Cruise: Day 3

Oh Day 3. You were somethin'. Day 3 was supposed to be my most favorite day. I was supposed to be snorkeling, swimming in the crystal clear waters, and sticking my toes into the most perfect white sandy beach ever. We were supposed to go to Carnival's private island... Half Moon Cay (pronounced key). Instead, we woke up nice and early, got dressed, hit the dining room for some breakfast (pancakes and an egg, over hard of course, for me - in case you had any doubts). It was obvious we were in some pretty rough waters. Quite obvious actually. But then, after waiting in line for what seemed like an hour, the announcement sealed the deal... due to rough waters, they couldn't safely operate the tenders so we were going to stay parked for an hour and re-evaluate.

There wasn't much to do at that point so we nabbed a couple lounge chairs by the pool and waited it out. Then, another announcement was made... we were going to spend the day at sea... and so we did. We spent a very cold, windy, rough rough rough day at sea. We stayed on our lounge chairs for a while, too afraid to move and lose the seats, but too cold to enjoy them. We were covered up in beach towels and still oh-so-cold. We waited and waited for the sun, but it just wasn't happening.
One by one, we were losing members of our group to the call of a warm bed... I stuck it out until after lunch but inevitably ended up in the cabin also. It was hard to even stand up straight that day. I don't suffer from motion sickness, but I donned a patch that day just in case, and was fairly miserable none-the-less. Poor Dac, Val, and Austin... they were really hating the rockin' boat and they all pretty well slept the day away. Can't say they missed much.


While he was doing that... I was doing this! =)
We did venture back out for dinner though. =) They made it worth our while by singing and dancing for us. Here's our awesome island-man waiter Kenroy shakin' his groove thang.
I forgot to take a picture of my dessert (it was apple pie a'la mode... it wasn't Grandma's but it was actually pretty good considering) but here's the rest of my meal. Fried mozzerella (be still my normal food lovin' heart!!!)
And some kind of creamy pasta with mushrooms and grilled chicken on top. Of course I picked out the mushrooms for the most part but it really was good.
Terese and Val
Dac and David (PS - you won't see much, if any, of Austin on here... he's not a fan of having his picture taken...)
Also that night, even though the boat was still horrible, Val and I hit up a couple comedy shows. They were both funny and we had a good time being ridiculous. We tried another drink of the day (Bahama Mama) too.

Love my seester!
After a fun night on the cruise town... we came back to this! There seems to be some discretion about what this guy is... you tell me... frog or turtle? PS - I already know I'm right. hahaha.Day 4 in Nassau comin' right up!

Cruise: Day 2

Like I mentioned last time, Day 2 was a "Fun Day at Sea". That it was. Dac, Me, Val and Austin shared a suite... two connecting interior rooms with no clocks. I had woken up (as had Val I later learned) several times and checked my phone... 5 a.m.... 6 a.m. Finally, we came to realization that it was in fact, 9 a.m. and we'd missed half the morning already. =) Apparently, I should have read the Fun Times a little more closely.

Once we got around, we headed down to breakfast on the Lido deck. I enjoyed breakfast... it's my favorite meal of the day anyway and it was fun to have so many options. Of course, my breakfast almost always included some eggs, pancakes/french toast (or both!) and chocolate milk. I mean, that's breakfast of champs right there folks. Breakfast of champs.

After breakfast we went on the quest for lounge chairs so I could make like my pug dog and sun myself silly. Easier said than done. (Note: wake up early on sea days, grab some breakfast to go and head straight to the chairs... people are chair-savin'-beasts and it's hard to find one.) We lucked out and David and Terese had parked it up on the Sun Deck by the water slide. There was also a lone chair across from them that I snagged and David was leaving anyway so Val stole his. Dac and Austin just explored most the day and Dac read a book he downloaded off and on. I didn't get a ton of sun that day... probably due, in part, to the 100spf I was sportin'. =) Seeing how I was still recovering from flu-zilla, I tried to nap. It was just too noisy and there was too much excitement going on up there for that. I'll discuss this more in the pro's and con's of cruising post I'm likely to do. haha.

I did get in some good rest though and I read part of a People magazine and a semi-trashy but oh-so-funny book I bought. (Note: Alisha, don't buy books on vacation... you don't like to read when you're NOT on vacation. Stick to magazines... they're more your speed.)

We also talked to some nice people who were laying out beside us. People on cruises are kinda fun. You see all kinds and for the most part everyone is real nice and friendly. Later, the nice waiter man walked by and Val ordered a "Drink of the Day". It was in a whale cup, and not to be left out, I had to order one too. I think it was a Yellowbird. (Note: All in all I was fairly disappointed with the drink specials... but I did find a couple of tasty treats... I'll share those in a bit.)
I think for lunch I hit up the deli and had a wrap and something from the dessert bar and an ice cream. I'm such a child. There's just something about ice cream in a cone. =) Once I began to feel a bit burnt, we headed back to get ready for our first dinner in the dining room... it just so happened to be "cruise elegant" night. So we got all fancied up...


... tried the "Kiss On The Lips" which was quite delightful thank you very much...





...and enjoyed steak, lobster, and the like. Here's what I had:

Starter: A cream pasta with turkey on top.
Main Course: Steak, potato, onion rings.

Dessert: Warm chocolate melting cake with ice cream. (Followed by, no doubt, an ice cream cone, haha.)
After that, I can't really remember what all we did... but we did some stuff around the boat then hit the hay...Day 3 coming soon...

Cruise: Day 1

Well actually, let's back up. Dac's parents (David and Terese) are celebrating their 30th anniversary in June and they SO generously decided to take us kids (Dac, me, Austin and Valerie) with them on a cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate. =) We've been talking about it and planning it for months and it was finally here!!!!!

Unfortunately, before we even left... I got big time sick with some awful flu-type bug. It. Was. Horrible. I haven't been sick like that in years and I was even more worried sick that I'd miss the cruise we'd been anticipating for months. Yikes! The next day (Friday) I was feeling a tad better. I was still only eating crackers and Sprite, mind you, but it was definitely an improvement over the day before. I went ahead and worked half a day then headed to Derby with Val and Terese for some last minute shopping and to get our nails did. =) Yes please.

Now, we're ready for Day 1. Our flight left bright and early from Wichita and I won't even go into the mess that was the Wichita airport but thankfully we made it on the plane and after a pit stop at Atlanta, we were on our way to the boat in Jacksonville, FL.
Here we are setting sail and about to go under the bridge in Jacksonville.
For not feeling a 100%, I sure managed to slip into vacation mode pretty easily. =)
My toes in my comfy new flip flops. Love these. They're perfect for my Fliinstone feet. =)
That first evening we basically just watched dolphins swim by (be still my beating heart) and explored the ship. Here's the atrium. I have more boat pictures that will come in another post.
Val and I feeling cruisetacular after a long day of travel.

Dac and I watching the sun set on the Serenity Deck.Pretty, no?

The moon was the closest it had been in like 18 years that night... we missed it while it was still at the horizon so this is the best we could get.In all the excitement we missed our designated eating time in the main dining room. So, we ate a casual dinner on the Lido Deck... followed by duh... an ice cream cone. (Note: I have been craving ice cream non-stop ever since. I miss the 24-hour ice cream service in a big way, haha.) After more exploring, everyone pretty well hit they hay early, but Dac and I went to the Welcome Aboard show which was totally cheesy but pretty fun too. Then we went to another lounge to catch a comedy show that was pretty funny. I MAY or may not have fallen asleep at some point during that, so we headed to bed too as soon as it was over.

Our first towel animal of the trip was waiting for us when we got back that night. I got the biggest kick out of these. The "Fun Times" was also waiting for us. (Note to future cruising self: READ THIS CLOSELY. You'll learn all kinds of useful things, like, how your cell phone time will get all screwed up so when you wake up at 6 a.m., it's actually 9 a.m.)Day 2 was a Fun Day at Sea. More on that later!

Guess Who's Back

Back again... Sorry... you know everything comes to me in a song. =)

We're back!! We had a great trip to the Bahamas on this gal:
And now we're finally getting our "land legs" back. I'm going to break down the trip into several posts... but before I get started on that... I want to share a new little light of my life I picked up last weekend. A soap pump! =) It's an exciting life I live internets... and exciting life indeed.


This beaut made its home in our "master bath" (I guess you could call it that... it's the bigger of the bathrooms.) This bathroom is in desperate need of an update... but since we're up to our earlobes in our other bathroom overhaul... this one will just have to wait. (Although we did temporarily replace the faucet...as seen above... to stop the leaking.) We have big plans for it though... which include taking it back to its 1920 glory days. One project at a time I guess. Anyway...the soap pump. Isn't she purdy? Hand hygiene just got a little more exciting in the Call house.

I plan to share more house updates as we make them... but the truth is, I've been horrible about taking pictures of what we've already done so far. Hopefully I'll be better from here on out.

So... it had been YEARS since I'd gone bowling for a birthday party... but we went... and it was fun! =)

These are the birthday girls, Jana and Erika.
We went down to Ponca to eat at Napoli's first. I had the Stromboli. It was pretty good. Then we went bowling. I was a little tired and hopped up on pop so you might imagine I was a little out of control. I can't confirm nor deny that though. =)


Tabitha
Me...geez I'm ridiculous.
Kayla
Jana
Erika
Heather
Crazy fun night... topped off with ice cream. Had a blast... love these girls. It was like high school v 2.0. =) Happy birthday Jana and Erika!!!!!