Busy Spring!!

So, while I've been away, I have PLAYED HARD, now have a 2 year old, and am obsessed with cruise ships!! LOL

First of all, homeschooling is going great, even in the midst of our chaotic schedule. I hope to have Abbey tested before the summer is out!! HA!! :) By state law, we don't have to report to the school again until the day before the beginning of school, so I technically have lots of time, but of course, don't want it hanging over my head all summer. So, we still have some ground to cover, and I have learned a lot that will help us next year!! Yes, I said next year :) I'm feeling more confident, especially since she started READING :) I can not tell you how awesome a feeling it is to know that I have had such a major role in her learning to read!! It's amazing to watch her :)

OK, now let's talk about the PLAYING HARD :) LOL I went on an ALL GIRL'S CRUISE just a few short weeks ago!! I can't believe it's been two weeks!! Last weekend all I thought about was "This time last week..." It was an AMAZING time. Of course, there was nothing to compare to the company :) I am not exaggerating or over-dramatizing the fact that I have been so blessed to call my closest girlfriends my family. I absolutely realize how rare that is, but for whatever reason, I have been blessed!! :) Not only cousins, but the "Aunts" were fun, too!!

For those of you interested, or who went, here is a recap of all the fun!! :) If you're bored already, skip down!! LOL :)

Wednesday we met for pedicures & got matching flowers (for FREE) on our toes!! :) They are super cute, and I am going to be really bummed when it's time to re-paint my toes. Anyways, that was our pre-cruise get-together!! LOL :) It was so much fun, & the ladies that did our pedi's were fun!!

I had already said my goodbye's to my Hubby & kiddos before I left for the pedi. They were headed to Pennsylvania to spend the weekend with his family while I was gone. It was really weird, and kinda nice, to be home alone Wed. nite. Even if I didn't get to bed until 1a.m.!! I was packing & excited & getting my house somewhat straightened up because Steve was bringing his mom back with him for the week after I got back. More on that later.

We got up ridiculously early on Thursday morning (I got literally 2 hours of sleep before I had to be up & ready). But I was so excited anyway, it didn't really matter!! LOL I took some Bonine because I wasn't sure how I'd travel on a basically empty stomach, and I am SO GLAD I did. Our flight from Dayton to Detroit was pretty scary with some really bad turbulence. My Mom said that all she could think about was that there were an awful lot of people from the same family on that plane!! It was pretty scary, especially first thing in the morning. Although, the view from the window seat was beautiful. I got the side facing East, so I saw the sunrise in the clouds.

Detroit was BREAKFAST!! :) And, we had a pretty easy, kinda bumpy but NOTHING like Dayton to Detroit flight to Miami. Again, I scored a pretty awesome window seat & could see us fly down the East Coastline. SO beautiful!! :)

Then, after getting our bags, we followed all the people with signs that said "Carnival"!! :) We bussed over to the ship & when we got out, THERE. IT. WAS. Those ships are HONKEN. SO AWESOME :) We boarded, found Aunt Di, Missy & Jodi waiting on us, already drinking some pretty "drinks of the day." Found our room, freshened up just a bit, and we headed down to the lunch buffet.

By dinner Thurs. night, I was ready for another Bonine, because I was NOT feeling well. You can ABSOLUTELY feel the boat moving, and I wasn't really prepared for that. So, halfway through dinner, I had to go back up to the room to get some more med & by the time I got back down, I was ready for chocolate melting cake. There are no words to adequately describe that dessert. I am going through withdrawls. Although, Jodi has since found the recipe, but I'm not sure I want to try it, because I might decide it's not hard to make & make it A LOT. Delicious infinity. LOL

By the time we got to the karaoke lounge, I was feeling MUCH better & sang a song with the Cousins ("Cruise Chicks") & sang a solo. I was starting to think it was a bad idea cause Missy sang "Killing Me Softly" & a lot of people got into that one, and my choice was a pretty lesser known country song "I Try To Think About Elvis" by Patty Loveless, and it was fine!! LOL After I got done, it was kinda cute, because the man after me sang "Teddy Bear" BY Elvis :) LOL Fun. I {HEART} karaoke!! :)

I was DONE after karaoke that night, but the rest of the girls went to the live band lounge next door & discovered the best live band I've ever heard that didn't have smoke & lazers on the stage!! We went down the next night, and the last night. The night in between they were on the Lido deck & I guess the crowd was pretty wild.

Friday we went to Key West, FL. Think Yellow Springs meets the beach!! LOL :) Very cool & eclectic place. It would be neat to spend a lot of time on the historical side of things, but we stayed pretty close to the touristy parts. Some of the girls went to the Original Margaritaville, and had I realized it was there I'd probably tried to stop in, too. I do regret not trying some Key Lime pie. I know, weird that I didn't, right? LOL

Friday night was Formal Night, and that was SO MUCH FUN!! :) It's not everyday ya get to dress all sparkly & over the top, but it was awesome :) It was also a GREAT night to people-watch. There were some pretty cool dresses. I also tried lobster tail for the first time!! :) Delish!! :) I don't know if it was the lobster or the butter I liked the best!! HA!! :)

And, guess what I had for dessert? LOL :)

Saturday was a day at Cozumel, Mexico. I have never been outside of the US, so that was neat. It didn't really feel different from the states because we didn't go off on our own, again, we stayed pretty much in the touristy areas. BEAUTIFUL, btw. The water is really pretty there. We went to Playa Mia beach as our excursion that day, and it was pretty neat. It wasn't a "waves crashing on the beach" kind of beach, it was more like a little lake, but it was neat to see straight to the bottom, usually, in the water. It was kinda cloudy, so it probably wasn't even as clear as normal. That was where we just laid on the beach & chilled...well, we were sweating, but you know what I mean!! LOL The sand was white, the sun was hotter than I have ever experienced, and it was most likely a blessing the clouds were around that day, or I would've roasted!! LOL

OK, since this is really long, I'm gonna have to do this in two parts, so I'll leave you there, with that beautiful picture of Mexico as I say goodnight :)

Til next time :)