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Our days got progressively more relaxing. On Sunday, we went on an all day island sailing cruise with Barefoot Sailing. The day began with a great sail for around 2 hours.

We got the best seats in the house - on the back of the boat. Much less spray and great views. There were only 8 customers on the boat, plus the captain and first mate, making for a great experience.

We arrived at Rose Island and went snorkeling before lunch (which was a delicious barbecue of chicken and ribs cooked on the back of the boat). Chad had a "bathing suit" for his camera (as described by a boat-mate), which allowed for some good snorkeling pictures.

We snorkeled along a lovely coral reef.

We saw a very large (perhaps a foot and a half across) bright yellow sea star (aka starfish).

I have no idea what they're called, but there were lots of these flat leaves in many different colors.

After snorkeling and eating our delicious lunch on the boat, we headed over to the island and climbed these steps cut out of the rock to get to the beach on the other side.

After climbing the steps, we followed a short path that led to this great beach.

Here's the beach at the end of the path. Incredibly clear, beautiful water and no one aside from our boat-mates in sight.

While I found some shade after absorbing some sun, Chad ventured out into the ocean to take a picture looking back at the beach.

Nassau has lots of places selling you trinkets and junk, but we heard about this place, Bahama Hand Prints, from a fellow scuba diver. They design and create screen printed fabrics that are fantastic. We got to talk to and watch them making this fabric (which will be used in a new line of bags they're working on).

They have a boutique where they sell clothing and home decor, but they also sell fabric. There's a bit of it in the boutique, but a lot more back in the work room. Chad allowed me to indulge in some fabric to make the girls dresses. It's a lot pricier than the discount stuff I get at home, but it is worth it after seeing the authentic Bahamian craftsmanship that went into making it.

We had a fantastic time being just "Chad and Jen." There are more pictures from our trip here on Flickr.

Chad and I spent 5 days in the Bahamas celebrating our 10th anniversary (a little early). We stayed in downtown Nassau at the British Colonial Hilton. The hotel is in a great location, just minutes (via walking, taxi or ferry) from lots of things. Chad took this picture out the back of the hotel after dinner our first evening.

The hotel's private beach faced the harbor where the cruise ships docked. Here was the first arrival we saw. These ships really are amazingly huge.

Our first excursion was scuba diving. We've never done it before, but thought we'd try it out. We did a resort course, which was a beginner dive that you don't have to get certified for just to give you a little taste. Here I am on the boat and ready to go.

We dove down to the bottom (~35 feet) of the Hollywood Bowl. It got it's name because of all the movies that have been shot there, such as Splash and Cocoon. Oh, and please excuse these pictures, as they were shot with a disposable underwater film camera.

I posed for a picture by the official Stuart Cove photographer. I was holding some sort of undersea creature, though we have no idea what it was.

While we went into it thinking of seeing lots of cool underwater stuff, we actually focused on scuba diving the whole time. As complete novices, we had to concentrate on making sure we didn't float up or sink down or forget to breathe the whole time. Combine that with being nervous about the whole thing, and it was a pretty intense experience.

This was a one tank dive, so we only had 30 minutes under the water. Time flew, and when we arrived back at the boat we were both shocked it was already over. Here's Chad ready to ascend back to the surface.

On Saturday, we hopped on a boat (and then another boat) and went to Blue Lagoon Island to have a Dolphin Encounter. We then hopped in the water to play with the dolphin (yes, that's incredibly clear ocean water, not a pool).

He then popped out of the water to give hugs.

I think I found a ticklish spot on the dolphin's belly, so I got splashed a bit.

After playing with the dolphins, we hung out on the island for most of the rest of the day. We found a secluded beach ocean-side to hang out. Yes, that's ocean water, despite looking as clear as a swimming pool.

We didn't stay in the water for too long, as we were looking to just relax on our little beach.

Our little beach was great, but it lacked any shade. So, after a while we headed back to the lagoon side of the island. Here's a look at the lagoon opening into the ocean.

This side had thatched cover and palm trees to escape the Bahamian sun.

A look at the lagoon as we leave it on the last boat of the day.

More to come…

While at the Birmingham Zoo, we happened upon this White-Handed Gibbon getting his daily swinging workout. While the zoo is usually fun, the animals are generally just laying around. It was great to find an animal really putting on a show.

Note that the HD version is also 60 frames per second, so the motion should be pretty smooth in it.

Last weekend, we flew down to Alabama to meet our new nephew/cousin JJ. Molly and Leah got to meet the pilots thanks to the very nice Southwest flight crew, which the girls were very excited about.

As soon as we met JJ, Molly wanted to hold him.

The girls could not get enough of their new cousin!

Beginning that aunt/nephew bonding…

Sunday morning, many family members were present for JJ's service of Christian dedication.

Sweet snuggles with JJ.

A dapper little guy modeling the jon jon I made for his dedication.

Chad even got to hold JJ occasionally when Leah took a break :)

We also took a trip to the Birmingham Zoo while we were in town. Here are G'Mom and Grampa with all 4 of their grandkids. And an elephant.

The zoo also had a little splash pad, so the girls donned swimwear and had some fun. As always, Molly didn't want to get too wet. The jets didn't stay on all the time, so Molly figured out she could fill her bucket by setting it down when the jets were off and waiting for them to come on and fill it. She seems pleased with her scheme.

There are a lot more pictures from our trip here on Flickr.

We flew to Birmingham to celebrate Emmie's 3rd birthday. It didn't take long upon our arrival before the girls all headed to the play room. Nice shoes, Leah!

Emmie is so intent on using her computer that she has no idea Molly is about to give her a trim.

Grampa was appointed head book reader at bed time.

Emmie was insistent on having a flower party, so Aunt 'Chelle got creative with the flower theme.

Naturally, Molly and Leah were eager to assist with the present opening.

Time for cake!

It was finger lick in' good!

Leah took a quick break from the party festivities to assemble the alphabet with G'mom.

Emmie also got a kite, which was then of course flown. Apparently it's just as much fun to run after someone flying a kite as it is to fly it yourself.

Molly flying with Tate chasing. An image of timeless childhood.

Leah thought the flower balloons needed a bit of love.

The girls were finally all together to wear the Christmas jammies I made them. It was like Christmas Eve in January.

Emmie may be one of the few kids her age that knows what a chalkboard is. For those who don't, it's an upright display you write on with chalk while you stick out your tongue.

Baby rings can turn into steering wheels when you get older.

And the post the baby ring comes from can become a microphone.

Our last morning in Gatlinburg a few of us headed to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. It was literally down the hill from our lodge, so we decided to check it out. Molly and this fish appear to be seeing eye to eye.

Emmie and Leah enjoyed watching the seahorses.

This aquarium had a long tunnel with a slow moving walkway that allowed you to go under the sea. The tunnel was small enough that you really felt like you were right next to the animals.

Molly and Leah wanted nothing to do with these guys, but Emmie was up for petting this horseshoe crab.

The aquarium was full of little tunnels you could crawl in to get up close and personal with the undersea life.

Our last stop was to see the penguins, up close and personal.

Since we won't see my family in December, we posed for our family Christmas photo Friday morning.

We then headed inside and exchanged gifts with G'Mom, Grampa, Uncle J, Aunt 'Chelle, and Emmie. Molly is shocked by these socks.

She was also very excited to get a Belle doll.

Chad sometimes sticks a little Lego man on his camera to give the girls something to focus on. After using it for the pictures, Leah wanted to play with it. Even after getting a bunch of Christmas presents, she kept coming back to playing with the Lego man.

I love this picture of Leah opening her ornament from Grampa.

Emmie had to check hers out from all angles.

After the gift giving had concluded, Leah took a minute to teach Grampa a bit about how to use the iPad.

We headed to Gatlinburg, TN to gather with the Batson extended family for Thanksgiving. We arrived on G'mom's birthday, so we had to celebrate. Here G'mom is receiving her fantastic birthday hat Aunt 'Chelle made for her.

The morning of Thanksgiving we hiked up a mountain to see a waterfall (and burn some calories before the feast!).

Molly got a lot of extra time with G'mom and Grampa since we allowed her to have "special" days with no naps.

The girls are still not fond of big or active dogs, but Max is neither of these. Max enjoyed sitting quietly on Dot's lap, and Leah thought that made him the perfect dog to pet.

The house we rented had a pool table, which was lots of fun for adult and child alike.

The Batson clan (well, almost all of us).

All three girls had a blast playing together. Who needs swords when you've got shakers.

G'Mom and Grampa found this little swing and set it up on their sun porch. Of course, they all constantly wanted to swing.

Everyone loves a good book.

We visited the children's hospital in Memphis, where Grampa works.

And then headed to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks. It was the fastest march of ducks ever! One minute the elevator door opened and 15 seconds later the duck were in the pool! The other girls eventually tired of the ducks, but Molly couldn't get enough.

The girls had lots of fun with balloons, and Leah was determined that she could blow up this one.

Cookie baking with G'mom. A little on the sheet, a little in the mouth...

And just to prove that we were all indeed there.

Both Molly and (especially) Leah like to watch Bubble Guppies on Nick Jr. When we started talking about flying to see G'mom and Grampa in Memphis the "Gup, Gup and Away" episode became an instant hit. We sang, "Yeah, we're gonna fly. Fly, fly, fly, fly, fly. fly" many, many times during our traveling. Molly was super excited when she was given her own set of Delta wings!

Michelle, Jeremy and Emmie drove up from Birmingham to visit too. We took the girls to the Children's Museum of Memphis, which was packed with fun activities. Here's Leah doing some indoor fishing on the Mississippi River.

The fishing pole was a bit hard to handle, so switching to a net which was much easier for Emmie.

Molly is ready to fight some fires.

Molly's absolute favorite part was launching paper airplanes. She got very good at shooting them and even managed to get it in the target a good bit of the time.

Leah gave us a puppet show.

The museum also had a couple green screens for the kids to have fun with. Who knows where they saw themselves on the monitor, but Chad had some editing fun.

More to come tomorrow...