The Cruise

The Cruise was so much fun! We went to Half Moon Cay Bahamas, St. Thomas Virgin Island, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk. It was so fun to barter with the island shop people, and just visit places you've never been. The weather was so perfect, and we definitely got plenty of sun!

To start from the beginning, the plane ride to Miami we had a person on the plane that needed medical attention-luckily my brother was there and he could help the man. Turns out he had kidney stones and when we landed we had to wait for medical personal come get him.
While checking in on the ship we saw our friends from california! It was so fun to see people we know.
Then we took off, the farewell was like that scene on Titanic where everyone is waving and the horn is blowing, people are cheering and saying "BYE!!" It was so cool! :-)
I think on Monday night, or it was tues..a man had a heart attack on the ship, so we had to stop in the middle of the ocean and wait for a helicopter. They couldn't land, so we watched the whole thing happen with only a rope between the ship and the helicopter. It was sweet! (we couldn't take pics-they wouldn't let anyone)

So here we are at the beginning! We are just sailing off out of the port of Miami

On Monday we spend the day at Half Moon Cay Bahamas! We ate lunch, spent most of the day on the beach, and went parasailing!

My mom, & my sisters Jamie and Amy (L-R)
Look at how clear the water is! And our huge ship in the background!

My sister Jori, my dad, and J.D. (Dad-we love your hat!)

Here is J.D. parasailing! The rope is 1,000 ft. long and you get so freakin high!

Here I am...freaking out! I was so scared because you could see reef shark jumping out of the water!

This is Matt loving life!
And here's Jori!And here's Choc, now you see him.....

Now you DON'T!
Here we are in St. Thomas on Wednesday! my poor brother Matt got FRIED from parasailing!
It was sad to see how much pain he was in. But he was a trooper!

On Thursday we went to San Juan Puerto Rico and saw the RAINFOREST! We went on a hike through the top of it and it was amazing! This was everyone's favorite day!
Here is my mom with a leaf...and my sister Jori. :-)

J.D. and I in the rain forest!

This is my dad, J.D. and my mom walking over a bridge on the hike. Notice all the plants!

This is the one and only CHANELLE tree (sp??) This is where they get the perfume. You could really smell the perfume just standing next to it! Yes, the tree is located in the rain forest!

After the rain forest we headed to the Old San Juan and saw the fort. It was so amazing to see this.

On friday we were in Grand Turk! We went shopping, ate at Margarita Ville, and laid out on the beach! We got Dawson a Bob Marley hat here :-)

Each night we all dressed up and went to dinner in the fine dining restaurant. This was a really neat experience for all of us to see how fine dining really is. This is my sister Amy (left) and Kortni.

J.D. was brave and tried a lot of new things...this was one of the nights where, as you can see, I didn't even like the sight of him eating it, and he didn't like the taste..can't remember what he tried...lol!
This is the last night after dinner with my dad and sister Amy up on the deck. We could see Cuba's Light houses!

Here is J.D. and I on the last night up on the deck.

It was such a fun vacation! For all who didn't know, we took this vacation for my parents 40th Anniversary! Thank you Chad and Jamie for everything you did to have the whole family together for this vacation. It was something that none of us will ever forget and probably won't ever get to do again. You guys made it possible, and i know mom and dad really appreciated it! :-) We love you guys!

anxiety..

Well, in 7 hours I will be boarding our flight to Miami, and then on sunday I will be boarding our ship. We found out that some of our friends from California will be on the same cruise!! We were really excited to hear that.

Although, I have to tell that I have never in my life experience something so hard as saying goodbye to my baby boy. I have cried this whole week over it, thinking I will cry it all out by the time I say goodbye, but it didn't happen that way. I had explained to Dawson for a couple of days that i was going to be going "buh bye" and he was going to be staying with grandma. I know he is in the best hands possible, and i'm not worried about him...it's me who feels, "not whole" and has had anxiety attacks since I left him. I am completely out of my comfort zone and have been so unsure of myself since. I can't relax or focus on anything. My stomach feels like its an never ending pit of pain. All of this sounds awful and it really is. I will get over it I'm sure, but I'm already counting down until I see him again.

My mother in law was so good and understanding today. She has called me and let me know everything about what they're doing and told me to call as much as i want. it made me feel so good to know that. She didn't rush me into saying goodbye and really understood why I wanted to say goodbye. I wanted Dawson to understand that mom was leaving, instead of just rushing off and hoping for the best. I know he doesn't understand much, but i think he understood that because of how he's acted for his grandma. He will have the time of his life and really get to bond with his grandparents, which is so important. I'm very lucky to have such good in-laws.

It's always harder on the mom :-) So until we get back, I hope everyone enjoys there week!

The Stages of the REAL Dawson

Last weekend, my sister Jori came to stay with us and colored my hair. Although she is not licensed, I have never had anybody do a better job than she does. She is AMAZING at hair, and basically hair school would be pointless for her. I have yet to see someone do a better job, not just on my hair, but anyone's hair. We colored it for the cruise, and because J.D. thinks I look better with highlights.
The stages of the REAL Dawson. . . . .
As you can see, it starts with this sweet, doggie eyed "pease?"

And then it turns into an upset, life is going to end, look
And in the end, the REAL Dawson shows himself!