Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Western Caribbean Cruise 09

We had a fabulous vacation to the Caribbean. We had been looking forward to this trip a long time and now I can't believe its over. I have to start out at the beginning and tell you a little bit about our trip. We left Saturday for Miami. As we began to come in for landing in Dallas the plane took off again. Ky teased me about the landing gear not working but to my surprised about 20 minutes later the pilot came on explaining that we were running out of fuel and he could not assure us the landing gear was working and we were preparing for an EMERGENCY LANDING- what?!? I kept waiting for a just kidding, but my heart began pounding faster and faster and the flight crew gave us very specific instructions and they scurried around the plane. I could tell from the crews serious and shaky voices that this was very serious. We had about an hour in the air and my body shook with terror. It was awful! I could not stop thinking about our kids and a million other things! Finally we went for it and luckily we landed just fine! Lets just say that many prayers were answered that night!!! It was pretty terrifying when we landed because they had closed down the run ways and had tons of firetrucks and ambulances waiting for us. I'm sure it is a flight that no one on that plane will forget. Because of the events we missed our connection and stayed in Dallas for the night. It actually was just fine and gave us all time to settle down a bit.
The next day we made it to Miami and took off for the Caribbean. We wasted no time stuffing ourselves with food and exploring the ship. My parents got us all balcony suites which was awesome. It was so nice to be out on our own balcony looking out at the Atlantic.
Our first port was Grand Cayman. We swam with the stingrays. It took me a minute to get used to them, but it was lots of fun. We were able to feed them, kiss them (which brings 7 yrs. of good luck), and have them lay over us like a blanket. After that we went snorkeling. Ky and my brothers were able to find conch shells and we were able to bring them home.
Then the next day we went to Roatan. The weather was a rainy day but it didn't ruin our day. We did a zip-line through the jungle. It was AWESOME!!! So beautiful and fun. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! After that we shopped for a bit. I really liked Roatan.
Our next stop was Belize. We went cave tubing. Once again really pretty and fun. Our our way there we were able to drive through the country. It was cool to see how other people live and it makes me grateful to live where we do.
Our last stop was in Cozumel. We had perfect weather and we totally enjoyed our selves at the beach. We just relaxed and snorkeled a bit too. Ky was able to find a small cave and swim through it there. It was pretty cool.
Ky and I had a fantastic time. I was worried about leaving the kids, but now thinking about it, I appreciated them more before we left because I knew I'd miss them. Ky and I had a great week together and with my family. And now being home I have a little more patience and appreciation for our kids again. Thanks mom and dad for a much needed vacation- we had a blast

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Home

Ky and I spent the last 9 days totally kid free and we cruised around the Caribbean. We had a fantastic time. It was a wonderful Christmas gift from my parents. We have some great pictures and stories to share (all to come soon, I hope). I am really grateful for Ky's mom and family for taking great care of the kids. The Caribbean is a hard place to leave, but we were so excited to see these cute faces when we got home!