Cruising...Part 8...How To Fold A Towel into a Turkey

Every evening, housekeeping would leave us adorable towel animals!

Mr. Frog

Mr. Seal

Mr. Puppy Dog

Mr. Sloth hanging out with Mr. Elephante

Mr. Turkey in honor of Thanksgiving :)

And the last sea day they taught us how to make them!

Cruising...Part 7...A Reason to go...

If anything, go on a cruise for the AMAZING food and drinks!

Caramel Apple Mousse Puff Pastry

Kiss on the Lips (left) and Mocha Chocolate Getaway (right)

Every night outside the casino there was an ornate drink bar!

Baked Alaska on Formal Night 2!

Cruising...Part 6...Formal Nights

The cruise had two formal dinner nights that we dressed up a lot for!

Meeting the ship captain on the night of the Captain's Ball.

Darren and Chris at dinner.

Formal night number 2!

Darren, Chris, and our main waiter, Ilham.

We miss Ilham. He was AWESOME.

Cruising...Part 5...Panama, the unexpected gem

While Panama seemed like a stranger port of call to me, it was amazing!

Our first view of Panama

Checking out Portobelo

Hanging out with a Panamanian's pet monkey

And of course, seeing the Gatun Locks of the Canal

Cruising...Part 4...Costa Rica

Costa Rica was not at all what I expected it to be but it was very interesting!

Welcome to a very rainy Limon!

We took a wildlife tour on the canal and got to see some people who work on this canal daily!

And then we got to go see a banana plantation and packing plant!

Cruising...Part 3...Cozumel!

A cruise brings a LOT of firsts into a girl's life.

My first view of Mexico!

My first time snorkeling! (It was awesome!)

And my first time eating at Pancho's Backyard.

PS: Big news! We bought Chad's wedding ring at Diamonds International here in Cozumel!

Cruising...Part 2...Days at Sea

We were NEVER bored on a day at sea! That is for sure!

There's always mini golf...

There's always AWESOME food...

And, of course, there's always room on the Lido Deck to soak up the sun!

Cruising...Part 1...Getting There

For those of you readers interested in cruising, I'll tell you two things:

1. IT IS THE BEST!

2. Getting there takes a lot, but once you get there, it is so worth it.

We started with a very early and VERY cold flight out of St. Louis down to Atlanta.

And from Atlanta, we went to Fort Lauderdale and then to Port Everglades.

Chad took this picture of me wrestling flip flops out of my suitcase once we got to Florida.

Attractive. 

{Sunday Snapshot} Memories

A weekend at the U of I with the girls.

So. Much. Fun.

So many memories.

All the fun we had almost made up for being in enemy territory.

M-I-Z-Z-O-U!!!!!

PS: Sorry the picture are so low quality..Apple, please work on your iPhone 4 flash!

{Sunday Snapshot} Getting Away...

Hanging out with the girls, 

Laughing...

Some went canoeing...

Most checked out the mega-rivalry volleyball game...

And when it got cold, making s'mores!

Gorgeous.

For my one weekend of being outdoorsy a year!

Pausing....

Life gets so busy sometimes that we don't get a chance to pause, and do something fun.

Like jump on the trampoline...

Point out neat clouds in the sky...

Show everyone how strong you are...

Snuggle with your loved ones,

Or even just relax in a rocking chair.

Smiles like this are the result of things like that.

So, lets try it.

We all may be surprised by the good memories it gives!

You Can't Go To Florida Without...

Seeing the sunset!