SNOW - in TEXAS!

Aden got his wish... it snowed in Texas! We had a light drizzle of snow a few days before that didn't stay past an hour or so. That was disappointing. But then, we got a couple inches! And this time, snowmen could be made!

Adam stayed home with the boys and they threw snowballs, made several snowmen and warmed up by the fire with hot cocoa. Hooray for a snow day!

(Yes, did you catch that too? Aden wore his nice pants to play in the snow. This is what happens when mommy's at work).

Cruise 2015 (Part 5) - Carnival Magic

The last couple of days were Days at Sea. We returned to Galveston and said goodbye to our cozy little boat room, our amazing wait staff and room staff, our favorite little spots on the boat, our 24-hour access to food and desserts, our movie nights by the pool on the big screen, and our "fancy dinners."

I enjoyed a sunrise on the balcony.

After a while, the boys starting getting around and ready. Sort of.

Aden and Ethan wanted to go to Camp Carnival for some event they were having. Adam wanted to go to the hot tub, and I wanted to find a quiet place to read. I found a comfy couch by a big window overlooking the ocean. It had a nice little table and I got a coffee from the coffee bar. Two hours of mommy heaven.

Then I went back to the room and started packing while everyone was out. I got a little misty eyed, realizing that we would be going back to real life the next day.

We met back up again for lunch at the little Italian restaurant on the boat.

And then we found the game room. (What? Was this here the whole time? Who knew? :) )

At dinner that night, someone shared some sparkling cider and the boys finished the bottle.

On our last night, we watched a movie on the lido deck by the pool. (It was chilly!) They gave out popcorn and pool blankets and it was pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Since the last day was on Valentine's Day, we took the boys to the candy store on the ship and let them pick out a few bags for the car ride home. I'm not sure we'll be able to top this Valentine's Day. It's one for the books.

Cruise 2015 (Part 4) - Progreso

Progreso, Mexico is not my favorite place. It was nice to see it once, for the experience, but the beach paled in comparison to the two near-perfect locations we previously visited. And there wasn't really anything to do there.

We did a little shopping, and the boys picked up some souvenirs.

We had heard about a double-decker bus tour, so we inquired about that and got a little bit of a runaround from the bus driver that took us unto town. He tried to imply that his tour bus (which did not look fun) was the only one in town. We decided to do a little tour on foot and walked a half a block and found the double-decker bus. And it was more then half the cost! 

I did enjoy the tour. It was great for my boys to see what life outside the U.S. is like. The school had columns and a roof, but no walls. The children were sitting cross-legged on a concrete floor while they learned. There were people on the streets peddling all kinds of things and lots of places were closed down.

During the tour, I had seen an interesting looking restaurant called Flamingos, so after the tour, we took off on foot to see if we could find it again for lunch. Once we got down to the beach, we were inundated with massage ladies shoving cards in our hands with their names on it. They were everywhere! And they had no concern for personal space. I started getting a little anxious, and the boys didn't know what to think about the whole show. We managed to get out of there, and found the restaurant. I'm so glad we did, it was awesome and the staff was so nice! We stayed there for a little while and had lunch and drinks. 

A couple of times, peddlers came into the restaurant and to our table to sell us items. This was more intrusive than I had ever experienced. We did buy candy for the boys from one guy though.

So cheesy!

Adam and I did end up getting beach massages from a little place that wasn't so crazy. We took turns while the other watched the boys. The beach was packed, hardly anywhere to sit. And the sand was full of broken shells and kind of hard to walk on. At one point, I was watching Ethan, then turned my head to watch a heated exchange with a beach peddler and when I turned back, Ethan was gone. I panicked! I rand down to the exact spot where he had been only two minutes before and I looked up and down the beach. Then I went back up the the table to look and I heard someone saying, "Ma'am?" She was a tourist, maybe even from our ship? And she had Ethan. PRAISE GOD. I thought I lost my child in Mexico. That kid is way too fast. Apparently, he thought he saw some good shells about 10 feet away and went for them. But there were so many people on the beach that it was hard to see his head.

Not my favorite place.

This was about 4 minutes before he disappeared.

One fun new experience was the coconut stand. On our walk back to the bus, we passed a father and son coconut stand where they will slice up a coconut for you to drink right there on the street. Ethan really wanted to try it (also on his bucket list), so we bought one. The boys were AMAZED watching the guy chop and slice coconuts to either eat or drink.

I was impressed - this is normally where Aden draws the line at trying new food items but he embraced it and tried it!

The consensus was that it was warm and not really that sweet, so it wasn't going to be our new favorite thing. But it wasn't bad.

Then it was back to the boat!

Aden opted for Camp Carnival dinner with new friends (who IS this kid??) and Ethan wanted to go to fancy dinner.

We did catch Camp Carnival just in time to watch a "volcano" erupt. These camp coordinators are so much fun!

Cruise 2015 (Part 3) - Cozumel

Adam and I had been to Cozumel before, but this time we were going to forgo the mayan ruins and just do some more beach time. We really procrastinated on booking an excursion, and we lucked into a last minute snorkel and beach excursion that wasn't very expensive.

This is Ethan on the snorkel boat...

The boat was a really cute little two story snorkel boat and they provided the snorkel equipment. The water was amazing. It was the prefect little trip.

Until I got sea sick.

I was so sick, I could barely move. I just didn't want anyone to even call out my name because it would have been too much effort to move my head. I prayed that boat ride would end soon. They stopped the boat far enough out to see some cool stuff on a snorkel and Adam and Ethan got in. Aden thought the water was too cold, and he opted to sunbathe on the top of the boat instead.

(Aden in snorkel gear)

(The boys, about to go in)

Aden actually got as far as waist deep in the water before he decided it was way too cold.

We really are so much alike, he and I.

It was adorable to watch Ethan snorkel for the first time. He did SO GOOD. And he said this was his favorite part of the whole trip. But honestly, I just couldn't get out of that boat quick enough.

We did finally get to the island, a little private island owned by the boat company, and I felt better quickly. I got a burger and a water, and started to feel normal again. The beach here was another big win - just beautiful and not crowded. The boys took a little kayak trip in the ocean while I ate, and then we spent the rest of the time in the hammocks.

They had some huge inflatables to play on (that's Ethan at the top!)

A three-man kayak? Perfect!

My cheeseburger in paradise.

This is the life...

Ethan found it fun to rock me in my hammock. I obliged and let him. Tee hee.

I had anxiety about getting back on the boat, and my hero (Adam) worked it out with the boat captain so that we could catch a ride with one of the bartenders back to the pier... in his car. THANK GOODNESS!

The four of us somehow managed to fit in the backseat of the world's smallest car and drove 10 minutes back to the pier. We were back in plenty of time to do a little shopping in the market and grab some nachos and margaritas (virgin for the boys) at the same restaurant that Adam and I ate at last time we were there. It was such a good time.

The boys were probably planning their next excursion. Something with "two."

They were celebrating Carnival while we were there!

I was so happy to visit my guy again, the one in Cozumel who finger paints the most amazing beach scenes on tile. I wanted to introduce Aden and Ethan to him - I had told them all about him. Unfortunately, he was away at lunch when we got there. But his apprentice was there, a young guy who is learning the trade. The boys got to see him in action, painting a beautiful little piece for them to take home. I bought myself a gorgeous tile with a sunset.

 Back on the boat, it was back to the sports center for some pool and making new friends.

The boys wanted to do Camp Carnival for dinner, so Adam and I had a date at a little pub on the ship that we like. We ate, had a couple drinks and Adam beat me in shuffleboard (it was close).

And then I tucked all my guys in for the night. Sweet dreams!