The girls have been taking private swim lessons at Donna's Dolphins for the past 2 months and have really progressed in such a short period of time.  Abby went from not being able to swim on her own to swimming more confidently by herself.  She almost caught up with Emma by the time we finished our last lesson and was working on the freestyle stroke and learning how to breathe in the strokes.  Abby worked with Ms. Jessica and loved her.  Emma already knew how to swim but gained some new skills in learning all the strokes with Ms. Melissa.  Emma's technique really improved by the last lesson.

Mike has been moonlighting on and off at a hospital in Kearny, Nebraska.  The drive is about 5 hours away and a relatively stress free drive.  The things he has loved on his trips out there have been the people, the Hy-Vee grocery store, and walking along the Platte River.   

Today the girls didn't have school because it was a teacher workday at the Elementary School so we had a really fun girls only day.  While Abby went to a birthday party in the morning Emma and I went to the mall to go shopping.  Then, we picked up Abby and ate lunch at Panera Bread.  To finish off our fun day we headed to the movie theatre to see Cinderella.  It was a great day with my favorite girls!

Today we woke up early to catch a flight to Houston, Texas.  We left a little later than we had anticipated and it was pouring outside so it took us a little longer to get to the airport.  As we were approaching the turn off for the offsite parking lot we missed the turn and instead were forced to head straight to the airport.  Since we were running short on time we started to freak out a bit.  Mike dropped us all off with the bags so we could check everything in and rush through security.  We sat in the security line FOREVER.  Mike was able to drive back to the offsite parking lot and park the car, take the shuttle to the airport, and get through security before us.  He somehow managed to use his Active Duty status to get through the line quicker.  As soon as the kids and I made it through security we literally had 5 minutes to get on the train and get to our terminal and gate before they gave our seats away.  We were running like crazy people through the terminal.  I felt like we were in the movies.  We did make it and when we finally found some seats next to each other all we could do was smile.  

Mike found the BEST ramen restaurant close to where we were staying near Houston.  We had been craving real Ramen every since being back in the US and hadn't found a place that made what we thought tasted like authentic Japanese ramen.  This restaurant did not disappoint.  The kids loved eating Japanese food with us and drinking their Ramune drinks.  Mike and I were in heaven.

We were so excited to see that there was a Fry's Electronic store near our hotel in Houston.  What made this Fry's even more spectacular was it's space theme.  Right when we walked into the store there were space ships and all the signs were designed in a space theme.  Even the food court looked like a space hub.  IT was the coolest store. 

We were so lucky to be able to spend all day Sunday with Greg and Ruby after our cruise ship pulled back into Galveston.  Greg picked us up at drove us back to his house in Spring, TX.  We loved being able to get to know Ruby better and meeting the dogs.  The kids were so excited to finally meet Newman.  We had fun playing games and eating all day.  It was so hard to say goodbye later that night when we had to head to the hotel to get ready for our trip home the next morning.

It was so humorous watching people as they stared at Emma wearing her big, blue sombrero through the airport.  She was the cutest little girl ever in her gigantic sombrero!

We spent the last day on the ship playing as much as we possibly could.  We played mini golf, swam at the pool, played at the arcade, and ate as much as we possibly could.  Our last dinner on the ship was fun but also a little sad because we enjoyed our nice dinners every night.  We sat at the same table and had the same waiters.  The service was excellent.  Before heading to bed one more time on the ship we walked around the promenade and had some late night snacks at the cafe.  The kids thought that was the coolest thing ever.  

Our last port was in Cozumel, Mexico.  There were lots of touristy vendors in the port selling lots of fun things.  We decided to take a short taxi ride to a place called Playa Mia where we just played at the beach all day.  The kids were so excited when they saw the big water playground.  We rented an umbrella for me to help protect my burnt legs and then Mike got all the kids geared up in lifejackets before heading out to the water playground.  Abby didn't stay out there for very long because according to her it was too slippery.  She came back and played in the sand by me.  Mike and the other kids had a blast running around the slippery playground, falling in the water, and trying to make it across the different obstacles.  After a few hours out on the water they finally came back and played in the sand with Abby.  They all had fun making sand castles and a huge sand wall and Abby enjoyed pouring water over Mike.  Even though I had to stay protected most of the day I still enjoyed watching everyone have fun playing at the beach.   Everyone was sad to say goodbye to such a fun day at the beach.  Back at the port Emma picked out a giant sombrero.  She looked so cute.  It was a great way to end our last port day.  

Today our ship docked at sea a few miles away from the port.   We waited in a ridiculously long line to get on one of the tenders to take us to the port.  Since there was already another cruise ship tendering at the same time it took us an hour just to get on one of the tenders leaving from our ship.  It wasn't an ideal way to start the day since we had booked an excursion and knew that we were going to be late in meeting our tour guides.  Lucky for us our tour guide was at the port waiting for us.  We weren't the only ones who booked through them and there were other people late just like us.  After finally getting on the bus we headed out to the jungle in Belize to try zip lining and cave tubing.  Belize was poor and run down just like Roatan.  It was another eye opening bus ride for all of us.  After 45 minutes on the bus we stopped at a convenient store so the guides could pick up some water for all of us.  Water in Belize is not packaged in bottles like it is in the US.  They package their water in plastic type bags.  To drink the water you just bite off the corner and squeeze it in your mouth.  Our kids thought that was the best thing ever.  The bus ride took us a little over an hour to get to our destination.  Since we were already running a bit behind we had to hurry over to the zip-line.  Zip lining was definitely the highlight of our day.  We were a little worried about Abby and how she would handle it.  After the first trial run we knew she would be ok.  We hiked uphill quite a ways to get to the 2nd run.  From there we zip lined another 7 times from tree to tree and over rivers and creeks.  It was absolutely amazing.  We wished we could have done it twice.  

After we got back to the buses we took off our outer clothes and headed in our swim suits to get our lifejackets for our cave tubing adventure.  We hiked with our group about a mile up the trail to the head off the river and the beginning of the caves.  Since our group was large we were short one guide.  Apparently there are always local guides to take groups down the river.  We were the "lucky" ones to get the local guide.  He was absolutely nuts.  Half way through the cave he just let us go and told us to push off the rocks assuming that we could just steer the 6 tubes that were tied together.  Mike shared a tube with Abby, I shared a tube with Emma, and the boys each got their own tube.  There was also an older couple that took the last two tubes in the back.  As we were pushing off the walls of the cave one of the back tubes popped.  The guide gave the old lady his ghetto tube and tried to help her but he was completely useless and totally off his knocker.  We did enjoy floating through the cave during the parts where we could see openings in the top of the cave.  It really was beautiful.  If we hadn't had a crazy guide and weren't worried about getting back to the bus so we could get back to the port on time I'm sure we would have had more fun.  As it was, our cave tubing excursion seemed a bit rushed.  The entire bus ride home we were worried we would miss the last tender.  As soon as the bus pulled into the port we breathed a sigh of relief when we realized there were TONS of people still waiting to get on the last tender.  It was a crazy day.

We were all excited about the excursion planned for today in Roatan.  After getting off the ship rather quickly, we headed right outside the port to meet our tour guides to take us to Frenchy's Island.  It was quite a shock to see how third world it was outside of the port.  There were cars honking everywhere and no order of any kind.  The infrastructure was poor and there were only a few street lights in the main part of the town.  As we sat on the bus for the short 30 minute drive we listened to our tour guide tell us about Roatan.  All it took was looking out the window to see what life was really like for the people in this part of the world.  Needless to say, we were all happy to finally make it to our destination where we boarded a small ferry to take us over to Little French Key Island.  We decided to try snorkeling first thing and jumped right into one of the boats.  There were a few other families that joined us.  As the driver took us out further into the ocean Mike and I quickly realized that the waves were a bit rough to go snorkeling.  Mike, Andrew and Emma jumped in the water first and started swimming.  Peter, Abby, and I stayed in the boat as we were a little apprehensive about what to do.  We finally decided to all jump in because the rocking boat was making us sick.  It wasn't the best snorkeling and because the conditions weren't ideal no one snorkeled for very long.  Thank goodness for that.  

After getting back to the island we realized what a cool place Little French Key really was.  After finding the perfect spot to play we dumped our stuff onto one of the lounge chairs and lathered up for some fun in the sun.  We snorkeled, swam, kayaked, and took turns on the standing paddle boards.  There were hardly any people in our little section of the island so it felt like we had all of these fun water toys to ourselves.  Mike went out with each of the kids so that they could snorkel for real without the huge waves.  Peter and Mike actually found the coolest conk shell and brought it back for us to see.  There was still a creature inside so after enjoying its beauty Mike swam back to where they found it to put it back.  The girls loved finding other shells and started their own little collection next to our lounge chair.  

Eating lunch was so much fun.  We ordered an array of island type food and ate out in the water under our own umbrella.  It was completely unreal to eat and play in such a beautiful place.  After eating lunch the boys went over to the rope swing to jump off the platform.   Both of the boys were going to jump from the rope but realized very quickly that the rope was too thick to grab well.  The next thing I knew Peter was running off the platform and into the water.  Andrew watched but didn't jump.  After playing for a little while longer we noticed that they were bringing out the jaguar.  You could actually pay to swim with and get your picture taken with the jaguar.  We thought that was totally crazy so we enjoyed the jaquar from a distance.  It was seriously the coolest day ever and one we will never forget.  As we sat on the ferry to head back to the buses we noticed how pink our legs were.  Even after applying sun screen we were all a little burned.  It wasn't until later that I realized how badly my legs had gotten burned.  Sometimes it just sucks to have such fair skin.

DAY 1:

Today we boarded the Navigator of the Seas on Royal Caribbean and began our 7 day cruise adventure to the Western Caribbean.  We spent the first day just touring around the ship.  After walking through the amazing promenade we went straight to our rooms to drop off our carry on bags.  We splurged a little on this cruise and got the balcony rooms on the back of the ship.  It was well worth it!  The kids were the most excited to head straight to the Windjammer to eat ice-cream and other little treats.   We spent the rest of the afternoon signing up for the kids club, playing mini golf, enjoying our first nice dinner, and playing free games at the arcade later that night.  It was a great first day on our cruise.  

DAYS 2 and 3:

The next two days were all about having as much fun as we could on the ship while we were out at sea.  Peter, Emma and Abby spent some time at the kids club, Andrew enjoyed some time at the teen center, and Mike and I thorougly enjoyed our massages at the spa .  Most of the time, though, we hung out together playing in the pool.  Abby learned how to snorkel, Andrew really liked the hot tub, and Peter and Emma had fun climbing all over the pool area walls.   It was so fun to see Abby snorkeling around and swimming ON HER OWN.  When we weren't in the pool we spent some time rock climbing and watching Andrew and Peter on the wave rider trying surfing and boogie boarding.  Since the lines were pretty long they only got to try it once so we signed Andrew up for private surfing lessons later that night.  Since they would cancel it unless at least 4 people signed up, I quickly found myself as the 4th person. Andrew and I both tried surfing but quickly changed to boogie boarding and had a great time.  We actually learned quite a bit in the hour of our lessons.  

It was raining today so instead of an outside excursion in the heart of Houston we decided to meet Greg and Ruby at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.   It was so fun to see Uncle Greg again and to meet his sweet girlfriend Ruby.  We started our tour of the museum by watching Andrew ride in the gyro machine.  He was the only one of the kids tall enough to do it.  Boy was he dizzy afterwards.  We spent the rest of our time exploring the many fun exhibits, watching Walking with Dinosaurs in 3D, and took a little break for lunch at a yummy Mexican restaurant two blocks away called Bodegas.  Our favorite exhibits were the Hall of Paleontology, the Hall of Gems and Minerals, the Hall of African Wildlife, and the Weiss Energy Hall.  In the African wildlife section the kids were all adamant that I have my picture taken with the monkey because they know how much I love monkeys after my encounter with the crazy monkey in Japan.  In the Weiss Energy Hall we learned the entire process of how oil and natural gas are formed to provide us energy.  We actually got to "ride" in the Geovator which took us on a simulated trip to the bottom of an oil well to experience the sights and sounds of oil production.  The Geovator was definitely a highlight for all of us.  

One of the first places we wanted to visit in Houston was the Space Center.  I'm glad that Mike is such a good planner.  He found us a hotel just south of Houston and close to the Space Center and other places we wanted to visit before our cruise.  With only a 5 min drive from our hotel we didn't have to rush in the morning.  The Space Center was awesome!  We took the tram tour first thing and saw the new mission control center for NASA's new Orion program.  Next, we got to visit and see the Saturn V shuttle.  It was unreal to see how gigantic the shuttle was even on it's side.  It was cool to learn about the different stages of the shuttle and what each stage was used for.  The kids enjoyed the tour of the shuttle and reading about all the different shuttle missions.  

Back at the Space museum the kids enjoyed the different exhibits such as the Albert Einstein photo made out of burnt toast and other famous people made out of candy and keyboard pieces, the tallest man in the world, the long snake you could crawl inside, the fun rides, the International Space section, and the wall of Astronauts over the years.  This was definitely a fun day for all of us.

As part of the 3rd grade curriculum the kids learned a little about economics with supply and demand.  They each had to come up with something that they would make and then determine how much they were going to sell their items for.  Emma choose to make chocolate chip cookies.  She made them all by herself and then assembled them on her own into little baggies.  She helped me create the labels and I printed them out cut them for her.  She cut all the ribbon and put them together on her own.  It took a lot of willpower for me to step back and let her do it by herself.  I think she had just as much fun putting them together as she did selling them.  Each of the kids, as well as the parents and teachers, got a bag of pretend money to use to buy the different items at the fair.  I loved watching her excitement every time she sold one of her cookies.  Every once in a while she would sneak away to go and buy items from her friends.  By the end of the fair Emma decided to increase the price of her cookies.  I thought it was a risky move but she surprised me.  She sold the rest of her cookies at the increased price.  I guess she has some marketing skills after all!  

While Andrew and Peter attended the St. Patrick's Day parade with their band group this morning, Mike and I took the girls on their very first bike ride on the trail.  It was a slow start getting Abby to be comfortable on the trail but eventually she picked up some speed and started having a good time.  With only pedal brakes it was a bit hard for Abby on the steep sections so she and Mike just took it slow.  Emma was happy riding ahead of everyone but kept mentioning how she really wanted a bike with gear shifts like her brothers bikes.  Emma and I rode ahead of Mike and Abby and then we switched partners on the way back.  The view of Pike's Peak after we turned around on the trail was so beautiful.  We all had a great time biking together, playing at the playground and eating Baskin Robbins ice-cream afterwards.  What a fun morning this turned out to be.