The cruise! The vacation! The anticipation! I didn't want it to come b/c I didn't want it to end!
I put in a few last hours at school, with my fresh orange tan, Jared put in some hours at work...we met up with the Boley's and Mariner's...and off we loaded up in their SUV (9 + suitcases) to catch our flight. We were all smiles. Who wouldn't be???!!! Caribbean here we come!
Oddly enough, as we were sitting at our terminal, I saw this skinny blond lady and thought to myself, "Adrienne...that lady looks like Hillary Weeks. Hmm...could it be? We are not in SLC... so could it be her? How do I approach her? Ask her if she likes to sing?" Well...b/c I was labeled as the girl with "100 questions that I need to ask a day," I of course approached her. Her scripture quad gave me some motivation. She was so nice and with a great disposition. I wanted to ask her all about her personal life, how she gets inspiration, her family and what it's like traveling to all of the TOFW conferences. But, I was surprised at how quickly she would fire the questions right on back to me! Trisha was lucky enough to sit next to her for the entire flight to TN. They are pretty much BFF. I only wished that I could've picked her brain more.
Here is Chris Mariner, TRYING to get some last minute shut eye. Keep in mind that this is at 10am! We are on our way OUT of the hotel that we all crammed into the night before. Yes, all 6 of us with 1 king bed to share and a pull out twin sofa. I shared a bed with the Boley's. Leslie was stuck in the middle...and I think Paul and I got up at least 3x's together to go pee (which was pretty funny!). Jared slept on the floor in a comfy fetal position on top of two cushions. A good sport he was. We enjoyed a buffet breakfast (fresh pineapple and eggs were really hitting the spot for me), and a quick trip to Marshall's for some last minute browsing.
Navigator of the Seas! The hustle and bustle of people coming and going. All of the strapless dresses, sunglasses and flip flops told me that we were in the right spot. Leslie stole this picture of the security lines before getting "caught." How boring a job to be the officer who makes people erase their photos for "privacy" issues. Oh well...who cares...we were on our way!
Loading up on the walkway...so exciting!
A view from the balcony. This was the Mariner's room. Our room consisted of just enough room to take 4 steps from the bed to the bathroom. I think it's pretty cozy inside the "cave," but Jared insists on upgrading next time with a balcony view. You get pretty mixed up in your head b/c there is only the humming buzz of the engine to listen to, no lights AT ALL, and no clock to look to guide your sleeping patterns! I often would wake up so confused, and force myself back to bed. I kept wondering how the cruise staff handles living inside a boat for 9 months at a time. Not much fresh air, sunshine, or room. Do they get claustrophobic? They sure don't show it b/c they are beaming with energy every time you see them. Smiles all around. You feel like a million bucks from their customer service.
Ahhh...the "Windjammer Cafe." I went through serious windjammer withdrawals when I got home. What luxury. A 24 hour buffet available for YOU whenever YOU feel like snacking, chowing down or browsing for a treat. I loved the salad bar, more eggs, and fresh pineapple. Oddly, with my prego taste buds, I rarely touched any desserts...or bread. What the heck?
Leaving the port! Good bye USA!
Jared entertained me with a little bit 'o Salsa dancing on deck. It was quite the maneuver with my belly in the way. I love his facial expressions. I know he loves to dance, and is good at it. But, I can only get him to do it once in a blue moon. C'mon honey, dance it up!!! Oh...little did I know who would later be MY inspiration for dancing :)
Our first night inside the Nutcracker Formal Dining Hall. We all decided to dress up nightly for our meals (excluding casual Chris). It was a nice break from the swimsuit/cover up attire that we had on all the time. Great company. Superb service. Amazing selections of food and desserts. It was encouraged to eat 2 appetizers every night, or 3 entrees. Bring on 6 desserts! I loved the views every night...are we really floating on top of the ocean??!!
I loved walking on the top of the cruise ship and letting the fresh air whip my hair around.
Finally! Sunshine! Trish enjoyed our one $5 virgin pina coladas. For some, it was a real "booze cruise" where drinking was done around the clock. We came to recognize some of the really drunk kids on Spring Break, or the parents happily drinking b/c they were away from kids!
Do we look tan? We sure didn't get too much sun on the cruise...lots of wind and overcast skies.
Oh yes, the dancing! I convinced all 3 couples to take a Cha-Cha class after I was inspired by Maxim and Irene's (from the Ukraine) ballroom dance performance the previous night. In my heart, I was interacting with a REAL Patrick Swayze from Dirty Dancing. I had a serious dance crush on him. His dimples. His personality when on stage. His technique and ability. Best of all, he was not gay! He and his partner were in love. It was adorable to watch and made my heart twitter every time they looked at each other.
Seriously, isn't he a heart throb? The tall black latin pants, the white shirt...c'mon...he was the real thing! I was quite the scene with my prego belly and cover up...I felt pretty silly feeling so flustered standing next to him. Jared was a good sport and encouraged my innocent crush. I just felt a rush of memories back to my high school and SUU days when I used to ballroom dance. Such great days. I chatted with them a few times (with my 100 questions) and it was so fun to find out about their cruise ship lifestyle. Their dancing together was magic...so...beautiful...
Maxim...you are an amazing dancer! Thanks so much for letting me enjoy your performances! Such eye candy for such an old mama like myself.
Formal Night. Only problem. No husbands. No dates. No way!
We got all dressed up with nowhere to go. No worries. We took ourselves to the ice skating show and met up with them in the lobby. It was fun getting ready together, putting on stilletos (that was interesting going up and down stairs) and seeing all the other guests dressed up for prom too! I felt a bit silly with my big belly, trying to be "sexy" like my friends...but, I felt pretty enough when Jared looked at me in his cute way.
What cute dates! The criss crossed legs and candid shots were so fun to take.
Oh yes, a little bit of Karaoke at midnight is another experience! The Boley's were zonked out by 8:30pm, but we stayed up WAY late with all the drunk people to sing our little hearts out. Thanks Trish for singing all the high and low octaves to, "Come Undone." It was embarrassing. It was memorable. It was fun! All 7 people thought so too.
Welcome to the Grand Cayman Islands. Port #1. Not warm weather. Overcast. Windy. Upsetting b/c our excursion to go to Sting Ray bay got canceled b/c of "choppy weather." No! We specifically had planned everything around this particular beach of Sting Ray. Such a disappointment.
We posed for a few shots by a Dunkin' Donuts. Paul was resourceful to scoop up a variety of breakfast items as we rushed out of the boat to make it to our (canceled) excursion. There was a $10 minimum purchase at that shop. Really?!
We settled for a "local" snorkeling adventure. This was definitely a low-key and "do it yourself" one man job. No worries. Just get us out into the water so we can see some fish! The boat ride out was really refreshing...especially with the overcast skies and wind slapping me in the face.
Our boat captain was very handy, running around in his bare feet and throwing gear at everyone on board. They had courtesy juice and water, if you dare drink from the sketchy cooler with dirty cups. I was no where hot or dehydrated! I was wrapping myself up in my towel just to stay warm!
Jared found a really great concha shell. I really enjoyed holding his hand under the Caribbean sea as we snorkeled side by side (oh, so cute!). The second stop I opted to not snorkel b/c I was too shivering cold and full of goose bumps...but later dealt with sea sickness b/c the boat rocked so much while we waited for the other people to be done. It was like my morning sickness all over again...so I was not a happy camper.
They drive on the opposite side of the street. That was a fun experience riding shot gun.
Port #2: Cozumel Mexico. A gorgeous day!!! We were so excited to see some sunshine sparkling into the turquoise water...if only someone had told us that that sunshine would HIDE behind the clouds in the afternoon and threaten storm clouds! That is exactly when we booked our second snorkeling adventure. Grrr!!!
Standing in between the two gigantic docked cruise ships was very intimidating. Sure does make you feel like a tiny ant. We snuck a quick pose on the opposite cruise line's photo op.
Shopping around the tourist trap of where the cruise docks, we saw some pretty greenery and plenty of JUNK that we refused to buy :) We have bought all of them before and they either get broken, not played with, or forgotten about within days of returning.
We found a place that wouldn't charge $1 for a sombrero photo shoot.
My FAVORITE PART: eating authentic Mexican food on the beach! Steps away from the beautiful water...away from tourists...we felt like we found a diamond in the ruff. All our food came out without the commercialized "trimmings" that we see in Mexican USA places. My fish tacos were straight out of the ocean, no breading. The salsa and chips were made minutes before. The coca-cola was from Mexico (tasted the same to me), and the beans looked like runny diarrhea! oooh...but they were all so tasty-licious.
Back on board for our excursion....yes, the storm clouds came in very quickly...as did the wind and choppy weather. Not very enticing for a plunge into that water to find more fish! Trish opted to even stay on the cruise and not swim b/c it was so cold. I didn't blame her. I thought it was fun looking at everyone's goose bumps under water!
This snorkeling ship was super thorough with all they offered; a 101 pep talk on how to put on your gear (really unnecessary, who doesn't know how to put on a mask???), blocked off certain gates for families only, and even promoted tips at the end.
I swam for a bit, really enjoyed the depth of the ocean floor and seeing the schools of fish. Jared and Paul did some kayaking afterwards and loved exploring the sea floor. Us girls (and Chris) shivered on the beach.
And the $9 hamburgers they had grilling made me...hungry!
A quick shower and back to the boat for our Seafood night. I loved the salmon. Hit the spot. I even asked for a second portion of brussel sprouts for dessert (what is wrong with my taste buds?) The lobster was really yummy, and saturated in butter made it that much better.
This was our lead waiter, Shaun, from India. What a smile he had...very contagious. Even on his busier nights, he still made time for chit chat. I of course wanted to get to know HIM (with my 100 questions) and so we did find out that he is expecting his first baby in Sept. and he supposedly will make it back in time. I joked with him that every menu had a different flavor of curry (pumpkin, peanut, pineapple).
The minute we got back into Florida, the internet service was back, and our "boyfriends on a cruise" turned into "men back at work." The stress levels intensified and already we could tell that our trip was quickly turning back into reality. No!!!
Our last few hours was spent in Florida, Ft. Lauderdale....on St. Patty's day (Spring Break). Lots of young people and families everywhere. The weather was the prettiest there than in Mexico. Go figure! I am glad that the boys decided to go to the beach vs. a movie...so we could soak in a bit more sun.
A local pizzeria with a huge sandwich and slice of dough. I loved that bread.
Great friends. Beautiful beach. Sunshine on our faces. A great afternoon.
Wesley saw this picture and said, "What's wrong with you mama?" I guess my belly is really beginning to look different to him.
One last waltz on the beach before going back home.
After tears, a sweet family hearing Austin's sobbing offered them to have some of THEIR eggs and candies.
A cute family pictures...on our way to a baseball game that Sat. morning.
Easter morning: Isaac found his basket hidden inside his basketball hoop.
Austin found his hidden behind the filing cabinet.
Wesley had to go searching underneath the shoe baskets.
Funny enough, the boys didn't really like the candies I bought them; cotton candy and Reese's eggs. I have eaten more of them they they have! We also got them some swim gear for our pool.
This was Austin's natural expression when he saw that the bunny had left eggs in our backyard! So precious and excited.
We love our backyard.
Isaac finally caught on to what was going on.
Coloring eggs; took lots of patience and creativity.
Gotta love the Easter Family picture.
Sure do love my boys.
