Where have we been?

Traveling the World, of course!

I know it's been forever since our last post!  We've been so busy.  We got to go on a fabulous Caribbean cruise.  Wen went with Scott's parents, four siblings and one sweet baby niece.  We had so much fun!

Getting there

The first night we flew into West Palm Beach, Florida.  After cramming eight of the total group of thirteen into a mini van, we drove to our hotel and then to a midnight dinner at IHOP.  I think Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen said it best, "Half the fun is getting there."

Poor Ryan we made him ride in the trunk

First Day

The next day we woke up and drove to port.  The Royal Princess was humongous and so beautiful.  I thought I was aboard the Titanic!  After leaving port, we hung out for a little bit and then went to dinner.  We got very well acquainted  with our adorable waitress and our many courses of food and dessert over the whole trip.  After dinner we watched a show and explored the ship.  I did get a little sea sick, but thank goodness it passed.

Scott had a strange desire to jump overboard.

Exploring the ship at night

The Bahamas!

Our first stop was Princess' own island, Princess Cayes, Bahamas.  The water was gorgeous clear, blue and the beaches sandy white, just like a postcard.   When we first got there, some of the group rented goggles and explored the ocean.  The rest of us relaxed on the beach. Then we spent to rest of the day hanging out.

A day at sea

The next day we got up and ate breakfast and hung out by the pool and relaxed all day.  That night we dressed up for dinner and pretended we were secret agents when we walked in.  That night, we went to a comedy show.  Here was my favorite joke: "I was in the car with my five kids on a road trip and we started playing that license plate game finding the furthest one away.  I offered $2.00 to the winner.  My son said $3.00, I said $1.00, my daughters got involved so we ended up on $4.00.  The kids hollered out for a while saying, 'I see Maryland, I see New York.' Finally, I heard my four-year-old daughter pipe up in the back seat.  'Give me the money! I win. That car is from Saturn." It reminded me of my little sister, Jill and how she really is the boss. After that, I somehow got talked into singing Karaoke.  Good times.

You thought I was joking, didn't you?

The whole gang at dinner

St. Maarten

Our second "port of call" was St. Maarten.   At this stop we rode jet-skis and drank pina coladas and shopped around.  That night we went to a late night party on the top deck and had fun trying to get on Princess TV!

Humongous!

St. Thomas

This day was by far my favorite one.  It was, as my father-in-law would say, "A ten." We docked at St. Thomas, U. S. virgin islands and along with two of Scott's siblings and their spouses, immediately rented scooters.  We had fun trying to learn how to ride and driving on the "wrong" side of the road!  The six of us drove as far as the highway would let us and the view of the island was gorgeous.  After giving ourselves a tour, we rode to Megan's Bay, which is one of the top ten beaches in the world.  It was so pretty.  We swam around for a while and relaxed on the beach.  Then we got a milkshake at a little stand in the middle of nowhere and then hit up some shopping before we had to return our scooters.

Megan's Bay

We thought it was so funny it said "No left turn on red."
Angie and Alisa lookin' hot on their scooters. 

All the girls at dinner.

Last port of call: Grand Turks, Kaikos

Our last stop before we came home was Grand Turks, Kaikos.  We got off the ship and took a van ride further inland to the beach.  Once we were there we hooked up with one of the locals who took us snorkeling.  I was so nervous but it was pretty cool.

Going home

After docking back in Florida, we had a few hours to kill and had fun playing in a little ice cream store.  Then we had a two hour layover in Georgia where Ryan convinced us to ride the tram around.  It was such a fantastic trip and so fun to get to know my new family better.  We had fun relaxing and hanging out.

Being silly in the ice cream store.
Angie and I found these sweet glasses!
Scott and his dad
Ryan and Krista riding in the tram

Baby Bree

And here is the star of the trip. . . baby Bree.  She was so much fun to have on the trip.  Just two days after coming home she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  Please keep her and her family in your prayers.