Caribbean Cruise!!

Well, I have finally sifted thru all my pictures from our cruise (which was A LOT) and it took me forever to do this post. Beware - this is a very long post, but I had a hard time not including everything (and this is only a fraction of the pictures I took. For the complete work please see my Southern Caribbean Cruise scrapbook which is likely to be 2-3 inches thick. Ha!)


About six months ago, the Peart family decided it was time to book a family cruise. Book it! (It was a very long six months!) Casey and I, along with my parents, 2 brothers, and sister and their spouses embarked on a 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise that left out of Puerto Rico. Did I mention it was just the adults and no children? Before I continue, I have to give my wonderful in-laws who graciously took my 2 children for 10 days a HUUUUUUUGE thank you!!!!!!! We cannot tell you how much we appreciated it! (My kids have also not stopped talking about everything they did there and when I called on our way home and asked Caiden if he missed us he said "ummm......no"). Anyway, our trip started off with a BANG! Literally. As we were driving to the Seattle airport we came upon some major road construction and the car behind us slammed right into us. Luckily the damage was not too bad, a little whiplash, but we were able to drive away just fine. However, with all the traffic I was starting to panick that we were going to miss our flight. Missed flight=missed ship. To top if off, the directions I printed off of mapquest were WRONG and we took the wrong exit. By the time we finally made it to the airport, checked in our bags, and got to the gate, our flight was boarding. We didn't even sit down! So when I say I was jumping for joy once I reached Puerto Rico, I mean that literally!

We stayed one night in Puerto Rico and then boarded the Carnival Victory cruise ship. I'm just in awe that something this big and huge and massive and HEAVY....can float! How do they do it???

We got a balcony room (which I highly recommend to anyone considering a cruise. SO worth the extra money).

That teeny tiny little person is me. The boat is huge!

All our rooms were in a row and we had our room service guy take down the partitions on the balconies so we had one HUGE continuous balcony.

On the top deck of the ship with a view of San Juan, Puerto Rico....

ST. THOMAS

Our first stop was St. Thomas, which was probably the most beautiful island.

We took a smaller boat from there over to St. John and spent a few hours snorkeling at Trunk Bay - a BEAUTIFUL private beach. (Believe it or not, I am actually in this picture. What's with putting the short girl way in the back??)

We snorkeled all around the islands in the middle and saw some fish, sea turtles, a sting ray, and even a baby shark. (I used an underwater disposable camera for most of the excursions and I've yet to get them all back. But don't you worry, I'm sure I will post those too when I get them!)

My mom snorkeling....the water was so clear!!

Rodney, Jessica, Kim, Rebecca, Mom, Dad, me, Casey.....just relaxing.

We played a little football in the water and discovered ourselves on TV when we got back to our rooms. We didn't realize they were taping our group and there we were on the "Carnival" channel that shows all the different excursions, playing football and snorkeling and hanging out on the beach. Pretty funny.

DOMINICA

Then we went to Dominica, which was definitely the most impoverished island, but had the most amazing rain forests.

Here, we hiked to Middleham Falls (an amazing waterfall). It was so pretty. And hot! Lucky for us it started to rain pretty hard while we hiked. If felt great and added to the whole rain forest atmosphere. I even remembered to pack my bug spray. Me, who gets eaten alive in my backyard. Could you imagine what would happen to me in here??

Our guide gave us some leaves to eat that tasted just like sour green apples.

Then we got to swing on vines like Tarzan and Jane. So fun!!

Beautiful waterfall!!!

That is our guide jumping off a 40 ft. cliff. But we were only allowed to jump off the 15 ft. cliffs. It was raining pretty hard when we got to the waterfall and the water was freezing!!

BARBADOS

Then off to Barbados.....

Here, we took a boat out in the ocean and snorkeled with a bunch of sea turtles. Really big sea turtles!! They would just swim right by you and underneath you. At one point, one was beneath me and I didn't know it and I accidentally kicked it! Man, those shells are hard! It kinda freaked me out to have touched it. It cut up my toe a little, but I suppose I can forgive that little sea turtle, seeing that I kicked it first!

ST. LUCIA

This was one of my favorite islands and favorite excursions too....

We went zip lining through the jungle!

Like the hair nets? This place was actually very clean, which I appreciated, because how many people do you think wear those helmets and harness? (There are a couple of videos below of us zip lining and the view).

There were 11 lines total. We went from platform to platform zooming through the trees. A couple of the lines were really high and put us above the tree line. The view was amazing!

ANTIGUA

Next was the island, Antigua.....

......where we swam and snorkeled with big, giant sting rays. This was quite the experience! The sting rays are trained to know the sound of the boat, meaning food. So as soon as we pulled up to the area TONS of sting rays just appeared. These sting rays were huge. Some as big as 100 pounds. These sting rays are very used to people, so there was no stinging going on (unless of course you provoked it and who's gonna do that?) Anyway, at first I was completely freaked out. These sting rays were not shy. They swam right up against you - at your feet, back, chest, neck - so crazy!! Then the guides showed us how to hold them. It was so strange and fun at the same time. We also got to feed them. Eventually we all got used to it and just swam around with them...but there was definitely lots of screaming going on at first!

I love the look on Casey's face here! Priceless!

ST. KITTS

This was our last stop and what a beautiful island St. Kitts is....

This was one of the most beautiful views of the whole trip. It is the only place you can see both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean at the same time! (Atlantic on the left, Caribbean right). This island was awesome! We kayaked in the ocean for a few of miles and I saw some sting rays leaping out of the water. Just beautiful....

There are more monkeys on this island than there are people! As we were walking around doing some shopping, there were some guys letting people hold the monkeys. I wasn't sure about it and before I could even answer the guy just set the monkey in my hands. Eeeeeee!!!

And they are even in the process of building my dream home (they just don't quite realize that yet)!

There was an airbrush tattoo artist on board and we all got one. Like my dragon fly?

A couple of the nights were formal nights at dinner. We all had fun getting dressed up....

There were 2 shows with comedians and this was at the first one. Both comedians were HI-LAR-I-OUS!! I've seriously never laughed so hard at a comedian before!

The food was DELICIOUS and we ate SOOO much! We ate like kings and queens - lobster, filet mignon, all kinds of fish and seafood, and oh the desserts!! After every meal my sister and I would order their YUMMY hot chocolate. There were also all kinds of buffets and an ice cream cone machine that begged us to get one every time we passed. Seriously, I heard it. But Casey held the record at 8 - yes, 8 - ice cream cones in one day!

One of our favorite things to do was to just relax and chill on our balconies. As mentioned before, our rooms were all in a row so we had one huge continuous balcony. After our excursions we would grab some food and come eat it on the balcony and just enjoy the view (and sometimes take a nap, as my dad is doing here)!

In the evenings, as we'd set sail again (with me waving goodbye to the island saying "I'll be back soon"), we'd enjoyed some BEAUTIFUL views and sunsets.

Below are some videos of us zip lining in St. Lucia. The guides pretty much took over our cameras and videoed us coming in and also the views from above.

We're back!

We are back from our southern Caribbean cruise and let me just say it was soooooooooooo AMAAAAZING! But I have about 700 pictures to sift thru, so it might be some time before I get around to posting about it. Just to let all my fans know, because I know you've been missing me. Ha!

My little stud

I realized I forgot to post this cute pic of Caiden and his buddies, the Wiseman boys, and also the video of Caiden wakeboarding. We took them out a couple of weeks ago and Caiden wanted to show them how he has learned to get up on the wakeboard. The video cracks me up. At first it appears that he gets up and then falls, but if you watch closely as soon as he has achieved standing position, he plugs his nose, lets go of the rope, and falls at his own free will. Hilarious!

On another note, we have officially completed the first week of school for both Caiden and Paige. Why is it that during the summer they were up by 6:30 in the morning (sometimes earlier) and now that school has started they sleep in and I have to literally wake them?? I don't get it. Anyway, Paige has absolutely LOVED preschool and Caiden is adjusting to going to school everyday pretty well. It is never a fight (which I'm grateful for) but his enthusiasm is a bit less than it was last year for preschool. However, when I pick him up he is all smiles. I'm so proud of both of them. Now, on another note (again), one week from today Casey and I will be leaving for our 7 day cruise in the southern caribbean!!! Wahoo! I can not wait and it is all I can think about and I'm having trouble focusing on anything else. Caiden and Paige are also just as excited because they get to stay with their Grandma and Grandpa Gubler while we are gone, and in their eyes there is no funner place than that. 7 more days!! One more big wahoo for the cruise. WAHOOOOOO!!!!!!

Preschool for Paige

Today was Paige's first day of preschool! She has been sooo excited ever since we bought her a new princess backpack with matching princess lunch box. She did so good too. She got a little nervous when we walked in. It was a bit chaotic. Most of the moms were still there with their kids and a couple of them were crying (that never helps), but I took her over to some toys and played with her for a few minutes. Her best friend Adam hadn't arrived yet, and I only had a couple of minutes to stay before I had to take Caiden to school. Luckily, when I told her I had to go she was really into her puzzle so we didn't have a problem. When I picked her up she had the BIGGEST smile on her face. She really loved it and is so excited to go back. And now doesn't she just look so cute??

This is Paige's new favorite face to make in almost every picture lately. But I love how Caiden is Mr. Cool in the background. He told me today (actually last night and then again this morning) that he didn't want me walking him to class anymore. What? Seriously? The second day of kindergarten and I'm already "uncool"? But when I got to the front of the drop-off line and he saw how far of a walk it was to his class he decided he didn't want to walk that far all by himself and wanted me to walk with him. Yeah, that's what I thought.

Kindergarten?!

I can't believe I officially have a child in kindergarten. It's just nuts. I am proud to say that I did very well. No crying, but a little bit of anxiety for Caiden to be at a big school with big mean 5th graders (yikes!), even though he had no anxiety whatsoever. At 7:50 this morning he climbed into my bed and said "Mom, is it time to go yet?" "Not for another hour." "Ugh! But I'm all dressed and I ate a banana and I brushed my teeth and I didn't even get any toothpaste on my shirt!" (all said at top speed). I had to laugh at that. Then when I picked him up he kept saying "Kindergarten's fun!" So I feel relieved that he loves it and that he has a really awesome teacher too. Next Tuesday Paige starts preschool and she is more than excited. Hmmm....what will I do for 4 hrs a week with no children???? Probably just run errands.

Summer 2009: Part II

The Aquatic Center!! We spent ALOT of time at the pool this summer. Probably about 2-3 times a week we would come. I would pack lunches and Caiden and Paige loved playing with their friends and I enjoyed chatting with mine. It's a rough life to live, but hey, someone's gotta do it, right?

Caiden and some of his best buds, Ian and Adam...

At the beginning of the summer Paige just about drove me crazy. She did not want to swim or play in the sand, just eat....THE ENTIRE TIME. The pool opens at 11 and by 11:15 she was done with her lunch and trying to eat Caiden's. No matter how I tried to hide the food, she would find it as soon as my back was turned. Little stinker. But by the end of the summer, she discovered swimming and playing in sand and also her new best friend Adam.

Paige eating again...

Paige and Adam in the sprinklers...I love how they are covering their eyes...so cute!

Caiden and Ian LOVED the lazy river. Caiden is just barely tall enough to see over the tube, which works well when he is trying to hide from me when it I tell him it's time to get out. Here's a funny story. Today we were at the pool and it was time to go and I was telling them to stop at the unloading part (you kinda have to walk yourself off to the side) and they both kept saying "we don't know how to get out. we can't remember." Yeah, sure. So then they would get to the unloading part and "accidentally" miss it. They went around 2 more times and I was starting to lose my patience. Caiden kept saying "mom, we can't remember how to do it!" So I said "well, maybe when we get home I won't 'remember' how to turn on the wii." Slight pause. Then he said "well, actually, I think I can figure it out this time." And that was that.

This is Caiden at his Level 2 swim lessons this year. I wasn't exactly thrilled with the teacher he got, but he did good anyhow. He achieved diving for the torpedos....

...the back float....

...and jumping off the diving board both frontwards and backwards...

My brother and his family came to visit a couple of weeks ago and Casey and my brother both tried the waverider. The wipeout shots are my favorite... (especially Casey's)

I love this shot of all 5 kids. They are so cute!

And this one too. This is at home while they all played with play dough. I love Lauren and Paige's faces the most. Hilarious! Caiden had to be cool and mellow just like his cousin Tanner of course.

Summer 2009: Part I

Now that summer is about over, I figure it's about time I post some pictures of what we've been up to. Basically two things - boating and the aquatic center. But I took about a thousand pictures (or maybe 265, but it feels like 1,000) so I'm doing it in Part I and Part II. First off, boating! We have had so much fun boating with the family this year. Both Caiden and Paige went on the kneeboard (with Casey, of course). We had been trying to convince Caiden all summer to do it by himself, but he was NOT interested. He finally achieved that (for about 2.5 seconds) a couple weeks ago. (There is a funny video at the end that will explain it all). Then just 2 days ago, we were getting ready to go out and he said "Dad, I'm gonna wakeboard." Of course, we didn't really take him seriously. It's not the first time he's made a statement like that and then gotten on the boat and decided "umm....next time". (Not that I blame the kid). So we just kinda said "yeah, ok bud, you do that." And what do ya know? He did.

This is actually the second time he did it. The first time I forgot my camera and was totally kicking myself. But he promised he would do it again so I could get a picture. He's so light that he could almost stand up on the board without the boat even moving. It was so cute to see how excited it made him that he actually did it. True, it only lasted about 4 or 5 seconds each time, but still, I definitely wasn't trying that at age 5. Go Caiden! You rock!

Little Miss Paigey driving with daddy....

Caiden and Keenen on the tube

Caiden "pretend" surfing with Papa and my brother, Rodney....

Almost everytime we went out on the boat, Paige would fall asleep. Only one time did Caiden fall asleep, but I love that she used him as a pillow.

Paige getting ready to knee board with daddy...

My brother and his family came to visit for a week and we spent nearly every minute of it on the boat. We really have been getting into the surfing thing lately. This is my sister in law, Jessica, trying it out.

Caiden and his cousins, Lauren and Tanner.

One of my favorite things is to watch Casey out on the wakeboard. He's too modest to admit that he's pretty darn good, but I'm not. So there. Ha! Anyway, most of the pics I got of him are blurry because of my dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb camera, so there is a video below that better shows his skills.

Caiden kneeboarding with Casey...

...and Paige too. She's so little and Casey's so big that every time she went she would get splashed in the face the whole time. But it must not have been too bad, because she was always the first to volunteer...

That's me trying out the surf board. Now my skills are not quite the level of my husband, but I was just happy that I got up. I was worried about not being "attached" to the board and every time I crashed I instantly thought the board was going to crash onto my head, but luckily it did not.

Casey doing a 360...

...and a flip...(I know there's a technical name for it but I just call it "cool flip.")

and Casey surfing...

The first video is of Casey wakeboarding. The second is of Caiden kneeboarding. I mentioned before that we couldn't convince Caiden to go alone. But while my brother was here we convinced him to go with Casey and then Casey would let go and we would immediately turn around and go pick him up. The funny part is after Casey let go (and after my obnoxious scream) Caiden saying "go get dad! go get dad!" Obviously he didn't think we were going to and therefore bailed...

Little entreprenuers

Caiden and Paige decided to host their first lemonade stand a few days ago and it was pretty darn cute. (Except for one MAJOR tantrum when Caiden thought Paige was stealing all the money. After a little time in time-out and me assuring him REPEATEDLY that Paige was not STEALING the money, just HOLDING the money, he returned. ) But aside from that, they had a great time and I got a kick out of watching them. Even though it was I who made the cookies, made the lemonade, set up the stand, created the sign, poured the lemonade, handed out the cookies, and cleaned it all up, it was still fun. Caiden had quite the song and dance going for the cars passing by. In the end they made a whoping $9, not the $30 that Caiden set out to make, but still more than the $2 or $3 I imagined. I'm thinking the 8 people who bought from them (including dad) must have thought they were pretty cute because most of that $9 was in tips. Paige was in charge of the selling the cookies, "you wanna a tookie?" and Caiden handing out the lemonade. He sometimes got ahead of himself and just handed the people a cup full of ice, forgetting all about the lemonade. Good thing I was around to help.....