Christmas Eve

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve at Grandvonnie's house with all of Papa's side of the family! Grandvonnie goes all out for Christmas and everyone wore red for this year (she changes the color scheme each year). The boys opened tons of presents from everyone and then handed out canvases that I made for the grandparents. They changed into their pajamas since we drove back to NO that night after presents (left for our cruise on Christmas day). We loved seeing all the family again and had such a nice time. The food was great and the company was even better!!

Stealing Amelie :)

I went to visit cousin Katie yesterday and immediately had to snatch this little, precious bit from her arms! Amelie is a month old now and so, so sweet. She smiled for me several times too!! Just sweet, little half-smiles, but I ate them up :) Her big sister, Elise, will be the flower girl in her uncle Patrick's wedding next weekend. Theo will be reprising his role as ring bearer!

Anthony's Key

Jack and I had the awesome experience of meeting, touching and learning about dolphins in Roatan, Honduras. The trainers were so knowledgeable and kind to the dolphins. We could tell they were really loved the dolphins and how the high birthrate in the cove showed how happy the dolphins were as well :)

Our dolphin was named Fiona and she was 8 years old. Dolphins live to be about 55, so Fiona is a teenager. We all got one on one time with Fiona and then touched and pet her as a group. Our group cheered really loud for her to show her that we were proud of her for behaving so well. It was cute to see how the 26 dolphins living at the cove play with each other. They wrestle around just like two little boys I know :)

If you ever find yourself in Roatan, check out Anthony's Key. And be sure and tell Fiona "hi" for us!

Cruising the Caribbean at Christmas

We left out Christmas morning, after the kids opened Santa's presents, for a week-long cruise with Gigi and Dada to the Caribbean. It was our first time to do the "Freestyle Cruising" on NCL and we really enjoyed the freedom and variety. Basically, we picked where we wanted to eat and when. Makes a huge difference in the crowds on the ship and what you are able to do for excursions and activities during the day. We took 2 martini tasting courses and enjoyed meeting people

Our ship stopped at 4 ports: Costa Maya, Belize City, Roatan, and Cozumel. We took the kids on a Dune Buggy ride through the coast of Costa Maya and ended up on a private beach, far away from anyone or anything. It was gorgeous and the kids had a ball laying in the hammock and swimming in the ocean. That night we all ate at the Japanese Hibachi restaurant and the kids impressed me by eating very well. Theo ate Miso soup and Jack devoured his fried rice.

Jack and Theo laid low in Belize with Gigi and Dada while Dave and I took exciting excursions. Dave went scuba diving and saw the famed coral reef outside of Belize and I went zip-lining and rappelling through the rainforest. We are quite the adventurers :) I made some new friends on my excursion that day who happen to be farmers in Illinois. They were kind enough to let me sit with them and stick by them when we were up in the air zip-lining. Dave and I were both WIPED OUT after our exciting days.

The next day we arrived in Roatan, Honduras and I was up bright and early. I had the pleasure of sipping coffee on our balcony while we arrived at port and saw the first beautiful glimpses of Roatan. It was breathtaking and was by far my favorite port. Jack and I left early for a dolphin encounter and I'll make that it's own separate post :) We joined everyone else at the beach later on that day and Dave took Jack snorkeling for the very first time. He took to it immediately and they snorkeled for a couple of hours! Amazing. Dave got all of our passports stamped in Roatan since it was offered (we typically just used our drivers licenses to board the ship). We all enjoyed an Italian feast that night for dinner.

We laid low in Cozumel and never left the ship. We had been there previously and needed a day to do nothing much. Theo and Jack loved going to the childcare and protested every single time we picked them up! That made us feel good that they were having so much fun and were well cared for :)

New Year's Eve was our last day at sea and we ate at the French restaurant that night. The escargot was divine!!!! We all shared chocolate fondue for dessert before Dave and I headed out to ring in the new year. We chose to congregate in the atrium for the balloon drop at midnight. The crowd was tons of fun and we wore party hats that I bought in Houston before we left.

Happy 2012 to all of our family and friends!