Our Christmas Tree 2016

When Cohen was born I decided to start buying Christmas ornaments when; we traveled, to mark significant events that occurred during the year, or to represent something that Cohen loves. I love adding a couple new ornaments each year and remembering the fun times we have had together. This year it occurred to me that I should be buying two ornaments instead of just one. One for me and Jeff and one for Cohen to keep when he moves away from home (and if he isn't sentimental and doesn't care, like Jeff believes he will be, we can just keep them...the more the merrier, right?). So, since I have come to this realization, I have been letting Cohen select his own ornaments. It's been very entertaining watching him pick out his ornament(s).

2016 Ornaments:

Grandpa Anderson: My dad made us 5 beautiful ornaments that he gave us when he came out to visit earlier this month. I love the ornaments that my dad makes. They are so special to me and I know I will treasure them for always.

Disney Cruise: In September Jeff, Cohen and I joined my family and Jeff's sister's family (Sharon, Ben and Atticus) on a Disney Cruise to the Caribbean. We had a fantastic time and I can't wait till we can cruise again...especially if we get to go with the same amazing people!

AMNH - American Museum of Natural History (NYC): When I lived in New York the first time I probably only visited AMNH 4 times and it was alway when someone came to visit. Well, we have been in the city for two months and Cohen and I have already gone twice. He's constantly talking about going to see the dinosaur bones. Last time we went he learned in a video that the dinosaurs died and he had a hard time coming to grips with that. I decided since dinosaur bones have become a favorite of Cohen's, I should buy him a dinosaur ornament from the museum shop. I picked mine out and was planning on buying the matching one for Cohen, but Cohen saw a different one and insisted on getting that one instead. He has been pulling it off the tree everyday this week and playing with it. He loves it!

Three Little Bells from the Murch's: The Sunday before we moved to New York, Brother Murch walked up to me and handed me two little wooden boxes (with three little bells inside). He also gave me a letter that told the story of It's a Wonderful Life and how every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings. They hopped every time we heard the bells ring we would remember our time spent in the Eatontown 2nd ward.

Move to New York City: One of the biggest events of our year was moving to NYC. We have been working on this move since June 2015,  so I thought it was important to get an ornament to document the event. Cohen has been obsessed with riding the subway. He asks everyday to go to the train station to ride the train. I have even taken him for a ride on the subway just to turn around and come straight back. This boy loves his trains. So, I took Cohen to the NYC Transit Museum store in Grand Central Station. They have a holiday train display up and Cohen sat and watch the Polar Express going around and around for over 30 minutes. We bought two little glass subway cars to go on our tree. Cohen insisted on getting the red train, he wouldn't hear of getting anything else. :)

Disney Cruise 2016: Disney Castaway Cay

After a day at sea, we went to Disney Castaway Cay (Disney's private island). Of all the ports, I think this one was my most favorite. Sharon, Kari, and I went parasailing! I don't have any pictures, but it was totally amazing and I would do it again in a heart beat! We then spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. Honesty, I would love a cruise that would just take me from NYC to this island and back....I would be one happy camper.

Well, that's it! Those are all the pictures from our Disney vacation extravaganza!

Disney Cruise 2016: Third Stop.....Falmouth, Jamaica

Next we spent half a day in Falmouth, Jamaica. The port is a gated community with a bunch of shops. We really didn't do much in Jamaica. Sharon, Ben, my mom, and Kari did a little bus tour of Falmouth, which from what I hear was very enjoyable. Jeff, Cohen, and I looked at a few of the shops, but then spent the rest of the day on the boat in the pool/splash pad.

Disney Cruise 2016: Second Stop...Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands!

Our second stop was Grand Cayman! I REALLY REALLY liked this place. We did this amazing glass bottom boat tour of the reefs and then we grabbed some lunch at a nice little place right on the water. It was a very relaxing day.

Disney Cruise 2016: First Stop...Cozumel, Mexico!

After a day at sea, we stopped in Cozumel, Mexico! We did exactly what I wanted to do....lay on the beach! It was amazingly hot for the first couple of hours we were there, but then it cooled off and there was a breeze....IT WAS PERFECT. Cohen has been afraid of the water in the past, but Grandma Anderson worked with him and by the end of our day at the beach, he was totally into the water!

Disney Cruise 2016: Sailing on the Fantasy

After a very hot week at Disney World, we set sail for the western Caribbean on the Disney Fantasy!

If you remember, we went on an Alaskan cruise a couple of years ago and fell in love with cruise vacationing. We were so excited to see the Caribbean and sail with Disney (we are totally Disney people....well, except for Jeff...he's not). We went with my fam (Mom, Dad, and Kari) and Jeff's sister and her family (Sharon, Ben, and Atticus). We all had balcony rooms right next to each other, so we could combine balconies. It was fantastic! Cohen could go from room to room to visit some of his favorite people!

Cohen couldn't swim in the pool (they have strict potty training policy), but they had a fantastic little splash pad called Nemo's Reef. Cohen loved playing down there and didn't seem to mind not going in the pool.

We really enjoyed our cruise, but I think we will wait to sail with them when all kids going are older than three and potty trained. They have so much for kids to do, but most of it wasn't for toddlers. Cohen still had a fun time seeing the characters and going to the dance parties, but most of the programing was for older kids. We for sure think this cruise was better than Norwegian, but we actually weren't so fussed with the food. Not as good as we remember Norwegian being. All I can say is that I can't wait for our next cruise!