Part 1: First things first...

OK, so I haven't posted in awhile, for the dozens of emails I received asking if I was OK and if my children are fine. We are all fine and well. It was a planned absence; my husband and I went on a cruise to the western part of the Caribbean, (Florida, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St Martin, with a layover in Atlanta, both ways). The kids stayed with a very nice aunt of their's on my husband's side. The sad thing about the trip is, I missed two of my daughters' dance recitals at school and an art show by the third.

Warning: what fallows is one of those trip photo-sessions. Turn away if you don't want to see this. It is posted mostly for family to see, but have fun looking, even if you are not family.
Miami, Florida

We went on an air boat ride, looked at the alligators and crocs. The one the man is holding to the left I actually held. He is 3 feet long from tip of nose to tip of tail. Too bad the people who took the photo didn't understand how to use our camera and thought they had taken a photo when they hadn't, so no picture of me and my husband holding this guy. But I know I did, and that is all that matters.

After the boat ride and show we ate some food that the place called alligator nuggets which are supposed to be alligator meat; no bad thought here folks, it isn't that part of the gator. I don't know if it is true that it was 'gator or not, but it tasted good.
I am not sure if it was a croc or an alligator hiding in the lily pads because I couldn't see the end of its nose to distinguish which it was. If you look closely at the picture, you will see the head starting to submerge.

Next set of photos were taken from or on the cruise liner, Freedom of the Seas, leaving Miami and in transit from one place to another.
I am not sure anyone can ever look graceful from a below shot while climbing a rock wall. But yes, this is me and my husband. My husband is a real rock climber, mountain biker, snowboarder, ice climber and anything outside that fits in those concepts of outside. So, I would say he did it with much more finess than I did, because the last time I climbed I was 5 months pregnant with my first daughter (who is now 10). The harness didn't feel good cinching up on my pregnant belly, and I haven't climbed since. But I had fun doing this again; I am still a total novice, but I have to admit rock walls are much easier than the real thing, at least the ones I have been on.

My husband also went on the flow rider a way to sort of surf on the ship. My husband's statement about the flow rider was that "it is very efficient at stripping the clothes from your body". I never saw him with out his trunks while on this but there was a few times he didn't leave the ruff water very quickly. He really did pretty good for his first time on this type of thing. But that is no surprise to me as he skateboards and snowboards differnt beasts but a little bit similar in concept I think.
Having never been on a cruise liner I was amazed at the scale of things they can place inside and on a ship. Seriously look at this inside of a ship it looks just like the inside of a really tall mall.

But then nothing matches the grandeur of the things outside the ship that you can see. I feel like a little kid here as it is amazing to look at the horizon and not see mountains. I have always been able to see mountains from my home even growing up in California they were just 30 minuets away now I live on the side of a mountain. There isn't even land in some of these pictures let alone mountains. It was fun to take pictures of Miami as we left port as well the silhouettes from the sun going down was amazing to me. Those of you that read my blog often know I am just in love with sunsets and sunrises, I have seen some of the most gorgeous of these in my life in the last few weeks my photos just never did them justice. I am sure you are sick of my trip for now I will post more later got to get the kids up for school.