Miss W is 16!

 Happy Birthday to Miss W who is Sweet Sixteen today! It is a flashback day! Those 16 years have flown by! (The following photos are in no particular order!)

A blog post of her first 7 birthdays.

McBe Week

 It was a week of activities for McBe. Monday night was TKD testing for the last level of red belt.

It was a large group of all ages and assorted belt colors testing on Monday night. This was warm-up and stretching.

McBe's sparing kick

another successful kick

he broke all four boards

successful testing for red belt with black stripe

Thursday night was an Inventions 'concert' at one of the local nursing home/retirement centers. The Inventions choral group has been performing for a couple of weeks, but he specifically asked that we not attend the first three. So we didn't.

The group of seventh and eighth graders from Edison Middle School who auditioned for and were chosen for the show choir. They have practiced two mornings a week (before classes/school begins) since October and began performing at the nursing homes in mid-March. 

Their performance for family and friends is at the end of the month. 

Cinderella

 Now for something different! Miss W auditioned for and got a part in the musical, Cinderella.

local high school students

She opened the show with a solo on the castle balcony.

She had several solos as the Herald. 

with the Queen & King after the show

her friends brought her flowers

we saw the opening performance on Thursday night

we had tickets for Sunday afternoon

Hubby attended without me

ceiling in the Orpheum

one of the two balconies

a lovely intimate older theatre

the curtain scenery

downtown Sioux Falls

she plans to audition for more Spotlight Theatre musicals

Antarctic Cruise Wrap-Up

 I have some things about the cruise that didn't fit in one of the daily posts, but were interesting enough that I thought I would share.

March 4th was the last of the 4 days of excursions. Hubby took advantage of 3 Zodiac excursions, I did 2, and OFD enjoyed all 8.  On Thursday we began the northward two-day journey back to the port in Ushuaia through the Drake Passage. The trip was smooth, if not smoother than the initial passage. 

population of Ushuaia 100,000

southern Argentina or Chile

black ice floating in the water

but when pulled out of the water, crystal clear

sheet of saltwater ice

blue ice is the oldest ice 

old blue ice

Not all, but maybe half of the expedition staff members shared their expertise in the information session. This was Dr. Glenda. One staff member shared about the insects (mites and roundworms) that lived in Antarctica. Another was a school teacher in Ushuaia who shared the ice info on our Zodiac ride. 

The bridge was open on sea days. Passengers could walk in and look around and talk to the crew. I asked how "The luxury cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II became stuck in thick pack ice near Antarctica's McMurdo Sound around January 17, 2026, requiring assistance from the US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star." 

The ice flows moved in so quickly (currents) the ship was unable to back-up or turn around. That is why the bridge was NOT open on excursion days so the crew was NOT distracted!

Every passenger room had a balcony. No photo, but the bathrooms were the largest of any ship we have been on. The closets had lots of storage. The balcony room was standard size. Suites were larger.

The elevator floor mates were changed out 3 times a day. 

The Dome viewing area on Deck 7

location of 4:00 Tea

only 7 decks on the yacht

passengers on Decks 3 (staff),  5 and 6

theater, dining and bar on Deck 4

coats, boots & gear storage on Deck 3

condiments were in individual jars

so cute!

We departed the Voyager at 8:30 AM on March 7th for our flight to Buenos Aires, overnight to NYC and eventually home at 4:00 PM on Monday, March 9th.