Getting ready to check out the loot!
Isabella got a DS! And she loves her LIV girl too!
It was an aviation Christmas for Evan!
Jonah was completely surprised (and seemed happy!) with most of his gifts! He loved his surround sound gaming chair from Santa!
Evan had his birthday party today! Bruce took him and a bunch of his friends to see The Blind Side...they all loved it!
We went to a Christmas on Main Street event in a nearby town. One of the local toy stores had these very cool puppets that Evan got to try out!
Just got back today from a 5 day cruise from Tampa to Grand Cayman then Cozumel! We had such a great time and we're already planning our next cruise! There were so many activities on board for the kids that we didn't see them most of the days because they were having so much fun at their "camps!" The kids loved the 24 hour pizzeria and ice cream machine and Evan even liked joining Bruce and I in the formal dining room!
We set sail out of Tampa on Monday afternoon. It was very cool sailing under the Skyway Bridge at night!
Another gorgeous Gulf sunset!
View from the upper deck onto the Lido Deck on the Inspiration
Setting sail!
Evan and Isabella with Funship Freddie...Evan got first place in the boys' dancing competition!
The ship had an awesome water slide and racing slides!
This is the view Bruce and I enjoyed on the upper deck of the ship while we sipped umbrella drinks, soaked in the sun and actually had uninterrupted conversations!
On Wednesday, we took a tender to Grand Cayman Island then took another boat to a sandbar called Stingray City!
Our view of the Inspiration from the tender.
Stingray City was amazing! The water was crystal clear and there were stingrays EVERYWHERE! You could hold them and they would pucker up and kiss you! And yes...they did still have their stingers, but they're very gentle and not at all aggressive.
Bruce getting a massage from a stingray...they feel like wet mushrooms!
Can you believe we found this while swimming with the stingrays?! Unfortunately, it was inhabited so we had to leave it.
On Thursday, we docked in Cozumel. We did a little shopping at the pier then set out on our own to the beach at Dzul Ha, where we rented snorkel equipment and had our own guide take us snorkeling on the reef. It was totally amazing as you can see from the video! Afterwards, we had a real Mexican lunch right on the water then headed to downtown San Miguel to explore the shops. We found a little store that had this crazy monkey swining outside. Her name was Pancha and she LOVED Evan's hair!
We had an awesome Thanksgiving celebrated with good friends! I cooked the massive turkey and mashed potatoes and everyone else brought something else..Bruce even tried sweet potato casserole...and liked it! The Strobles and the Stilwells and all their kids joined us for a fun day of eating, swimming, games and football!
We won a ride on a sea plane at a local christian school silent auction so today was the day that Evan, Jonah and I went!
Evan and Christian, the pilot
Evan was so excited because he's been playing Flight Simulator for months and was sure he could fly it...and the pilot let him! It was an amazing ride and we saw so many sharks and dolphin!
Isabella decided to have a DOG party for her 8th birthday!
The girls painted wooden dog houses for their craft.
They played Pin the Tail on the Dog!
After presents and cake, they all went for a swim!
