Day Four...



Thursday January 27, 2011 
Actual Temp: 75/68

Today we landed in Cozumel, Mexico.  We did lots of looking into daytime excursions.  We planned on doing the same one that we did before.  However, when we checked into it  the price had almost doubled.  We were kind of scared about that because of the weather and the way the girls we acting about the ocean, (kind of nutty).  Crazy but they will swim all day in the murky Atlantic but take them to the crystal blue Gulf and they want to get on your head!  So we decided to head out and take on Cozumel all on our own.  We took a taxi cab downtown to the market, we enjoyed seeing all of the stuff and haggling with the natives.  Ansley did some bargaining on her own and did a great job.  Jake and I were proud.  Of course, I went to the Pharmacia….just cause I’m that kind of geek.  We looked for the bombero station but it was too far to walk.  After the market, we hit the mall.  Man it was an uptown kind of mall….think Phipps.  Strange, but there it was!  Obviously we were not there for Phipps shopping so we took a taxi to the ‘public beach’.  We arrived at an amazing oasis including a pool, awesome sandy beach, water trampolines, slides, snorkeling and lots of swimming.  So, if ever in Cozumel, the ‘public beaches’ are Awesome!  No need to spend tons on excursions.  We had a great time and by time we left Ansley Kate was snorkeling alongside Jake.  He was so happy and proud.  Sarah only wanted to make sand castles and the poor thing was purple, but she refused to stop.  She made Rapunzel's  castle, which turned out awesome.  We took another taxi back to the dock and did some more window shopping (and a little buying).  We went and watched karaoke tonight and I really, really wanted to do it but alas, I chickened out.  Then headed back to the boat to get dressed for dinner…. Jake had escargot (which he liked),  At this point I have forgotten what the rest of us ate….seems like all we did!  But I can tell you that Sarah slept right through it all.

me and my babies, just landed in Cozumel

The Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship.
(made ours look like a bath toy)

the cutest bum ever

Rapunzel's Tower

Day Three...

Port of Calica





flamingos

 

swinging spider monkey



part of the underground river



manatees



beautiful



jaguar



some ruins





another view of the underground river





sea turtle





a cave





Ansley Kate





iguana





entrance to the underground river



building sand castles



Pom Pom trees





macaws





beautiful chapel





adorable little spider monkey





These are all hermit crabs!





not posed at all!





Where Jake snorkeled





some underwater shots





a crab Jake saw

Wednesday January 26, 2011  
Actual Temp: 73/68

Today we landed in Calica, Mexico.  Sarah saw some palm trees and called them pom pom trees.  It was adorable!  Everywhere we went there were pom pom trees!  When we first docked there was a market (of sorts), more like just a lot of vendors selling their goods.  I found a painting that I loved!  An older gentleman painted them himself with his fingers.  He painted on tiles (like bathroom tiles) and they were all amazing!  After the market, we went to Xcaret which is an ecological water park.  We swam in an underground river!  It wove in and out of caves, with holes that sunshine came thru.  Jake and I could touch most of the time which was good since I had Sarah wrapped around my neck and Ansley around Jake’s.  It made it hard to swim but it was good exercise and a chance to bond.  Ansley and Sarah were not very happy with it.  Ansley freaked out pretty bad to start with but by the end she was ok, she did not like the dark parts.  Sarah decided in the middle that she missed Grandma and loved her and needed her now.  She did not cry but came close.  Sarah would not let go of me and got pretty cold from not moving at all.  I did convince her to kick her feet to get warm.  We saw bats flying around us in the underground river.  I wish that we could have gotten pictures of the bats.  It was pretty fun except it was chilly.  The water was 75 degrees but I think that the air was cooler.  It took about 30-45 minutes to get down the whole river.   Later we found out that Ansley was so freaked out because she watches way too much ‘River Monsters’.
Jake snorkeled but Ansley did not want to go and do it with him.  Sarah put her face in the water a little bit.  I did not snorkel at all, not really my thing.  Jake saw lots of fish, urchins and hermit crabs.  He found some really awesome tide pools and cenotes that he saw some amazing sea life in.  He said that he saw some of the coolest stuff that he has ever seen before!
We saw some jaguars, underground caves with crystal clear water, ancient ruins, iguanas, lots of cenotes for swimming, spider monkeys, big sea turtles, teenage sea turtles, baby sea turtles , dolphins, stingrays, beautiful crystal clear water everywhere (like a pool or clearer), flamingos and lots of other birds.  The girls both got to hold macaws, which was neat.  They had them on their heads, hands and held one like a baby.
We are back on the boat now getting ready for dinner.  I think that we are going to go up and watch the boat leave.  I took over 300 pictures today (just on one camera), we also took some underwater pictures which I can’t wait to see on the computer. 
Dinner by the way, Ansley and I special ordered strawberry bisque and fried shrimp for tomorrow.

Day Two...

Tuesday January 25, 2011

We all managed to sleep until about 7:00am (8:00 our time) except for Ansley who slept a little later.  Jake woke up with stuffy sinus and pressure.  Ansley woke up and had a bout of seasickness (I think).  Sarah woke up with a runny nose and coughing, lots of mucous.  I am not sure if it was the pressure of the boat or something on board bothering her.  I woke up with a headache and it lingered around a while but eventually got better around lunch time.  The boat is pretty rough again today and it has been cloudy and chilly.  I really hope that it is warmer tomorrow in Calica, Mexico!  Ansley and Sarah went to the kids club this morning  and they seemed to have a really good time.  Jake and I laid out on the ‘Serenity’ deck for a while but it was chilly and it kept raining on us off and on.  We picked them up at lunch and went for some lunch together.  After lunch, we headed down to the pool.  It was sunny but so windy.  The pool was freezing but Ansley got in and met some new friends.  Jake, Sarah and I got in the hot tub.  We had a good time until it started raining pretty hard and it was cold.  We headed back to the room and the girls watched a movie and we ‘relaxed’ a while.  We ordered room service, just some sandwiches to hold them over until dinner tonight.  We went to a dancing/singing show before dinner.  It was a 15 on the cheese scale of 1-10 but entertaining all the same.  Tonight was elegant dress night.  Sarah fell asleep during the middle of the show and slept thru dinner again!  Jake had soup, prime rib and melting cake for dinner.  Ansley had strawberry bisque, lobster and tiger shrimp.  I had strawberry bisque, stuffed mushrooms, lobster and tiger shrimp.  It was all very yummy!  After dinner we headed back to the room and once again, passed out!

choppy seas



Crazy look in the eyes!

 

asleep BEFORE dinner.

beauty

All dressed for dinner.





ta da



Don't they look marvelous?



Day One...

Monday January 24, 2011
Our Carnival Cruise from Mobile, AL to Calica, Mexico and Cancun, Mexico…

A windy start...



They look like they could blow away!



Goodbye Mobile!

Today we left the house at 7:45ish, a little behind schedule (stopped at BK for breakfast, of course) and then drove to Mobile, AL. 

Our room

It took about 5 & 1/2 hours to get there but the girls were both really good on the trip.  They enjoyed watching movies.  Man, things have changed since I used to go on car trips.  We arrived there and got in line to board the boat.  We picked the wrong line (of course) to go through security and it took forever!  But once we finally got on the boat, we went and checked out our room.  It is pretty cool with a king size bed and two bunk beds for the girls.  It was our 18X12 box that we would spend 5 days in together.  They (the beds) are both up high and the girls enjoy doing acrobatics on and off of them.

Gourmet dinner

  We went to the ‘briefing’ to hear about what to do it the boat went down.  A scary thought, but a necessary class.  The seas were rough and the wind was strong as we set out for our 5 day tour.  None of us could walk straight, not that any of us are so graceful but this was ridiculous.  We wasted some time by heading to the sushi bar. 

Sushi girls

It was all OK, not great.  Sarah enjoyed some rice but Ansley did not even try it.  It is also pretty chilly still so we stayed inside.  We have late dinner at 8:15pm.  Jake got shrimp cocktail and flat iron steak, I got Caesar salad and Mahi Mahi, Ansley got fried shrimp and spare ribs, Sarah ordered a hot dog and fries but did not eat much of it.  She fell asleep during dinner and was out for the night. 

Sarah at dinner.

Ansley and I at briefing

After dinner, we pretty much all passed out .

Ansley finally pulled her 4^th tooth out.  She got $4 from the Mexican tooth fairy Tuesday night.  (She is a much better tooth fairy than the one from home.)

Finally lost her tooth!

leaving port

Because I need somthing new to try (and do)...

I've been wanting to read more - I am, honestly, bored of playing around online, and would rather sit with a good book, or have a bath with a good book, or whatever, with a good book.  So I am going to try a challenge that I found on another blog.  http://namereading.blogspot.com/2009/12/2010-sign-ups.html
Using your first name, or blogger name, or your pets name, or even your favorite literary character's name; whichever you like, choose books with first title letters that spell out your name. (Audio books and eBooks are also okay.) Such as my name: Victoria. the first book's title would start with the letter V, then the next book title begins with I, etc. Make sense? (I hope so!) :p
So here goes, I am going with my first name to start with...  I'll update as I go.  Shouldn't be too hard (except maybe finding the time.)
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
M..
E..
L..love the one you're with by emily griffin (B+)
I..
S..Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich (B, only because they are all the same now...need some variety or the movie!)
S..
A..A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (A+, but so sad..but she is one tough cookie!)

Yea!! Vacation has started!

So on Friday night, vacation officially begins.  Don't get me wrong, still have TONS to do (like pack)  but that is OK, no more work for 9 days!  Should get that done tomorrow and then we are on our way.  I can not wait to see the girls when they see that boat or when they see the clear blue waters of the Gulf.  They have only been to the Atlantic, so this will be quite a new experience.  Ansley is going snorkeling with Jake and maybe I can persuade my chicken self to go in a little.  Sarah wants to so I can't be shown up by my three year old, although she is much more gutsy than me.  Can't wait to share our stories and of course pictures...one day I may get good at taking them.  Mexico, here we come!

Ansley Kate is a reader...woo hoo!

so at school, they have levels (bronze, silver, gold, platinum and diamond).  the kids read books and try to move up thru all the levels thru the year.  this year in second grade things got a little harder.  in kkindergarten and first grade you moved up based on the number of books that you read, took the computer test on and passed.  this year, it moved to a point system.  a lot of second grade books are worth .5 points if you pass the test with 100%.  to move to the next level you need 10 points....so you can see that this year the kids must read almost twice as many books or read books that have a higher point value.  (the higher the value, the harder the book) 
with all of that being said (and confusing), ansley has already reached the silver level and is almost on gold.  i am so proud of her because she just completed Black Beauty (a 4.3 grade level book) and made 90% on her test.  she received almost 3 points for 1 book.  that is awesome and she was so excited about it!  she has now moved onto Ramon Quimby (my favs from school) and is really enjoying them so far.
so, yea for ansley!  i am so glad that she loves to read, so much sometimes she gets in trouble at night...  :)

January 16, 2011 photos in the park

today was not so cold, so we went out to use the new camera lens that jake got me for for Christmas.  i wanted to try the tripod too but with a 7 and 3 year old, you take what you can get....which are these.  of course I got about 250, but these are the best...I think.  enjoy!

don't know why this one is distorted...one of the great mysteries of the world.