Monday, August 31, 2009

Cruisin'

And, here we are...After we checked on the ship, we went to go check out the food...Then we had to do a pretend evacuation practice...Of course, we had to hit the pool a few times... (Excuse the whiteness and funky tan lines of my husband. He asked me if I could photoshop him but I have no clue how to make him all one color)Later that night, Gary and I just went and layed out on the deck and chatted under the stars.First stop...Nassau, Bahamas. That huge hotel up ahead on the left is the Atlanis Hotel. We had NO clue how big and amazing it was until we checked it out for ourselves.Here we are in front of our shipThe first thing we did was walk all around and check out the fun shops (and interesting people) on the Island.Then we went back to the ship for dinner. Isn't Gary so good looking?Then we decided to head back out since we would still be docked for five more hours.We got a taxi and went over to the Atlantis Hotel. It was SO neat! I think if we ever end up on this Island again, I'd totally just go straight to this hotel, pay the $100.00 bucks a person and enjoy the pools all day long! It would TOTALLY be worth it! But this time, we just walked around and admired everything.There was this slide that goes under water and through this fish/SHARK tank! I was a little nervous just standing next to the tank, let alone thinking about riding IN the tank!Here we are in front of our ship again...on our way back. Not sure what those wet circles are on my shirt...whatever.Next stop - Coco Cay, Bahamas. This is a private Island that Royal Caribbean owns. There are no homes, hotels, or things like that on it. Even all the people who come work on the Island ride a boat about five miles from their home (another Island) to work each day. Sweet eh? I would LOVE to ride a boat to work each day! There were just THOUSANDS of Beach chairs, HUNDREDS of Hammocks, and lots of trees, fun activities, cute colorful buildings and the whole Island was COVERED in white sand. I could have stayed here a couple days!

Gary and I went and ran around the ship (on the track) as we approached Coco Cay.The water was seriously warm. Like "Lake Powell" warm. And totally clear and blue. It was SO beautiful.
We did a little snorkeling. Which was a BIG deal for me. I've done it once before in Hawaii quite a few years ago. I do NOT like fish. I like to pretend they aren't there, don't exist and are not in the same water as I am in. So, actually LOOKING at them is a bit of a hard task for me. It was pretty cool though...until I came face to face with a JELLY FISH! I freaked out in the water, swallowed half the ocean and turned around as fast as I could. It took me a bit to get back in... There were quite a few people who were stung by jelly fish that day, luckily I was NOT one of them!

One of these guys were hanging out in our little cove and swam RIGHT up to my feet...which made me a little nervous. But I snapped a picture of him.And these guys...had a home on the Island. We asked if they were dangerous, and learned that they actually can hurt a bit if you try to pick them up or scare them. We just left them alone. Of course, we had to enjoy some good hammock time...And, yes...I was SO excited when we came back to our room to find our little animal! Of course, I had to try a little of everything at dinner and loved it all! :) I had a Doctor appointment the very next day and gained SIX pounds. They were so glad I had gained some good weight, I didn't tell them that it was the cruise that did it...and had NOTHING with being pregnant.
Does he look happy or sad? I think he's pretending to be happy but really he's sad that our cruise is over. We played cards while we waited for our plane and tried to forget that we were actually going home ALREADY.
Over all, it was AWESOME! We can't wait for another one...someday. Wanna Come?!?

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Advice, taken.

Many of you have advised us to "take a vacation before that baby comes" and since our anniversary was coming up as well, we decided to go on a cruise! First one for us, and we can't wait for another!
Our fun experiences started before we even left the ground in Albuquerque. My friend, Rachel, dropped us off at the air port for our flight to Orlando. Normally, since Albuquerque is not a HUB and no one seems to come visit us here, the airport is dead and you can walk right through and be on the plane in a matter of ten minutes, we've grown accustomed to it and usually get to the airport with more like 40-45 minutes to spare (if that). But on this day it must have been the National "Fly out of Albuquerque" day or something because there was a half hour wait at the desk to check our bags (sky cap was just as long) and the security line took us a good 30-40 minutes to get through as well. Not to mention, at the last minute I threw in a bottle of lotion but accidentally put it in the carry on instead of our check on bag so security flagged us and had to go through our carry on bag (and I had to throw away my bottle of lotion, bummer) and that took another fifteen minutes. Needless to say, we missed our flight. BUT, it all turned out better because the next flight out was an hour later, but it was a direct flight and got us into Orlando four hours earlier than our original flight. Reason we didn't just book that awesome direct flight in the first place was because we knew we'd miss our flight! :) Or, maybe it was like twice as much $$. But they happily let us take the LAST TWO seats on the plane and we called it good! It was awesome!

We decided to lengthen our trip a bit and stay two extra nights before our cruise in Orlando since neither of us had ever been there before. The first night in Orlando, we just drove around and went out for dinner. It sure is humid down there...whew!
We contemplated doing Disney World for a day but then decided against it. We thought we'd rather come to Orlando specifially for Disney World another time when we actually could go a few days in a row and just enjoy all the fun stuff in Orlando. So, instead, we went to Downtown Disney and shopping at the outlets! Our next night in Florida we actually splurged and stayed in a hotel in Cocoa Beach...on the beach! This was our view stright out from our balcony. It was awesome!
Here was our sunrise...after this picture, we quickly got our running clothes on and went for a run on the beach!
Stay tuned for the actual cruise report!! And, get used to the random pictures, when it's just two of you on a trip, you only get one person at a time, or the 'arms length' shot...

FYI

I've been getting emails from some of you about a little information I have lacked to tell...
I'm due December 18th and currently am 23 weeks. And it's still a boy. Here is the latest belly shot, if you want to call it that. Pretty sure no one looks at me and thinks I'm pregnant but I'm starting to feel like it a bit.
Although I feel great (my running has gotten a TINY bit easier) and am symptom free, I am starting to feel a few changes in my daily routine...such as, bending over to tie my running shoes. I just can't bend over as far as I used to...like, I can't reach my shoe comfortably. Instead, I suddenly feel the urge to pee. :) I won't even elaborate on that topic, yet. I'm sure it gets worse. The other thing is that I'm hot when I shouldn't be. I hate that feeling of being hot and it's happening way too much.
Other than that, this guy is moving 24-7 and I love every movement I feel. It's still just amazing to me and I spend WAY too much time every day just laying down, watching my belly move and feeling him inside me. I think Gary thinks I'm a little crazy but it just makes me wish he could feel what I'm feeling! I think it's the neatest thing and I hope I never get sick of it...did I speak too soon?

I LOVE surprises

The other day, I went out to get my mail and there was a package in my mailbox addressed to Gary and I from my friend Ciara who now lives with here husband in New York. How fun! I love getting stuff in the mail other than bills and junk. So, I opened it up right there at the mail box and squealed with delight! Ciara, you're so cute! Thanks so much! I'm sure our little guy WILL love NY...especially when we bring him to come see YOU someday soon! Gary reads this book to him every night! It's the cutest book (for all you expecting moms!) and I forgot how much I just LOVE Dr. Seuss! I'm going to have to start my own collection of all his great books very soon!