Great Dane

Eight reasons I love Dane.
1. Has the best pouty face.
2. Looks handsome in a vest.

3. He loves to brush his teeth and go on walks. He multi-tasks and does them at the same time.4. Looks cute with long hair.

5. Or short.

6. He's a good eater. Loves his appie.

7. An artist at heart, with his body being the canvas.

8. Rocks the one sock, diaper, and backpack better than anyone I know.

march madness

Basketball-loving runs thick in the Barlow blood. I had the tv on and Dane grabbed the remote and said 'ba'. I didn't know what he was asking for because whenever he wants to watch tv he asks for 'nine' (baby einstein) so here's the thought process when I'm trying to figure out what he's saying.

Hmmm. Ba? Sounds like when he says ball. Hmmm. He's been watching basketball with Paul lately. Hmmm. Maybe. It's worth a try. Change the channel to the basketball game.

Dane: BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Yep. That was it. And here's a video but it doesn't capture the true joy he had like the first time I changed it to the game. Man, i love this kid!

caribbean cruise

Recently Paul and I went on a incentive cruise we qualifed for through our healthy chocolate business. It was to the Eastern Caribbean and we had a blast. We were gone just over a week, and while it was terribly hard to be away from Dane (we tried to call every day!), it gave Paul and I a chance to spend some good time together - without phone or internet. It was heaven!

We stopped in Puerto Rico, St. Martin, and Haiti (there is a small island/cove that Royal Caribbean owns so it was very safe).

By the end we were ready to get home though. This first picture is our little place we staked out in the airport. We were there for about 8 hours before our flight left. It was more of pain to go to the beach so we just slept and read. Surprisingly, the time went by rather quickly.
Almost every night was karaoke and Paul always brought down the house. Everyone was really good so i decided not to do it - no need to get boo-ed off the stage!

This is Nicolas and Annika. They are a couple from Sweden that we met on our 'Pirate Ship' (more about that later). They were lots of fun and I hope we stay in touch. They have 2 boys that were adorable.

Labadee, Haiti. We actually spent most of the day on the boat because it was terrible weather. It was cold, windy and raining. In the next picture you'll see what I mean. Long sleeves and hot chocolate!

I felt like we were on a date ever night. We'd get dressed up (not always formal), eat a three course dinner (or in Paul's case 5-6 depending on how many appetizers and steaks he'd eat), then go to a show. The shows ranged from comedy, to plays, to acrobats, etc. They even had ice skating but we never made it to that one.

This is a picture on the Pirate Ship. While we were in St. Martin Paul wanted to do something piratey since we were in the Caribbean. This was one of the excursions. We were able to go snokeling. I haven't developed the pics from the water camera yet.

On the boat ride to our snorkeling location. The weather didn't completely cooperate but it was still beautiful and the water was a vibrant tourquoise.

And the whole reason we went on this excursion was because of the "cannon" on board the ship. I think this was the hobbit pirate ship.

And another from the ship.

We were on the biggest cruise ship there is right now. Over 4000 people, ice skating rink, pools, surfing, rock climbing, mini golf, etc.

At the fort in Puerto Rico. We just walked around old San Juan rather than doing an official excursion.

Paul preparing for the safety drill. Hey hottie!

Leaving Miami Port. Sun, here we come!