So How Did YOU Close-Out Your 2014?

For two years now we have promised our kids that we would be going somewhere WARM for Christmas, so my brother (who has never really been on a tropical vacation) said "Lets Do It!"  So we booked a 5-Day Carnival Cruise out of Jacksonville, FL leaving on Christmas Eve Day!  We were totally expecting a lot of fun on the cruise, but what we weren't expecting was the amazing things we did on the way down and back.  See we decided to drive.  Yes I repeat, we drove 29 hours one-way, with 4 children in the car all the way there and ALL the way back.  Now before you call me absolutely crazy, let me count off a few reasons why we decided driving was the better option:

1.  I was at the Executive Women in Agriculture Conference about a month before we went on our cruise and my great friend, Tracey, from Monsanto said "If you are ever in St. Louis, we should go to a Rams Game!"  Well let me tell you that got the ball rolling that we would just have to conveniently "swing-in" on the way down to the cruise.  So Tracey totally hooked us up, and by hooked up I mean ALL the way up!  She got permission for us to sit in the 50 yard-line Monsanto BOXSEAT SUITE!  I am not joking: 

Before the game, we got Field Passes so we got to go down on the field during the warm-up and meeting players!

Walking out of the Rams Tunnel onto the field before the kick-off

The Monsanto 50-Yard Line Box Suite!

Me, Tracey (Monsanto), and fellow Farm Mom, Sherri, posing on the Rams Field pregame

Getting settled in our seats at the Suite, great view isn't it!  The food, drinks, and atmosphere was amazing!

The Cheerleaders were down on the field Pre-Game so of course we took a picture and bought their calendar so my oldest son could run around and get all their signatures!

 Meeting the COO of the the Rams!

 The Rams played the Giants and we were just feet away from Eli Manning Warming Up

We had an once-in-a-life (hopefully not) experience that I really want to thank Tracey and Monsanto for such an amazing experience.  My kids haven't stopped talking about it at all!  This was my kids' first-ever Professional Football game so it really was incredible for them to experience something that has so much stigma and awe surrounding it!  There were so many phenomenal things packed into that one day that I could write a whole blog just on the Rams Game.

2.  After St. Louis, we continued south to Fort Benning to pick-up my brother before we got on the Cruise.  So we got to see his apartment, hang out with him, and I got to do laundry (yeah!!!  with 6 people in a family, you go through a lot of laundry)

3.  From Fort Benning, the day before the Cruise, and drove down to spend one night by Jacksonville with my oldest brother's wife's family.  We got to celebrate Christmas with them and it allowed the cousins to play with each other (which is really a rare treat since we live so far away from each other).  Thank you so much to their family for putting up with 7 extra people!

My daughter and her baby cousin!

The Bash Brothers have Cousin Bash Brothers to play with, and boy does it get loud sometimes!  But, they always have such a great time.

And Daddy says he doesn't miss having a baby in the house...ya, right!

All the cousins having Christmas together!

4.  The next morning we packed the car, again, to drive the short 30 minutes down to the port at Jacksonville to board the Cruise Ship!  The process to get on the boat was so much smoother than the last time because this time all the kids had passports (high recommend this one important point).  So we got on-board and did INSTANTLY what you are suppose to do when you get on a Cruise Ship:

Of course, buy the Expensive, Fruity Cocktail that all the Waiters are carrying around on deck!

 ...and then take a nap!!!  HAHAHAHA!

I'm just kidding, we didn't take a nap until after we decided to be the only CRAZY PEOPLE on the whole Cruise Ship to get our swimsuits on and swim in the pool while it was 60 degrees....and cloudy.....and RAINING!  But seriously, we left North Dakota's wintery -5 degree weather just days earlier so this was an absolute heat-wave for us!  It was kinda fun having the pool all to ourselves:

 Two bigger kids swimming in the pool in the rain!

 Having some pool fun on the boat (notice the two other kids outside the pool that haven't decided whether they actually were going to get in or not!)

 My youngest decided the pool was too cold so he kept to the Hot Tub!

 My middle son was in and out of the hot tub to the pool every 2 minutes, back and forth!  He's Crazy!

So while the kids were swimming, laughing, and playing, we were perched in a lounge chair drinking those horribly dangerous, fruity drinks and finally relaxing while we were goofing around and having just as much fun as the kids: 

 



The 3 "adults" on the Cruise Ship, not really sure how responsible we were, but we sure had fun!



 It is an indescribable feeling to hear the kids giggling and splashing in the pool while we soaked up the sun (or the clouds that day) and just enjoying the blessing of life....that are far too many to count.  My heart is so full and I feel that this was the absolute perfect way to close the year of 2014.

 

5.  Driving allowed us the flexibility to make our own schedule, stop where we wanted to, stay as long as we wanted, and just wander down to Florida and back.  The kids traveled fantastically!  They played their tablets, watched movies, colored, played games together, and napped.  I really couldn't have asked for better kids, and my husband and myself would sit there and just be baffled at how well they traveled.  So to all you parents out there, don't let distance be a factor in a trip or not!

 

6.  After 5 days when we got off the Cruise Ship and were headed back to North Dakota, we called home to see how the dairy and everything was going and my father-in-law said "Don't rush home".  Well,alrighty then, if you insist!  So we wandered up to my parents house (again)to pick-up our 2 little dogs and spent New Years Eve with them.  One of our great friends came over too, and we had a memorable time visiting and reminiscing about 2014 together while sipping on champagne.  It was kind of fitting that we started the whole trip driving to my parents house to see my youngest brother graduate from UND with his Masters in Mechanical Engineering, and it was also our last stop on the way home.

  Great job, Mr. Smarty, getting that Masters Degree!

 

2014 DEFINITELY had its highs and by highs I mean really extreme, of-the-charts, mind-blowing HIGHS!!!  But to combat the highs there were some definite lows that we had to battle and struggle through.  Part of me believes that this is the way life is suppose to be.  Without the lows, you wouldn't be so grateful for the highs...and without the highs, you don't count your blessings during the lows.  God gives you a balanced life because He wants to see what you are 'made of' during the lows so that He can absolutely blow your socks off with the highs!  I know my mind was blown many times this year...I hope yours was too!!!