Cruising

Just boarded...ready to go!

We all clean up nice!

Our wonderful server and waiter!

Dinner in the Dining room

This is Nicole wiping out! We all had a few of these!

Garrett surfing on Flowrider!

Garrett rock climbing on the ship

Sailing in St. Maarten

Garrett snorkeling...or enjoying the view!

Getting ready to snorkel!

Justin, Garrett, and Mark trying to look cool

Streets of St. Maarten

Boarding the Liberty in San Juan

Ready to zip-line!

Paradise Cove, Haiti

In 2005, when we moved from Wichita, Kansas to North Carolina, a few of our friends all decided that in 5 years we would all go on a cruise together. Well, 2010 was here, so that is just what we did! The first week in May, we joined the Johnson's, Pool's, Jensen's, and the Acker's (who remain the only family left in Wichita), and cruised the Eastern Caribbean for 7 days on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas. I can't even begin to describe what fun we had. It was a much needed break for us and a great way to catch up with so many of our dear friends, who we miss so much.

Garrett and I actually arrived in Miami a few days before. We were able to "cash-in" some of his Hyatt points and stay in a super swank hotel right in South Beach called Hotel Victor. We enjoyed the hoppin' and busy scene and all of the great retro style of the area. The beach was beautiful with its white sand and blue cabanas!

We left Miami and cruised for 2 days at sea before arriving at St. Maarten. The boat was huge and had numerous activities to keep us occupied. Surfing on Flowrider, rock climbing, volleyball, shopping, swimming, karoke, "cheesy" shows, food, and of course plenty of STAIRS to keep us in shape! Garrett even made a guest appearance as "George Michael" lip-syncing for the boat's 80's dance party! We loved meeting each night for dinner in the dining room with our wonderful servers and waiters. We were so spoiled! It was so hard to come home after a week of pampering! I told our waiter that I would like to bring him home with me!

St. Maarten was beautiful and we enjoyed the turquoise water and island life. We, along with Justin, Erin, Mark, and Nicole all took a cataraman to Tintamarre island and snorkeled. We also got to see more than we needed to, since the island was on the French side and clothing was optional.

San Juan, Puerto Rico was our next port. Here we boarded a bus and headed to the rainforest for a zip-line tour, which we loved. Although, I wasn't sure we were even going to make it considering the bus we were riding in and the bus driver driving the bus. We literally had to turn the air conditioning off and lean forward to make it up the hills. Up in the hills, the roads were 1-lane and because the driver did not want to stop for fear of not starting again, he plowed through honking his horn. I seriously thought I may die! Later, we toured the very colorful city and even sampled some local cuisine.

And last, we stopped in Labadee, Haiti, which was Royal Carribean's private retreat. Labadee is on the opposite of the island, so there was virtually no earthquake damage. It was fun for Garrett to speak to the locals and he enjoyed brushing up on his creole! We went on what turned out to be our most favorite excursion...the Haitian Culture Tour. We were ferried around the island to a private beach cove where we learned about a few culture things and then relaxed in the most beautiful water and ocean view I have ever seen.

We arrived home on Mother's day and the kids had cards and dinner waiting! We missed our kids and they were so excited to see us! My mom had come out to stay with kids while we were gone, which we were so grateful for! It was extra special getting to spend most of Mother's day with my Mom!

We had the most memorable and wonderful time with all of our dear friends. It was truly a super fabulous week!