Carribean Cruise part 1

I am so glad I married such a sweet, romantic man! each night we'd go to the very top deck in the back of the ship--away from everyone. There were only stars, moon light, and ocean breezes. Peter would serenade me while we slow danced. It was perfect! Thanks for an amazing week!

This is the happy couple boarding the ship of love :)

Because of engine failure the first evening, we had to forgo the stop in the Bahamas because we drifted too far off course while experiencing difficulties in the Bermuda Triangle.

This is the picture we took of the picture we refused to buy

We decided to order breakfast in bed the first morning we were there. It was fun to lay in bed and eat food as we overlooked the beautiful blue ocean.

vI loved being able to take the time to get dressed up each night and sit and eat an amazing dinner. I cannot tell you how rejuvenating that is for a mother of young children. I felt beautiful, and I could actually enjoy my food. I didn't have to say over and over, "sit in your seat and eat your dinner."

This was the best part of the ship. The pool in the back where you could lounge in the sun over looking an endless ocean.

uIt was so fun getting dressed up for formal night. This is as formal as we got, but it was still fun to feel fancy and strut around and eat delicious food!

What a cute couple! 35 years of marriage!

St Martin
Peter and I were so happy to get off the boat and explore the beaches. We had fun seeing some dutch architecture and the fun Caribbean signs.

Peter's treasures

Peter and I had so much fun playing on the beach. We ran races and did push ups in the sand. Then we would dive off the dock and swim back to shore over and over (occasionally stopping to pick up a sea shell off the ocean floor). It was so much fun!

I cannot tell you adequately how much Peter enjoyed diving for shells. I think all his many years of childhood living far away from the ocean were all made up for on this one day. I just sat and watched him splash around. It was really cute.

You can't really see, but this little girl was hilarious. There were lots of kids playing and swimming around the dock Peter and I were diving off of. This little girl would tease the older teenagers and they would just shove her off the dock, into the water. She just got back up every time.

Our 1/2 hour jet ski trip turned into and hour and a 1/2. They overcharged us so we didn't feel too bad. They said to stay in the little bay area and they would come get us when out time was up. They never came to get us. When the sea salt and sunscreen in our eyes became too much we decided to give the jet ski back.

St. Thomas
I LOVE ST. Thomas! It was so beautiful! Little lush green island mountains springing up out of the water.

We went to Blackbeard's Castle--a pirate fort. It was fun to Sea the beautiful islands from up above. I got up close to the huge vat of Rum brewing for days in the open air. How many flies end up in a bottle of rum? Ironically, Rum is one of the cheapest liquids on the island. A gallon of milk supposedly costs $10, while a bottle of rum is only $3. Sad.

Climbing up the pirate tower

I was tempted to get this shirt to wear around the house to put some fear into my children, but since they can't read that well yet, I decided to just take a picture.

Our ship in the distance

All the pirate fun

I could live in this house. You can't see in the pic, but the doors open up to a beautiful ocean view.

Peter's new friend

Peter really wanted to got o Coral World--an aquarium in St. Thomas. Because I love him, and because he is such a good sport to dance with me whenever I want, I obliged.

In the end I was glad we went to coral World because it was right next to this amazingly beautiful beach that had a great little place to go snorkeling. It was a perfect day!

On ST. Thomas they drive like the Brits--opposite side of the road as we do. The only problem is they have American cars with steering wheels on the curb side of the street.

Cruise part 2

Grand Turk!

What an amazing place! That was the most beautiful water and beach I have ever seen! The beach was covered in huge conch shells. We took a tour over to a deserted island for snorkeling and hiking; and also passed by a bird sanctuary on the way.The tour boat with our ship in the background.

Snorkeling in the crystal clear water

After snorkeling we all started the tour hike. Peter and my dad hiked to the ruins of a small slave built house

After a few minutes my mom and I turned around because we felt a deserted beach was way better than a crowded hike. We were right!

The amenities!

We had fun at movies under the stars--watching a movie in the open air on the top deck, on a huge movie screen.

The gym. Yes we still worked out. I had my first ever experience with sweat dripping down my entire body. I do normally sweat, but never huge drops. That's what 100% humidity will do for you.

All the fun ship shows. This was the ice-carving demonstration.

The best part was relaxing. Peter and I found the quite deck and fell asleep watching the ocean pass by. It was so peaceful!

The Service!

Our amazing steward Nilo who treated us like family and royalty all at the same time. He was the bed making ninja. He somehow snuck into our room at all hours of the day, tidied things up, made the bed after every nap, and had an endless supply of fresh fruit and chocolates waiting for us.

When my mom had her heart trouble he came in the room and offered a prayer for her. Such a sweet man!

The dancing!

Peter and I had a great time dancing. This was the cute couple who stole the show at every dance party.
Mom and Dad cutting a rug!

Peter and I. During the Latin songs the instructors told us we had FIRE when we danced! The next day a man told us, "It's so nice to see you just out there having fun and not taking yourselves too seriously." In other words, "you guys are really terrible dancers, but I'm glad your still smiling." However we looked, we loved every minute of it! At least I did, and Peter was kind enough to tolerate it :)

The Food!Because our first night was spent adrift in the Bermuda Triangle without engine power, our sweet waiters tried everything they could to make us happy. Only cold food was available. In stead of fillet minion, they wipped us up some nice ham and cheese sandwiches. They were great.

Peter choose to focus his stomach on shrimp and ended up eating many, many plates of the appetizer.

We celebrated our 6th anniversary and were given the most amazing cake. I would pay good money to eat that again!

The fettuccine Alfredo was amazing! I loved the Parmesan serving bowl! I really did gain a pound a day!

Peter had a firm goal in mind to compete with my brother in law Kolby for the most lobster tails consumed in 1 sitting. He ended up with a tie--4 total. By #4 he told the water to skip the sides and the garnishes and just bring only the meat.

Those desserts were amazing!

One of my favorite things was the amazingly fresh sorbet. This was both our favorite--blueberry! It really tasted like a fresh, frosty blueberry.

The last night there was a baked Alaska parade after dinner. I am a HUGE sucker for meringue (or however you spell that amazing caramelized, marshmallow like topping)! It was a great way to end an amazing week of food. Oh how I miss it!

Here was our amazing dinner party. left to right: Our hilarious Scottish tablemates Janie and Leslie, Our incredible servers who feed us amazing food to overflowing, my Mom & Dad, Peter and me.

Ball Squirter

The boys loved this ball squirter. It was fun to see them jump up and down, anxiously anticipating the balls popping out.

The boys love playing in the sand box. Especially when it is muddy!

About the only thing that consistently grew in the garden were our huge asparagus beans. They were about 2 feet long.

This is what our huge, green caterpillar turned into. We thought it might be dead so Peter sliced oped the cocoon but it was alive. It has been 3 and a half months since it entered the cocoon and it is still wiggling around in there. we check on it every few days thinking it must have died, but its wiggles as soon as you move it. Hopefully we'll get to see it come out. It should be a cool looking moth.This guy was hiding in my basil plant. It was fun to see him but I was a little worried about him contaminating our food.Kimball loves to "smash" the bread dough

This is how Kimball ties shoes. If you leave your shoe laces unattended, watch out for Kimball!

I never know what Joey will do doing nap time. This day he got every stuffed animal and toy and made a tent for each one with a book. It was a little tent city.