Another late night

I think I am a secret bat. Not the scary, dark part (Although the hair colour does work for that) but the nocturnal part. For years friends have told me I was nuts, staying up all hours but in fact, I think my body doesn't know any other way to live. I tried lying down for a 'nap' at 8pm tonight, just for a half hour because I felt kind of knackered (Mentally knackered actually, not so much sleepy) and I just couldn't sleep. It was far too early.

This is rather a strange pattern I've noticed as of late. I can nap when I lay down on the couch for a short while, but as soon as I go to bed for a nap the brain yet again goes into overdrive and I start thinking about a million different things I've got on the go. Of course this is a problem because I work at 8:45am and I'm not a morning person. I really would be better suited in France or perhaps Spain where I could have a short 3pm siesta, then be good to go until 1am. And I have always said I do my best work at night (no comments please). I will start baking at 10pm, start laundry at 11pm and scrapbook until past midnight. All very productive things really. Add to the list last Thursday hey Kelly? Bathtime phone calls at 1:30am!!! Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it.

Anyways, not really sure what this post is about. Just rambling thoughts of sleep - or the lack of it - and putting it on the web. Doesn't everyone do that?

As a sidebar - an unrelated one - Larry Norman also passed away this past week. Most of any Christian rock you may have enjoyed, is probably because of Larry Norman.

Sad to say Goodbye....

We just got news this evening that Darrell's Uncle Glen passed away a couple of hours ago. He was a great man of God who had a huge passion for young people and seeing youth come to know Christ. Please pray for the Richmond family if you think of it.

IT'S A BOY!

I am very excited to announce that my brother and sister-in-law, Joel and Tania, welcomed little Roman Michael Joel Turner into their family yesterday. He was 7 lbs 2 oz, MUCH tinier than either of my two babies and Mum and son are both doing well. Good thing too since they move house NEXT WEEK! Accckkkk.......

And to make the day even cuter - he was born on his Grandma Jean's birthday! Can't wait to meet him.

Correction.....

As Jeni pointed out, the note was actually left at the Indiana Jones ride and yes, that was where I was looking. NOT the Pirates of the Caribbean. My mistake (in typing, not in looking at the wrong ride).

I just felt that needed to be cleared up. :)

Mexican Riviera Cruise

Hello! We're back! The Richmonds just got back from a wonderful sunny holiday spent on the Mexican Riviera. We cruised on the Vision of the Seas for a week after a day spent in Disneyland. The Disneyland day was overcast but thankfully dry. Unfortunately however, I never found the note that my gorgeous friend Jeni left me at the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean! Although I started to giggle as I lifted crates and barrels to look for it while onlookers gazed at me with a look that said "that girl should be committed!".

Last Sunday we boarded the ship on a windy L.A. day which did require us all buying wristbands (just to be safe, waves against the ship were 8-12 feet high!)and the pampering began!To summarize, the food was fantastic, the cabin was the roomiest one we've ever had (kids had bunks above our bed and we had our own couch), and the entertainment left my stomach hurting from laughter. I made a pact with the kids that they had to order at least one new food every day. Ok, they didn't quite keep completely to the pact, but they did both try chilled Strawberry soup and Zachary had a Chicken Marsala which he quite enjoyed. Brooklyn tried several new things.

The kids program was awesome, the kids thoroughly enjoyed it and Brooklyn even ended up singing and dancing to a song from the musical "Wicked" in front of 500 people in the Masquerade Theater. And we all tried the rock climbing wall, with Zachary and Darrell regularly ringing the bell at the top!Our first port day was Cabo San Lucas where Zachary got to hold an iguana (in a sombrero) and two guitar players serenaded us at lunch. The second port was Mazatlan and we chose to take a shore excursion to Stone Island where we did a 4 mile kayak trip around goat island followed by tropical fruit and drinks served under the palapa on the beach. This might have been my favourite day - we had a boys vs. girl sandcastle contest (just Darrell & Zachary against Brooklyn & I!) and enjoyed dancing in the waves. Puerto Vallarta was beautiful and after walking through the downtown area and taking photos of the beautiful buildings, we went to a private hotel and got a deal on a cabana on the beach. Such service and beautiful surroundings are hard to beat. There we got to use the 3 pools at the hotel and relax in the sun while watching parasailers float by us. And Darrell even got a free massage on the beach!A couple of other perks of the ship - the kids preferred the kids program to the shows so Darrell and I had date night in the Theater each evening before picking them up again at 10pm. For my birthday Darrell bought me a spa session and so after our kayak trip, I got to receive a back massage, facial, foot/ankle massage and deep scalp treatment. Divine! On the second day on the ship there were flowers delivered to my cabin by my wonderful husband. Could it get any better? Oh - I almost forgot - it COULD get better - we saw 4 pods of dolphins off the back of the ship, jumping for 10 minutes right in front of us!So, although we are glad to be back in our beds and drinking GOOD tea, I have to say that coming back to the rain is a bit of a 'downer'. But that is why we have digital cameras, to live off of the memories. ADIOS AMIGOS!