Cruisin'

Ah, the cruise. So much to write about without boring anyone...that's a tall order. For anyone that will be bored with this long post I will sum up...IT WAS AMAZING! There, you can move on if you wish.

For the rest of you who care or are just bored enough to read the whole thing, here is how our cruise week played out:

Saturday (23th): The moment of truth: The moment had finally come when I would have to leave the boys. Korben was puking and I was a wreck, but I succeeded in leaving without any tears. After flying or sitting in airports for nearly 8 hours, we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale shortly after midnight. After arriving at the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in we decided to try and find food. We were starving since we had only had airplane snacks, and according to our time zone it was only 9pm. We ordered some grub and decided to watch Enchanted. The movie was awesome! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Many laugh out loud moments, a feel good show, very clean, great music, and one both Mike and I enjoyed. We will be buying it as soon as it comes out.

Sunday (24th): We slept in and checked out late so that we didn't have to wait in line for the ship. I anxiously waited till I knew that Mom would be up and called to see how her night had gone. Unfortunately hearing about her rough night didn't make me at ease, so I asked to talk to Korben. He didn't want to talk to me because he was having so much fun, and at that moment I decided to let all the worries go and just enjoy myself. We boarded the ship, found our rooms, and waited for our luggage to arrive so we could change into our swim suits. Once we were reading lazily by the pool and the ship had taken off, I felt that the cruise had officially started, and we were in for a fun week. That night the girls watched the Oscars Under The Stars on a huge outdoor screen that can be seen from most of the upper deck of the ship. The boys made themselves scarce doing who knows what, but we all had a fun night.

Monday (25th): Our first At Sea Day. We slept in until 1pm (which in our defense was only 10am our time). We found our group by the pool and enjoyed the afternoon in the sun (81 degrees). There isn't much to say about at sea days other than you eat a lot and sit in the sun a lot and wander the ship and do a whole lot of nothing, and it is WONDERFUL!

Tuesday (26th): At Sea Day 2. Pretty much the same as day one. We laze about all day and then get ready for dinner and shows at night. Our group of 20 had a reservation for the same table every night at 6pm. Most nights are dress casual and then two of the nights are formal nights. It was kind of fun to get dressed up every night and have all the time in the world to make myself look good (not an option with kids). It still amazes me that at dinner we would all have at least one appetizer, plus a full en tree, as well as at least 1 desert, but most nights 2. And then we would still all meet up a few hours later at 11pm when the chips and salsa were put out. Sick, I know, but once again, WONDERFUL...

After dinner there are shows and comedians, and games to play. We went to two of the Princess Dancer and Singer shows, saw the current U.S. Champion Juggler, a few comedians, a hypnotist, played the Price is Right, and won Jeapardy (which got us all a nice cheesy Princess Cruises Bag). Mike also got to be a star in the Princess Theatre by performing a 4 man chair (see pictures). Basically whether it is day or night, there are endless posibilities of things to do. Or if you prefer you don't have to do anything...it's the wonderful joy of having absolutely zero responsibility for an entire week.

Wednesday (27th): Our first port day at St Martin/Maarten. It is a tiny little island split between two countries (Dutch and French). If you click on the link it is actually very interesting to read about. We spent the day at the beach playing in the waves and ended up paying dearly for not putting on enough sunscreen. We were only out for about 4 hours and in that time applied sunscreen 3 times, but that still wasn't enough. When we went to the doctor a few days later she told us that the sunscreen wasn't enough because the water is so clear that it is just like glass reflecting off of your skin, and we were closer to the equator, blah blah blah...All I know is I got fried and ended up blistering and wished that I had put on 75 spf at least 10 times to avoid it all. :) Aside from burning to a crisp, the day was awesome. We had so much fun body surfing in the ocean. The water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom. The shopping was fun and the island was enchanting...so I have to say the burn was worth it in the end.

Thursday (28th): Second Port, St. Thomas Virgin Islands. Because we were so sunburned we decided not to go in the water and to wear long sleeved shirts and long pants in order to see the island. We also ended up buying Mike a hat to cover his head (see picture). All of our group were laughing hysterically when they saw us and snapping pictures to capture the moment. We got some funny looks from people since it was 82 degrees and we were dressed like a storm was coming on. :) We had good intentions of staying out of the sun, but Aaron and Dave tempted Mike with jet skis and off he went... Unfortunately, while I was hiding from the sun I happened to start my period (OF COURSE). So after some very quick shopping (for tampons) we headed back to the boat.

Since the Virgin Islands are considered U.S. soil, we were able to call home on Mike's cell phone. It was nice to be able to check in and see how the week was going for Mom. Bless her heart she tells me that Korben is doing great and that she has Logan sleeping from 8pm to 8am. Hello, can we say miracle worker! I officially believe that Mom is the greatest Mother to ever be on earth. (Thanks Mom!)

Friday (29th): At Sea Day 3. As good as our intentions were with the long sleeves, it actually made things worse. We woke up to extreme pain and blisters on both shoulders. We had missed the medical morning office hours, so ended up having to wait until 4:30 to see the doctor. Since we were too pained to get dressed we hung out in our room. I could say that this was miserable, but that would be a lie. I decided to read a book and just relax. I ended up starting and finishing The Princess Academy (Thanks Kimber!). What a way to spend the afternoon! I got so involved in the book that I didn't notice the pain and just spent a very relaxing day engulfed in girl power.

We made it to the doctor and although we were cracking jokes she didn't think it was funny at all (She was British and reminded me quite a lot of Simon Cowell, hehe). She did give us some miracle medicine though, a good concoction of codeine, steroids, ibuprofen, and a moisturizing cream with anesthetic. We were so hopped up that the night ended up being quite fun. We saw another movie under the stars called Dan In Real Life. Very cute movie! Kind of a chick movie, but even the guys liked it since the cruise ship puts pillows and blankets on every chair and gives you unlimited amounts of popcorn :)

Saturday (1st): Last port day Princess Cays Bahamas. Princess Cays is an island owned by Princess Cruise Lines. They have the beach all set up exclusively for their cruisers. We had been ordered to stay out of the sun, so only tendered to the beach to get some souvenirs and headed right back to the ship. I was really okay with it because I'm not a huge beach person. The one good day we had was enough for me. I think Mike was sad because he didn't get to go snorkeling, but we made the most of it. A cruise is more about the ship and just relaxing than it is about the ports, so even with all of the stuff that came up it was still a blast.

Sunday (2nd): We had our final buffet breakfast and headed back to reality. The flights home took forever so we didn't get home till after 9 pm. Mom had said earlier that the boys would probably be in bed so we were pleasantly surprised to open the door and have both of them awake. Korben yelled YAY! when we walked in which was music to my ears. It is really nice to be missed. :) I can't believe how big Logan is! In one week he completely changed. He is "talking" more, and laughing more, and can kick his toys in his bouncer. IN ONE WEEK! He didn't remember me, but I expected that so it didn't hurt. We have plenty of time to become friends again...

I'm sorry if my narrative bored anyone. We had a blast and I am so glad that I didn't decide not to go because of my worries about the boys. We will definitely do it again (that is if we win again and Mom is willing to play house). I feel rejuvenated and ready to be a Mom again. I highly recommend a cruise to all of you!