestones!
Petite is officially a 'big girl'! She put all her soothies and her soothie clips under her pillow the other day and was rewarded handsomely! The Soothie Fairy came to take her soothies and bring them to babies who need them, and she left Petite exactly what she had asked for... a teddy bear. My little girl is growing up before my eyes. It's wonderful.

Petite with her "Woobie," the bear the Soothie Fairy left for her! 

Next Steps

And I've undertaken my next rather MASSIVE goal. More to come on this in future posts. Suffice it to say, it involves big changes and I've spoken to my GP who is definitely on board. With luck, I will clear all the hurdles on my way towards achieving this one. I'm stubborn, so I think I can hang in there! 

Love to all in blogland!