Homecoming this year was quite the event, an it was actually a year ago at Homecoming 2024 that Andrea and I met a lot of Paige's friend group when they came to our house to get ready and to stay the night. This year, the girls got ready at Kendall's house. They each brought some food, and Kendall's mother made it super special for them by getting fresh cut flowers for them so they could make their own custom bouquets.
After finishing their flowers, getting their makeup done, getting in their dresses, the girls did a lot of social media work. Lots of pics, poses, videos, and lip synching involved.
We insisted that Paige let us know when they were doing pictures so we could show up and snap a few with the Nikon. I think that what made it more acceptable for Paige is that we also brought Millie Mae so she could be in some pics too.
The girls didn't really stay very long at the dance and they all came over to our house afterwards for a sleepover. Andrea picked up some pizza for them, they snacked on some of their food that they had leftover from earlier in the day, and at some point they may have slept. Paige had a fun time and we love the friendships she's made and all of the memorable experiences she has had so far as a highschooler.
This past weekend we kicked off our October with a Halloween themed cruise on the Disney Wish. Connor actually came home for the weekend from college, but decided to stay in Jacksonville and hang out with friends instead of cruising with us. We certainly missed our guy and it wasn't the same without him, but we still had a good time.
Our first evening on the boat we watched the new Pixar movie Elio. Although it was a bit odd and wasn't our favorite movie of all time, we enjoyed it in the end.
Paige and I pigged out on the "Chipotle" style Mexican food on the 11th deck, while Andrea enjoyed the pizza. We were too stuffed for dinner and while the boat was fairly quiet we took some pics of the spooky tree in the lobby, of the sunset, and Paige and I worked out in the gym.
Saturday morning, we left the boat early in Nassau for our excursion to Baha Mar. It wasn't a cheap excursion at $200 per person, and it was a long process getting organized and off the boat with the group that was going to be bused to the resort. While waiting in line, the ladies taking our names were telling us that there was a high likelihood of rain, that the attractions would be shut down for 30 minutes after any lightning strikes, and that it was our last chance to cancel the tour. The weather radar showed rain around us and it wasn't clear if it was going to head our way. We decided to cancel at the last minute and instead we wandered around the shops.
For lunch, we enjoyed the Mexican food again, and then we relaxed on the boat and went to the gym again.
In the afternoon we went to a fairly boring Villains game show, watched some movies in our room, and then got dressed for our only night when we went to the sit-down restaurant.
After dinner we saw the sun setting and decided to take a few more pics and we're glad we did because the lighting was amazing and the sky was beautiful.
After pics we changed in to some comfy clothes and watched The Little Mermaid musical before heading to bed.
Sunday was our day at Castaway Cay and we had planned to do some deep sea fishing to try something new. Unfortunately, most of the excursions were canceled. It seems like most times we visit Castaway Cay that everything's canceled, so we weren't very surprised, but we were disappointed. We got a raft and the water was nice and pleasant, so we went out together for a while and then Paige and I played catch with a football.
We ate on the upper deck for a late lunch and early dinner, so skipped the formal dinner again. Paige and Andrea got their nails done in the spa and then I snapped a few pics of Paige in her cute outfit as the sun set.
In the evening, we went to the Halloween Party on the top deck. It started off strong and it was entertaining with all the characters in their costumes, but about eight minutes in to the party it started to absolutely pour on us and we ran inside.
We went to the Alladin show in the evening, which was well done, although it started off uncomfortably as a hillbilly lady sassed me for grumbling and being a "butt" because I wasn't happy that she asked me two times to move seats for her family.
Overall it was a fun cruise with some good times. The Wish is a nice boat, and we liked the Halloween theme, although we didn't dress up ourselves or really participate as much as we would have if the kids were little. It was something we always had wanted to experience, so I'm glad we were able to check it off our list, and it was a fun weekend getaway with Paige.
Amanda, Ryan, and Graydon flew in from Kansas City for the weekend. It was their first time visiting us since we sold our house and moved in to the rental, and since we are a bit tight on space they stayed in an Airbnb in Dolphin Cove.
Saturday morning Ryan drove all of us to Tallahassee to see Connor and we met him at McAlister's Deli for lunch. We all went to campus to see Connor's dorm and what it's like living at his place.
In the two weeks since we visited him, it was a little surprising how much his place could fall apart. He still had food in the fridge from our previous visit that was spoiled, empty containers and boxes everywhere, clothes on the floor, and some of his posters had fallen off the wall. He's happy in his dorm, and that's what counts, but Andrea spent quite a bit of time tidying up during our visit.
We all walked over to the bookstore and did a little shopping before Connor had to depart for a fraternity function.
We walked around for a while and went over to his frat's satellite house, but it was a frat only event and we decided that we had seen what we wanted and would be better off heading for home.
We had originally intended on staying to watch the football game, but the tickets were pricey. Especially for 7 tickets together. We enjoyed watching the game more from home, and we're glad we headed back when we did.
On Sunday, we considered going to the beach, but it was a little rainy and we just stayed around the house. We went on some walks, watched NFL football on TV, played basketball in our cul-de-sac, took naps, and relaxed.
Monday was a work day and Paige went to school as normal. We went to Barbara Jeans with Amanda and Graydon for lunch, and then left as early as we could for the Jaguars stadium when Paige got home from school.
Driving through downtown was miserable, and thankfully Ryan did a great job getting us there safely and found a spot near the stadium where we could pay cash.
Our seats were on the visitor's side of the field, and were down near the end zone where the Chiefs were warming up.
We snapped some pics during warmup and before the game started, and got some snacks to enjoy before it got too crazy crowded. The game was entertaining and although the Chiefs started off strong with two touchdowns and a 14-0 lead, they managed to blow it in the end. Although it wasn't the result we were hoping for, it was an exciting game to see in person and was quite the experience.
Paige's friend Kendall was at the game and came to sit with us for a little while.
Leaving the game was a bit of an ordeal, as the Jaguars fans were inebriated and mouthy with us in our Chiefs gear. I'm sure we were featured on multiple social media posts as we left just before the final desperate hail mary throw of the game, when it was certain that the Chiefs were going to lose. There were fans video recording us and taunting us as we climbed the stairs, and more abuse on the way to our vehicle. Ryan got us home safely in record time, and although it was uncomfortable leaving when we did, it certainly saved us a lot of time.
When we got home, we said farewell to the Gobles, as their flight was early in the morning on Tuesday. It was a bit of a disappointing end to their visit, to see our beloved Chiefs humiliated on a national stage, but other than that we had a nice time with them and enjoyed seeing them again.
