Cruzin'

I am finally starting to recover from our great vacation last week. We spent a day in Fort Lauderdale on the beach before heading out on a 5 night cruise to Key West, Cozumel, and Belize. We traveled in a group of 31 people (we tend to travel in packs). We had an awesome day in Fort Lauderdale. Our hotel was right on the beach. We spent the afternoon splashing in the waves and lying on the beach. We closed out the evening with a great dinner at a local Italian restaurant.

The next day we headed for the boat, the Enchantment of the Seas. We sailed off just before dinner time. We had a nice evening walking around and getting acquainted with the ship. Our first stop in the trip was in Key West. Jaimie joined us for a trip to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. Chris and the kids had their fill of the heat, so headed back to the ship. Jaimie and I explored the town a little more before heading back to the ship. This was our formal night, so we all got dressed up and got our pictures taken. Gracie started making a habit of taking her naps at the dinner table. We ended our evening with a big group of us getting up and singing "We Are Family" during karaoke.

The next day took us to Cozumel. To say it was HOT would be an understatement! Chris and Gracie didn't leave the boat. Abby and Mom made it to the shops at the end of the pier before turning back. I went into town with a group of our friends. Most of them went back after a few minutes. I ended up walking around the town with our friend Connie. We went off the main road and look around in some smaller shops. I bought a dress for Gracie from a shop that had a pet monkey whose hand I held. I wish we would have gone to the beach here because the water was so beautiful. The heat got to me before I could do too much shopping and we headed back. We closed out this evening playing a crazy game called "Quest." We worked in teams and the cruise director would ask for things like a woman from the team holding a man's watch. Teams that got there first got the most points. By the end of the game, my husband had taken off his pants, Sam had ripped off Joey's pants, and Joey was in drag.

The next day took us to Belize. Because Belize is surrounded by coral reefs, we had a 5 mile tender into Belize City. Chris and Gracie decided to stay on the boat again. Abby and I went on a tour with some friends that took us on a tour of the city before going on a air boat tour of the mangrove. I learned so much about this small country. The people that we met were so amazing and happy to have us there. I am so glad Abby was able to see what it was like to live in a country not as fortunate as our own. Alex on the other hand had quite a different experience. He went zip lining and cave tubing in the rain forest with some of our friends. Apparently he had the time of his life. That was the great thing about going with such a large group. There was always someone to hang out with. I could have spent all day on the air boat. The area we explored was so beautiful. We saw baby crocodiles and exotic birds. But most fun was riding around at top speeds on the air boat!! This night we were treated to a dance from our waiters in the dining room. My son decided to join them. He proceeded to dance around the large dining room with them in front of over 1,000 people. I wonder where he gets it? My other star made her debut that night for the Pirate Night performance. She was a shy, but VERY cute pirate up on stage.

Our last day was a very relaxing day at sea. I spent a lot of time laying by the pool. We really needed the down time after the very busy week. I would have liked to have had another day at sea in the middle to not make things so crazy. We said goodbye to our waiters who had been so good to us. We enjoyed the 80's dance party. Perhaps the most fun was had when we closed down the Schooner Bar that night. The Schooner Bar was a piano bar. The player was a great guy who invited people to come up and sing and play with him. He came out into the audience and gave my mom the opportunity to do what it was she had been wanting to do all week, sing into a microphone. It was a wonderful ending to a great trip spent with people that we love. We we got home yesterday and finally settled, it felt good to be home. This last picture of Gracie and Rosie I think tells it all!