Caribbean Cruise-Sea Day & Cozumel

Sunday we was a sea day. We hit the gym first, hoping to burn off a few of the million calories we had for dinner the night before. Then we hung out pool side most of the day with a book in our hands. It was so nice to relax without interruption. We had a formal night for dinner, and then went straight to the comedy club for some entertainment. 

After some good laughs we changed back into our swimsuits and hung out in the hot tub for a while. Perfect ending to the day.

Monday we were in Cozumel. We booked the amazing secret river tour. We took a 45 minute boat ride over to Playa Del Carmen, and then a bus to the underground river. It was a very unique experience.  We saw stalactites and stalagmites, and learned how to differentiate the two. 

We saw bats, and a large 6 legged spider that I didn't want anywhere near. Part was trough the cave the guide had us turn out all the lights and was telling a story about the Maya using torches in the caves. She was setting the mood and told us to imagine what it would be like if the torches went out. She had us all turn off our headlamps to experience total darkness. We were all quiet and focusing on the dark when Rob leaned back in his wetsuit and it let out a lot of bubbles that sounded just like a fart.  Everyone started laughing, and the moment was ruined.

After we were done with the tour we had a Mexican lunch buffet. It was good until I found a fly in my food. They took us back to Playa Del Carmen and we had a little bit of time to explore the area.

After dinner we went to another comedy show, and then hung out by the pool. Carnival has a huge screen by the pool where they play movies. They give out popcorn and blanket. It gets a bit chilly on deck at night.

Caribbean Cruise- Florida

Rob and I got to celebrate our 15th anniversary by going on a Caribbean cruise. Grandma and Grandpa Krepps came and watched the boys for us, and we are so grateful! We took a red eye out to Miami and arrived early Friday morning. We thought it would be good to get in a day early, just in case anything happened with our flight. We didn't want anything make us miss the cruise. We arranged to pick up our rental car at the airport. We had planned to drive to the Florida Keys and Rob wanted a convertible to enjoy the drive. When we got there they informed us that the car wouldn't be ready for another hour. They apologized and said that if we wanted they would upgrade us to a camaro super sport instead, free of charge. Of course we said yes! Rob has wanted to get a camaro for years and was in heaven driving that car. It was the fastest car either of us have ever driven. Let's just say that Rob had a little too much fun in that car and he wants one even more now. 

We drove to Key Largo and stopped at John Pennekamp State Park. We rented a kayak and they gave us a map of the mangroves to navigate us through. Rob got our snorkel gear out in a couple of places and found huge lobster...

and a horseshoe crab. It looked like some prehistoric creature.

After our day in Key Largo we took our car back to the airport and caught a city bus to South Beach. We stayed at a nice little hotel that was just a block from the beach.  The next morning went to to check out South Beach. 

I loved all the cute fences that line the path to the beach.

 The beach was beautiful. The water was much clearer and warmer than pacific. 

We didn't have much time, but were able to take a nice walk down the beach. We did find out why south beach was popular though. We had no idea that tops were optional on South Beach! Yikes! As we were walking we noticed some dark clouds not too far off, and were hoping that they weren't coming our way. We took a taxi to the cruise terminal and got their pretty quick. As we were waiting to board the ship it started pouring down rain. So much for a cute bon voyage picture on the boat, the best we got was in the tunnel on our way in. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the ship. I think that night we were more excited for dessert than dinner. The chocolate melting cake was as good as we remembered. After dinner we went and saw a motown show. Rob's favorite. Hahaha. 

A Little Too Literal

Me: "Lincoln, why is there glue all over your chair?"

Lincoln: "You told me to glue my butt to the chair and do my homework."

My baby is 3!!

We had fun celebrating Bryson's birthday tonight. We started at Farrell's for dinner, and they brought him his own ice cream sundae. It was pretty loud and I think it scared him a bit, but when he realized all that ice cream was for him he was instantly happy.

All Bryson has been asking for for the last 2 months is a monster truck cake. He was happy and so was I that he requested something easy.

He was also happy to help his brothers finish theirs.

Fun in the Sun

The kids didn't have school today, so we took advantage of the sunshine and got out the slip n' slide. We couldn't get the hose to hook up right, so Bryson was more than willing to be on hose duty to make sure the slide and his brothers stayed nice and wet. He would laugh so hard every time one of the boys came down the slide and he got to spray them.

Game Ball Round 2

Today Porter had a great game and earned the game ball. We are so proud of him! Coach Will has been amazing this season. After each game he sits the boys down and reminds them that playing is a privilege and that what's important is to work hard in school and to listen to your parents. The boys have learned more than just basketball this season. 

Hard Work

Ethan had his best buddy Lance over today and they worked on building a fort in the backyard. It was fun to watch them work together, and brought back memories for Rob and I when we did the same when we were kids.

They were pretty proud of their work when they were done.

A Short Getaway

Ethan has a mission project due next week so we decided to make a short trip to visit the San Juan Capistrano Mission. We stayed at the San Clemente Inn last night and it was awesome. It had a mini golf course and the kids loved it.

They also had a little club house with air hockey and and pool table. The kids were in heaven. 

This morning we went to the mission. We took the audio tour and learned a lot. The grounds are beautiful and the boys loved looking at the fish in the fountains. 

After Ethan got all the pictures and information he needed for his project we went to Dana Point to check out the tide pools. The boys loved climbing on the rocks and checking stuff out.

We found a lot of stacked rocks and Lincoln just had to try to make his own stack.

Ethan enjoyed finding good climbing walls,

and Rob was obsessed with finding his own mussels for dinner.

He collected a bunch and cooked them up when we got home. He was pretty proud of himself.