Friday, September 19, 2014

Norway Cruise

Jason, Cody and I packed up and headed to The Netherlands for a cruise through the Norwegian Fjords. This was a work trip and we had fun bringing Cody along with us. My mom kept Karis and they had a fun week together. Cody is such a good traveler and the 10 hour flights were no problem for him at all. He loved his headphones and picking movies to watch. When he was tired he curled up in the seat with his head in my lap and slept comfortably.
 
We flew into Amsterdam and got an afternoon to tour the city. This is one of the oldest windmills still standing.
Cody was excited to ride the city bus around.
He was so tired after 20 hours of travel and a big time change but was trooper while we explored.
A replica of Noah's Ark that was built using only the Bible as reference for dimensions and detail. It was really neat inside to picture how Noah's family lived.
Look how little Cody is next to the ship! We were excited to board the Rotterdam!
Looking for our state room....Cody got really good at navigating the ship.
Our balcony...
We had a great room that was right at the back of the ship. The couch flipped into a bed for Cody.

All the ministry staff was treated to a special lunch at a lighthouse in Oslo and we took this little boat ride there. 


This is the Dyna Lighthouse. It's beautiful.
We had an awesome view right by the window...
The Dyna Lighthouse
Some of my favorite friends (and co-workers!) We have so much fun on these trips together!
We had 4 ports that we stopped at: Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger and Flam!

My sweet guys!



The beginning of the beautiful Fjords!

We took a train ride into the mountains while we were in Flam! This was a highlight for Cody.
The waterfalls on the train ride were beautiful.
The trolls were everywhere.


Cody loved exploring the ship. This time we were at the very tip top.
Swimming was by far Cody's favorite activity on the ship. He swam for hours. His favorite memory is when we were in choppy waters the boat was rocking a lot and the pool water would slosh from side to side and make big waves. He loved sitting on the ledge and waiting for the water to come and cover him up. 
It's always neat to see a lighthouse in action, especially when it's foggy out.
On of the entertainers we took with on our ministry trip was Buddy Greene. Buddy has traveled on several trips with Jason and I and we have gotten to really know him a little bit. Buddy is a famous harmonica player (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJB1j5PFsQg) and is also known for writing the lyrics to the Christmas tune, Mary Did You Know. Cody LOVED Buddy and enjoyed watching him perform and even got a harmonica of his own.
Love this kid and taking him on adventures!

Some of our favorite traveling friends!

We are so thankful that we get to go on these working trips and experience the adventures that go along with it! And an extra blessing is getting to take Cody and someday Karis along with us!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The Kids!

Sweet girl!
When it's too hot to play outside we make new fun inside!
Swimming with friends for Hudson's birthday! Jason stayed home with Karis (she was in the midst of major teething and this party was at bedtime) and I took Cody to the party. I enjoyed visiting with the moms and he had fun swimming. We are thankful Jacob was there and sacrificed his shoulders for Cody's fun!
She is SILLY!
Oh my goodness..the cuteness! She started off not loving the rec center and swimming but by the end of summer she enjoyed it more!
I found these cardboard bricks at a garage sale for $5 (my favorite find of the summer!) and we love building with them.