Cruisin' with friends

We've never been on a cruise. So when our college buddies suggested the idea of taking a trip all together (sans kids) we were all in!

The timing was absolutely perfect. All of our kids were just the right age to leave behind. Not old enough to be in school yet, but not babies either. And more importantly none of us girls were pregnant! Perfect timing.

And I know what you're thinking. 

Didn't you just go on vacation to Mexico not too long ago?? Umm yes. Yes we did. Greg had a work-related trip that turned out to be even better than our honeymoon!

For people like us, who rarely go on vacation, we felt incredibly blessed to take two tropical vacations just 2 months apart. And as I've mentioned it before, our marriage has needed them this year. Big time.

So without further adieu, I give you the... 

SagPowDer 

{3 letters from each of our last names} 

Cruise 2012

(be sure to scroll down so you don't miss the funny video)

So excited to spend a week together!

This was my FIRST visit to Florida. Our ship left out of Miami.

Dressing up for formal night!

The guys were in heaven...

The food was goooooooooooooood. To say the least.

So great to spend a solid week with my hubby again.

Playing cards is a MUST with this group. 

The dynamic duo winning their trivia game!

Lots of fun times spent here listening to comedy and karaoke. Justin and Aaron even shared the spotlight singing a hilarious rendition of "Let's Make Love"....

We were dancing fools.

Spent a couple days playing some beach volleyball. We have a pretty competitive group with some serious skills so that made it extra fun! And surprisingly it only resulted in one injury. Greg getting a bloody nose b/c he blocked a ball with his face. Awesome.

Allison suggested we take this same pic in 30 years. How fun would that be?!

Greg, Aaron and Cathi body surfing in the Bahamas. They were a bunch of 12 year olds out there. So funny to watch them.

We got as close to Atlantis as we could just to snap a pic in front of it. Looks like an unbelievable resort!

I love me some cappuccino.

Goofballs.

Our last night on the ship. We were extra giggly that night!

Learning the wobble dance.

Tuckered out and heading home.

After hearing about the horrible events on Friday in CT, we definitely gave our kids extra hugs when we finally arrived home that night. In the midst of having such a great trip is was such devastating news to hear.

I will also say if you've never been on a cruise be prepared to "recover" afterwards! I was still swaying back and forth like crazy for a solid two days after we got off the ship. No one from the group got sea sick but make sure to pack some meds for motion sickness just in case!

Other than that it was a total BLAST! There is so much to do on a cruise it's unreal. I think going with a group makes it more enjoyable b/c you might do more than if you were just with your spouse. That's my opinion anyway. 

Now, it's the mad dash for Christmas!! I still have some shopping to do and we have back to back to back parties leading up to the 25th, so you may or may not hear from me until next week. 

***

So we have these friends...

You may recall this pic...

circa 2005--at our wedding rehearsal dinner

All six of us went to the same college. 

Us girls were teammates...

Cathi & me                                              Allison & Cathi                                                me & Allison

Our boyfriends became friends b/c either (a) they traveled to our games/ meets together or (b) they were roommates at one time or another.

In a nut shell, we all became friends in college, got married, and each had 2 kids around the same time (not planned at all btw)...

March 2011

It still baffles me how that all worked out without even talking about it...

We've been able to live {somewhat} close to each other and make it a priority to get-together a few times a year if we can. 

It's amazing how much life can change after college. 

And it's so cool to see how this group of friends has remained close after all these years. 

We just got back from a cruise this past week (which I'll post on tomorrow). Just the six of us without our kids, acting as MUCH like kids as we possibly could.

It was a trip we'll never forget.

God is so good.

***

Holiday snapshots...

I use this blog as a scrapbook at times (unless FB starts making THAT an option).

Anyway, we're having some holiday fun over here!

After telling the kids the story of baby Jesus, they decided to see what sleeping in a manger would feel like. The idea was instigated by Kensie, but Mason quickly followed his big sister. So they each grabbed a basket, stuffed it with blankets and squeezed they're little bodies in there like sardines.

It was quite adorable to watch and it totally melted this Mama's heart. 

We've also been busy Christmas shopping this week. They are both super troopers when it comes to shopping. I always pack Mason in the stroller with lots of snacks and toys, so I'm sure that helps. Kensie will usually skip cheerfully alongside the stroller browsing the aisles with me. She's developed this funny little habit of calling me by my first name when we're out shopping....

"Look at this pwetty dwess Shaaannnon!"

"Oooooooo, Shaaaannnnon. Look at deese spawkly shooooes!"

I seriously have no idea how that happened, but it cracks me up every time.. This is the only time when she calls me anything but Mama--so I play along.

We were able to see Santa today. We showed up at noon (when the sign said he'd be back). Welllll, he was late. Forty five minutes late. We hadn't had lunch yet, AND it was getting close to naptime.

Can you guess which one was about to cry after this photo?

HINT: it wasn't me, although I may have been close as well

So that's what we've been up to!

Hope you're finding some special moments this Christmas season. 

***

Hanging pictures properly {How to:}

My husband is a genius. 

And he totally gets the credit for this ENTIRE post.

I used to constantly nag him about hanging stuff up on our walls. Pictures, clocks, wall art, you name it. This nagging was mostly b/c (1) I had used a hammer and nail ONE time by myself to hang something and totally destroyed a good portion of our wall, which Greg had to spend a whole evening repairing, and (2) I had tried another time to drill a screw straight into the wall which resulted in lots of chipped plaster and paint, which Greg also had to repair...and (3) I just plain didn't know there was any other way to hang stuff!

This post is not rocket science. But it may be juuuuust enough knowledge to save a nagging wife out there like me!

Thus, I give you today's tutorial....

 Today's example is on paneling but this technique works on both drywall and paneling.

I should also mention this is for relatively light-weight wall hangings. I wouldn't use this method to hang a giant mirror. You'll need something more heavy duty for that project!

Anyway...

See the difference??  

You don't want to see what it looks like when you try to take that screw out either. Poor little wall.

Okay, so here are 6 super easy steps to easily hang your pics while ALSO treating your walls with some dignity...

Step 1: Find your power drill and make sure it's fully charged!

Step 2: Use a drill bit that is slightly wider than the width of your nail.

Step 3: Drill your hole! (Make sure to drill in the total length of your nail)

Step 4: The nail should easily slide in!

Step 5: Make sure there's enough nail sticking out to hang your pic.

Step 6: Hang away!

Easy right?!

Like I said, not at ALL rocket science.

But you can bet that I hang almost everything around here these days! 

It sure makes for faster projects and a whole lot less nagging too.

Win-win in my book.

:)

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