chankanaab {part one}

Cozumel, Mexico was the third stop on our cruise. We chose to get off the ship quickly, and find a taxi to take us to Chankanaab National Park. It was absolutely gorgeous!! (Once again our ship is parked right next to the Freedom of the Seas... loved it!)

 Our first stop at Chankanaab was a sea lion training show

 there were dolphins everywhere!!

 they had a cool/scary crocodile and alligator exhibit

 the boys loved snorkeling in the waters behind us -- there were lots and lots of fish!

 Grayson captured this cool pic of a pelican... check out his beak!

 both boys snorkeling

 so, so pretty looking out on the ocean

the boys (and I) had some relaxing hammock time :)

swimmin' with the stingrays

Our second stop on the cruise was the gorgeous Grand Cayman. Jerry and I had visited Grand Cayman back in 2007, and remembered its beautiful blue-green water and Stingray City! We were pumped to visit again with the boys.

Cayman is surrounded by a coral reef, so all ships have to tender the passengers to shore. This pic was taken from a tender boat, and you can see another one headed back to the Navigator.

 Stingray City is located about 5 miles off the island, in the middle of the ocean. But, you jump out of the boat and you can stand on a sandbar. The stingrays were swimming all around us. :)

 You put squid in your fist, and they suck it out with their mouth. It's cool and gross, all wrapped into one! ;)

 It was a gorgeous day! And the water was crystal clear...

 After going to Stingray City, we got back on the boat, and they took us about 5 minutes away to do some snorkeling. It was amazing!! So many fish!! And a few more stingrays, too. 

 Sailing back to Grand Cayman, we were met by jet skis and gorgeous homes

 we saw a cute little lizard while we were shopping downtown

It was an action-packed day!!

red stripe beach

Our first cruise stop was in Falmouth, Jamaica. We had never been to Jamaica before, so I researched quite a bit on which excursion we should do. The most popular thing to do seems to be the Dunns River Falls, but it was a hour-long bus ride away. Same with visiting Ocho Rios or Montego Bay. It didn't appeal to me to be in a bus for 2 hours of our 7 hours in Jamaica. So... we chose to go to Red Stripe Beach, which was a 10 minute drive from the cruise port. It was a gated area, run by the locals, but only for cruise ship passengers. And there was no selling or loitering allowed. We had a great day! As Carter kept saying, "This is my FIRST beach!" :)

the port area of Falmouth, looking back up at the Navigator

 burying Grayson in the sand

there was the sweetest Jamaican guy, Lenny, at the beach -- he had lots of fun with the boys -- throwing sand balls in the ocean

our section of the beach was guarded and not open to the public

Lenny showed the boys some sea urchins -- the black ones are male and the white ones are female

if you step on a sea urchin, you have to put pee on it to get the stingers out -- the boys thought this was hysterical ;)

see the Jamaican flag in the background?

back on the ship after a great day in Jamaica!
you can see the Freedom of the Seas parked next to us :)

spring break cruise {2015}

We just returned from a wonderful cruise on the lovely Navigator of the Seas. We cruised out of Galveston, TX and stopped in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico. We had beautiful weather during the entire week. Our first two days were spent at sea... here are a few pics!

 Our first stop, after boarding the ship on Sunday around 1pm, was to grab lunch in the Windjammer!

 then we hit up the pool and hot tub :)

 and of course, we all had to have a frozen yogurt cone... or maybe two ;)

 We all played a round of mini-golf, and I think the boys then played at least 2-3 rounds each day over the course of the week!

 On Monday morning, we were still in bed when the Captain came over the PA system and announced that there would be a medical evacuation that morning. The ship had diverted from travelling south, and was headed back towards the mouth of the Mississippi River, and would be met by a Coast Guard helicopter. 

 The helicopter circled the ship several times, dropping off a member of the Coast Guard on the helipad via a rope. They loaded the patient on a stretcher and lifted him up to the helicopter (via rope) while the helicopter stayed right above the helipad. Then, when everyone was loaded up, the Coast Guard member grabbed onto the rope, and they pulled him up to the copter and flew off. It gave us all the chills.

 Both boys climbed the rock wall, but Carter wasn't a huge fan... we couldn't figure out why! He even rang the bell at the top!

 the Flowrider was always entertaining to watch and we went to cheer Jerry on with his surfing!

 our first formal night at dinner -- the food was delicious and our wait staff did a great job! 

 Reynato, our waiter, was always bringing extra food to the boys ;)

beautiful sunset on the Navigator!

"happily forever after"

The 3rd-5th grade classes at CCA just performed a great musical called "Happily Forever After" this past week. They worked hard, and you could tell! The songs were wonderful and they had amazing choreography, too! Grayson had a speaking part... he actually recited the final verse in the program. He did a great job! Here he is..

Congrats to all the kids on a job well done!

happy 10th birthday, grayson!!

How is our firstborn TEN?!? A decade!! Wow!!

 Grayson's request was to go to On the Border for his birthday dinner... yum! He really wanted the cinnamon-sugar sopapillas with chocolate dipping sauce for dessert. :)

 We celebrated that evening at Nana and Gramps' house, along with Aunt Laura

Grayson still LOVES Legos and building things...

 Nana gave him her AMAZING book about his past year of life :)

 And then, Grayson had to open presents, that were clues... telling him that his gift from Nana and Gramps was a...

 TRIP TO CHICAGO! :)

He was so excited! What a way to celebrate a decade!

 Since Carter had a different name on his birthday cake, Grayson decided he would change it up too! So we sang Happy Birthday to Neymar, Jr. ;)

 Our favorite little, I mean, growing up, soccer player!!

He's going to be taller than me soon!!! Aauuuggghhhh!!

forever

Lately we've had some really hard things happen. Friends around us are struggling. Several people we know are dealing with life-threatening sicknesses. A week ago we received a call that a friend in our church had died.
Suddenly.
I had just given her a hug that morning at church, and now she was gone. As we cope, we lean on God's Word and the promises He gives us. We cling to songs that speak the truth and encourage us, even in those dark, unexplainable days. The song "Forever" by Kari Jobe, is one we've sang the past two weeks in church, and I can't get it out of my head. I'll post the words and a link for you to listen to it (below)... The song reminds me of those promises...

Forever by Kari Jobe

The moon and stars they wept
The morning sun was dead
The Saviour of the world was fallen
His body on the cross
His blood poured out for us
The weight of every curse upon him

One final breath he gave
As heaven looked away
The son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken

The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
his perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting?
Our resurrected King
Has rendered you defeated

Forever he is glorified
Forever he is lifted high
Forever he is risen
He is alive, He is alive!

The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
his perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting?
Our resurrected King
Has rendered you defeated

Forever he is glorified
Forever he is lifted high
Forever he is risen
He is alive, He is alive!

We sing hallelujah
We sing hallelujah
We sing hallelujah
The Lamb has overcome

Forever he is glorified
Forever he is lifted high
Forever he is risen
He is alive, He is alive!

You have overcome
You have overcome
You have overcome
You have overcome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT0XGUsK1rU