Photos: November, December & January Highlights

Photos that never made it on the blog -- and a good reminder for me to pick up my camera once in a while since there's nothing of note in January!

Nov. 2, 2017: Edith and Atticus swinging

Nov. 21: Edith painting with her new earmuffs

Nov. 26: Edith's birthday party

Dec. 6: Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Dec. 7: Cruise ship parked next door in Nassau

Dec. 22: Atticus stealing the spotlight at COSI

Cruise 2017: Freeport, Bahamas

Our third and last stop on our December cruise to the Bahamas was Freeport. This was a disappointing stop, but I fully expected it to be. We were in port only from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- too early and too short of a time to really do anything.

We only got off the boat for an hour or so to find a Christmas ornament (success!) and drink juice out of a coconut. (Paul was the only one who liked it.) We were back on the ship by 11 a.m.

The most lasting memory was the heat -- a huge difference from the snow we encountered two days later when we were back in Baltimore!

Cruise 2017: Nassau, Bahamas

Paul spent his 39th birthday somewhere few Ohioans are in December -- the beach. Nassau was the second port in our December cruise to the Bahamas.

We watched the ship dock in the Bahamas around 10:30 a.m. and got off the boat sometime after noon to walk to Junkanoo Beach. It was Atticus's first time swimming in the ocean! Both kids loved it, especially when Paul would walk them out to the slightly deeper part. The water was beautifully blue, though the shells and coral made the sand hard on your feet at times.

After about three hours, we headed back to the ship with two happy, hungry kids.

Cruise 2017: Port Canaveral, Florida

The first stop on our December cruise to the Bahamas wasn't in the Bahamas at all -- it was Port Canaveral, Fla. This was the only one of the three stops in which we purchased an excursion, to Kennedy Space Center.

I had been there as a child but remembered nothing. In any case, it must be much different today than it was back then. Now it has attractions like 3D movies and a simulator ride, as well as a large Atlantis exhibit that was installed I believe fairly recently.

I enjoyed seeing the launch pads, the "Rocket Garden" and spaceships. Atticus got a little antsy during the 3D movie -- and I'm not sure I actually wore the special glasses -- but I think both kids liked the interactive parts (surely the play area outside!). And we all had fun on the steep indoor slide!

It was a fun day and a busy one. Both kids fell asleep on the bus ride back to the boat!

Family Photos

My talented sister-in-law took our family photos again in the last few months of 2017, but I barely "release" them until after the holidays when the few Christmas cards I send out our sent and received! Here are a few of my favorites: