My Cup Runneth Over...

I have been meaning to post a picture of Jesse's Paramedic Certificate that came in the mail a few days ago, but haven't had the chance. Well tonight I had one of the sweetest and emotional moments with Ryker that fits perfectly with the picture. I have to share it.

After putting Cy to bed, I came back upstairs to have Ryker read to me. He got these kids novel books for Christmas and he has been reading a page a night. What a great little reader he has become. It's so much fun to sit and listen to him sound out some of these tougher words, and get them.

Anyway, Ryker has our 2013 Christmas Card serving as his bookmark.  And as he was patiently waiting for me, I see that he's looking at the card. Not thinking anything of it until he says to me "Mom, I'm just so happy for my Dad."

At this moment I realize the tears welling up in his eyes. So I ask him "What makes you say that?"

He says, in a shaky voice "I'm just so happy and proud of him for finishing his test." And looks again at the card. I can tell he's fighting back the urge to just break down and cry.

But then I start to get emotional over the fact that my, almost six year old boy can feel that "happy cry" feeling, recognize the hard work his Dad has put in over the past year and know that it's a big deal that his Dad passed his final test.... That kid is amazing. The tears are welling up in my own eyes as I write about the sensitive boy I have. He is something else. The Lord has blessed me with a special boy!

As soon as we finished reading I called Jesse at work to tell him about it. We both agreed that it's so sweet and weird at the same time. So weirdly sweet that we (as parents) are having a moment like this with our own boy, who doesn't seem old enough to us, to express that kind of love and emotion about someone. He has always been sensitive to others feelings, but to see it at this level of "maturity" is AMAZING!

My goodness, I love this kid. He certainly is destined for Greatness!

It also goes to show that this past year didn't only affect Jesse, it affected all of us in one way or another. We can all feel that relief of it being over. And a sense of pride towards Jesse! We all can't help but boast that he is a Firefighter Paramedic.

Potty Training Continued...

I knew it was too good to be true. All day yesterday Cy didn't go to the bathroom in the toilet, only in his underwear. Poor Jesse was just flustered with the whole thing when I got home from work.

So then I thought, Heidi will be with the boys today and she can help Cy get back on track. When I got home from work she told me he had gone to the bathroom in the toilet all afternoon.

But since I've been home he's gone in his underwear 3 to 4 times. #2 and #1. Yuck!

This is going to be a challenge.

.....Right as I was typing that, Cy just told me he needed to pee. And so we went to the bathroom, he sat down, and went!

YAY! There is hope!

I'm praying that by Sunday he has it down.

This day just keeps getting better...

I have been dreading the task of Potty Training Cyrus. He can certainly be stubborn at times and do the complete opposite of what you want him to do. So I thought I would struggle with it. I was kinda putting it off, saying that I was watching for signs of when he was ready (mostly true). Well, I decided today I would go for it. After picking Ryker up from school I had no where to go, so we could focus on the chore at hand with a positive attitude.

 

First, I pulled out Ryker's old underwear and I put a pair on Guy (Cy's bunny) and a pair on Cy. Cy thought that was so funny that Guy had a pair on too.

 

Second, we set up a small toilet for Guy and a small seat on the big toilet for Cy. So Cy and Guy could go together. We read a book and while Cy wasn't watching I poured some water in the Guy toilet to "simulate" him peeing. Once I showed Cy that Guy went potty, then Guy got a treat.

 

So we sat and sat...Nothing. By this time it was nap time. I knew once I put a diaper on him for bed he'd wake up wet. But I wasn't going to stress it. If things work out today it'll be great. 

 He took a nap for a few hours and when he woke up he came running upstairs with a soaked diaper and really concerned that he went pee in his diaper. So he asked me to take it off so he could go in the toilet.

Still nothing.

So back went the underwear and out came the Sippy-cup with Gatorade. I needed to get his bladder full again.

Over the course of an hour I would ask him if he wanted to try to go potty. Each time he obliged and he tried. But still nothing.

Finally at one point I catch him removing his underwear and running to the bathroom and climb up on the toilet. I asked him if he was going to go potty? and he said "Uh-Huh". Before I we know it, he went! AHHHH!

Of course you have to make a big deal about it. Give him a treat and call everybody in the family to tell them his good news.

The remainder of the night he did that 2 more times. Went to the bathroom without me asking him if he needed to go. Then he was so excited to get a treat after each time.

So I think he's got it down. But I'm still shocked how quickly he caught on. All this time I have been dreading it and it turned out to be so simple. Lets hope it carries on into tomorrow.

What a great day for our family! Two HUGE mile stones have been conquered. I'm very pleased.

HE PASSED!!!!!

Jesse left for work this morning and within a few minutes I received a text from him that said... "I passed officially".

My first response was "WAHOO!!!" but then the tears started to come. I didn't expect to cry over it. I knew I'd be excited but never saw myself getting emotional about it. But it makes sense. This last year has been a big trial for our family and what a rewarding feeling it is to be done with it. My heart feels so full that the tears are spilling out. Words cannot express the feelings of my heart right now. I feel a sense of relief, pride, love, and gratitude for Jesse and his hard work. Never  was there a doubt in my mind that he would pass. He is AMAZING!!!!!

Congrats to Utah's Newest Paramedic! I love him OH so much!

Next step is to secure a Paramedic position in Ogden. And we are crossing our fingers that it'll be on A-shift. Jesse has really liked that shift. But if he has to switch to B or C shift, we'll just deal with that then.

National EMS Test

I'm a little emotional writing about this because I can't believe we have come to this point.  Today Jesse went and took his National EMS test! It's strange to think that we started this long, rough and trying journey a year ago. But here we are. It feels almost like yesterday, yet at the same time, so long ago. So much happened that it seemed like two years should have gone by.

Today I was doing some small studying about Faith. And a thought struck me. What has Faith done for you in your life? And the answer is simple. Faith has given me strength to endure the hard and trying times of my life. Knowing there is a Father in Heaven watching out for me and my family is comforting. With that knowledge I feel like I could take on any hurdle he puts in my way. It may not be easy, but I will come out of it a stronger person.

Now, this last year was hard on me and the boys, but not nearly as rough as it was on Jesse. Words can't express the gratitude I have for his dedication. He suffered long and hard to get to this point. And the boys and I are so proud of him and we LOVE him for it.

Back to the test. Jesse is hesitant to let me write about this test because he doesn't know if he passed or not. Results won't be available for a few weeks by mail. But luckily he can look online tomorrow. So we anxiously wait.

The test is an adaptive test. It adjusts questions on how you are answering them. Also the amount of questions for every person that takes it is different. The max amount is 150. So the fewer questions you get, the better. Today Jesse finished at 80 questions. When he told me that he said that was a good sign. But he has heard of a guy failing at 70 questions and another guy passing at 150 questions. So it's unpredictable. But I'm pretty confident to say that I think he passed.

Only time will tell.
Until tomorrow.

New Year's Sledding

Keeping with tradition we spent the afternoon sledding. It's a fun way to celebrate the New Year. Happy 2014! Not gonna lie... I've been looking forward to this year for a year now. Haha. 2013 brought some challenges, but truthfully I wouldn't change it. We made it and we are better people because of it. YAY!!!

 

Last year I was sick for the sledding day so I couldn't go. This year Jesse had to work, so he couldn't come. Kinda funny how things balance out. So I got to spend time with these munchins. 



We met at a park near Mike and Heidi's house. Andrew, Emily, Sterling, Mom and Dad all came. 

 We got a few good runs in. But it was just so busy on the bigger hill, we thought it would be safer for the little ones to stay on the smaller hill. There were so many people walking up while others sledding down super fast because the snow was iced over. It was a formula for disaster. We saw one kid walking up the hill, crying with a bloody mouth.

 Eventually we went off on our own and had a little snowball fight. Well I watched and took pictures as Grandpa and the Grandkids had a snowball fight.

 Then the boys noticed the park, so they wanted to play on that instead of the snow.

 So the girls watched and talked with each other. Haha.

 Before we left Heidi wanted to get a few runs in with the boys. And they loved it.

After two hours we were all tired and hungry, so we went to Mom and Dad's. Mom was so great and had Chili all ready for us to eat. So Yummy!

30 is Coming Fast...

28 years old. Huh. 10 years ago I would have told you that sounds old. But now that I'm here, I don't feel any older than I did 10 years ago. I've actually really enjoyed my 20's. Several of my greatest moments have happened during them. Two of them are my boys. They make me so happy and have given me the title "Mother". I strive every day to live up to that title. Even though it isn't easy at times, it's certainly worth it.

 

Another great moment is discovering the love for health and fitness. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have learned how to be and become healthy/strong. I not only believe that what I do in the gym not only strengthens me physically but mentally. Which in turn plays out into my family. I take care of myself, so I can take care of them.

 

The greatest moment in my life didn't happen in my 20's, it happened before. About 10 years ago I met Jesse for the first time. And over the course of these 10 years, we have grown from acquaintances to a strong team. So even though I met him when I was 18, he has filled my life with great moments throughout the years. Oh I love him.  

 

On the day of my birthday we gathered as family, both my side and Jesse's side, at Mike and Heidi's home. Heidi spoiled me with a yummy Salmon and veggie dinner and homemade German Chocolate Cupcakes. All of my favorites.

 

When my family arrived, I opened my gifts. New clothes, a sewing machine, money, gift cards, jewelry and 2012's blog posts printed up in a book. 

Manda is in town for a little while. I was happy to have my siblings there to show me love and support. They are AWESOME and they make me smile.

 A big shout out to the woman who gave me life. Wouldn't be celebrating this day if it wasn't for her. I forever am grateful for her and her sacrifice. Love her.

 Everybody just hanging out. Which I love.

Monday Night. Jesse took me to dinner at Mikado. A favorite of his, and now mine. I'm changing my ways as I get older. He's always loved Sushi and I've grown to love it too. I'm picky though. I don't care for the seaweed, so I get Rice/Soy paper instead. And I still struggle with some of the raw fish. I always seem to enjoy the ones that have crap and/or shrimp instead. I'm sure eventually I'll get there. Baby steps.  I'm just happy to spend time with my #1.

Afterwards he took me to see "Saving Mr. Banks". Even though it was a Disney Movie I REALLY enjoyed it. The plot is about how the movie "Mary Poppins" came about. Very well done. The whole time I was simply taken by it. It was funny, emotional and relatable. AWESOME!

Had a simple, yet good birthday this year. I had a huge amount of birthday wishes on Facebook, which made me feel loved. Grateful to all my friends and family for helping me feel special on my special day. Love you all!

Continuing Christmas Day

To simplify Christmas Day we went to my family's house the day after. Since my parents had given us the trip for our gift this year, it was a chance for the siblings to exchange presents and to give back to Mom & Dad.

 

The boys were spoiled because they have so many Aunts and Uncles that like to get them something.

 And they know just what they like too. Ryker LOVES to learn about the Ocean Life.

 I was so excited to give this blanket to the parentals. It's a photo throw. I designed it and then uploaded the picture to Costco, where they made it and shipped it to my house.

After we opened gifts, we ate a yummy breakfast cooked by Mom and Dad. Everyone ate themselves into a coma. The living room was spotted with bodies laying on the ground. I for some reason was ready to hit the gym. So I had to anxiously wait for Jesse to be ready to go. An hour later we left the boys with the family and went.

When we finished we headed back home to pick up Manda and the boys because we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Schrader. They wanted us to join them for lunch. We couldn't stay too long because Cy was starting to get cranky for his nap. We thanked them for the meal, wished them a Merry Christmas and we headed home.

The rest of the day was spent lounging and relaxing. Ryker went with Manda, Ty and Chan to see a movie with Craig and Alexa that night, while Jesse, Cy and I held down the fort at home.

Merry Christmas 2013

Since Jesse had to leave for his shift at 7am we had to wake the boys up at 6am so we could spend Christmas together. At the start of the year we learned that he would be working on Christmas Day. I was super bummed back then, but I've had a whole year to cope with the idea. This is going to be our lives from now on, so there is no need to complain about it. We must make the most of it.

 

The boys were really sweet. Before we opened presents I like to read the Christmas story from the Scriptures. Just to have some spirituality before we have our worldly moments.

 

Then it was present time. They were both really excited about their new bikes "Santa" had brought for them. Kinda sad they can't use them until the spring. 

 Both eagerly opening their new helmets.

 When our hour with Daddy was all over we sent him on his way. Over the course of the next two hours the boys played with their new nerf guns and we got ready to go to Grandma Heidi's.

We all met around 10:00am for breakfast. Since we had been up for 4 hours already it was second breakfast for us. Yummy.

After breakfast we all gathered around the table/fire to partake of the Smith Tradition. And that is to drink hot Chocolate (or Egg Nog) out of our Santa Mugs while we read the story of Good King Wenceslas.

 It's a story of a king who served his fellow men. A good example of what we should do. And a great message for us to remember, not only during Christmas, but throughout the whole year.

Then we opened gifts from one another. It's not as quiet and mild with the two younger ones. They were excited and fighting over each others new toys. There certainly isn't a dull moment when the 2 year olds are together.

Once we finished we just hung out the remainder of the day. Kaytee and Kendal (cousins of Jesse) came over for an hour or so to visit. So that was nice to catch up with them. And it was also nice to not have to rush to other places. I enjoyed having a lazy Christmas Day. The boys and I hung around until 5pm and we packed up and headed up to the Ogden Fire Station to go and visit Jesse.

It was great to see him. We filled each other in on how the rest of our day had gone. And talked about how strangely normal it feels to have him gone. I think if Jesse had started this job only a few months ago I would have had a much harder time with him being away.

 Jesse having this job comes with a sense of Pride. I know it's frowned upon in the scriptures, but I have to admit how PROUD the boys and I are of him. So even though he had to work on Christmas, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Low key Christmas this year. And I loved it. Nothing like being with family. It's the greatest! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

To keep the true spirit of Christmas, The Smith Family likes to give service. Last year we took dinner to a needy family. We loved it so much that we wanted to do it again, but we had a hard time finding a family. So we went to the retirement center near Mike and Heidi's after a yummy Christmas Eve Dinner.



 We went to a handful of elderly ladies and gentleman that don't get very many visits and sung them a couple of Christmas Carols and gave them a treat. Oh every single one of them were just tickled and in return my heart felt full.

 Another treat was Grandma Sally came to visit all the way from Denver. So it was great to see her. I was happy that we could all be together for our special Christmas Eve Traditions.

Temple Square Lights

The weekend before Christmas we joined with Mike and Heidi, Andrew, Emily and Sterling to see the Temple Square Lights.

 

We first gathered together at Olive Garden for dinner and then met up in front of Temple Square.

 

Cy and Sterlihg have the greatest time together. I was tickled at them wanting to hold hands as we walked through the square.

 Funny thing about them was that they had ZERO interest in the Christmas lights. All they cared about was the piles of snow they could climb on. The group attempted several times to get them to even look above them at the colorful lights. Nope! They didn't care. The Snow was so much better.

 The grounds were packed with a lot of people having the same idea as us. Which is great, but not so great when you have two 2 year olds that want to run away from you. We were all on edge trying to locate them constantly. So we resulted to shoulder rides.

 I love these people so much (Tyson and Tayler couldn't come because they were sick, but they were missed). I am very blessed to have such cool in-laws. I don't even think of them as the "in-laws". They are so good to me and they love me and my family.

Homeward Bound (Day 8)

Sunday Morning (Dec 15) we woke up super early to get off the ship to make it in time for our flight.  I have never seen so many people in line for the TSA security. And luckily for us we pretty much got to go to the front of the line in the family line. Thank you Cyrus for having a stroller.

 

Flying standby to Florida wasn't a big deal. Everything went smoothly. Going back home wasn't looking so lucky. Instead of flying from Ft. Lauderdale to New York we went from Ft Lauderdale to LAX. And then my mom said we would shuttle over to Long Beach and fly home to Salt Lake.

 

Well I guess the Long Beach to Salt Lake flight was looking bad. So Plan D was to fly to Vegas and then rent a car and drive home from there. UGH!!!!

 

This picture was taken I think on our shuttle ride from LAX to Long Beach. At this point they were exhausted but still had smiles on their faces. Little did they know how much further they had to go.

Good Old Long Beach Airport. I can't count the number of times I have been stuck there and total hours I have spent there.

On the plane to Vegas.

We are all faking our smiles at this point. We had been up since 5am Miami time (which is 3am Utah time) and we landed in Vegas around 9:00pm but still had a 6 hour drive ahead of us.

We rented two cars to make things more comfortable and bearable for everyone. Jesse and I drove in shifts. I would sleep for an hour or so while he drove and then we'd switch. Man I haven't felt that tired in a really long time. It was all I could do to stay awake. What a ROUGH ride home. I was super Jealous of the boys all cozy in the back seat sound asleep.

We pulled into our driveway around 3am. Which means it took us about 24hours to get home. That's the closest I have come to being awake for a full 24 hours. I couldn't do what Jesse does. I would be a zombie.

Jesse and I put the boys in bed then went to bed ourselves. We were praying they would sleep in. But they didn't. So we got up to feed them breakfast and put a show on for them so we could rest a little. When Ryker went into the living room to turn on the Xbox, I hear him ask me "Mom? Where is the Xbox?"

I'm thinking "That's silly, why would he say that?"

But when I walk into the living room and look where the Xbox should be... IT WAS GONE! So I asked Jesse "Did you lend the Xbox to somebody while we were gone?"

He said "No."

Then we text everybody that had access to our house to see if they knew anything about it.

Nothing.

The realization that it was stolen started to settle in. I still have a hard time believing it. We called the police and filed a report with them. The police officer asked for names and numbers of those who had access to our house. He also checked to see if it had been sold, but it hasn't.

Strangest thing about the whole thing is whoever stole the Xbox took 3 HDMI cables, only took 1 of our 2 controllers, left all the games and the Kinect Camera. Crazy Right? If you are going to take something, take it all. Doesn't make sense to only take part of it.

So we don't know if someone saw that we were gone and knew where the spare key was, or if a friend was with the select people that had access to our house. Either way it's gone. Sad Story.

I had Jesse change out the locks to our house to help me feel better. So Merry Christmas to us. New Locks! And Merry Christmas to whoever stole our Xbox.

Day at Sea (Day 7)

Another day spent relaxing on the ship.  Luckily this time Jesse wasn't sea sick and the ship wasn't rocking nearly as much as it was the first of the week.

 

We sent the boys to the kids camp that day and around lunch time we went and picked them up to go eat. They were all decked out in face paint and their t-shirts that they got to decorate. The Carnival Kids Camp was so great with the boys and all the rest of the children. They had a blast going there. 

 After we all ate, the boys wanted to go back to the kids camp. So then Jesse, Chan and I went to the deck to read and relax. I haven't had that much time to read a book in a really long time. I was loving it. When I am home if I have time to read I should be reading my Relief Society Lesson. Since I was done with that for the year I could read a recreational book.

 Our last night at dinner we were all talking about how quickly the whole week has gone by. We were all feeling sad that it was our last night on the ship. Ryker especially. When he heard that we said it was the last night, he started to cry, saying "I don't want to leave the ship." Glad to know he had that much fun.

We had to get a picture with our awesome servers that we had all week long. They were so great and took awesome care of us.

 We get to know them over the course of a week and then we are sad to say goodbye.

Grand Turk (Day 6)

It's bittersweet arriving at the last stop. Looking back over the week we had so much fun, but knowing its soon coming to an end it's sad.

 Grand Turk was Beautiful. I think it would be a great place to go diving or taken to a snorkel location. But to keep things cheap we stayed on the beach. Which I am totally ok with. Knowing the boys love it and I love it, I am happy. Neat thing about this stop was how incredibly close the cruise ship was to the shore. We litteraly walked off right onto the beach. Well we walked across a pier and then onto the beach, but still it was crazy. I could have swam to it in a minute if it wasn't blocked off.

 Another great place to snorkel. There wasn't a ton of stuff to see. But enough to keep us busy for hours. I guess Ryker saw a Barracuda at first and came back to the beach to tell me. I admit I didn't believe him at first because I thought he just saw a big fish and assumed it was a Barracuda. No. It really was a Barracuda. Jesse showed me the footage on from his GoPro camera.

When I finally made it out there, we tried to find it again and had no such luck.

 This guy was obsessed with the sand. He was rubbing it on his belly and anything else that he saw. I had to beg him to come play with us in the ocean.

At one point we put the life jackets on the boys and brought them with us to snorkel (All of this is recorded on the GoPro, I've been hoping to get some pictures from the footage, but Jesse is still trying to figure that out). It was so fun to have our little family together exploring in the ocean. Cy rode on Jesse's back with his head above water, the rest of us were floating on our tummies looking around. Cy doesn't have snorkel gear so I put some swimming goggles on him so he could look in the water and see some fish. But the goggles were too big, so they would fill up half way with water. About a half hour into it Cy started to get too cold. So I took him and Ryker back on the beach to play and get warmed up.

 Mom and Dad had enough of the sun so they headed back to the ship. Tyson had gone earlier because he was sick of the sun as well. But Jesse, Chantel, Ryker, Cy and I wanted to stay until the last possible minute we could.

 Chantel and I took a picture together and then she went out to join Jesse in the water. While the boys and I were playing in the sand (attempting to build a sand castle, that Cy would mess up every 30 seconds) I see Jesse running up the beach towards us. When he reached us, I asked him what was wrong, but he had run back to get his GoPro because he saw an Octopus that he wanted to record.

Oh I was so jealous. But I couldn't go with him to see it because the boys would be alone. So I hoped that when he returned to the area he could get some good footage of the octopus.

Awhile later, him and Chantel returned. Sadly, with no footage of the octopus. I guess he couldn't find it when he got back. Big Fat Bummer.

 It came time for us to head in. As we were walking along the Pier I couldn't help but admire the beautiful sunset. Setting on a wonderful day! Cy was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the stroller on the short walk back to the ship.

 When we arrived back to our room, Cy was still asleep. So we parked his stroller on the balcony to let him sleep while we all showered and got ready for formal night. At one point he woke up and he was super grumpy and whiny. So I decide to get him out of his sandy swimsuit and give him a shower. Hoping that'll help him feel better. Nope. He was SCREAMING about everything. Mad that I would pick him up, mad that I would put him down. Upset I was undressing him and angry I was washing the sand off of him. Trying to get a diaper and his clothes was a joke. He just screamed and screamed.

All the while I think I hear a knock on the door to our room that was joined to another room. Here I am with a screaming baby in my arms and I'm only in my garments. No way am I answering that door. They probably just wanted us to be quiet.

Well before long, I hear a knock on our main cabin door. I look through the peep hole and see an older man standing there, looking kind of anxious. Again, screaming child in my arms and only in my garments. Too scared to answer. So I ask Jesse to get out of the shower and answer the door. He does and puts on the bath robe.

I'm back in the room still with Cy screaming, as I'm straining to listen to what this guy wants. All I can hear is Jesse saying "Thank you" and "No we should be giving this to you."

He closes the door and turns around with a bottle of wine in his hand. The guy brought us the bottle of wine to tell us he understood that vacations with kids were not easy and that we should be sure to find time for ourselves and to enjoy the wine together. Very thoughtful!

I expected to be reprimanded from him because we were being too loud of neighbors. But instead he did the complete opposite and made us feel really good. Jesse didn't have the heart to tell him that we didn't drink wine. So he gladly excepted it with gratitude of this man's understanding attitude towards our situation.

Cy finally calms down and we are able to finish getting ready and head to our formal dinner.

 After dinner they had some dancing. Chantel and I were the only ones at our table that wanted to join in. So we danced away while everyone watched.

 Love this Handsome Man. I was so grateful to have him with me.

 After dinner we went to the 2nd Hasbro Game Show. And again Ryker said he wanted to go up on stage. The Cruise Director tells everybody that if they want to get up on stage that they had to get his attention and then answer a trivial question.

No joke, Ryker is in the isle doing a jumping-jack-dance to get the guy's attention. Finally the last person the Cruise Director chooses was Ryker. We of course help him with the question and he ends up on stage. Who would have thought? He actually pulled it off.

He was on the Red Team and was playing "Operation", but Ski-ball style.

 The team the accumulated the most points from the balls going into the random holes would win. Lo and Behold the Red Team won!

 Ryker's team then got to pick their Monopoly cards and one by one put them into the Machine to see how much they were worth. I love this picture because it was cute to see Cy cheering for his big brother.

 Ryker had picked the Monopoly card that had a skateboard on it. The Cruise Director asked every player why they picked their specific card. When he asked Ryker about it, Ryker said "Because I like them".

Jesse and I are laughing because Ryker doesn't own a skateboard or has ever asked for one or ever been interested in one.

When he puts it into the machine the amount of Monopoly Money came out to be $28,000. The entire audience jumped up and cheered for him. It was the largest amount yet.

After 2 more people putting in their cards, Ryker still held the highest amount and ended up winning the whole thing! The winning prize was $200 worth of Hasbro Games. $50 of travel size games and $150 gift card to HasbroToys.com

 I couldn't believe he won the whole thing. So Proud of him.

Afterwards my Dad asked Ryker why he picked the skateboard and he said "Because that boy won with the skateboard last time,"

Ryker had remembered and analyzed from the last game that the boy who won had picked the skateboard. So Ryker totally out smarted the game and picked the same thing.

The clever part is the fact that he didn't spill his guts to the cruise director about it. He played it off by saying he liked skateboards. SMART KID!

We had several people come up to us and Ryker afterwards to congratulate him and tell us what a cool kid he is.  Couldn't agree more.