Cruise Flashback: Jamaica!

Land Ho!! On Tuesday, February 28th, 2012, we spotted Jamaica out the starboard side of the ship when we went up to Deck 11 for breakfast. Soooooooo exciting--land really does exist! I still could not wrap my head around the immensity of the ocean.

We were supposed to dock in the port of Falmouth around 9AM, so after breakfast, I suggested we go to the open decks on top to watch this happen. On our way up, we realized the boat was actually moving backwards. The captain was backing in to the port! Whoa...talk about impressive!

We lathered up in our 50 SPF sunscreen, wore just our bathing suits (because I wasn't sure if there'd be a place to change into them once we got to our excursion) and off we went to disembark. Much to our surprise, we didn't stand in line too long, when you consider that about 2,000 people were being funneled down to one deck. They have this down to a science. On our way out, we ran into Todd and Jen our other table mates.

Jen commented on my bathing suit, saying how much she liked it. It's a one piece--very modest for moral reasons but also to protect my delicate skin that doesn't see much sun, regardless of how much tanning is done before hand. I spent HOURS and DAYS scouring the internet before our cruise trying to find such a bathing suit. I was at the point where I felt like giving up and was just positive such a bathing suit didn't exist. The $80-$100 1 piece bathing suits or tankinis from designer clothing lines might have been cute, but they weren't offering any more coverage than a $40 tankini I could get at Target. And I did get one of those because it's suggested you have 2 bathing suits to rotate through while on the ship and then on land. (I was stunned to find the bathing suits out on the clothes racks in January!!) The tankini would be my suit for the ship.

And then, out of nowhere, I stumbled across this website: www.swimmodest.com I still don't know how I came across it, but I did. This bathing suit has MORE coverage for protection and modesty than I ever dreamed was possible and I felt so incredibly blessed to find it. I ordered one right away and it was perfect! I noticed that the prices have gone up quite a bit this past year. I paid $75 for mine. They're now $100. But honestly, it's a fair price compared to the other options for suits out there. I'd totally buy another one in a heartbeat! It was seriously the most ideal thing I could have worn for our land excursions, because it's like a 2-for-1. Bathing suit, but could pass for outerwear because of the coverage it gives. I was worried about just wearing a bathing suit off the ship and in the ports, but this suit solved that problem.

The port looked just like the map I had received at the shopping show. The "stores" and "kiosks" were right off the dock. We got off the ship as soon as we could so we could get our shopping done before our trip to the beach. (Our tickets were left on our bed the night before so we knew what time to meet and where). I tried to get a picture of the boat after we disembarked, but it took 3 pictures to do so since it's so big!

I got a free silver pendant from Colors Duty Free (a shopping show tip :). We got Cooper, Karcyn and Calvin color changing shirts from Del Sol (plus a free color changing bag). Then we went to another shop that had spices and got 14 Jerk Seasoning bottles (2 for $6!) for our friends. We cleaned them out. Jared bought 3 bottle of Jamaican hot sauces (buy 2 get 1 free). We also got Jake and Jared both a shirt. (Watch out...some of those shirts are definitely X-rated--I found it best, in this case, to keep your eyes down or at least at eye level).

I wanted to buy something cool like these carvings, but just didn't know what to get or where I'd put it in our house. It was neat just watching these Jamaicans working their creative magic.

At the market further down the way, I found a bag for my mom (who deserved a gift from every port and then some for watching our kids). I thought I'd try my hand at bartering. The man said $15, I said $10, he said $13. I said, "Okay." I'm not sure how I did. To be honest, it makes me uncomfortable. I like finding deals that are already established sale prices. Jared said he doesn't like bartering either because he's lived in a third world country in the Caribbean (the Dominican Republic) and this is how the people make their living.

After walking around and taking in all the sights, we went to the meeting place for our bus that would take us to Chukka Beach. I loved watching the people and listening to them talk (Yah Mon!) and couldn't help but think of the movie "Cool Runnings" :)

We drove on the LEFT side of the road! That was wild. We were even given a small tour of downtown Falmouth on our way to the beach which was unexpectedly delightful. The transportation was nicer than any cab ride we had in New Orleans, too, go figure.

The back end (aft, right?) of our ship as we drove to the beach.

Some pictures of downtown.

A lot of the homes and buildings looked really familiar to Jared from his D.R. days.

 

And this rare creature, we were told was a "Jamaican Reindeer" :)

 

Ahhh, the ocean from land!

The hospital...small but decent. I asked Jared if he wanted to work there ;)

A school (we think).

The beach!! Isn't it beautiful? Chukka Beach is a private beach owned by Royal Caribbean with private security guards and lifeguards. We were each given a lounge chair and our group also had a gourmet lunch being prepared for us that we'd be get to enjoy around 1PM.

We started our beach break by laying on our chairs and reading our books. Sometimes the best thing to do on a vacation, is nothing. Divine.

About 45 minutes later, we got in the water. It was definitely warmer than when you first get into our subdivision pool. A smidge cool at first, but nothing that stunned you or made you breathe in a sudden gasp of air because of the shock. Once you were in the water, it was very warm. And when you got out, it was warm enough outside, that even with the gentle breeze blowing, you weren't cold at all and dried off fast.

 

We also love our Olympus Stylus Tough camera that is not only waterproof, but shockproof, freeze proof, can be used underwater up to 33 feet and can withstand up to 220 pounds of pressure. Truly, this is a Hough-Tough camera. However, if it falls in the Puget Sound while dumping your kayak on High Adventure with your ward Young Men's group, please be aware that it is not sink-proof! (This would be our second Stylus Tough camera).

I wanted to take a picture of Jared while he bobbed at the top of a wave. And I succeeded...
but didn't think it through very well. I forgot that the wave would eventually reach me. And that expression on Jared's face is him anticipating me getting slammed by the wave.

It happened so fast that I got a mouth and nose full of saltwater instead. Ugh...it burned my throat. Yuck! But I did get the picture I wanted.

While we were wading out to the roped off area (it was pretty shallow), I stepped on a sharp rock. Ouch! Jared pulled me over closer to where he was. At another spot though, I stepped on something round that was also sharp and thorny. We headed back to the beach chairs but it hurt to walk on my left foot. I rinsed it off and saw about 8 thorns stuck in one patch on the outside of the bottom of my left foot. Jared pulled three thorns out with his fingers but needed some tweezers to get the rest.

He called out to one of the security guards who got a lifeguard to come over. Before we knew it, 4 Jamaican men were working on my foot. A few people gathered around, two of which were nurses to see if they could offer any assistance--which was very appreciated. One of them works in an ER and the other one said she liked my bathing suit :) The lifeguards took turns using a safety pin to dig out the thorns embedded in my foot.

Someone walked by and yelled, "Give her some rum!" One of the nurses even asked if the safety pin had been sterilized. (I'm up to date on my immunizations, I wasn't worried ;) Finally one of the lifeguards said he got them all. They had to scrape and dig to get those blasted thorns out. They poured hydrogen peroxide on the area (someone had suggested urine also works!) and then they told me to get in the ocean to clean the wound.

My foot was a little tender and it hurt a bit to put pressure on it, but it was better than it was.

After that fun little diversion from a restful afternoon on the beach, we went and got our gourmet lunch. We were given three pieces of jerk chicken, beans and rice, a hush puppy and cabbage coleslaw with vinegar. It was A.MAZ.ING! My favorite meal of the whole trip! I could have easily eaten two plates of this stuff. Easily.

There were buses leaving the beach about every 30 minutes so we could stay as long or as little as we liked (before the ship left port, of course). After lunch, Jared got back in the water one more time. I declined. Then we read for another half hour or so before catching a shuttle back to the dock.

Once we got back to the port, we went to Del Sol one more time to get me and my mom a shirt (helpful tip: buy a size or two larger than you normally would!) then we went to the spice store again for 6 more bottles of Jerk seasoning. (They had restocked the shelves since we were there that morning).

I thought I'd try some coconut water while I had the opportunity. It was fascinating watching this lady hack it to pieces with what looked to me like a mini machete.

The water was yummy, there was just a lot of it! I couldn't finish it without Jared's help.

And then we had to say goodbye to Falmouth and get back on the boat--going through a process like security at the airport. We had to slide our sea passes through a scanner so they could a) take attendance and b) verify that the person holding the pass was the same one in the picture attached to the account. We also had to go through security and place our souvenirs on a conveyor belt just like at the airport.

Once we got to our cabin, we rinsed off and changed out of our bathing suits. We went to see what was on the menu for dinner outside the dining room and decided to skip it because it didn't sound good to me (yes, this trip was all about me :) Plus, I wanted to see the boat depart around 5:30 and catch the sunset which is when dinner started for us. We watched the "all aboard" call (whoa...some peeps were cutting it too close for comfort...running to get back on the ship) and the departure from Port Falmouth.

Check out this little sandbar or whatever it is. This was a shot we took without using any zoom function on the camera. We were that close to it, making the reverse entrance into the port all that more impressive! Yeah, I know the Captain has fancy schmancy instruments, but still...

Ahhh, Jamaica. You stole my heart...thorns and all. You were the perfect first port!

Then it was off to Johnny Rockets for dinner. Johnny Rockets is a specialty restaurant, so it wasn't included in the price of the cruise. However, it was only $5 per person to order as much as you wanted off the menu, minus a couple of desserts. So for $10 we had unlimited French fries and onion rings and two big burgers--I couldn't even finish mine.

 

But, even though I don't like ice cream, I made sure there was a room for a shake that we shared--which was a small additional charge. STILL cheaper than eating at the real place and a fun environment. I can't recall the specific cue, but periodically the entire staff would break out in a song and dance. And every time a patron would leave, the waiter or waitress would yell goodbye and the other restaurant staff would follow suit.

 

Just to prove that it's a super crazy small world, there was a guy in the booth next to us with a female companion. I noticed his shirt said "Alaska" on it. Since I went to high school there and he seemed just a little bit older than me in age, I asked him where he was from. He said "Anchorage." I asked him what high school he went to, and he said, "Service" (the same school I went to). So then I had to find out what year he graduated. He said 1992. That was the same year we moved up to Alaska and I started at Service as a sophomore. He was already gone when I started, but seriously...what are the odds??

We saw no one in the Solarium (the adult only area) or in the hot tub. I still couldn't get over the fact that on a ship with over 2,000 passengers, not one soul wanted to be in a hot tub so we happily jumped at the chance to have the place to ourselves.

It was an unbelievably exciting day! I had been to Jamaica!! Our stateroom attendant (whose name I can't spell let alone pronounce, but whom I really liked) was nearby when we came back to retire for the night. He told me, with a twinkle in his eye, that we must have left our balcony door open because something flew into our cabin :)

Give me some space!

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that as a family of seven, we don't have a ton of space in our 3 bedroom, 1700 square foot home. We are "cramming" 5 children (a toddler, 2 youngsters, a tween and a teen) in two bedrooms. To be honest, I think Jared and I feel the walls closing in the most. Jake (our 13 year old) is the only one who has expressed wishing he had his own room, but not because of his desire for privacy. Nope...he just wants a clean room, free of clutter! We tell him it's good roommate and companion training, but it's rare that he complains...never mind the fact he and Cooper are sharing a full bed.

I've said this before and I'll say it again...I'm so grateful we moved into our home as a family of 6 (Calvin was born just a few months after we bought the house). Because ignorance is bliss! If we had started in this home with just one or two small children, I seriously think we might have moved by now, feeling like we truly outgrew it. But we've only added one child (give or take) since then and he hasn't really tipped the scales in the room department.

The frustrating part of our home is that we have 1 big bedroom and 1 small bedroom for the kids. But the larger bedroom only has one, yes ONE, usable wall for beds. TWO closets dominate the largest wall, the door cuts into another and the window is on the third. That's not such a big deal, except that the one and only vent in the room is right under the window, so that's a no go. We actually have 2 usable walls (for bunks as an example) in the smaller room. But the closet is teeny tiny. And although Karcyn might not complain, it's really hard for me to put 4 boys in the smallest room and our one girl in the largest by herself. Not that she doesn't deserve it!

We've moved kids around as different circumstances have come up (like, oh, Calvin beating up Karcyn...so we moved her in with the big boys, Calvin getting better so we moved her back in, Karcyn being the only one in the baby's room having to get up super early so we moved her in with the big boys again, etc.) Once Calvin starts Kindergarten in the fall, he'll be getting up bright and early too (bummer...no PM Kindergarten) so we'll move Karcyn back in with Calvin and JJ. Then Jake can have a bed to himself again.

And *sniff, sniff* he'll be gone in 5 years! I just can't wrap my brain around that. Craziness. I suspect we may move Calvin in with the big boys before those 5 years are up, but if not, once Jake is gone, our plan is to give Karcyn her own room at that point. She'll have to share with her baby brother until she's 12. But I think she'll be just fine.

SINCE we have such limited space, we started considering some closet systems to make smarter use of what we've got. We had some measurements and estimates drawn up for us by the Closet Factory and we decided to go for it. I wasn't sure I wanted to do both closets in the boys' room, so we thought we'd try one for now and see how we like it. I'm not concerned with our master bedroom closets or even the one in Karcyn's room right now (plus our crawl space is in there so that kind of complicates the floor issue).

We chose to do the left closet in the boys' room AND...the front entryway closet. You can see why below.

I get so tired of cleaning and organizing this closet every couple of weeks. Coats and bags and books get lost plus the little people can't hang up their coats and jackets so they get tossed on the floor too. I've debated about the 3M hooks and other coat racks inside the closet, but nothing felt right. So when this opportunity presented itself, I nabbed it!

I was anxious to see the boys' closet, but I was beside myself with giddiness to see the front closet. That was for me!

The only "catch" to this installation is that WE basically had to do the demolition of the old shelves. I vaguely remember that. Of course we forgot until after we set our installation date was set...with only a week to get the closets ready. Actually, for a very small, reasonable fee, they'll pull the shelves out. But they don't paint and there's no backing on the system, so really...that isn't helpful.

So we called in reinforcements! Our previous home teacher and handyman extraordinaire, Bob Thompson. He came over to assess what needed to be done and two days later, after a super long day at work and before eating dinner, came to do the demo for us. He not only got it all out for us, but he hauled the debris outside for us AND spackled the wall where the shelving used to be.

Here is a before picture of the boys' closet. It's not a TRUE before, because I was in such a hurry to get the stuff out of there, I forgot to get a picture. But you get the idea. It wasn't trashed like the hall closet, but with only one usable shelf at their level and a lower hanging bar, there was a lot of "dead" space going to waste.

Here's Bob working his handy magic out of the kindness of his heart. Jared had 2 Bishopric meetings that night and was sad he couldn't even be there to help.

 

But Jake stepped up and assisted.

 

 

Bob left a smoother, sanding thingy and told me that we needed to smooth the spackle (I don't even know if that's the right term) in the morning and then spray an aerosol can of texture over those spots and then paint it.

 

So that's what Jared did a few days later. Having the closet contents displaced for a week was starting to make me grumpy...I felt so "undone," especially when we don't have any extra space to put those things! I was glad it was only four days that we had to wait for the closets.

 

The after demo, before installation pics :)

 

And drum roll please....

Jenn's new entry closet!!!

A place for everything and everything in its place, plus MORE space left over than we started with! This is my answer for not having a mudroom. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that each child has their own large cubby for their backpacks, dance bags, folders, library books, etc. Even JJ has a place for his diaper bag. And I equally love that there is a lower bar for the kids to hang up their jackets and coats. They have felt so big and proud that they can do it all by themselves now. There's still space on the bottom underneath the jackets that isn't being used and a little bit of space between the ceiling and top of the unit that I will find a use for. Plus there's still room for us to store our shoes so we don't have to trip over them in our narrow entry way.

This closet makes me sooooo happy. Every time I pass it, I open it, and just lovingly gaze at it. I also like the smell of the installed units. :) Smells new.

Should we need to make some changes, we can adjust the shelves AND the rods to fit our needs better. But right now, they are perfect!

And the boys' closet...

 

 

We were able to empty out one whole dresser and move those things, plus more into the drawers in the unit. With the exception of the first drawer, those suckers are deep! There is definitely room for them to grow into this. I like it a lot!

 

And this is the view looking up inside the closet. There's enough room that I could store the winter hats and gloves in those plastic containers that we don't use all year round, as well as those cub scout books from past years. There's the same amount of available space on the other side of the unit.

 

 



These closets were definitely a smart move. Who knows...we still might do the other closet in the future when this room inevitably becomes the "Boys Dorm" :)

Birthday Boy

This is our Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin turned the big High-5 last week. I just can't believe it's been 5 years already.

Calvin is what we like to call a "perfect storm" between his charm, intellect and mischievous ways. I worry for the school more with him than I did with Cooper and that's just downright scary! :)

Just the other day we had a speech therapist and physical therapist here at our home to work with JJ. Calvin joined in on the meeting and was demonstrating for the ladies his new sign language knowledge that we're all learning so we can teach JJ. The therapists were both impressed with Calvin's natural use of the sign language.

At one point in the meeting, Calvin grabbed a toy from JJ and made him cry. Calvin signed and said he was sorry. A few minutes later I was asking if there was a sign for "you're welcome." They weren't sure there was. Then Calvin piped up, "What's the sign for repentance?" That cracked them up! They admitted to Calvin they didn't know that particular sign and one of the therapists told me, "Oh, Jenn! He must keep you on your toes!"

You have no idea.

A few weeks ago, when someone needed to use the bathroom, we found the door was locked from the inside. And then I heard a drip, drip sound. Once Cooper picked the door lock, we discovered the bathroom was flooding...the faucet was left on and the sink stopper had been pulled into place. Water was pouring down over the counter into drawers and onto the floor which already had a good inch of water on it and it was creeping toward the door and carpet. Believe it or not, that was one of those days where this incident was NOT the reason I wanted to toss Calvin out the window. The flooded bathroom was the least of my worries that day.

He keeps us constantly rolling our eyes at the things he comes up with, too. Jared told me on Tuesday night, while Jake and I were running, that Calvin declared he was NOT going to bed. When Jared said he WAS, Calvin said, "No, Dad, wait," putting his hands up in front of him to get Jared's immediate attention. "I have to tell you something first and THEEENNNN I'll go to bed." Jared relented and said, "Okay Calvin, tell me." Calvin proposed the following, "I'm going to wait for Mom to get home, THEN I'll go to bed," as if he gave Jared an offer he could not refuse. Jared just looked at him. Nice try, Buddy.

I think we're in for it....

This year, Calvin got the ultimate birthday...he spent the day at the zoo with his preschool friends. He had so much fun. It was a glorious day to be outside.

We video taped the birthday celebration right after dinner before Cooper, Jake and Jared went their separate ways for cub scouts, young men and Bishopric stuff. I managed to get a couple of  pictures of him with his cake when they all got back. We have "puh-smash-eee-oh" (pistachio) marble cake for birthdays. It's soooooo yummy. Never lasts more than 24 hours.

That red candle was giving him fits. I think he might have even spit on the cake a little bit in his attempt to blow it out :)

You are so silly, Calvin!

I also got pictures of the birthday boy with his most beloved gift of all--

Apple Jacks! From the McCullough clan!

 



 



He couldn't stop staring at them. He told me he was studying the box, trying to figure out how they were made.

 





 

 

 

 

Houghlinos

"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam… And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva… So tweasure your wuv." ~Impressive Clergyman from "Princess Bride".

Yesterday Jared and I celebrated 16 years of "mawage" and "tru wuv". I really did feel like a Princess Bride being sealed for time and all eternity in the incredible San Diego, CA Temple.

Our anniversary last year fell into the "black hole" that was the 10 months when I didn't blog. But it is definitely noteworthy now.

May 7th was a Monday last year and I was working at the office that day. I came home early though so Jared and I could go on an anniversary bike ride together. (We were training for a ride to the coast--55 miles for me and 80 for him and I needed all the bum-training I could get).

Jared said he told the boys they were in charge of dinner because this was our anniversary and we weren't going to cook. I was a little nervous about leaving them for 2 hours and with the assignment to cook. This was, after all the witching hour, which is hard for me many days with grumpy kids. Plus, JJ (who was 9 months at the time) was so mobile that I worried about him being underfoot with the stove on. Jake assured me the stove wasn't going to be used and that did make me feel a little better. We had family prayers and then Jared and I left.

As we headed south on 209th at 4:30pm in 80 degree heat, I soon started to regret it. 209th was crazy with traffic and there's no real shoulder. One truck flew past us scaring me by its noise and how close it was. If the passenger reached their arm out the window, they could have touched us. It was insane. Going west on Farmington was no better. It was going to be a long ride. We went north on Hillsboro Highway. We were going to go into Cornelius via Tongue Road, but I had ridden on Saturday with Wes and Bev for 15-18 miles and this was the quickest turn around for me yet. My butt hurt, it was hot and my legs felt like lead. Not to mention I still had a small nagging feeling in the back of my head about the kids.

We decided to just go straight on Hillsboro Highway into Hillsboro. I had never been on that road before and oh my! That was some scary riding with the traffic and lack of shoulder and the pavement was rough and sketchy at best in so many spots. I yelled up at Jared and told him that I didn't like this route one bit. But I stayed steady. And prayed a lot.

We finally made it to downtown Hillsboro. We went the back way to avoid the 3 lanes of traffic. Riding in town doesn't really bother me because a) there's usually a decent bike lane and b) the vehicles don't move as fast as they do on the country roads.

I braced myself for the worst on 209th. I'd never been on it before as a rider, but I know how bad it is because I've had to slow down for riders in my car. The road is narrow and there's no bike lane. I did some mighty praying to Heavenly Father. By His divine hand there weren't that many cars going south on 209th when we were and the ones that did, went far around us or drove by slowly. We made it home by 6pm after having gone 18 miles.

When we got back to our street and the house was in view, I was relieved to see it still standing and the absence of emergency vehicles out front (I have a very overactive imagination!) Cooper met us at the garage door and said we couldn't come into the house because there was a delicate operation underway. I didn't care so long as I could sit and drink some water. We got the three younger kids and sat on the lawn. Cooper came out a little bit later and entertained us with charades and then he escorted us back into the house through the kitchen. Our eyes had to be closed but before we did that, I noticed the dining room and kitchen were dark. There was also a makeshift door (a sheet tacked up with pins) in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room.

Once in the dining room, we opened our eyes and there before us was the dining room table set beautifully for two with my lighthouse plates and my grandma's goblets filled with orange juice.

Under the direction of Chef Jake, the kids made us a lovely candlelight dinner. Cooper was our waiter. Complete with his best French accent, he warmly welcomed us to the Italian restaurant Houghlinos for "fast, fancy and romantic food" :) He went on to explain that this exclusive restaurant is only open once a year, as well. Even Calvin appeared with his hands behind his back, his head cocked to the side and asked "How may I be of service?" It was super cute.

Jake took the kids outside in the backyard to eat their dinner so we "love birds" could eat alone and it was absolutely precious. Jake made homemade pizza...meaning the dough was baked from scratch. The recipe is enough for two pizza crusts, but even with some doughy parts to the crust, and Monterrey Jake instead of mozzarella as the cheese, it was delicious! I told the waiter to give our compliments to the chef.

Once we finished our pizza, we were brought root beer floats for dessert. Yum!

Jake looked pretty weary. He basically did the babysitting and the cooking and table setting and atmosphere setting. We were so impressed. He's made that pizza only once by himself with me supervising. I told Jake, in Jared's presence, that with the exception of the day I got married, this was the BEST May 7th ev.er! I asked Jared not to be offended. He smiled and said he wasn't and told Jake this would probably end up in my journal and it did...plus the blog :)

I had forgotten that I graduated from college and Jared drove 19 hours through the night from Illinois to be with me that day AND I found out I was pregnant with Jake all on May 7, 1999. And yet, this anniversary dinner meant more to me than all of those things combined.

Cruise Flashback: 2nd Day at Sea

Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, marked our second full day at sea. We woke around 7am, which in our world, is sleeping in. I threw back the curtains to assess the weather for the day and took a picture of the sunrise from our balcony.

It was amazing the difference one day of non-stop travel can do. I felt like we were already in a whole new world compared to day before. The seas were calmer, the skies were truly clearing and it was warm and humid. Caribbean, here we come!!

Jared got dressed for his work out and I threw some clothes on so we could head to the Windjammer Café on deck 11 (5 decks up!) for breakfast. We forgot to keep track of Jared's steps with the pedometer, but I assure you, there were A LOT of them! I don't think our quads ever stopped burning when we climbed the stairs. There were 24-30 stairs (divided into two...you go up one set to a landing, then turn and go up the next set) in between each deck. So just going from deck 6 to deck 11, for breakfast, we climbed 120 to 150 steps!

Which is how I could justify my breakfast :) Breakfast is my FAVORITE meal. But I love any meal I don't have to cook which made this cruise even more of a dream for me. Especially since it wasn't fast food like most vacations we take.

I had scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, fruit, cereal and 2 waffles. Jared had the same, minus the waffles. I loved sitting by the huge windows. I still cannot get over how vast the oceans are. Water, water e.ver.y.where!

After breakfast, we went up to the top deck to get a view. Then we laid out on some chairs by the pool, until Jared had to go to his class. While he was spinning, I tried to find the rock wall, but it was closed. I went back to our cabin to shower and change.

When we bought our cruise tickets several months prior, we booked a massage for each of us. My brilliant plan was to get one on the first day at sea at the beginning of the week and then a second one on the last day at sea on our way back to port. Apparently, it's not such a brilliant idea because I couldn't get one until Thursday night, when we left Mexico. Everyone else had the same plan. I was disappointed, of course, that I couldn't secure one sooner, but was still grateful for the one I would be getting and it gave me something to look forward to after all the excitement at the ports.

Before Jared came back from his workout, he checked on our massage appointments. I feared mine was right during dinner on Thursday. It was at 6:45pm, so that's about an hour after dinner starts on our most formal night. It would be doable.

Jared then presented me with an appointment card for ANOTHER massage! For that very night at 8pm! He said "Happy Anniversary!" (Hel-loooo! The cruise was for our anniversary :) I couldn't believe it! They had an opening and he got it for me. He used some of the money we had credited back from the cancellation of our zip line excursion. SO sweet!!

After Jared got cleaned up, we went looking for the rock wall. (Some of these things are hard to remember how to get to.) This time it was open. I stood there and watched a lady do it. She was like Spiderman. Quick and lithe. I started to change my mind about doing it. Until the handsome young Scotsman with a fantastic accent holding her ropes asked if I was going to try. I admitted I wasn't sure. He told me I should do it because I was on vacation. He was very convincing. I think the accent had something to do with it :) So I slowly went to sign the waiver and get the equipment. And who should show up but Jesse and Jenney, our tablemates. Jenney went first and did great. Jared took pictures for them.

Jesse and I started up at the same time. I told the Scotsman, who had my ropes, that I'd never done this before. He said he hadn't either. He gave me a couple of pointers, though, from all of his observations and I was off.

 

 

The first three or four climbs were okay.

I think I lifted myself two more times after that, but my arms were shaky and my right hand was killing me. In my attempt to get in shape after having a baby 6 months prior, I had injured my hand/wrist while lifting weights. I was diagnosed just a couple weeks earlier as having De Quervain syndrome, also known as gamer's thumb, mother's wrist or mommy thumb. It's inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath that surrounds a tendon and in this case, inflammation of the sheath or tunnel that surrounds two tendons that control movement of the thumb. Basically it's an overuse injury that causes pain and tenderness and swelling over the thumb side of the wrist and causes difficulty in gripping.

 

 



So all things considered, I guess I won't be too hard on myself that I didn't make it to the top. I didn't realize I was that "close" to the bell (Jared told me he thought I was going to make it), but I just couldn't do anymore. So down I came. Not bad for my first try. I actually really enjoyed it!

 

 

 

After that we went to the spa to see if by chance I could change my Thursday massage time later so I could stay for all of dinner. They moved me to 8pm. I'm SO lucky!!

 

We had lunch at the Windjammer and got to walk one deck down for it :) I had curried chicken, rice, pasta and beef schnitzel. Yeah, totally random, but deee-lish. Jared had curried chicken, rice, sweet and sour pork and a salad.

 

After lunch, we went to the pool to lay out for an hour before going to the Ice Odyssey show. It was WARM out there--hotter than the tanning beds. Thankfully, we had the tanning edge on our side, plus our SPF 50 sunblock so we didn't toast ourselves...which is more than I can say for many others.

 

We walked down and across the ship to go to the ice show at 2pm. We grabbed a yummy "no cost" deli sandwich at another café on our way there. Here's a little trivia: Apparently "Studio B" on our ship (Voyager), is the first ice rink to hit the high seas.

 

It was a small rink, but impressive enough for a cruise ship, and there were a LOT of performers on that rink...many Olympic ice skaters from all over the world. The lack of space they had in which to perform took me back to my days in the high school swing choir. We did many performances (singing and dancing) in a variety of different settings. Some of which were very cramped. Our director would just smile knowingly and bring his fingertips together at an angle, creating what we knew stood for a capital 'A'. Which meant: Adapt people. Quit your whining. Make it work.

 

 

And that's what these ice skaters did. I'm not sure I could tell you what the theme of the show was. It was just fun to see them do impressive maneuvers and tricks.

 

While we were on that side of the ship, we decided we'd try looking again for our photographs. We had to come up with a plan for combing through the walls of pictures. I would take one side and Jared would take the other and we'd move in the same direction. You could waste some serious time if you didn't have a route to follow. But it was to no avail. You'd think with my red hair it would be easy enough to spot us. Not so.

 

Time for an afternoon nap! On our way back to the cabin, we grabbed a super yummy éclair at the same café on the Promenade (deck 5) where we had gotten the sandwich before the show. I had to restrain myself from getting another. Good thing we were taking the stairs!

 

We played a game of Quiddler (a spelling game) and I won by 3 points. For those of you who know my obsession with spelling, believe it or not, Jared usually beats me when we play one-on-one. It was fun that this game was so close. Then we rested and got ready for dinner.

 

Jesse and Jenney told us at the rock wall that morning that they were going to skip dinner in the dining room to go to Johnny Rockets instead. Mike and Buddy weren't there again either. (Maybe we were just too young and rambunctious for them--we certainly hoped they were having a good time wherever they were). Todd and Jen were there though so we dined with them. They informed us that Jesse had taken 3rd place in the Sexiest Man Contest earlier that afternoon. (He reminds me of Deeks for those of you who watch NCIS: Los Angeles :)

 

For some reason I wasn't feeling too good at dinner and consequently nothing sounded appetizing. Fortunately, I was able to eat some pasta.

 

After dinner, we swung by the Excursion Desk and booked the beach and gourmet lunch activity for Jamaica the next day. When we got back to the cabin, we changed into our bathing suits. I headed up for my massage and Jared made plans to meet me there with the towels and we would go soak in the hot tub afterwards.

 

Amy from the UK gave me my massage. It was awesome (though Jared's massages reign supreme!) I was so relaxed, even as she worked on my sore, tight muscles in my shoulders, neck and back. It was a fast hour!

 

Jared and I found the only hot tub that was open and it was vacant of people. This surprised me. Not that I minded having it to ourselves. I just thought we'd have to wait or join a group already there. Then my husband reminded ignorant me that this was about the time of day when people like to drink and party. I must be old or boring or both. Because I was ready for bed! The hot tub was warm, not hot--the way I like it--but it worked.