Today I made biscotti.

After dinner, Aaron kept asking for Boticelli. It took me a while to realize that he didn't have a budding interest in Italian art.

STOP! Remember, this is a blog and it goes in reverse chronological order. So, if you want to read about our trip, go down to Feb 6 to start and work your way up. Thank you for your attention.

Saturday, February 14 – Trip Home

We managed to finagle tickets to depart the boat in the latest group. And we were absolutely the last people out of the dining room after breakfast. At 9 am, they called for our group to leave the boat. We will always have fond memories of the cruise, like the animal towel sculptures we found on our beds every evening. We always walked back to our stateroom after dinner in eager anticipation to see what the attendant had done.
The trip home was smooth but long. And we arrived to snow! Now, I just have 9 days of mail and email to sort through. That is right, I didn't connect to the internet even once while I was gone. Good thing I took Monday off!

Friday, February 13 – Cruise Day Six

We had a great time enjoying the various amenities on the ship today. We took the children ice skating in the morning. (Sorry, no pics.) Aaron wanted to be in Adventure Ocean every minute he could. Shannon was still a little under the weather, but hung out with us and enjoyed our presence. Chris wanted to swim, jump, climb and eat. Doug and Leslie broke away for a few hours of together time in the afternoon. Doug took an extremely rare nap. We truly enjoyed the day.

Thursday, February 12 - Cruise Day Five

This day, we decided to be slugs. Our ship was in port in Cozumel, Mexico, but we decided not to get off. We didn’t want the hassle of disembarking, waiting, shuttling, shopping, and constantly wondering where Christopher was. We wanted to hang out together and enjoy our ship! The first thing we did after breakfast was go to the Flow Rider – the “surfing pool” on our ship. After signing all the waivers, we got in line. Shannon volunteered to take our pictures. I found it difficult. If only I had snowboarded or skateboarded in my childhood, maybe I could have stayed up longer than about 8 seconds!

Doug did an interesting thing. He got on and gradually drifted to the other side where he landed and got off! It looked pretty studly except we both knew he was totally out of control. We both tried again, and then we were ready to take the kids on to a new thing.
We spent some time at the pool. The cloud cover was on and off, but the pool water was chilly and it took all my motherly love to hop in the pool with them. When Doug joined, we had some fun – Sharks and minnows, Marco Polo, etc. When we got cold, we all got in the hot tub and tried a new game – Waterproof Uno! After we found out that the cards did not float, we got it together and played three games.
We enjoyed another wonderful dinner in the dining room. Since it was a mostly sunny day, the light was reflecting off the water and it was just beautiful. We have learned, however, that our kids don’t usually prefer gazing out at the water, so they occupy themselves with puzzle and chapter books during dinner. Except for Christopher. His favorite pastime is switching his position on his chair – going from his knees to his rear and back, kicking everyone under the table while he moves around. It helps us to appreciate date night a little more.

Later on while the kids were in their classes, Doug and I attempted to sing karaoke. Not in front of a crowd, mind you, but in a little booth. On our honeymoon, Doug sang “Summer Nights” from Grease. Because I ended up chickening out then, he sang it with another woman! I vowed to make it up to him sometime. Thus, we sang “Summer Nights” and had a great time. (Ask us to play the DVD for you when you visit!)

Wednesday, February 11 - Cruise Day Four

Wednesday started out with the most incredible omelet we have ever had. Picture and smell this – light and fluffy egg, mushrooms, melted brie, smoked salmon and asparagus on the side.
Today was Grand Cayman. This was the day of our trip on the Nautilus – a nice, air conditioned boat with underwater viewing areas and a snorkeling option. It took us about an hour from cruise ship to Nautilus, but it was worth it. The cabin was wood-paneled with comfortable benches and great views. We were blessed with a majority of sunny weather, which made for good viewing! We learned a lot of new fish names, passed over two shipwrecks, and spotted a dignified-looking sea turtle.

At one point, a Nautilus worker went out underwater with fish food in his hand and the fish gathered all around him. It was quite a neat scene. Christopher was a little spooked, however. “Are the fish eating him? Are they attacking him?” was all he could talk about.
Next, it was our turn to go out and explore the ocean. Yippee! Aaron opted not to go. We were prepared for an adult to stay in the boat with Christopher, but they didn’t mind him going out so both Doug and I could get in the water! Well, it was a bit of an adjustment for our children. Christopher liked getting into the water, but he would not look underwater to save his life. He was really scared of the fish, and out of sight, out of mind. He just hung on to a life ring and we dragged him around. Shannon was the only child who did some real snorkeling, and she had a great time doing it. Doug and I also had a good time holding our breath, diving underwater in front of the windows, and making funny faces at Aaron. He laughed. It was just beautiful under there. I could have stayed out for an hour longer.

Barrel Drummers at Grand Cayman

Tuesday, February 10 - Cruise Day Three

Today – Jamaica, Mon!
The kids woke up mercifully late and we had a leisurely breakfast in our staterooms. Then we had enough time to attempt the rock wall again – this time with Aaron and Shannon if they were interested. (Christopher was too young, although he would be the best at it!) Well, Doug and I went first. Aaron then agreed to try, although he was very nervous. He got up about 10 feet and then wanted down. We were proud of him for trying! Shannon declined, as she was not feeling well. In fact, she woke up coughing with a slight fever. Cudos to her, though – she did not complain at all for the rest of the day.
Then on to the island. There were no beaches right by the boat this time. Most people take a shuttle to the City Centre and do some shopping. We were no different, although we were not into gems, watches, and rum (Jamaica’s specialties). We wanted to get some Blue Mountain coffee and crazy glue. Yes, you read right. We were out for crazy glue. Doug’s glasses were still not fixed and his contacts were bothering him, so that was our mission.
We were successful! Next, we took the shuttle to Margaritaville – the supposed place where Jimmy Buffett used to hang out. We sat outside on a beautiful veranda overlooking the water and dug our teeth into some great hamburgers. We drank, of course, margaritas. Unfortunately, either they make their margaritas stronger or my stomach was too empty – because I felt like I was “wasting away again in Margaritaville.” I decided that in the future, half a margarita was enough for me J. We all enjoyed a Jamaican trio that came to each of the tables. They gave the children maracas and played us a great song. It was a great time.
As we were going back to the ship, we asked the children what was different about Jamaica. After all, it was their first time immersed in another culture. “Lots and lots of black people!” Aaron said. We also heard that it was poorer, and Shannon said the people were very nice. They were surprisingly friendly, I thought. But perhaps the differences that stood out the most to them were the British touches. Aaron noticed that they spelled “Centre” wrong, and they were astounded that people could drive on the wrong side of the road. The Jamaicans’ advice to American drivers is, “The wrong side is the right side and the right side is suicide!”
After a nice jog around the 12th deck, we ate some pizza and took Christopher up to his class. The older children we took to an ice show. It was incredible. There was a guest star who could twirl about 10 hula hoops while she skated around, and a male skater who did a couple of back flips. The costumes were extraordinary. We did have to apologize to the children about some of the skimpy female costumes, though. “Their bellies are showing!” they kept saying.
The finale to our evening was the Pirate Parade. All evening, Christopher had been preparing for this parade, learning some moves and getting a patch painted on. We hung out on the promenade, with Shannon giving into sleep and napping in my arms. Finally, the pirates arrived to take over the ship! They performed a show for us, and then marched on to take over the dining room. Christopher was in his element. He was so happy and proud of himself! Very worth the late hour.

Monday, February 9 - Cruise Day Two

Labadee, Haiti today! We took a boat, called a tender, to the island. It was an interesting place – all developed by the cruise line. Hammocks everywhere, volleyball courts, cafés, beautiful aquamarine swimming beaches, and a Haitian flea market. Again, we put our kids in Adventure Ocean (on the island this time) where they could explore a “pirate ship” and play in a water park. We went shopping in the Haitian flea market stalls. We had a good time haggling with the locals. One seller was incredibly multilingual, speaking about seven languages. I spoke in French with him and Doug spoke to him in Spanish! Even though they were willing to come down in their prices, they wouldn’t go as low as I would expect. They wouldn’t take ten dollars for a shirt I wanted, for instance. And I know that a lot of the items were cheap goods from Asia; one tunic I saw was identical to several our dance group bought in PA for a small price! I started wondering what kind of a deal they had with the cruise lines, since they lived on the island and ALL of the island was owned by Royal Caribbean. Hmmm. I was picturing an elaborate application process to live on the island, with those that make it enjoying relative prosperity.

We snuck back over to the kids to see how they were doing. Christopher was chasing a girl around with a whiplike branch, as the children’s worker was yelling, “No, Christopher!” Again, everything was normal.
We had some wind whip up, and a little rain. We hung out together under some towels on the hammocks, and went back to the ship. We played shuffleboard together, had another wonderful dinner in the dining room, and put the kids back in Adventure Ocean.
Then we went Latin dancing at a bar called Boleros. Even though we thought that we didn’t know what we were doing, a crowd gathered all around the dance floor. Either we are better than we think, or we look so silly that we are entertaining!

Sunday, February 8 - Cruise Day One

We woke up, had breakfast in the Jade Café, and went to “church.” Actually, it was a podcast of Joel Osteen from Lakewood Church in Houston, shown in a movie theatre. We enjoyed that, and the prayer afterwards with some of the passengers.
After lunch in the Windjammer Café, we put our children in “Adventure Ocean,” the childcare program. Then Doug and I were free! We went at it with a vengeance. First, we climbed the forty-foot rock wall. The view from the top was exhilarating, and rappelling down was a lot of fun! We played adult dodgeball (Doug’s glasses broke with a shot to his face), and miniature golf. Apparently, Leslie got the hang of putting with the rolling of the ship, as she was soundly ahead for the entirety of the game. Speaking of competition, I think we are the most competitive couple I have ever met. I drew the line when I realized how silly we looked racing each other down the stairs from floor to floor. Some dignity, please.

We decided to check in and see how Christopher was doing. We peeked into his classroom long enough to notice that everyone was sitting quietly listening to a story about someone who ran fast. “I can run fast!” we heard Christopher exclaim as he took off across the room. “Christopher, come back here!” we heard in reply.
Good, we thought. Behaving like his normal self J.
We worked out in the gym, soaked in the adult-only hot tub where we made a new friend from Canada, and went to a formal dinner in the dining room, all without our children.
We were imagining how they were missing us, sitting by the door waiting, but when we got there, they were kind of sad we were there! They had absolutely loved it. True to form, Aaron was the captain of the soccer game they were playing when we arrived. Also true to form, Shannon handed us a note that a BOY had given her. Inside the note there was a slip of paper with a ROOM NUMBER on it! We just about flipped until she mentioned that that room number was from a girl she met. Phew! She had also arranged a playdate with the girl for the following day, all without our intervention. Boy, our children are consistent.

Saturday, February 7 - Cruise Day Zero

We woke up to more of the same hospitality. Doug’s cousin prepared a gourmet breakfast for all of us, and the grandmas and Doug’s uncle came over for the feast. More playing and a movie, and then Dave made smoothies before he drove us to the boat. It was just a half an hour away to Miami! After saying our goodbyes, we went through the necessary procedures and boarded the ship.

The cruise ship is huge – actually the biggest in the world (from any company.) That sat OK with us, but if they would have told us that it was unsinkable, we would have been outta there! (Too reminiscent of the Titanic…) We were so nervous about sinking, we wore our flotation devices to everywhere.(Just joking. This was taken during a mandatory evacuation drill before we sailed.)

Needless to say, with all of the decks and places to go, I was feeling a little overwhelmed, like a deer in the headlights. It took a while to get our bearings. Here are the kids watching as we exit the port of Miami.We spent the rest of the day getting unpacked, exploring the ship, and having dinner in a beautiful dining room that also reminded me of the Titanic. We went to an evening show with the children – comedy, juggling, and a jazz orchestra. Very good.

Friday, February 6 - Cruise Day Minus One

We took the Lancaster train to Philadelphia to start our trip off. Uneventful, except for the moment arriving in Philly when the doors were closing and half our family and bags were still inside the train. Doug, in a Mr. Incredible moment of feat and strength, held the doors open while our panicked family escaped outside. In the Philadelphia train station, we caught a local Septa train to get to the airport. Unfortunately, somewhere in the process Doug lost his Visa and bank card. Ugh. At least Leslie had her credit card for the rest of the trip! (And yes, Mom and Dad, Doug canceled the cards…J) On this train trip, Doug emphasized hurrying to the doors. I have never seen Aaron so intense, really. He had his adrenaline going, and knocked my suitcase over (not easy!) getting to the doors. I wish I had a video of him.

When we boarded the plane, the captain asked if the kids wanted to see the cockpit. Don't push that button Chris!

Before takeoff on our flight to Florida, the gentleman behind us (we were all sitting in a row together) could not stop his nosebleed. Apparently, he had a few things working against him, like the aspirin in his system. Well, Doug gave him a little advice, which was met with stares until Doug mentioned he was a doctor. The advice was in vain. The man even had blood coming out his tear ducts! Doug asked to see a medical kit, and he and the bloody gentleman went to the rear of the plane. The bleeding stopped with the packing and nasal decongestant, but Doug spent the duration of the flight in the galley pinching his nose, along with two other doctors. (One was an ear, nose and throat doc who felt letting the nose go wasn’t worth the risk until we landed.)

Well, the rest of the family were treated like royalty on row 13. The flight attendants brought us a huge bag of snacks and any drinks we wanted. At the end of the flight, the ground paramedics came on board to assist Doug in helping the man off the plane, and the passengers all gave a round of applause for the doctors who helped. I don’t think the kids were ever prouder of their daddy.

We were intercepted after security by Doug’s aunt Janet and cousin Dave, who transported us and our matching five bags to their house in Hollywood, Florida. We were SO warmly received, and had just an incredible time reconnecting with our extended family. Dave has three children, close to our children’s ages. They had a ball together, along with the pet Lab and bunny in the back. They were outside, inside, and outside again. In the evening, they had prearranged for Janet and another grandma to watch all of our children, while Dave, his sister Karen and their spouses took us to downtown Hollywood to a Spanish Tapas bar. (Yes, a Tapas bar, not a topless bar.) The wine, food and Flamenco dancing were extraordinary. Incredibly, during that time, the grandmas found our children’s pajamas and got them all cozied in bed for us!

When Kids Relax

Christopher doesn't take a nap anymore. He has "room time." It seems that naps are still an attractive option for this time. Here he is in his closet today. Shannon was having a little problem with anger, so she was sent by a loving parent to her room "to relax." She has apparently been studying the art of relaxation from her Aunt Christal. We found her naked in her room, wrapped in a white towel, her face slathered with a thick layer of lotion.

We are becoming hardened northerners. The other day, I asked Doug to grill some hamburgers on our patio grill. "Sure, no problem," he said. After he didn't come back in for a while, I went to the window and saw him at work. He was chipping at an ice and snow layer all around the grill, as well as attempting to remove the grill cover that was frozen fast.

A minute later, Shannon walks by and says, "What is Daddy doing?"
"He is going to grill some burgers," I said.

"Are we going to eat outside?" Shannon asked.