Tuesday, February 24, 2009

How long is a week?

A week is my baby up-ing a clothing size, a few too many missed naps for Little Princess, being in 4 different countries, Little Man no longer fitting in his diapers, several days of missed exercise, wonderful nights full of sleep, tons and tons of delicious food, 5 loads of laundry, and likely a couple extra pounds hanging out around my mid-section.

What a week we all just had!! My wonderful parents spoiled the family (minus brax, cuz he's on his mission) and Grandpa Mutt and took us on a cruise to Meso-America. We all left on V-day, we traveled in 3 groups. Lover Boy, Little Princess and I had to make a pit stop in Denver to send Little Man to spend some special time with his Gramma Cheryl and Papa Joe. The rest of them stopped else where. Saturday it snowed terribly so we left plenty early to get to the airport with enough time. We made it there and of course our flight was delayed due to the stormy weather. We finally got to New Orleans late that night with starving bellies.


Ivy made a friend while we were getting some lunch in the airport:)





The kids were so good while waiting for our plane.





When we stopped in Denver to drop of Little Man with his grandparents, we were so lucky and got to meet Grandma Lauri for our first time.

We had all morning before we could board the ship so we went with some of the group to the Oak Alley Plantation. It was simply amazing. I loved it. I love the trees and the beautiful home. It is the plantation that was in the soap opera "Days of our Lives" where Bo and Hope were married. I did make sure that Lover Boy paid special attention to all the detail, because someday I would like a home just like that. LOL...so demanding, yes I know.:)


Oak Alley




Our family standing on the 2nd floor balcony of the beautiful mansion with Oak Alley behind us.


Once we got to the ship our anticipation grew. None of us had ever been on a cruise and we were so excited to say the least. We had so much fun on the ship. We ate to our hearts content and the boys had contests (I swear it had to be a contest) to see who could eat the most. We definately got dad's moneys worth for how much they pigged out. It was funny to watch them eat so much. Little Princess loved the Kids Crew. They did so many fun things: Princess Party, Talent Show, PJ Party, Pool Party, Wild Safari, Bugs and Butterfly, Mardi Gras Party, they had movie times and learned all sorts of hilarious songs. She was so excited to go each day. My favorite thing was the Talent Show. My mom, Aunt Tonya and I headed to the theater. We waited because there was a sign on the door that said rehearsal was going on. After realizing we must be in the wrong spot, we rushed to the other end of the ship and walked in to where it was being held while Little Princess's class was on the stage singing. My dad grabbed us and showed us the seats he'd saved for us but I couldn't see (my vision is terrible, especially in the dark room) so I headed up to the front and knelt down behind the little kiddies. Little Princess was so cute. The class had their faces painted like bumble bees. They were singing and doing hand movements then all of a sudden Little Princess just sits down on the stage. She starts rolling around in her dress and being totally oblivious to the program. She had me laughing so hard. Then when it was time to sit so a little girl could do her talent Ivy stood right up. I assume she couldn't see sitting down. It was so cute though. I was laughing so hard at her, along with everyone else around me, that it made tears start to roll down my cheeks. I sat and wondered if she was just bored, didn't have any friends, or just overwhelmed by it all, whatever it was it was just so cute, and unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.

Pictures of Kids Crew Face Painting:

Lion face for the Wild Safari




Mardi Gras mask





Bumble Bee face for Talent show, they sang "Bringing Home my Baby Bumble Bee"





Pool Party- can you believe there was over 20 little kids in this Hot Tub?! There was barely room for Little Princess to sneak her legs in, but she did end up sliding in the rest of her body after some shifting of the kiddos.


Boys Pigging Out:

Joe enjoying a little midnight snack...I think there were 4 orders of Chicken Strips.




Kevin enjoying a double burger with a steak also..."You the man" he made a friend while eating this who kept hollering "You the MAN". It was hilarious.



Misc. Pictures:

Everywhere we went Little Princess was on someone's shoulder. She never had to walk. Lucky little thing. Thanks everyone for helping carry her all over. I'd have died or gone crazy listening to her cry that she couldn't walk anymore.






While on the ship one night they had Family Feud, Joe's name was drawn and he got to play. They didn't win, but really the game wasn't fair. It was so fun to watch though. We love that show.





Me and my fabulous Daddy. We actually took this picture to make Little Princess jealous so she'd take a picture with...hmm, I can't remember if I wanted a picture with her or my dad did, anyhow it didn't work; but I did get this good one of us:)



The ruins were incredible. Day 1 off the ship was in Costa Maya, MEX. The poor area was not beautiful to look at because of the Hurricane 2 years ago that had wiped out everything. We did enjoy the ruins though.

What a sight, huh?!





Little Princess climbing while we were listening about the history of the site.



Day 2 was in Guatemala. This was our favorite area. The land is simply beautiful. It was lush and green everywhere.

Day 3 was Belize. I loved Belize, it looked a little more wealthy than the previous 2 places. The food there was delicious that they served.




We had to take a boat ride down a river to see the beautiful temples. It was fun, we saw a few crocodiles in there.




Temple in Belize, it was huge. We did all climb it, coming down made my heart miss a few beats. I was terrified that I might trip (and for those of you who know me, know that is not a far fetched idea because I'm always tripping), but everyone made it down unharmed.





This is the view from atop that ginormous temple. Isn't is simply stunning?





Joe pulled down a few lemons and ate them. I tried one slice, ooooh it sure was sour.

Day 4 was back in Mexico but at Playa del Carmen. We just relaxed at the beach. This was Little Princess's favorite day. She didn't have to walk anywhere and could just play. We did alot of shopping here. It was beautiful. The water was amazing.

Little Princess enjoying a day without walking and just playing. It was a beautiful beach!

After 8 long days I finally got to hold my Little Man again. It was the best! He was so much bigger than I left him, and this is true because he really did out grow his diapers and clothes in that week.

In short: We had a completely WONDERFUL time, THANKS SO MUCH MOM & DAD!!

2 comments:

AlexFam said...

What a great trip!

How come your hair looks so awesome in every shot?
Vacation must agree with you.

Mandy and Nate said...

I didn't know you guys where going on a cruise. That looks like so much fun. I need to talk Nate into going on one.