Cruise 2011 - Day 1

Well, Kelly and I are back from our 7 day cruise. I thought it would be fun to 're-live' the cruise, so I am going to try and give daily updates on this blog as if we were on the cruise. So that means up first is ...

Day 1
We are finally here on the NCL Spirit!!! It is pretty cool. We have never cruised before, so I don't really know how to size these boats, but it looks and feels pretty stinkin' big. We couldn't snag any really good pictures of the boat at the port in New Orleans, but I'm hoping to get some pics at our first stop on Costa Maya on Day 3.

When we first got on the boat it was pretty overwhelming how big it was and how many people were running around like little ants trying to make reservations, book excursions, find their rooms, find their luggage, etc ... We were one of those ants and had no idea how to get anywhere. We finally found our room. Nothing fancy, just an interior room with no window. It was small, but we are able to move around in it nicely.

Once we got situated in the room and started to get our bearings on where things were on the boat, we had a quick safety drill and then it was a Bon Voyage BBQ party at the pool on the top of the boat with live music from a Reggae style band. They called it barbecue. Let me just say this. If there ain't sausage and if there ain't brisket then it ain't barbecue. The food was good, don't get me wrong, but it was not barbecue. It was burgers and dogs and grilled chicken with some sort of bbq sauce on it. Very yummy, just not BBQ - lol

We spent the rest of the night getting more acquainted with where stuff was on the ship. We found a live jazz band called the Spirit Orchestra - a bass, drums, keys, sax, trumpet and trombone. This music was awesome and I think we will try and find where they are playing and go listen as much as we can. We also used the rest of the night to watch the boat coast through the Mississippi River. Who thought it would take so long to get from NOLA to the Gulf of Mexico.
The ship is rocking (so don't come a knockin'???). We haven't felt any sea sickness yet, but that may change when we get on open seas and the boat is moving faster. Next up - Day 2, a full day at sea with lots of activities on the boat. Yippee!!
Here's some pics of Day 1 (you can click on them to make them bigger):

The end to a good, long weekend

No new news on the lot front. Basically I go out there and hack down a ton of trees and it looks the same. But I guess one of these days I am gonna go out there and all of a sudden, we might have a clearing – lol.

We DID, however, have a fairly busy weekend topped off with an awesome performance by our daughter, the little flower. Ballet Excelsior had their annual recital this weekend. This year they did a really cute play/dance called Antshillvania – a cute take on the story of the prodigal son. Julia’s performance was Friday night, and I am one proud poppa. She always looks so pretty in her dolled up costumes and this year was no different:

Also, Julia recently had her ballet exams, and she mastered everything at the Primary level. Soooooo … she will be advancing to Grade 1. We are so proud of you, Julia, and look forward to seeing you learn more and more as you move up the ranks.

On a different note, we are on the home stretch with another successful year of home schooling. Jake has blown our socks off with preschool, and Julia is a reading machine even though she is drudging along through 1^st grade. I think she needs more of a challenge. Which she will find in second grade – especially with us switching to a Classical style of education. Bottom line – she is about to get to read even more (which she loves to do). And while she reads, she will learn a lot of history, literature, grammar, writing, Latin, and spelling. Oh …. and math and science, too!!! Which I am totally stoked about because I will be coming in and helping Kelly with Latin and Science. Woohoo!!! The principal of our home school will get to teach some. Next year, Jake will be embarking on his Kindergarten journey, and we are excited about that, too.

But in 3-4 weeks, we will be done and resting in the summer. That rest will be kicked off with Kelly and me going on a cruise (BY OURSELVES!!!!) to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. I am SO the luckiest man in the world for snagging the most beautiful, most loving, caring, nurturing, tender woman in the world Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful woman that you have blessed me with.

OH!!!! I almost forgot (that can happen when I think about my wife). Some big news on the ‘mid-life-crisis’ front. I think I had one of these when Jansen was born and I stepped foot into Quick Weight Loss Centers (and eventually lost about 80 pounds in 5 months). I have decided to start training for a triathalon. We can just call this mid-life-crisis number 2. My body is gonna hate me for this one I think.

Anyways

More to come later, but I’ll leave you with one final picture of our little munchkins after their summer haircuts

Easter Ramblings

Well, it's the night before Easter, and we've had a great weekend so far, and I felt like jotting it down. Sunday's gonna be a big day, and I might just kill over when we get home, so I wanted to get these ramblings out of my head.

We kicked off this extended weekend by reading to the kids on Thursday night during our family worship time. I read for them out of their Children's Story Bible, the story of Jesus being tried, beaten and crucified. This was the first time that I had read them this story. In previous years, their attention span was not able to handle a story that long and that deep, but this year Kelly and I were able to walk them through everything that was happening and explain the significance of the trial and the beatings and the crucifixion.
Let me stop right here and tell you, there is nothing more satisfying to me as a father than reading this particular story to my children, watching them intently listen and explaining the significance of Jesus dying on the cross. Explaining to these little ones that we deserve the full, entire depth and breadth of the wrath of God because of our sin - but the death of Jesus on the cross took the place of all that wrath and judgment that we deserve. AND THEY LISTENED!!!!! Needless to say, this is probably the start of a very important tradition in this family :)

Friday was a GREAT day. It started at 3:00 am with a call and text that our really good friends the Marusiks were in labor and their new bundle of joy would soon be here. Agatha Nola Marusik was born at 5:18 and it was a great beginning to a good Good Friday. I actually took the day off, so getting to stay home with the family is always great. We did yard work, hung out, had Homewood park day where me and Jake played disc golf, and Kelly and I got to go on a date. I had such a good time with her, and I still can't believe how I got so lucky to have her as my wife. She is amazing. Completely amazing and incredible in every way. Thank you, God!!!

Saturday started with breakfast at IHOP and as we headed out, I realized that this was THE day. This is, what looked like to me, THE biggest day for all the churches in the area. It seemed like every church we passed was gearing up with their big Easter festivals. We even passed a church that had a drive thru prayer event going on (but that was only from 9-12, so I guess if the drive thru was closed they would have to just call KSBJ for prayer). When I see all the marketing in full swing and all the events happening, it just makes me think a little. I think and wonder if all this work that we do to get people into our churches is in vain. Is it really US who is getting people to come to our church. Did our Easter egg hunt really get little Johnny (and even maybe his parents) saved? Or was it God drawing them in? What would have happened if we didn't have an Easter egg hunt? Would God have been powerless? I know I am being a little shallow with this, and at times like this I feel so small compared to the vastness and hugeness of who God is and how He truly works. Don't get me wrong, I know God uses people and God uses these events - heck, I took the kids out and we had a grand old time at an Easter festival today. But sometimes I wonder "Are people getting in the way of God using people?" Then I realize that I have blown my mind and I have to just stop and that's where the ramblings begin - hence this blog.

K, that long aside is now over ....

IHOP was awesome by the way. I love IHOP pancakes in the morning, especially with my beautiful family. We continued this great day by attempting a trip to the mall with THE loudest 22 month old in the entire world. We survived it, but, well, let's just be happy that JC Penny wasn't that crowded. On the way into and out of the mall, we passed by the Easter bunny picture station with tons of people in line. I'm just gonna say it ... the Easter bunny scares me. There it is. I don't know why .... he just creeps me out. He ain't no Santa, let's just leave it at that. After the mall, I took the kids to the Easter festival and left Kelly at home in peace to commence with the baking of the desserts. Can't wait to enjoy those tomorrow!!! The rest of the day was just hanging out at the house. Now the kids are in bed and we've had another great day.

What's on the docket for Easter Sunday 2011???
- Easter at GCC
- Kelly and I are both playing in the worship band - I am very excited about this
- Julia and Jake are in the children's choir!!
- road trip to Rosenberg
- the rest of Easter Sunday with my family - it should be a blast with everyone there.
- going to the zoo on Monday!!!!

I might post some pics later.

Until next time ....

Lot/House Update #2

As of April 8th, 2011, the Carlson Clan now own .00000083699% of the great state of Texas!!! I guess, technically, we own more if you include our current house, but that will only up the percentage by .000000097068% - hahahaha. Yes, David is a big nerd. But it is pretty stinkin’ exciting that we now own land. Not only do we own land, but we now own a ton of trees, too.

Some worth keeping ...


… some are already hacked down ....


And we own a creek!!!!


Here's some more shots of the lot:






This is all a homeschooling families dream. And how did we celebrate this new acquisition?? We camped out … in our ….. backyard. The lot is way too thick to camp on yet – lol. So we pitched a tent in the backyard and had a good ole fashioned suburban campout.

We grilled hot dogs on our gas grill. Looked out at the stars. We saw one, and I’m sure there were more out there - we just couldn’t see them with all the street lights. We fell fast asleep to the sound of cars whizzing by on Spring Cypress and to the sound of air conditioners kick starting (getting the hint on why we wanted the land??). Then we woke up and had an all American breakfast of eggs and bacon. I actually cooked these on my new Coleman stove.

I love me some eggs and bacon in the morning.

Next up – lots of work days to cut some paths in our lot so we can get a better idea of what we’ve actually got as well as some major clearing out in the general area where we think the house might go. That basically means we are going to be cutting down a ton of yaupon. Stay tuned!

Lot/House Update #1

It’s been a while since we blogged. Apart from one or two big things happening (some happy – some sad), not too much has happened. And then, 1 month ago, things picked up a bit. Over the past few months, the Carlson Clan - and all the wild, crazy fun-ness that we are - were starting to get a little claustrophobic in our pretty little suburbanite Shangri-La. So, the search began with houses.

Criteria #1 – We wanted more than our current .1 acre. To be more precise, we wanted between 1 and 3 acres of decently wooded space – a home schooling family’s dream. Luckily, we are pretty close to Magnolia where acreage abounds.

Criteria #2 – We wanted the house to have space for an actual school room. Home schooling has taken our hearts by storm and we are quickly realizing that a home school without a school room is … well … a logistical headache.

Criteria #3 – We wanted a house that could better support me, David, working from home. AKA – it would be really nice if the house had a study

Criteria #4 – We don’t want the house too big. Too big of a house equals more cleaning. And while one would think having lots of children and extra hands to help clean up makes that easier, well, if one thought that, then one doesn’t have 3 children under the age of 7 wreaking havoc on the floors, walls, ceilings, furniture, etc..

Not too much to ask. And it definitely wasn’t hard to find homes that met all of the above, but we quickly discovered that while finding the perfect house may not be that hard, selling our house in the above mentioned suburban ‘Shangri-La’ may be a bit more difficult.

Then

Kelly stumbled upon, the perfect house. And a seed was planted:

“What if we could build this beautiful, custom home on our own lot?”

Criteria 2, 3 and 4 were already fulfilled. All that was left was #1, and the hunt was on. A couple of week’s into the search God opened up a lot for us that seemed to fit all the criteria we were looking for in a lot. It was wooded, it had the potential to be very private, and thanks to a foreclosure situation, it was very affordable. AND …

I am very happy to report that as of Thursday (3/17) we are officially under contract on 1.5 acres in Grand Lakes Estates!!! (Lot 10):

Be looking for update and pics of this awesome adventure of getting the lot ready and house built (prob a 3 year process). Its sure to be a fun ride and maybe we can all learn a little bit along the way.

Disney 2010

Well, its been 6 months since our last post. I wish that means nothing major has happened in that time, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. The latest endeavor the Carlson family has attempted is Disney World with 3 small children - the youngest being 16 months. We had A BLAST!!!!!! despite Jansen trying his very best to make that not happen sometimes - lol. Note to self - if your child can not take a nap in a stroller and you can't trust them to walk on their own without going in the exact opposite direction that you are going (every single time), then its probably a pretty good idea to not bring that child to the happiest, most magical place on earth. I'll try and think of a clever way to get some pics out there, but here's a couple to whet your appetite

Carlson Closeup - Julia

Welcome to the second installment (of 4) of the Carlson Closeup. This time we are taking a deeper look into the enigma that is Julia. She is way too much like her Daddy sometimes, and while Daddy can look at her and know exactly how and what she is thinking, Mommy doesn't get either of us, so that provides for a very interesting dynamic between mother and daughter.

Our little girl (not so much anymore) is doing awesome in Kindergarten, and she is a beautiful little ballerina. She 'complains' about having to go to ballet, but I love catching her doing all the moves secretly in her room. I sat down with her and went through the same questions we asked Jake. She was chomping at the bit to do it as soon as Jake was done because, ya know, if something is done with him she HAS to do it too.

Q. Apple juice or orange juice?

A. Grape (only Julia would answer outside the parameters of the question)

Q. Are you a morning or night person?

A. Morning (for sure - she's our alarm clock)

Q. Which do you prefer, sweet or salty foods?

A. Sweet

Q. Ninjas or pirates?

A. Pirates

Q. What was your favorite childhood television program?

A. Wonder Pets

Q. Are you a collector of anything?

A. Barbies

Q. If you could be any animal, what would you be?

A. Crab - because they snap

Q. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

A. Super speed

Q. What is usually your first thought when you wake up?

A. Eating cereal

Q. What do you usually think about right before falling asleep?

A. Presents

Q. What's your favorite color?

A. The whole rainbow

Q. What's your favorite animal?

A. Sharks and dogs

Q. You're given 1 million dollars, what do you spend it on?

A. My own car

Q. Are you mostly a clean or messy person?

A. Clean

Q. Who are you going to marry?

A. Graham

Q. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

A. America

Q. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A. Australia

Q. What's your favorite song at the moment?

A. Barbie song and Hosanna by Brooke Frasier

Q. What's your favorite movie?

A. Barbie Princess and the Pauper

Q. Have any hidden talents?

A. Violin

Q. What would be your dream job?

A. Violin and ballet teacher

Q. Which would you rather have, 100 million dollars or true love?

A. True love

Q. If you could have 3 wishes granted, what would they be?

A. 1.Eight Pancakes. 2. Getting her own telephone. 3. Play in the orchestra

Q. If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to?

A. Kabie (???)

Q. What's your favorite cookies?

A. Chocolate Chip

Next up on the Carlson Closeup - Kelly!