Cruise Day 4-At Sea

So, Day 4 of the cruise was the final day and our "at sea" day where we slowly made our way back to Miami from Cozumel. It was kind of a crazy day because THOUSANDS of people were all on the ship looking for things to do. There were 1001 random events scheduled all day and we created some of our own :-)

We made it to breakfast! This was the first morning we woke up early enough to go to the formal dining room for breakfast :-) (Well, to be honest, we made it because it was open later because it was an at sea day :-) )

We went to an ice carving demonstration. This guy had skills. He turned a 300 pound rectangle into an intricate carving of birds in 20 minutes.

We went to our second art auction of the week! Ella really wanted us to buy this Minnie painting but it was WAY too expensive. An auction was another fun first for Ella though and she sat through most of it the first time around (not so much the 2nd time). Chris and I both really like watching (and even bidding on some of the cheaper things!) and getting a lesson in collectible art. For instance, everyone should own a Peter Max, he's the most sought after, famous living artist of our time :-)

We found a nice little spot to sit and watch the ship sail past Cuba :-)

This spot also allowed us to play some Zingo (a family favorite), teach Ella Uno (she was pretty good!), and color together.

Then we got bored. And Ella got antsy. So we let her run up and down the halls until she was tired enough to sit and watch a cartoon for a little while :-) Oh yeah-the child care "Camp Carnival" was a bust. Not because of the camp itself (though it did randomly close during the day at annoying times) but Ella refused to play. They did all kinds of fun things (painted t-shirts, made instruments, had story time etc.) and the two times we took Ella she sat in the corner by herself and watched the kids. This is SUPER weird for her. She said she wasn't sad, she just didn't want to play. We left her for an hour on two different days and she just sat in the corner so we didn't take her back anymore. Oh well. Dinner alone on our anniversary would have been nice but it was ok. Lots of family togetherness!!

At dinner on our last night the wait staff got a litle jiggy wid' it. It was hilarious. We enjoyed getting to know the other people at our dinner table all week. There was a mom there with her daughter who was exactly Ella's age, a Mom with a her teenage daughter, and a family of 4 with a 10 and 16 year old. They were all really nice and Ella got pretty attached to them. She's ask during the days "when are we going to see our friends again?" and get super excited if we ran into them on the ship anywhere. It was kind of like the last day of camp having to say good bye!

This was Friday morning at breakfast-Ella slept through getting dressed and all of breakfast in the formal dining room. Guess going to bed at 10 caught up with her.

Our last glimpe of the boat as we disembarked in Miami. Really, a safe, healthy, relaxing, fun trip. We are so thankful to have been able to go!

Cozumel-Cruise Day 3

We docked and got off the boat in Cozumel around 1pm and headed off to find a good deal on an excursion with locals. We had great success with this on our Alaskan cruise a few years ago so we chose not to book any (overpriced) excursions through the Ship and just bargain in Spanish instead :-) It worked out well and we paid about half the price for a glass bottom boat/snorkeling trip!


This picture totally doesn't capture how AMAZINGLY blue the water was-truly spectacular to look at-it almost seemed fake but I was reminded that untouched nature, God's best work, really is that amazing!

The fam, going about 60 mph on the tiny motor boat!

Here's a little video to give you an idea of what it was like on the boat.

Chris and I took turns jumping off the boat to snorkel. It was AWESOME. Seriously. Everything we saw in the aquarium the day before was inches away from us snorkeling in 3 different coral reefs. Ah-may-zing. It's so quiet and peaceful when your ears are under the water and it felt like a private viewing of these amazing creations. LOVED it. Definitely buying an underwater camera next time!

This was how Ella felt about snorkeling. She got in the water once but inhaled some salty ocean water and was DONE. She sat quite happily in the boat and ate cheetos and watched fish through the glass floor of the boat :-)

Being silly at lunch


I carried crayons and coloring books everywhere on this trip. A cantina in Cozumel was no exception :-)

Just too funny not to share

We shopped and walked around a bit in Cozumel also but Ella was losing her ability to behave well so it was nice to be able to take her back on the ship to rest.

Ella took this picture while we were relaxing on the boat that night :-) We also went to a big song/dance production that night called "Spirit of America" which was quite the spectacle and a first for Ella. She enjoyed it though and Chris and I had fun debating who in the show was good enough for American Idol and who'd get booed off ;-)

Onle one more cruise day left!

Key West! Cruise Day 2

When we woke up Tuesday morning we were in Key West! Good times ;-)

Before we could venture off the ship, Ella needed to get clean and there are no bathtubs so, Ella took her first shower! She was scared at first but then loved it!!

Off the ship and ready to explore!

Had to try the Key Lime Pie. It was good if you like that kinda thing (not my cup 'o tea).


Had SOOO much fun at the aquarium! We got to see and touch so many things. I am a touching-creatures fanatic so I was thrilled that this place was heavy on getting really close if not touching everything! Even sharks! Ella and I both held/touched
-a baby nurse shark
-a horseshoe crab
-a sea cucumber (which Ella later told someone was a "sea squash")
-sea urchins
-starfish
-conchs
-dead fish to feed the big fish

SO MUCH FUN!

Here's a little feeding the shark video for your enjoyment :-)



Next it was off to lunch. We wanted to go somewhere with a good recommdation so we tried a place Bobby Flay liked (according to foodnetwork.com anyway). We shlepped all around to find it and here's what we found...


This. Is. The. Restaurant. And I use that word lightly. "shack with some burners in a tree and rusted out truck" is a more apt description. We decided to take Bobby's word for it and tried out
Bo's Fish Wagon. (That's really the name)

The fish was pretty darn good. Super fresh and tasty. The Conch fritters are a Key West specialty but I must say we were not fans. Overall, it was a good meal at a consumate dive.

Ella loved this pink and blue house

There was lots of funky, odd art all over the place. Like this enormous dancing couple. And the guy in the green shirt who is taking a picture of it? Also a statue. Odd.

We came home to our nice nightly towel animal which I find adorable and Ella enjoyed destroying :-) Off to Mexico next!

Cruise Day 1!

Our cruise was GREAT! Here's a synopsis of day 1 :-)

Uncle Andrew was kind enough to take us to the airport Monday morning. Ella was SO excited!

Ella was SOOO excited to fly! Her last time on a plane was 2 years ago so she doesn't remember it. It was so much fun to marvel at the wonder of the flight with her! It really is amazing!

Caillou kept Ella happy for a good 90 minutes :-)

Chris and I always loved seeing storms on the horizon when we lived in Arizona so we had to document this one we saw from the plane :-) It's just so neat to see where the rain stops and starts like that!

After a shuttle from the airport, customs, and LONG lines we boarded the ship! Ella couldn't believe how big it was!

First we checked out our room...

...then had a snack...

...then went swimming!

Ella was THRILLED!

Watching the boat "set sail" as we left the port in Miami

Ella all settled into her bed for our first night! She slept great the whole time even though she went to bed SUPER LATE (for her). We compromised on bedtime and all went to sleep around 10:30 each night (and slept til about 8am!). Good start! Days 2, 3, 4 to come...

Ella's First Haircut!!!

A couple weeks ago I decided to take Ella for her first hair cut ever!!! Yes, we made it 3 years and 9 months with no cutting. It was pretty easy since she is so old and was excited about "getting a trim at the salon" rather than scared :-) My dad joined us and it was a fun little milestone to celebrate!

Ella was not expecting to lay down to have her hair washed and was kinda freaked out. When I moved back to take this picture she was saying "Mommy! Hold my hand!!"


Before


During

After!

Lollipop as a prize and off we go!


*So, the goal of the haircut was so to even it out and I was told curly hair tangles less when it's kept trimmed-so far, no change on that. Booo.
**We went to Cartoon Cuts and it was WAY too expensive ($16) and slightly ghetto. Nothing bad happened but I don't really recommend it. I can definitely do future trims myself :-)