Cruise - Day 3 - Costa Maya, Mexico

On Tuesday, 3/23, we were in Costa Maya. We had decided to take a tour of the Kohunlick Mayan Ruins. We had a 2 hour bus ride to get to the site from the ship. Suprisingly, the girls did pretty well on the long drive. They were busy looking out the window and eating lunch. When we got there our guide showed us around the ruins. They were amazing! I think most of the pictures we took the whole week were taken here. Here are some of my favorites:

According to our guide, the Mayans called the type of tree shown below "The Tree of Life" because it showed all parts of life: the roots (underworld), the branches (afterlife) and the trunk (the present). (Our guide explained it better - I'm lucky I remembered why I took a picture of this tree!)

The girls really liked the ruins. They loved exploring them and checking everything out.

Here they are in front of a Mayan bed - yep, just a slab of rock. They stored skins and other items underneath that they spread out for sleeping. Still seems like it would be pretty uncomfortable.

I can't remember what our guide told us this little cubby hole was for. But we did get someone to take a photo of all four of us - which doesn't happen very often.

The girls loved this tree with all the pretty flowers on it. (Abby loves showing off and dancing too.)

The building below holds one of the main features of the ruins at Kohunlich - masks. I took a couple pictures (see below).

The masks are on each side of the main stairway (pictured above) and covered by a grass roof. There were three or four on each side. Each mask depicted a different stage of life, from infant to old man and everything in between.

We all hiked to the top - even the girls. It is really high and they did a great job. It was a little scary coming down, but we all made it safely.

At the bottom of the stairs was a convenient stump with the jungle in the background. I thought it made a great place for photos!

After a busy day at the ruins, we got back on the bus head back to the ship. Elizabeth fell asleep almost immediately and slept most of the way.

That evening's entertainment on the ship was acrobats. They were amazing. Afterward, Abby enjoyed showing off her new acrobatic moves. She loved trying to imitate all the performers. It was fun to watch her.

Cruise - Day 2 - At Sea

On Monday, we spent a beautiful day at sea. We had fun exploring the ship, the Norwegian Spirit, and hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma.

Brian and the girls had fun swimming in the kiddie pool, "Buccaneer's Wet & Wild".

The girls also spent some time in Charlie's Child Care Center. They had a lot of fun on a jungle safari. Elizabeth got a Monkey visor and Abby got a Tiger visor. We saw them parading around the ship with all their new friends.

We all enjoyed an afternoon Magic Show. I think Abby loved all the entertainment on the ship the most. She tried to imitate everything. For the rest of the day she was doing "magic tricks" and trying to make things disappear. It was pretty cute!

Cruise Photos (finally!) Day 1 - New Orleans, Lousiana

We were all very excited to go on vacation - especially with Grandpa and Grandma Kimber. We took a 7 night Exotic Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Cruiseline. We met Grandpa and Grandma in New Orleans on Saturday, 3/20. We had a nice dinnner at Mulate's and spent the night in New Orleans before the cruise left on Sunday, 3/21.

We all took the hotel shuttle to the port. It was a little crowded. The girls were squashed on Grandpa and Grandma's laps. Luckily it wasn't a very long drive.

We had some great views of New Orleans from the ship.

Bridge over the Mississippi River. It took about 8 hours (I think) to cruise down the Mississippi River to get to the Caribbean.

The girls had fun "driving" the ship. They were practicing while we were still in port.

The safety drill is always fun. Elizabeth was quick to check out the whistle on her life vest before we could stop her. We were told later that they don't sterilize them after each drill - yuck!

It looks like we were all ready to go!

One more note: The entertainment onboard was fantastic. On Sunday night we saw Jo-EL Sonnier "King of Cajun". The music was great.

Snow!!!

It snowed here today. We had some of the biggest snowflakes I have ever seen. The girls were very excited to go out and play. They ran around the backyard trying to catch the snowflakes. It was very cute to watch them.

Updates...

Well...it has been months since I've added anything to our blog. I've had lots of requests for pictures so here are some photos of what we've been up to lately.

Elizabeth split her chin open at Kindermusik. It was traumatic at first with all the bleeding and crying, but once we got Brian - and he stopped trying to put ice on it - she was fine. She didn't cry at all at the emergency room and didn't even need stitches. (photo 11/13/09, ER trip 11/11/09)

Abby finished the soccer season and loved it. She especially liked her trophy! (11/14/09)

We went to SeaWorld San Antonio for Thanksgiving. It was a great time to go. We all had lots of fun. (11/26/09)

This is Elizabeth showing me how much fun she is going to have on the Shamu Express. She is finally tall enough! It is the favorite ride of both girls. (11/26/09)

All the girls at SeaWorld. (11/26/09)

It snowed in Texas (two years in a row now!) We were in Old Town Spring with Grandpa and Grandma McPheeters. Cold but very fun! (12/4/09)

We had a very good visit with Grandpa & Grandma McPheeters. Everyone is now asking when we are going to visit them. We are working on a plan to see everyone... (12/7/09)

I can't resist taking picutres of Elizabeth's crazy curls after her naps. They are so cute! (12/9/09)

Elizabeth saw Santa at the library. You can't really tell, but she refused to look at him, because if she can't see him, he isn't really there. So she just sat super stiff! (12/10/09)

Elizabeth at her friend Mae's birthday party. She LOVED riding the ponies! (12/11/09)

Elizabeth had her very first dance recital. She did great! (12/14/09)

Abby danced beautifully as well! (12/14/09)

Happy Birthday Elizabeth! Elizabeth turned three and I got a picture of me with both the girls. Doesn't happen very often.... (12/20/09)

Beautiful Christmas dresses! (12/20/09)

Elizabeth loved her Tinkerbell cake! (Thanks Joeby! You are the best!) (12/20/09)

We had another fabulous princess party at our house with a couple of Elizabeth's friends. She loved it and they were all so cute dressed up. (12/21/09)

Christmas Eve! Thanks for the cute pj's Grandma Kimber! (12/24/09)



Merry Christmas! Now we can do concerts at our house. Thanks Santa for the pink and purple and sparkely guitar and keyboard! (12/25/09)

Well...that's what we've been up to. I'll try to do more timely updates this year. We'll see how it goes!

P.S. I just realized I don't have many photos of Abby. That's because she is loving Kindergarten and I don't see her as much during the day. She is having lots of fun learning to read and do math and making new friends. It is amazing all the things she has learned.