10. Two words- colon cleanse- oh, and free medical care including cow-sized shots of phenergan, ahhhh, no bueno.
9. Sleeping in -in a stateroom the size of a closet with 3 friends. Roomies again!
8. Laying in the sun on deck as the ship sails through the Gulf.
7. No prices on the dinner menu! Ordering two appetizers!
6. Coming back to the room after dinner to find towel animals and chocolates in the room.
5. Sunset up on deck, wind in your face, delicioso.
4. Snorkeling in the beautiful waters off Cozumel, Mexico, with guides Pancho and Nacho, que?
3. Red jeeps in Mexico are muy bueno.
2. Stamp in passport, lots of memories packed into 3 1/2 days.
1. Unhurried time, conversation, laughter, with four dear friends- priceless.
One of our fun activities this summer has been swim lessons for Ruthie. The lessons were at the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center (ATC) in Mobile, which is conveniently located for us, and fun because of the helicopters and airplanes landing and taking off nearby- a 20 month old boy's dream. (You can see the HH-65 "Dolphin" in the bottom picture.) In retrospect I would have had Mac in lessons too, but I didn't think it would work out to do both of them back to back. Ruthie cried at the beginning of each lesson for the first couple of weeks, but then she really looked forward to it. She loved her teacher Miss Autumn, and she really has become more comfortable in the water. They learned how to safety-slide in, float, "crab crawl" around the edge of the pool, and even backstroke and freestyle swimming. I think she could swim on her own, but she still freaks out about it and starts going under. One-on-one intense lessons would probably do the trick. I'm sad the lessons are over, and we'll definitely do it again next summer.
