Back from the cruise!
I tried hard to catch up as much as possible with everyone, but wow, a week behind is a LOT behind!
In a quick recap, the cruise was everything and more I dreamed it to be. I had the best time ever! Noah did GREAT...slept great, ate great, didn't seem to miss us much. ;-) He learned to say "uh oh" and sing this "apple, apple, A-A-A" song (only all with "uhs" not words). He also has 2 molars coming in now! The things you miss in a week. We had cell reception a lot better out in the middle of the sea, than often times in our own neighborhood, so we got to call home once or twice a day to check up on him. He is super clingy right now, but is ever so happy and giggly and gives us random hugs and kisses.
Upon returning late last night, we had to set up appts for our broken water heater and a cloggged drain in the downstairs basement. (Luckily we caught it the day before we left, so we could turn off the water and avoid a house flood.) We had to replace the water heater and clean out and repair the drain/pipe, plus pay a similar fee for boarding the dogs for a week...um...yeah, that's a TON of money going on our credit card for only one day. Shiver. We'll make it.
Jeremy is studying like a mad man now trying to catch up with his bar exam study class. It's insane. He went to bed early because he is waking up at 6. His class is from 9-1, but he has about 18 books to go through and all these 3 hour long videos to watch on top of all that. Only 6 more weeks and then he takes the exam. That will be SOOOO nice to have it over with. More for him. But also for me too...it's back to single parenthood it feels like! :)
On to the cruise...
We were sick for the first three days, but we didn't let that stop us! We utilized every single moment we could. We woke up at 7:30, went to bed at 1 every night. We went to the gym 3 times while we were there and I am happy to report I only gained half a pound with all the 4-course formal dinners, buffet lunches and breakfasts. (I did avoid the midnight buffets...sorta regret that now! They looked amazing!) The evening shows were awesome: Broadway medleys, comedians, The Coasters, and Marty Allen. We had a balcony room so it was the best to wake up every morning coming into a new port, and get out there to take it all in and get excited about what we were going to see and go do that day. The weather was PERFECT. The food was amazing. Jeremy and my sister's fiance Drew competed in the Men's Sexy Legs Competition (neither got "sexiest" but Jeremy did get "flamingo legs" -- longest!), the Bellyflop Competition (neither won, but a fat drunk guy did and he deserved it, ha) and the Rock Wall race (Jeremy won, he got up there in 12.5 seconds, whew). They also did bball and soccer tournaments (and won) and we all played in the volleyball one (it was a draw because I hit the ball out of the court...come on it was an accident...and it bounced on a lawnchair and went barely over the edge into the ocean...AHHH). We danced every night. We never got our guts up for karaoke, but almost! We played this awesome scavenger hunt called "The Quest" one night and it was HILARIOUS. We went on two seperate scuba dives, one in St. Maarten, the other in St. Thomas...went down to a 65' max depth, saw tons of beautiful fish, about 5 different shipwrecks, barracudas, stingrays, nurse sharks, sea turtles, etc. It was amazing! I'm so glad we got certified and could do that. We also snorkeled with sting rays in Nassau and fed them by hand in the water...oooh my, that was an experience! Very cool, but there was lots of shrieking involved (from the girls especially, although I know I saw the boys jump around and get scared too). Did a little shopping, not much! Explored St. Thomas and went through these old family homes up on the hill, went to Blackbeard's Castle and got some pirate history and a "Pirate of the Carribean" tee for Noah. Oh and I discovered the heavenly taste of a BBC, and Baileys in general. Mmmmm. And now I'll just post pictures cause that is a better summary anyway of the cruise... ;-)
Happy New Year
The entire crew on New Year's Eve after dinner
My honey and me right before midnight
Above the street in San Juan
Behind me is the Fortress de Cristobal, in San Juan...beautiful!
Another boat at San Juan as we were leaving
St. Maarten
View from Blackbeard's Castle in St. Thomas
Anne Bonney tempted her victims before shooting them...but I'd have been there to keep her decent!
On the beach in Antigua (the volcano Montserrat is in the background, you can barely see it on the horizon)
Jeremy and I getting some sun & relaxing
Sunset as we left Antigua
Scaling the rock wall for the first time...I did it (twice in fact) but it was scary!
Jeremy & Drew in the bellyflop final
Dr. E was onboard
My siblings and I acting pretty goofy -- def. having fun
Arriving in Nassau
Hmm...self explanatory...
Lastly...at the airport greeted by my baby!! We were both soo happy to see each other again!
There are like 275 other pictures plus a ton from our scuba trip, but that'll have to do it for now! I'm totally ready to go on another cruise. I wasn't ready to come home at all, if not for being away from Noah. ;-) Ahhh. Well now it's back to reality: 35 degrees, overcast, nasty city and my small house! But I'm grateful for the week in paradise with my family (I miss them already!) and Jeremy...and I'm excited to wake up every morning to my little guy ready to go. I'll just be signing up for another cruise in about a year. It was too much fun! (Oh and I LOVED Royal Caribbean!!! They were soooo friendly & awesome!)
In a quick recap, the cruise was everything and more I dreamed it to be. I had the best time ever! Noah did GREAT...slept great, ate great, didn't seem to miss us much. ;-) He learned to say "uh oh" and sing this "apple, apple, A-A-A" song (only all with "uhs" not words). He also has 2 molars coming in now! The things you miss in a week. We had cell reception a lot better out in the middle of the sea, than often times in our own neighborhood, so we got to call home once or twice a day to check up on him. He is super clingy right now, but is ever so happy and giggly and gives us random hugs and kisses.
Upon returning late last night, we had to set up appts for our broken water heater and a cloggged drain in the downstairs basement. (Luckily we caught it the day before we left, so we could turn off the water and avoid a house flood.) We had to replace the water heater and clean out and repair the drain/pipe, plus pay a similar fee for boarding the dogs for a week...um...yeah, that's a TON of money going on our credit card for only one day. Shiver. We'll make it.
Jeremy is studying like a mad man now trying to catch up with his bar exam study class. It's insane. He went to bed early because he is waking up at 6. His class is from 9-1, but he has about 18 books to go through and all these 3 hour long videos to watch on top of all that. Only 6 more weeks and then he takes the exam. That will be SOOOO nice to have it over with. More for him. But also for me too...it's back to single parenthood it feels like! :)
On to the cruise...
We were sick for the first three days, but we didn't let that stop us! We utilized every single moment we could. We woke up at 7:30, went to bed at 1 every night. We went to the gym 3 times while we were there and I am happy to report I only gained half a pound with all the 4-course formal dinners, buffet lunches and breakfasts. (I did avoid the midnight buffets...sorta regret that now! They looked amazing!) The evening shows were awesome: Broadway medleys, comedians, The Coasters, and Marty Allen. We had a balcony room so it was the best to wake up every morning coming into a new port, and get out there to take it all in and get excited about what we were going to see and go do that day. The weather was PERFECT. The food was amazing. Jeremy and my sister's fiance Drew competed in the Men's Sexy Legs Competition (neither got "sexiest" but Jeremy did get "flamingo legs" -- longest!), the Bellyflop Competition (neither won, but a fat drunk guy did and he deserved it, ha) and the Rock Wall race (Jeremy won, he got up there in 12.5 seconds, whew). They also did bball and soccer tournaments (and won) and we all played in the volleyball one (it was a draw because I hit the ball out of the court...come on it was an accident...and it bounced on a lawnchair and went barely over the edge into the ocean...AHHH). We danced every night. We never got our guts up for karaoke, but almost! We played this awesome scavenger hunt called "The Quest" one night and it was HILARIOUS. We went on two seperate scuba dives, one in St. Maarten, the other in St. Thomas...went down to a 65' max depth, saw tons of beautiful fish, about 5 different shipwrecks, barracudas, stingrays, nurse sharks, sea turtles, etc. It was amazing! I'm so glad we got certified and could do that. We also snorkeled with sting rays in Nassau and fed them by hand in the water...oooh my, that was an experience! Very cool, but there was lots of shrieking involved (from the girls especially, although I know I saw the boys jump around and get scared too). Did a little shopping, not much! Explored St. Thomas and went through these old family homes up on the hill, went to Blackbeard's Castle and got some pirate history and a "Pirate of the Carribean" tee for Noah. Oh and I discovered the heavenly taste of a BBC, and Baileys in general. Mmmmm. And now I'll just post pictures cause that is a better summary anyway of the cruise... ;-)
Happy New Year
The entire crew on New Year's Eve after dinner
My honey and me right before midnight
Above the street in San Juan
Behind me is the Fortress de Cristobal, in San Juan...beautiful!
Another boat at San Juan as we were leaving
St. Maarten
View from Blackbeard's Castle in St. Thomas
Anne Bonney tempted her victims before shooting them...but I'd have been there to keep her decent!
On the beach in Antigua (the volcano Montserrat is in the background, you can barely see it on the horizon)
Jeremy and I getting some sun & relaxing
Sunset as we left Antigua
Scaling the rock wall for the first time...I did it (twice in fact) but it was scary!
Jeremy & Drew in the bellyflop final
Dr. E was onboard
My siblings and I acting pretty goofy -- def. having fun
Arriving in Nassau
Hmm...self explanatory...
Lastly...at the airport greeted by my baby!! We were both soo happy to see each other again!
There are like 275 other pictures plus a ton from our scuba trip, but that'll have to do it for now! I'm totally ready to go on another cruise. I wasn't ready to come home at all, if not for being away from Noah. ;-) Ahhh. Well now it's back to reality: 35 degrees, overcast, nasty city and my small house! But I'm grateful for the week in paradise with my family (I miss them already!) and Jeremy...and I'm excited to wake up every morning to my little guy ready to go. I'll just be signing up for another cruise in about a year. It was too much fun! (Oh and I LOVED Royal Caribbean!!! They were soooo friendly & awesome!)