Back from My Vacation...and a Wedding!

Hello, my Blogger friends! It has been a hot minute since I have been able to post! I went on a 16 day cruise vacation with my daughter to the British Isles, and it took me forever to get re-acclimated once I got back!

We had a wonderful time together. This is us getting ready to board Celebrity Apex in Amsterdam. It was a long, horrendous flight to get there, however! I flew Los Angeles to San Francisco to meet up with Laura, then we flew together to Amsterdam. It was 12 hours of whining. (ha ha ha) 

Laura hamming it up at Corfe Castle in Portland (Weymouth), England. We had unseasonably hot weather for most of the trip! We had packed for cool, rainy weather! What gives?! 

Here we are at Blarney Castle in Ireland. We did NOT kiss the stone! There was a huge long wait time, and we needed to get back for our bus, plus we do NOT need to have more "gift of gab"! It was another very warm day!

Here we are in Betws-y-Coed, Wales. I wanted to move there immediately! Out of the 9 ports of call this was my absolute favorite day.

Edinburgh, Scotland at the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle. Another, VERY warm day! We walked almost 13,000 steps this day! Uphill, both ways! We were exhausted. But, seeing all of this history was AMAZING! 

My turn to ham it up on Western Shetland, Scotland. What is funnier than putting bunny ears on a...bunny!??? This was our first cool day! It was wonderful. I loved our brief tour of Shetland, along with the little museum that detailed much of the WWII history of this area.

This was our last day, Dunrobin Castle, Scotland. Another cool day. Despite both of us coming down with a cold, we had a wonderful day touring the castle and grounds. 

Our visit to Dunrobin Castle was fantastic. It is still a residence as well as a museum, so many things were intact and it was such a pleasure. The grounds reminded me of Versailles! 

I adore my daughter, who is just turned 28. We love to hang out together, laughing and talking, and just egging each other on to silliness. The trip was rough at times, starting with the long flights, and with Laura getting a bit seasick and me having lots of pain from my arthritis, then both of us catching a terrible cold...but we just sucked it up and enjoyed every bit of it! We are already planning our next adventure...maybe in 10 years when we recover and save up enough cash! (smile)

The other reason that I have not been able to make or post anything new is.....

My youngest got married October 14! Jonah and his lovely wife Diana were married by my husband in our backyard in a small, family ceremony! We are so happy to welcome Diana into our family!

Laura, Me, Allana (Diana's sister), Nathan, Matt, Mike (Matt's brother), and in front Diana and Jonah. 

It was a lovely day with a lunch, then the ceremony, then cake and mock champagne while opening gifts, then a fancy dinner at a local restaurant. The newlyweds were not taking a honeymoon as Jonah's job and Diana's college classes did not permit it, but they are going to Alaska with Matt and me and Jonah's siblings in August 2024, so they can honeymoon then! (smile) 

We tried to teach our children that the wedding is not the important part, but that the marriage is what is important. Jonah and Diana embraced that philosophy by choosing to have a very small event, and instead save for their future. We wish them every happiness and the joy of the Lord in their marriage!

Now, a little announcement...I have once again stepped back from my few design team commitments. I just need some space to figure out what I want to do regarding the blog, my crafting endeavors, and so forth. My husband has taken on a new job with more responsibility and travel (and stress), plus we are both trying to lose weight. Which at my age is not easy! It is basically a full time job! I have lost 13 pounds so far, but I am trying to lose 60 pounds total before we take our vacation to Alaska in August 2024.

I hope to still be in the craft room making and  posting, but it will be for myself...just for fun. I love sharing with all of you Dear Readers, but I just don't have the bandwidth to be tied to deadlines and many projects per month. Plus, I am really working on some cross stitching projects, which take far longer than making a card, or even a mini album! 

I plan to be back soon! Stay tuned!