Betcha think I forgot about you!

But I didn't! I've been out of town, I went on a fabulous scrapbook cruise with my friend Debbie and have been attempting to settle back into "normal" around here. I think the easiest way to tell you about my adventures this past week would be to break it down each day, so here we go!

Wednesday: Matt and Ari took me to the airport and I flew to Ft. Lauderdale to meet Debbie. We stayed in a hotel to make sure we were both there in time to board the ship. Debbie had a terrible sinus infection and didn't feel well at all so we had a quick dinner and went to bed fairly early. Ari did very well, he didn't cry at all when I left. I'm sure having Daddy and Grandma at his beck and call helped that, he was SO spoiled all week I'm sure!

Thursday: We headed to the pier to board the ship and tie up a few loose ends relating to the scrapbook part of our trip. The ship was incredible, by far the biggest boat I've ever seen. This was my first cruise so I was soaking it all in. There was a casino, night club, something like three pools and half a dozen hot tubs, a spa and a theatre for live shows in the evenings. Of course there was the formal dining room, it was two stories tall! Oh, and the rock climbing wall and bungee jumping too! We left the port around dinner time and it was such a strange feeling to be moving (fast, I might add) but not moving, if that makes sense.




Friday: We docked in Key West early in the morning. Debbie and I had breakfast at the Windjammer Marketplace which was the buffet area. Man, the food was incredible! Even for a buffet, it was so fresh and yummy. I think I gained about ten pounds last week, that's the only not so good part of the trip. Anyway, in Key West I really wanted to go to the Southernmost point in the US so we walked. It was very hot and humid but we survived. On the way to the point we passed the Lighthouse so we popped in. We walked up Duval Street on our way back to the pier and browsed the shops and bars. I like Key West, I'd love to go back someday when I have more time. We had to be back on the boat by 2 to set sail for Cozumel. We had a scrap class that afternoon and our Formal dinner that evening. I love to dress up so it was fun for me. Oh, and I totally ate escargo! Debbie even took pictures to prove it. It was pretty good, covered in a garlic butter sauce which makes pretty much anything good! Oh, while we're at dinner everynight our cabin steward comes by for turndown service. We had mints on our pillow and they made cute little towel animals out of our pool towels every day. So fun! We had another scrap class after dinner and went to bed after class.






Saturday: WooHoo, Cozumel!! We docked around 10 or so but we wanted to eat breakfast first. We had to be back on the ship at 1 to take care of some scrap things so we took a cab Downtown to do some shopping and sight seeing before lunch. It was really hot again but we still had fun. It's really fun for me just to watch people, especially in other countries, and see how they live on a day to day basis. I had a great time! We had lunch on the ship while we were checking on things and after lunch we rented a Jeep to drive to the beaches. Debbie has been to Cozumel before so she knew all the good spots. I'm thinking there was a pretty massive hurricane that hit the island a couple years ago and Debbie said it was AMAZING the amount of damage it left behind. The sand beaches were all but gone! In it's place were rocky cliffs with waves crashing all around. It was gorgeous to see but not swimmer friendly so we drove around until we found a better spot. I love seeing all the little roadside stands and bars and shops. There were a few guys kiteboarding, we watched them for a while then just sat on the beach and enjoyed the view. Back on the boat we had dinner in the dining room again and scrapped some that evening. We were both pretty worn out and didn't have much energy to scrap so we walked around the boat then went to the room and ordered room service. We were so excited because we thought we'd get to go to bed at a decent hour but by the time our room service arrived and we watched a movie and chatted it was after 1 in the morning. Oops! It was great fun though, I very much enjoyed getting to know Debbie even more!






Sunday we were at sea all day so we did a scrap class and walked around the ship a bit. Debbie is like, Goddess of the Sea so we were invited to take a tour of the Bridge (which is where they pilot the boat incase you are like me and didn't know, I thought it was a secret bridge to somewhere. Duh). Anyway, we met the crew and saw all the insturments that they use. It was pretty cool! It was actually a pretty relaxing day, did a little shopping on the boat, ate, ate some more... I can't wait to go back! We packed up our bags that evening since we were leaving pretty early the next morning. All in all it was an incredible week and just what I needed! I'm trying to talk Matt into letting me go in March to Western Mexico! I could use some help if anyone is willing ;)

Monday we disembarked the boat and headed to the airport to catch our flights home. I missed my guys SO much! I was fine while I was on the boat but once I was sitting alone in the boarding area it hit me. I was able to catch an earlier flight to Charlotte, ditch my bags in the car and fly to Louisville to pick up my little Bean! I called Sharon to check on him and she told me the power was out at their house! Apparently Ike did some serious damage while we were gone. I had no idea. As far as I know they still don't have power, going on 5 days now! Yikes! Matt got home last night from work so we're enjoying some nice quiet family time here at home, just the three of us. Ari and I went to a play date this morning then Matt and I took him to Gymboree. We're officially back in Gym classes, after seeing the sheer joy in Ari's face today I cannot take him out. He had SO much fun, clapping and yelling YAY the whole time. He did have a rough day though, he fell twice and has both a ginormous goose egg on his forhead and his first ever scrape under his little chin :( Poor guy. Anyway, I'll leave you with a picture of his adorable little face. I'm exhausted and this post took over an hour so I'm going to bed. I do have some scrappy creations to share with you later this week so stay tuned!