Miriam's Birthday

Monday night we celebrated Miriam's 35th birthday. Edith came over with a cake and cooked a very tasty dinner. Isaac really enjoyed the Asparagus and was actually eating two stalks at a time one in each hand. We then had some cake and opened Miriam's presents.

Here are some pictures and videos.

Isaac Poses - 022307

Here are some pictures I took of Isaac last night before Miriam came home from Indiana.

Isaac and Grandma Edith Juggle

Here is a link to a quick video of Isaac and Edith juggling.

Stacey’s Surprise Birthday Cruise (Part IV of IV)

Sunday morning we all woke up early for disembarkation. We had our breakfast at the Horizon Café Buffet for the last time and all said our “Goodbyes”. Josh and Stacey had an early flight out so they left first. Hillary and Ricky had to wait a while to catch the shuttle to the Miami Airport and we took a cab to pick up a rental car and head to South Beach.

The three of us walked around downtown South Beach, had lunch and then headed to the beach. Isaac found a special play area on the beach, with toys and a slide which was almost as cool as the “Kids Zone”.

The next day I completed my Scuba Certification by executing my last two open-water dives. It was incredible, however, it was also incredibly cold and I caught Pneumonia. So I am now a certified scuba diver, but I am also still recovering from Pneumonia almost 10 days later.

On our way home the pilot let Isaac and I in the cockpit for some pictures. I think I actually enjoyed this more than Isaac…he was a little overwhelmed at first, but then he wanted to drive the plane home.

Josh thanks for organizing this family vacation!

Stacey thanks for turning 30!

Mom and Dad thanks for coming and spending time with all of us!

Grandma and Grandpa thanks for the hospitality in Ft. Lauderdale!

We all had a great time!!

Here are some of the pictures and videos.

Stacey's Surprise Birthday Cruise (Part III of IV)

Friday was another full day at sea. Of course, we spent a lot of time at the “Kids Zone” where Isaac enjoyed an Ice Cream treat and cookies and made a present for his Aunt Stacey’s Birthday. Josh and David played in the ships poker tournament where I came in second place.

That evening the ship’s resident piano man, Bert, interrupted his show to give Isaac a personal lullaby session after which Isaac promptly fell asleep.

On Saturday, we rallied the troops early to board the tender boats off of the gangway on deck 5 to the Princess Cay. The water was crystal clear and the classic Caribbean turquoise. Once on land, Isaac enjoyed the waves with Grandma and Grandpa, announcing “Look out, here comes a big one!” every time a wave came near. Meanwhile, Stacey, Josh, Miriam and David went snorkeling.

Later that day while back on the ship, the Lubin girls played a round of Bingo. Although they did not win the $2000 jackpot they spent an intense thirty minutes trying.

That night we all dressed in our finest (cleanest) clothes and celebrated Stacey’s Birthday. Isaac delivered his present with a serious “Happy Birthday Stacey.” And everyone enjoyed our last evening together and giant cuts of meat.

Sadly, the next day we bid farewell to Captain Giuseppe, Mariana our talented cabin steward and the rest of the attentive crew. We look forward to our next seafaring voyage now that Miriam and Isaac have grown their sea legs!

Here are some of the pictures and videos.

Stacey's Surprise Birthday Cruise (Part II of IV)

The third day of the cruise things really started to brighten up…there was more time spent on the deck, in the pools and on the balcony. Isaac really enjoyed the live Reggae music and dancing and ended up napping on a lounge chair under a towel tent.

On the fourth day we landed at St Maarten. We spent the early part of the day at the beach and the afternoon walking around town and shopping.
The next day we spent in St. Thomas. Since the day was a little cloudy we spent the day walking around town and getting to know some of the very important people in St. Thomas. We met the local librarian at the Children’s library and Captain Dave the Fireman.

Here are some of the pictures and videos.

Stacey's Surprise Birthday Cruise (Part I of IV)

Well for those of you who do not know, Stacey’s husband, Josh organized a surprise birthday present for her. What took several months of planning, thousands of emails, secrets and cover ups all culminated into a great week long cruise in the Caribbean for her, Josh, my parents, Isaac, Miriam and I.

Miriam, Isaac and I left Friday, a few days early to spend some time in Ft. Lauderdale with Isaac’s Great-Grandparents, Mort and Pearl. When we arrived Mort and Pearl met us at the airport with a sign and flowers. They brought us home to their apartment for a sumptuous stone crab dinner.

The next day Hillary, Rick, Josh and Stacey all migrated south as well. Stacey was not told where she was going or for how long and was surprised to see her parents waiting for her at the airport. She was then whisked to dinner at Tropical Acres where the 3 of us, Mort and Pearl were waiting to surprise her yet again.

The next day we all met at the port to embark on the Caribbean Princess. After waiting in line an hour to get on the boat we passed through security and various other checkpoints and eventually got on board. We spent most of that day exploring the ships inside areas since it was raining a bit.

It did not take us long to discover the “Kid Zone”. This was easily Isaac’s favorite part of the ship. In the “Kid Zone” there were countless things for Isaac to play with; cars, video games, play dough, tricycles, Legos, and of course other kids! Since it was the first day on the cruise all of the kids were asked to stand up in front of the group and say their names and how old they were. There were kids from all over the world, and they were mostly 4-8 years old. When Isaac, who was much younger than the rest of the kids, volunteered to stand up and say his name and that he was 2 he not only surprised the counselors but his parents too!

Isaac still asks if he can go to the “Kid Zone”.

The second day of the cruise the weather cleared up a bit and we were able to enjoy the sun and some of the pools around the ship.

Here are some of the pictures and videos.