Cruisin'

December 20th marked our 5-year anniversary, and Gabe and I wanted to do something extra special to celebrate. We had talked to Gabe's parents awhile ago, mentioning that we would like to go on a cruise, and they enthusiastically volunteered to watch the kids for us. I want to give them a big THANK YOU first of all for making this possible. I was a little worried about leaving the kids for so long (I had never left them for more than a day before), but I knew they were in the best of hands. So I tried not to think about it too much (I knew I would miss them more than they missed me), and just got in the car and drove.

When we got to Galveston on Dec. 18th, it looked like this:

Out of the 300 sunny, beautiful days out of the year in Texas we left on a day like this. :P The boat was delayed by the fog, and even though the boat was supposed to leave at 4:00 pm, we did not end up boarding the boat until 10:00 that night. So we had some time to kill. First we went swim suit shopping, then we walked along the beach, which was still very pretty even though it was so foggy. We found a little dirt road that led out into the ocean, and when we got to the end of it, we were surrounded by fog on all sides and it seemed like we were the only 2 people in the world. Very romantic. :)

Then we got back to the cruise terminal and had a few more hours of waiting in extremely long lines before we could get on the boat. Most everyone else was disgruntled and complaining to each other by this time, but Gabe and I amused ourselves by playing games on the cell phone. I got especially good at "Tap Tap." :) It was fun. Wow, how did we ever live without cell phones, I wonder... :)

Then, once we finally got on the boat, it was amazing. I felt like royalty. The most amazing part: the food was ALL free, and it was hard to know when to quit. I am used to looking at the prices to tell what I want, but there were no prices! I could order all the desserts on the menu if I wanted! It was really awesome. Each night we would order 2 or 3 appetizers, and at least 2 desserts. Did I mention it was awesome? :)

The boat had a waterslide...

Played at the pool...

Met the chefs that made the amazing food...

They cleaned our room twice a day, and made us fun towel animals each time. We even learned how to make them!

Our original destination was Cozumel, but because of the delay, we got rerouted to Progreso, Mexico. We took a bus to go see Chichen Itza. Hmmmm...how can I describe it...it was awesome.

By the last day, I was ready to come home and see the kids. I really missed them. A storm was coming through the last night, and the waves were making the ship move a LOT! I finally found out what it is like to be sea sick. They had to cancel the evening show because the ship was rocking too much. Gabe and I just laid in bed, too sick to eat dinner. We ordered room service, but could barely even eat that. I was ready to be on dry land again, and go home to be with my kids.

The drive home seemed to last forever, but we finally got there. I opened the door, expecting my kids to be all smiles at our return. Didn't happen. I tried to grab Benjamin from his Grandpa Black, and he did not even want to come to me!! I couldn't believe it. I was so happy to see them, and they were almost indifferent to see me.... oh well! I'm glad that they had such fun with their Grandma and Grandpa Black, and their uncles Michael and Joey. That makes me happy.

I hope we go on another cruise before another 5 years goes by!