Okay...2 posts in one day. Is the world coming to an end??? Possibly, my kids are home for a third straight snow day in a row, and it hasn't snowed since Tuesday evening. We're all going a little stir-crazy, and even worst, we were on vacation before the snow days took place so my kids have only been in school 1 day in over 3 weeks. It's like summer vacation all over for them but instead of sunblock and beaches we're pulling out the snowpants and making our own snowhills.
As I mentioned, we were on a vacation last month, and what a nice get-away it was. We headed on a western Caribbean Cruise with a bunch of my family, and it was heavenly.

Here are a few highlights, and of course oodles of pictures. Some of our family members use this site to check out pictures so I tend to over-do it:

Mom and dad who always plan the most fabulous vacation experiences for all of us!

Travis, Brooks, and Kelcee

Caleb and Hailey

Dave and Jordan

Kyler and Hannah

The ship offered plenty of fun activities. There was mini-golf.

Dancing

Swimming and water sliding.

Eating

and of course homework (we never seem to escape that for too long.)

Outside of the ship.

One of the coolest experience aboard the ship was the filming taking place the week we were aboard the Carnival Dream. The production team of Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 Chip-Wrecked sailed the same week we did. One afternoon they even asked Jordan and Caleb to come be extras for one of the scenes. My kids thought this was the coolest experience ever, and are hoping to see their faces on the big screen this December. There were even a couple *star* sightings. Jordan met Jason Lee in the bathroom where he was changing clothes, and Kyler and Hannah spotted David Cross on the ship. The cast, crew, and production team could not have been nicer to all of us.

Hailey, Dave, Hannah & Caleb

Caleb getting munched on his own!

My family in Cozumel.

Mom, Dad, and Kelcee in Cozumel.

The whole gang in Cozumel.

My handsome boys.

Kyler and Jordan relaxing in style in Cozumel.

Belize

Belize.
This happened to be our least favorite port. The city was pretty dirty and the people a bit more aggressive than I'm used to. Kyler had a great time though. He went with my parents and brothers to the Mayan ruins, and found them fascinating. We found out later there have been some problems with the Belize government and Carnival Cruise ships lately. You can tell the people in Belize live very humble lives, and I bet many of the families depend on passengers of cruise ships for their livelihood. It's always an eye-opening experience to see how people live in other countries, and it reminds me of the many blessings I have in my own life.

We went to an iguana farm while we were in Isla Roatan.
Here's a picture of Jordan feeding a few of the iguanas.

Caleb feeding the iguanas.

Kyler feeding the iguanas.

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Isla Roatan, Honduras

Souvenir shopping in Honduras.

Hitting the beach in Honduras.

Relaxing back on the ship.

Costa Maya, Mexico

Costa Maya, Mexico

Dressing-up in Costa Maya.

Costa Maya was a pretty packed port. There were 3 cruise ships that stopped by that day, but it was a beautiful port to stop and see.

One of our formal nights. Funship Freddy stopped by for a photo-op with the kids.

We met so many wonderful people on board. Many of the workers come from other countries and work for 6-9 months on the ship before they have the opportunity to go home for a couple of months to see their families. It's amazing to me the sacrifices they make to make sure their families are taken care of. The man in the picture above is named Imade Wiraguna (Wii for short). He is from Bali, Indonesia and was heading home this weekend for the 1st time in over 6 months to see his wife, kids, and family. He's worked for Carnival for years, and is an amazing individual. Caleb absolutely loved him, and even cried the one night we weren't seated in his section. He made it a point to come over and give Caleb a lot of attention and hugs to make him feel better. On the last day he gave Caleb his e-mail address so we can keep in contact. Caleb tried to go one step further and asked if Wii would take him home to Bali instead. He's one crazy kid, but at least he found a lasting friendship on the ship.

This is Pornpun from Thailand and Irene from the Phillipines. They were bartenders down in the atrium of the ship, and a couple more amazing ladies we were fortunate enough to meet. On the 1st day at sea Caleb went and sat down, looked at Irene and announced, "You're my new best friend. Today I'd like to order one glass of nice healthy water." Every day he returned to talk with the girls, and by day 3 his healthy water had turned into diet coke with grenadine. By day 5 his brothers and cousins were able to come with him to get drinks with umbrellas and cherries, too. Caleb became a mini-celeb on board. There were workers on practically every level of the ship that knew him by name. Kevin and I were amazed by all the people that knew Caleb.

We ended the trip with a couple of days at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. The new Wizarding World of Harry Potter was outstanding, and one of the rides in particular was incredible. I can't wait to go on The Forbidden Journey again. It's unlike any other ride I've ever been on.

Universal Orlando Florida.


The streets of Universal Studios.

Meeting a Minion at Universal Studios.

Islands of Adventure. This park was more Caleb's style.
Suess Landing was especially cool for him.

Outside Islands of Adventure.

Suess Landing

Inside the queue to The Forbidden Journey.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The castle in Harry Potter.

Hannah, Jordan, Dave, and Caleb.

Ollivander's Wand Shop.

The chomping book from Harry Potter.
It almost got a taste of Jordan's fingers!!

Caleb can't pass up any picture involving an animal, whether real or fake.

It's my "baby boy's" birthday today. Caleb is officially 6, and declared his 5's were great, but his 6's will be even better. One thing you might not know about Caleb is that he can be pretty stubborn (I know, BIG surprise considering who his parents are), but once Caleb has an idea formed in his head it's practically impossible to change it, so I'm betting his 6's really are spectacular.

Here are few highlights from his 5th year of life:

1. Going to the Toronto Zoo. Not a surprise that he listed a zoo as his number one highlight last year. He's still obsessed with zoo's and is still determined to be a zookeeper when he grows up. Jack Hannah better watch out!

2. Hugs and kisses from his mom. Aawww...melt my heart little boy. He's so easy to love.

3. Going to Utah to be with grandma, grandpa and Suki. Suki is a dog, and he adores her.

4. Meeting Wii on the Big Boat. Wii was our waiter on a Caribbean Cruise we went on, and Caleb thought he was the greatest person ever. He even tried to convince Wii to take him with him when he went home to Bali, Indonesia this month.

5. Being in the Alvin and Chipmunks Chip-Wrecked movie. He was asked to be an extra in the movie, and now he's crossing his fingers his part doesn't get cut from the final version due out this December. It was quite an experience for him and Jordan to see the intricate workings of how a movie is made.

6. Starting kindergarten and having Ms. Lang as a teacher. Plus he really likes the days mommy comes in to help out in the class.

7. Going to Disney World. He loves that place.

What he's looking forward to now that he's 6.

1. Going to Disney World. Hmmm...I think it must have been on his mind from being 5 because it popped up pretty quick when we moved onto being 6. We'll have to see if I can make that dream come to pass.

2. Going to Utah cause he really, really misses his grandma and grandpa.

3. Loving his mom....Can I just say brown-noser, but in the cutest possible way!

4. His birthday, of course! What's not to love about birthday's?

Some of his tried and true favorites:

He still really wants to be a zookeeper.
His favorite color is green.
He changed his favorite food to apples.
Rootbeer would be his drink of choice.
Toys are still all about dinosaurs and animals.
He loves the show Wipeout, but has also discovered Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratt's.