Caribbean Cruise. . .

Eric's parents bought us cruise tickets for Christmas this year!! We just got back from a 7 day trip to Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island and Cozumel, Mexico. It was so much fun. There was a total of 10 of us that went. Eric's mom and step-dad, Aaron and Dave, his brother Charlie and his wife Mary, Grandma Moore, Aunt Willi, Jerry, and Grandma Joy.

The kids stayed with my mom and dad. They had lots of fun sewing with Granny and riding in Pappy's new truck. I missed them like crazy but it was so nice to have a vacation!I've never been away from them that long before (11 days total). Any way. . .

Jan 10th- We flew out of the Cody, Wyoming airport at 5am. It was a SCARY flight with heavy winds and a tiny airplane. We made it to Salt Lake and had a 3 hour layover. I slept and Eric did crossword puzzles :) We flew to Atlanta Georgia, and had another 4 hour layover. Even though long layovers aren't much fun, it was nice to catch up on some sleep in the airport. Any way, after a long day of flying we finally made it to FortLauderdale Florida.

Jan 11th- Brandon's 3rd Birthday! We were on a bus on our way to the ship in Miami when I called to sing him Happy Birthday. When we started singing, the entire bus chimed in. It was kind of funny. Any way, we made it to the ship. Stood in line, showed pass ports and birth certificates and FINALLY got to our cabin. The travel agency had a bottle of whine (which we gave away) and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us. Yum! Every night, our steward with make a cute little animal out of a towel. Of course I had to take pictures!

Eric feeding the walrus some ice cream

I think this one is a pig :)

Jan 12th- A full day at Sea. We played miniature golf, layed in the sun and ate and ate. Did I mention that we ate? Wow, there was so much good food we just couldn't stop eating! All-you can-eat soft serve ice cream available 24 hours a day. Yum!

Enjoying delicious lobster tail!

Playing a little miniature golf :) Doesn't get much better than this does it?

January 13th- We Port in Jamaica for the day. Eric served his mission in Jamaica, and was excited to get to go back again. We met our cab driver "Sunny". He was a great tour guide and showed us around Ocho Rios. He took us on a tour through "Fern Gully". It was beautiful! There were little shops on the side of the road, with people yelling at the bus trying to get us to stop. They even dressed up in crazy costumes and jumped out of the bushes to try and get us to shop at their little stand.

Fern Gully- Beautiful!

Pretty costume! I felt bad we didnt stop!

After Fern Gully we headed to Dunns River Falls. It's a beautiful water fall that cascades down 600 feet of smooth rock and empties into the ocean. We climbed up it in about an hour. The water was deeper in some spots so we'd stop and soak a little. Other than swimming with the stingrays, this was the highlight of the trip.

Dunn's River Falls

Getting ready for the climb!!

Eric, Me, Mary (Sister-in-law) and Charlie (Eric's brother)

Taking a break :)

We made it out alive!

After the falls, we did a little shopping. Eric really wanted to buy a Citizen watch while were were in Jamaica. He wanted to buy one on his mission but obviously didn't have a lot of spending money. He found just the one he wanted for only $200 while we were there. Man, he was super excited! In the U.S. it would cost nearly triple what he paid.

Eric's new watch. . . I think he's in love :)


Jan 14th- Another full day at sea. We relaxed, enjoyed the sun and ate some more! There are shows on board every night. The men weren't always thrilled with the dancing shows but there were a few comedians and they liked that.

Waiting for the show to start. . .

Jan 15th- We Port in Grand Cayman. We took a smaller boat from the ship to the island. Once we got onto the island we got on a bus and headed to a boat on the other side of the island. It only took about 20 minutes. I had no idea the island was so small! Any way, we were on our way out to Stingray City! They take you way out into the ocean near a coral reef. We swam with stingrays and fed them squid. It was amazing! We even gave them a little smooch :) After the sting rays, they took us out a little further to do some snorkeling. We swam over top of the coral and saw some beautiful fish. I could of stayed in the water all day! Boat ride to the island. . .

Here I am. . . giving the stingray a little kiss. (notice my lips aren't touching :) )

Ewww. . . Eric's licking it!

I could have snorkeled all day!

Pretty fish. . .

January 16th- We Port in Cozumel, Mexico. We had a full day of shopping and exploring. I bought a few pieces of jewelry and some souvenirs for the kids. We had fun trying to barter with the store owners- they weren't as flexible with their price as the people in Jamaica were but we all got some pretty good deals. Over all, it was a great day.

Mary and I getting ready to get back on the ship

At first we thought this was a statue . . . until it pulled out it's gun! :)

Me, Aaron (mother in law) and Mary (sister in law) after a full day of shopping!

Feb 17th- Another full day at sea. We all worn and and took naps most of the day. Unfortunatly, I had an online nursing class that was scheduled during our cruise. Luckily Dave brought his laptop so I worked on my assignments when I could. I wasn't too happy about paying 75 cents a minute for the internet though! My total bill was well over $100. Gotta do what ya gotta do I guess!

Any way, the seas were pretty rough, with 6-8 foot swells the last few days of the trip. The ship was really rocking. Luckily no one got sick, but we were ready to get back to dry land.

Feb 18th. We got off the boat in Miami. Caught a bus to FortLauderdale. Stayed in a hotel and flew home the next morning.

Whew! What a long post! We had a great time! It was fun spending time with Eric's side of the family. I don't think we can say thank you enough! I'm so lucky to have such great in-laws!

Looks like Dave is already planning our next trip. We can't wait! :)