Day in Haiti

Royal Carribean has a private peninsula in Haiti called Labadee. Labadee is gorgeous and has probably the best beach we went to the whole time. We all went on wave runners, had a BBQ lunch, snorkeled, floated on beach mats and went shopping. The wave runners were a blast in the ocean! I figured out the best way to snorkel.. laying on a beach mat with Drew snorkeling and when he led me to something neat I would dip my face in to see it with my mask. The shops had mainly wood carvings but the people were so pushy it made me nervous to go into very many stores. We bought vanilla and two wood cups with our names carved in them.

Pictures don't do justice for how big a cruise ship is. So pretty! More pictures to come on the wave runners when I scan them. The ground was so hot we burnt our feet walking to the wave runners and Natalie actually got blisters.

The floating beach mats which provide the perfect way to snorkel

Matt and Nats

Jay and Erin

Drew and I

Mom and Dad

There were live bands playing everywhere. I love listening to island music.

The water in the carribbean can't be compared to anything.The whole family

Drew snorkeling

The three boys snorkeling. They saw squid, octopus, crabs, and lots of fish in a reef only 2 feet under the surface.

My dad and I

We decided to take pictures while the guys watched March Madness in one of the karaoke bars. If you "get" to watch basketball I can't think of a better place than on a cruise ship with a strawberry daiquiri.

I taught my sister and mom how to do surprise face and they were pretty entertained haha.

My family

Zoned out watching the game

This picture makes me so happy

I wore Drew out by the end of everyday. No time to sleep on vacations.

The top deck of the ship at night.

How they make a monkey out of a towel I don't know but it's pretty cool.

Final day

Our last day on the cruise was an at sea day. We were so bummed we were already going home. The vacation went so fast and we were both going back to work and a lot of homework.

Taking final pictures of the ship. The captain and others walked a mile around the ship for the make a wish foundation and sold t-shirts to raise money. Our first formal dinner picture

The sports area of the ship. It had a flow rider, basketball, golf, and a rock climbing wall.

I won our put put game :)

The casino on the ship. Drew loved watching people loose money and watching the game in person he plays on his phone all the time (texas hold'em).

The Royal Promenade or mall where they had different sales every day, Ben and Jerrys ice cream, stores, the 24 hour cafes, and parades.

The dining room we ate in each night.

Our server Aileen from the Philippines. My brother went there on his mission and she was shocked when a "white boy" could speak Tagalog. She was hilarious and made dinner fun every night.

The last night she had one of the chef's make us this Philippino dish and it was delicious!

The sunset was gorgeous over perfect water.

The family minus Erin who was sick with our waitress Aileen and assistant waiter Stephen. They thought we were crazy because we didn't drink or have coffee and we ate a ton of sour dough bread every meal. Like we each at least ate four rolls each every dinner.

Drew loved his first cruise and we can't wait to go on another.

The last night's entertainment was a circus type of thing. They had dancing, acrobats, and singing.

Drew let us go all out the last night and get a strawberry daiquiri and Ben and Jerry's ice cream in a waffle cone.. amazing!

It was fun to go on the top deck and feel the breeze and listen to music at night.

When we were in Fort Lauderdale before the airport we stopped and ate Church's chicken. Drew loves this place from his mission and was so excited to eat there.

Our layover in Arizona

We had a blast on our cruise! We loved spending time with each other and family while experiencing new things. It was perfect because I could lay out all day with my sisters and mom while Drew and my brothers went off and stayed busy because they were stir crazy. I'm sad it's over but glad we were able to go and have the vacation of a lifetime. Thanks mom and dad!

Quick Note

I have been horrible with my blog since Christmas so I decided to post at work and then I'll post the cruise pictures this weekend. We just got back from our cruise yesterday and it was the perfect vacation I am sad to be home! The weather was great and it was so much fun being with my family. I am so excited Drew finally got to experience and cruise and find out for himself how fabulous they are! We are going up to the cabin this weekend for General Conference and I am planning on downloading all of our pictures and doing a major blog update. I have almost survived my first semester back at school and yes it's been as bad as I thought it would be. The work isn't hard but there is just so much busy work I can never get on top of it even when I don't procrastinate. I don't feel like I've really learned anything I didn't learn in nursing school but I am told one day I will be glad I went back to get my BSN. I do have to say though I have gained a whole new respect for moms who work full time and go to school! I don't know how they do it. I am working full time and going to school without kids and I feel like I am always wishing each day had 30 hours. Trying to finish all my homework before the cruise was a joke and so I am finishing up this week and then I will have time to blog! I miss the days of coming home from work and going out with friends or just watching a movie. Drew has been so patient with rare home cooked meals and running out of laundry.

Cabin Trip

Every year we go up to my family's cabin for the week between Christmas and New Years. We love sledding, eating, and playing games up there. This year we tried pulling sleds behind the snowmobile so we didn't have to pick the kids up at the bottom of the hill.

Kauner and Landon

Brynley and Cameron
This picture is my favorite.. they are best buddies and Cameron is getting the booggers with his tongue.

Nats and Drew

Drew and my snow angels

Decorating the gingerbread house

Cameron eating icing straight from the bag

Oh I love him!

Erin and Jay

Attempting to take a picture together and my nostrils flared

Again with the nostril flaring but we had no decent pictures

Nats and Cameron

Erin, Brynley and Cam

Bum sliding because the hill is so steep you go right into the tree.. found out the hard way

Painting nativity sets

I look forward to this week every year! I love spending time with my family and can't wait for the cruise... family and laughing for 10 days straight :)