I'M BACK!

Can you guess where I've been???

It seems like such a long time since my last blog post.  Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope this year is full of promise, good health, and lots of precious times spent with those you love.

Over Christmas/New Year, we went on a holiday with friends of ours - the first time we've ever travelled with friends, especially on such a big trip, but I am pleased to report that we still all love one another!

I am still returning to the 'land of the living' after a lot of flying, and picking up some rather nasty bugs on the way home, so haven't yet done anything creative.  In lieu of some cards, I thought I'd share some photos from our trip (apologies to any Facebook friends who've already seen these!).

To start our holiday, we travelled to Los Angeles, and had a whirlwind 3 days to pack in a great deal of sightseeing, and of course Disneyland.  Unfortunately about 100,000 others had the same idea (about visiting Disneyland), so it wasn't exactly The Happiest Place On Earth, for those of us who struggle to cope with huge crowds.  Our family has been before, so we knew how to get around, which helped; I just felt sorry for our friends, seeing it for the first time.  We weren't able to do a lot, other than stand in queues.  Still, it was an experience!  The frustration of waiting over an hour in a line, to get in to California Adventure Park (adjacent to Disneyland), was soon forgotten when Chip 'n' Dale, and their helpers, took a shine to Ethan (our 10-year-old), and chose our families to receive VIP treatment before the park opened.  It was such fun to be able to walk through, no crowds - and those brave enough got to have an exclusive ride on the Tower of Terror.

   

From L.A., we flew on to New York, for another short stay.  We arrived in the aftermath of a snow storm that had forced the closure of JFK Airport; luck was on our side, and the airport opened just when we needed it to!  Three days in New York is just not long enough.  Still, we loved showing our friends the sights that we knew; such a beautiful city.  One of the highlights of being in New York in the festive season is the Christmas decorations.  Look at the amazing exteriors of the Tommy Hilfiger and Fendi stores on Fifth Avenue:

We saw in the New Year in Times Square:

..... and then had a lovely walk from our apartment in Manhattan, to the pier, for the next leg of our big adventure.  Eight people, eight suitcases (and carry-on luggage), trudging through the snow.  Love this photo!

The last 10 days of our holiday were spent on a cruise to the Caribbean.  This was home (albeit a rather rocky one) for that time:

Here's a shot of all 8 of us in St Thomas.  There were SIX cruise ships in port that day; sheer madness.

Here's Andrew (hubby) and Ethan in Rasta mode:

.... and one last photo, showing some of the gorgeous coloured buildings that I loved in the Caribbean:

I am looking forward to establishing some new routines for 2011, and getting back into my craft room.


I'm taking part in a blog hop, with friends, this coming Saturday.  We'll be sharing some creations made with products from Stampin' Up!'s Summer Mini catalogue, so please come back to visit!  By then I will have HAD to make something, won't I??!!