Happy Birthday Joshua...Majuro, Marshall Islands

Today is a very special day.....Happy 24th Birthday Joshua!
 It is hard to believe that time has passed so fast!  One of my fondest memories of your younger years is when you were only 13 months old.  You were rather hyper and I can still see you running behind the dog, his tail between your legs as it curled up your back.  You were holding on to his fur with your little hands and as the dog would run ....so would you...giggling your head off....Nana and Mommy laughing until they had tears in their eyes only encouraged you!  So so funny.  Now here you are...all grown up and what a fine young man you have turned out to be!  Vicki and I wish you a Happy Happy Birthday....we love you!

               

This was a great day for you and especially to have Grandpa Gene there to celebrate you receiving your scouting award!

Austin, Joshua's cousin and their dates at the school prom!  Growing up right before our eyes!

                                                                         

Joshua and brother Aaron are always cutting up.....they do enjoy being together and now they both work at United Health Care....Oops  mommy bear works there too!

                                                                   

Joshua is the first born grandchild......Nana's little baby?  Think we should reassess this situation?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA......,hope you have a wonderful year!


We stayed home today after going to Starbuck's and dropping by to see Rosine.  I spent part of the day getting my sewing machine set up.  Tomorrow I will thread it...fill the bobbin and then off to the class on Monday morning!

Tomorrow we are going to meet Mark, Tami and Joshua for breakfast at Paradise Bakery.  I want to stop by Joann's on the way home!




WELCOME TO THE msAMSTERDAM and my virtual cruise to.....
 The Grand  Pacific and Far East Voyage!  

Photos from Jeff Farschman's blog,,,,  http://amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com

Photos and narritive from  Leslie's  Travel blog....http://lesliesh.wordpress.com

Majuro, Marshall Islands

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                              

       

Here are the rest of the photos from my amazing day exploring Majuro….

Majuro, Marshall Islands

Posted on October 5, 2013by lholland6365

The Marshall Islands are made up of 29 coral atolls and 5 single islands spread out over an exclusive economic zone of nearly 1 million square miles, one of the largest in the Pacific.  They are north of the equator and some 2000 km west of Hawaii.  They are also one of only four atoll nations in the world.  Most of the islands are very narrow and less than 10 feet above sea level (photo). The first Europeans to sail through the Marshall Islands were the Spanish in the 16th century followed by the British captains John Marshall, for whom they are named, and Thomas Gilbert in 1788. There were visits by Russians and then missionaries over the years until in 1859, Germans set up a trading post and the Marshalls became a German protectorate in 1885. Japan took over military possession after WW I and were awarded a mandate over the Marshalls by the League of Nations in 1922.  During WW II after heavy fighting, the islands were taken over by the US which acquired them as a strategic trust in 1947. From 1946 to 1954, the US conducted 67 nuclear tests in, around and above Bikini and Enewetak atolls, the reconciliation of which remains an important issue between the Marshalls and the US. In 1986, the Marshalls became a self-governing democracy in free association with the US which continues to provide, defence, currency and the Post Office among other services to the islands.  We had a short visit here but were able to visit the main commercial centre, including the museum.  It contained a history of the islands including some very old photographs and descriptions of the main crafts such as fine weaving which are still done today (photo).  They also had some interesting navigational sticks by which they were able to find their way around the oceans before modern navigational aids (photo).  The islets that make up the atoll are very narrow and there is a single 55 km long road that runs through the largest of them. There are some very nice new buildings including the Court House (photo) and the Government Centre (photo), but most of the homes are small and basic (photo). Tourists are drawn here for the scuba diving and sports fishing. The main industry is copra processing but there were also many commercial fishing boats in the harbour (photo). Our next port is Chuuk.

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BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!
                          S'

Lunch with Joshua! At Sea!

Today started with a trip to get our labs done for our up coming doctors appointments!It was not a bad wait but it was after ten by the time we got to coffee.  We took our time at coffee and then we went to the quilt shop.  From there we went to a wig shop where I looked at options for dealing with my bald spots.  First I have to lighten my hair to go with the hair pieces that I already have.

 Next stop was iHOP to meet Joshua.

                           

Today we are having lunch with Joshua to celebrate his birthday which is tomorrow!  He will be 24 years old and that is hard to believe!

I will say...this iPhone 5s shows every bit of my sunny California sun damage!  They need to fix that...I should have no sun damage and no wrinkles!  Right?  lol!

So this is it for today!  Have to set up the sewing machine tomorrow!

WELCOME TO THE msAMSTERDAM and my virtual cruise to.....
 The Grand  Pacific and Far East Voyage!  

Photos from Jeff Farschman's blog,,,,  http://amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com

Photos and narritive from  Leslie's  Travel blog....http://lesliesh.wordpress.com

At Sea

Out to lunch....at sea!

Today was one of those days where it seemed like we had too much to do and it was getting in the way of our socializing....how can this be when we are at sea!

First, of course, we went to Starbucks where we had a morning bun and visited with a friend.  Then we went to the post office and the bank.  After the bank we went to see Rosine before we met our friends for lunch!  Rosine seemed to be doing fine...she was laughing and having a good time....although she told us that she is getting worse and that is what is on her mind when she goes to her meals.  She now thinks that she has had a TIA, mini stroke...her handwriting is not as good as it use to be and sometimes she droolsfrom one side of her mouth!  We will have to see what she wants to do about this....brain  surgery?

At last we were able to meet Rita and Mary for lunch.  We drove about 20 minutes south to Dillon's by the zoo.  Vicki had a salmon salad as did Mary.  I had a taco salad and Rita had Tilapia.

                                                                                                                                                           

Mary has her new 5s and so she is already convinced that it is the best!

  Rita does not have her new iPhone yet.....she has ordered the gold one!  Now she is comparing the picture taken with the 4s and the 5s.  The 5s wins!

   Rita has the proof....only we can't see it....we are all so funny with these phones...at least the 4 of us are all members of the Apple family!

 Vicki will just go along with whatever we say....she has the 5s but really doesn't give a  you know what!  All she wants to do is point and shoot...the camera that is ....we don't allow her to have a gun!

The hair, the hair, the hair...what are you going to do about it...OMG!  It is not good!

This restaurant  has aquariums on every wall although this is the biggest one.  Really beautiful! See what a good job my 5s does!

I'll bet this fish has bad breath....Vicki won't like that but she does look cute in there!

I am a tiger on the Chinese Calendar...please don't swallow me!

Well, it is done except for doing the machine stiching...Vicki wants ever one that I do...even this one with flannel on the back!


WELCOME TO THE msAMSTERDAM and my virtual cruse to.....
 The Grand  Pacific and Far East Voyage!  

Photos from Jeff Farschman's blog,,,,  http://amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com

Photos and narritive from  Leslie's  Travel blog....http://lesliesh.wordpress.com

   At Sea!                                  

The beautiful days at sea just keep rolling along…..  I spent the majority of the day poolside reading about my new MacBook Air.  I need to figure it out before I transition from a PC for my blog.  This evening we had a wonderful evening with Firman van Walle and his wife as guests for dinner.  He was the Hotel Manager on my first Voyage of the Vikings in 2009.  Now he is enjoying a voyage as a guest in the early days of his retirement.  It was a wonderful evening…. Tomorrow we cross the International Dateline, so we will not have Thursday the 4^th and just jump to Friday the 4^th……  We’ll get it back on the way back to California.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!
                         S'

Almost finished a quilt....another sea day!

Well it is another sea day...we should be having a lot of fun and by the end of the cruise we all should be very tan!  We decided to not attend the formal night last night but instead chose to meet Elaine, Dorothy, Mary Lou, Lou, Jerry, Roger and Mary in the buffet!  lol!  The rest of our group decided they wanted to get dressed up and go to the dining room!  lol!   It appears that Jeff had a wonderful evening and everyone in his group was all dressed up!
                                                               

What a day!!!!  It just doesn’t get any better than this….  It was a picture perfect day poolside, sunny with a nice breeze.  I decided around 4:00 to go in and have a massage before dinner and it was magnificent.  I met Leslie & Handler in the Crow’s Nest before dinner.  We had a great time listening to great music and visiting with friends.  Dinner, as usual, was just perfect.  Paul Kerr, the Culinary Manager, hosted our table and we all had a great time…. After dinner we went to the Black & Silver Ball.  Everyone looked wonderful and they danced to time away… except for me.  Bad knee….  Good excuse.  It was a wonderful day….   Life is good!

For those of you that seem to be confused, remember that this is a virtual cruise...Jeff and Leslie are really on the cruise....the rest of us are just pretending!  lol!

Today we went, as usual, to Starbucks.  Now, I hate to admit this but I have found one of the new pastries that I like....it is the"Morning Bun", I have not been brave enough to look up the calorie count.


After having breakfast we went to QT and then right on home.  I spent the  day sewing and should have a FINISHED quilt to show you tomorrow!

Now, as I am trying to type....the type is jumping all over the place...I am about ready to yell at it!

Tomorrow we are having lunch with Rita and Mary...going down by  the zoo ....wherever that is....having lunch at Dillans...and I hear they have a petting zoo..maybe I will get some cute pictures!

So, I am gong now!

BE CAREFUL OOUT THERE!
                           S'





















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A beautiful day even if it is in the 90's! At sea!

It seems to me that I am a day off in the cruise day count...so maybe I should not be counting!  lol!  I think I will just say the port and let it go at that .....today we are at sea and here is what Jeff has to say about it.

Today was a nice day to relax…  I need some down time to rest my knee and let the injury heal.  Sat poolside for a large part of the day just leaving when the storm clouds rolled in.  The voyage continues to go very well.  I am really enjoying my time with friends as well sail along…  Great day!!!

 Posted by Jeff Farschman at 3:58 AM

Today is a beautiful day even if we are not in San Diego.  For something new...we drove 6 miles to Dunkin Donuts...we sat outside, which was really nice....and we consumed a pumpkin donut and a blueberry donut, both cake donuts.  They were really really good!  I would do that everyday if I could get away with it!  After eating we went to QT and then to the pharmacy to pick up medications!  

I worked for about an hour, in the garage.  Then I started cutting my squares, "squaring them up"  kinda!  lol!  Now I am working for a few minutes on the blog.  I think we will be having several sea days before we see a port again!

Last night I was looking at Facebook and discovered a very nice picture of my granddaughter Molly, grandson Tyler and their friend Amanda!  So, I thought I would share it with you.

                                                                Molly, Tyler and Amanda!

Yesterday Todd and Melinda, their parents, were in Texas where they were able to see a huge amount of butterflies migrating....they were all around them!  Hope they got some pictures!

Daughter Tami is off and running again....Colorado Springs for work and then the weekend in Topeka KS for her monthly military drill!  Hopefully she will be home on Sunday but something tells me that work is sending her somewhere else.  Joshua's birthday is on Saturday and we will be taking him to lunch on Friday to help him celebrate!

My baby, Davin, is doing okay....I hope...I did not talk to him over the weekend and he is not on Facebook anymore.  It is really nice when your whole family is on Facebook as it helps in keeping up with everyone.  Everyone is so busy...even us old folks!





This will be a lap quilt......when it is finished...have 7 or so to finish!



BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!
                     S'