My Bluebonnet Babies

One beautiful evening I coaxed the kids to come with me

so I could take pictures of two of my favorite things...

them and the Texas Bluebonnets.

This is the shot I was hoping for.

This was just one of many cute shots of Kaylie.

But believe me, there were many of her

not having such a good time because

the long grass tickled her legs,

and the sun shined in her eyes,

and the mosquitos buzzed in her ears,

and I tried to make her smile for the camera.

Mean Mom... so worth it!

Thanks to Dad's great suggestion to help keep her happy,

Kaylie searched high and low for bugs in the flowers.

I was happy to capture the moment on camera because,

well, it's just so gosh darn cute! Don't you think?

Enjoying Easter Sunday

We had a beautiful Easter morning.
It was wet outside, but the sun was shining.
The kids woke up and found all the eggs,
except Tanner had a hard time finding his special egg.

The girls loved their Easter dresses -
it's about the only time I can get them to dress alike -
and Tanner reluctantly agreed to wear his pink tie
"just this one Sunday."

The chocolate bunnies were the best thing in the baskets this year.
Kaylie ate her whole bunny,

and Tanner and Taylin had half of theirs,
before we even went to church.

Nothing like a chunk of milk chocoate for breakfast.

The kids also discovered that they like hard boiled eggs
dipped in a little salt and pepper!
Even Taylin liked it and has found a new food to eat.
They didn't have any problem eating
ALL the eggs they colored before church too.

Cruising the Caribbean

Love, exciting and new,
Come aboard.
We're expecting you.
Love, life's sweetest reward.
Let it flow,
it floats back to you.

The Love Boat
soon will be making another run.
The Love Boat
promises something for everyone.
Set a course for adventure,
your mind on a new romance...


It's looooove!

Ty and Karmen invited us along on their cruise vacation
and we happily accepted. We had a great time together
tanning by the pool, winning $50 in Bingo,
eating tons of yummy foods, and dancing into the night.

Krazy Key West

This was the first port we reached

after almost two full days on the ship.

It was nice to get on land and feel stable again.
This is the electric car we rented and drove around the entire island...
all 2x4 miles of it. And don't worry, we returned it full of gas

for those of you that think electric cars need gas!! : )

We stopped in at some fairly nice beaches and
Huy took up some tree climbing in his free-time.

We also stopped at the Southernmost Point in the Continental U.S.A.
We were 90 miles to Cuba. Yup, just like this monument tells you.
Added bonus, they'll put people in your picture for you.

We were able to see the nightlife of Key West.
This street had all the shops open, restaurants,
and even hot dog street vendors, something Huy quite enjoys.
It was the happening place.

Upon returning to the ship, we saw it all lit up with the lights.
It was pretty cool because, well, obviously,
when we were on the ship,
we couldn't see the lights from outside.
Huy thought it was cool to take a picture
of me holding the Royal Carribean logo.

Grand Cayman

This was our second stop and by far my favorite.

Can you believe that we are not standing in a pool!

The water and beaches were beauitful!!
The ship couldn't pull in to the land so we had to ferry in.

We took a 20 minute boat ride out to the spot they call "Stingray City,"

a shallow sandbar in the middle of the ocean,

and it was here that we actually swam with the stingrays.

They were all over, just casually swimming by you.

I tried not to think to hard about it or I would freak myself out.

The locals believe that if you kiss a stingray
it will give you seven years good luck.
As you can tell, I wasn't too excited about it,
but thought to myself, why not?

There were about 10 boats that all back in a circle
and let their boat load of people off.
We were given a piece of squid to feed the rays and
they would come by and just suck it out of your hand.
Lots of people, but definately worth it.

Cozumel Style

This was our third and last stop.

We were heading home the next day

and we wanted to get as much sun and fun in

as we could so we headed for the beach.

Karmen and I went parasailing some
800 feet up into the swaying wind.
We almost tossed our cookies, but instead,
we were dipped in the water
while Huy and Ty laughed from the boat.
It was crazy fun!
We spent the rest of the day cruising on jet skis
and sailing on a hobie cat.

Before boarding for the last time,
we did some shopping for souveniers and
hung out to some wild dancing and music at Senor Frogs,
a very happening scene!

While we were at sea...

It was often heard on board that "what happens on the ship,

stays on the ship."
There were a few things that some of us would rather abide by,
but there were some things that we can share.

For example... Bingo became a small addiction for some of us. When you're playing for a $5000 jackpot, who didn't play? Obviously we didn't win it or you would have heard about it by now, but we had a lot of fun being LOSERS! I think the most fun was yelling out to the caller when we saw him on the ship outside of Bingo, "Show me the money Bingo Boy!!" That earned us a free Bingo card or another chance to lose, which ever way you want to look at it.

It may not be pictured, but I have to mention that Huy won the poolside "Mr. Sexy Legs" contest. I've always told him he has sexy legs, but now I have proof (the Royal Carribean crown that he wears around the house)!! Karmen and I didn't exactly win the "Mrs. Biceps" contest, but we were awarded a medal for our humor and good looks. High five Karmen!

We had fun dancing disco into the late hours of the night, going to the shows (saw some magic, comedians, and don't forget the Rhapsody of the Seas Dancers - that was Huy's favorite - ha).

Another highlight for me was getting all fancied-up and going for dinner. I always are way too much, but it was pretty darn good.

I mostly enjoyed the company!

"You can thry..." Our waiter was always so helpful. He started most every sentence with, "You can thry..." That's his accent. You have to roll your tongue when you say it. Makes me laugh thinking about it. I don't think we understood much of what he was telling us.

We all just knodded and smiled.

Each night after dinner and the show, we would return to our rooms and find some creature made out of towels made for us on our beds. "Our dog" or as Ty called him, Jar Jar Binks, was watching TV and we had a monkey, an elephant, a sting ray, just to name a few. There was a Cruise Compass for the next day (it told us what we could expect the next day and the times) and two mints on the pillows. Such service!

Midnight C H O C O L A T E Buffet

The buffet put me over-the-edge in the whole eating department.
I mean, when have you ever piled your plate full of chocolate...
at 12:00 midnight? There was so much to look at and enjoy. Wow!

Just a sampling of what it was like.