Confidence

This is how Ethan turned in his mission project. I hope his teacher thinks he's as awesome as he does.

Fun Night Out

Rob and I got to see a Beatles tribute band at the Fox Theater last night. It was so much fun. Everybody sang along to the songs and we were just far enough back that we couldn't make out their faces so we could just pretend it was the real thing. :)

Every mother's dream

I don't know too many other kids that enjoy a bowl full of peas, but I'm happy it's one less vegetable battle I have to fight.

This Kid...

I found this on my computer this morning. At least he has healthy self esteem.

Lake Perris

Our friends the Spongbergs invited us to go to Lake Perris with them. The kids had a blast, they had never been on jet skis before.

Bryson was pretty content just playing with the fishing pole

and hanging out with his buddy Ethan on the boogie boards. 

It was a fun day with friends.

Done!

What are Rob and I doing during our date night?? Returning these to Costco because we are officially DONE with diapers in our house!!

Bryson is a potty training rock star!

Caribbean Cruise- Sea Day and Everglades

Friday was a sea day. We played mini golf, and hung out by pool all day. We ate lots of ice cream, and went to a rock show after dinner. We were soaking up every childless moment and forgot to take any pictures.

Saturday morning we were back in Miami. Since our flight wasn't until 5:30 we rented a car again and drove out to the everglades. We went to a alligator park and went on an air boat tour. 

We got to wander around the park and see the alligators that they had there.

Then we got in the air boat to go look for some in the wild.

our guide said he couldn't promise that we would see any, but we ended up seeing 10!

The boat ride was so fun, and the scenery was so beautiful.

At the end of the tour they told us that we could take a picture with a baby alligator. I was pretty freaked out by this, especially since it's mouth was not taped shut like I saw in all the pictures of other people doing this. I just watched person after person go up and hold it. One girl even put her mouth pretty close to its face pretending to kiss it for a picture. Rob went up there and held it and told me I needed to do it.

Again, I knew this is something that I would probably never get a chance to do again. So I went up to hold it, and I just couldn't work up the nerve to do it. I'm a girl and don't care to hold reptiles. After several attempts, I did go to grab the tail first and it felt so gross, that I backed out again.

Finally Rob and I compromised and I held the tail real quick while he held the head for a quick picture. I was pretty proud of myself.

After we left the gator farm we found a little hole in the wall authentic Cuban restaurant. Rob got the milanesa, which was a dish that was a favorite on his mission. It came out much bigger than he expected. I told him it looked like a giant tongue.

We got to the airport and were ready to see our boys. We found all well at home and enjoyed hearing all the stories about the fun the boys had with grandma and grandpa while we were gone. Grandpa has even started potty training Bryson. He really didn't want to change dirty diapers! We are so grateful to them for taking such good care of the boys.

Caribbean Cruise- Grand Cayman

Thursday we had our last stop in Grand Cayman. 

I had read about a spot not to far from the boat to snorkel. We walked just a couple of minutes down the road to Eden Rock and jumped in the water. I couldn't believe how great the snorkeling was. There were huge fish right where we got in. They were at least 3 feet long and made me nervous, so I quickly maneuvered around them. Along with all the great fish we saw...

we also saw some kind of underwater caterpillar,

and we also saw a squid. It was pretty interesting to watch it swim around.

 When we were done snorkeling we walked the town and had lunch. Rob got some jerk chicken from a tiny  Jamaican place. He's been craving authentic jerk chicken since we went to Jamaica so many years ago. After lunch we took a taxi to 7 mile beach. It is rated one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I must agree, it was stunning, and the water was so blue. 

 Once back on the boat we went to dinner and another hilarious comedy show. 

Caribbean Cruise- Roatan

Wednesday we were in Roatan. Carnival has a private beach dock and beach in Mahogany Bay. It was beautiful there. We took our friends advice and just hung out on the beach. 

Rob went snorkeling right off the pier, and thought he was going to be eaten by shark when this big fish snuck up on him. It was much bigger than it looks in the picture.

We got back on boat to have lunch. We ate a lot at the blue iguana. they had the yummiest tacos and burritos. Rob would go without the tortilla and just had them pile up the steak and shrimp. 

At dinner Rob tried the escargot. I wouldn't touch it, but he's up for trying anything.

 Our waiters knew we were celebrating our anniversary and brought us a special dessert and sang happy anniversary to us at dinner. 

After dinner we went to watch the minute to win it games. I got called up on stage and finally won my own ship on a stick by blowing a feather and keeping it in the air longer than my competitor.

Notice I'm wearing a sweatshirt. Probably the only one on board that even brought one. The common conversation on the ship was "Where are you from? How cold it was when you left?" Mostly everyone on board was there from the east coast trying to escape their harsh winter. While everyone else was in their shorts, I was the silly California girl all bundled up. 

Caribbean Cruise- Belize

For Belize we booked our own tour to shark/ray alley. We took a 45 minute speed boat ride to a little island where we stopped to pick up sardines to feed the sharks. We got to feed tarpon, which are huge fish that jump out of the water when you dangle a fish. I pretty much screamed every time.

 Next they took us to snorkel the reef which is the 2nd largest in the world. We saw many colorful fish, eels, a barracuda, and a turtle.

Then we got back in boat to head over to shark/ray alley. They threw in sardines and big nurse sharks started gathering. About 10, 5-8 ft sharks. Even though they told us that nurse sharks are harmless, I was really nervous about getting in the water with the sharks. But I knew I would probably never have a chance to do this again and got in. 

We even got brave and pet the sharks. It felt rough like sand paper. One of the ladies that was with our group actually grabbed a fin and let the shark take her for a ride. This unassuming 60-something year old lady put us all to shame. Even the tour guide was saying that she has never seen anyone do that before. We all couldn't believe our eyes. 

We also saw a few sting rays, and many fish. 

After our shark adventure they took us to Caye Caulker island. We had lunch, and walked the beach before our ride back. 

The speed boat ride back through mangroves and islands was awesome. It was obvious that the boat driver new the islands well as he sped through. Islands were everywhere, and the water was beautiful. 

I loved seeing random little fishing shacks out in the water.

Once back at the mainland we walked through the flea market and got some souvenirs on the way back to the ship.