Belize City, Belize - 2nd Stop

This was our most anticipated stop of the whole cruise. In fact, this stop is the reason we chose this cruise itinerary. Ten years ago Scott was serving his mission in Honduras and Belize. There was no way that we could tour Honduras given the time we were in port, but Belize was a different story.

Getting off the ship was a little different this time. The ship had to stay anchored way out in the bay (because it is too shallow to have a pier) so we had to take 'tender boats' to shore. Colby was not a fan.
Once we were to shore we rented a 12 passenger van and off we went! Scott wanted to take us to the areas that he spent a collective 10 months of his mission. While it was so fun to see the land, and have Scott show us places that he had served in and such, the best part was seeing Scott. There was a twinkle in his eye. He's not a very emotional kind of guy, but you could just see his joy at being back to this place that is so dear to his heart. It was awesome. I am so thankful that we were able to finally go back to his mission area, and to share it with our boys, parents, and good friends was wonderful.We were all so excited about being there and being in the moment that we failed to take too many pictures of our day. Luckily we did come away with a few.

We stopped along the way at a gas station for some drinks. This building was across the road. We got a kick out of the Coca-Cola sign. It's amazing how far reaching their product branding is...
This is the apartment building in Santa Elena that Scott lived in for about five months. The missionaries still live there!

A guy on the street said we just missed the Elders, so we continued our drive...and guess who we found? The missionaries! Scott stopped and talked for them for a minute. They came over and met us all. We offered to take them to lunch, but they had an appointment, so Scott gave them some $ and we headed off. It was fun to see the cute boys in white shirts and ties.

Then we crossed over the river to San Ignacio, where he spent another 5 months. We were able to find a restaurant there to stretch out our legs and eat some yummy food. And since we were the only ones there, we took a bunch of pictures too!
We finished out the tour by stopping by the LDS church in San Ignacio.
An hour and a half later we were back to Belize City and back to the boat. It was a long day in the car, but so rewarding.

Now that I've had a taste of Honduras and Belize, I think we'll be going back again in the future. Next time though, we'll spend a little more than a few hours in each country!

Roatan, Honduras - 1st stop

Our first stop of the week...Roatan, Honduras. SO BEAUTIFUL! These were taken when we were pulling into port.Upon getting off the ship we were greeted by these dancers. Kyle had a blast dancing with the girls. Apparently he's already quite the lady killer! (It could have had something to do with the fact that he is a blue eyed blond haired boy in a country that is not!)(Scott, Monte, and my dad Milt went SCUBA diving, so they aren't in any of the pics.) My mom, Sherry, the boys and I took the chance to hit the beach! Since Scott came to Roatan while he was on his mission a few times, he knew just where to direct us to go...West Bay. Colby sacked out on the drive over. The first couple of days of our vacation have already worn him out!
All Kyle needed was his water wings and he was off!! The water was deliciously warm and so clear. A true island paradise!
After a little nap Colby was ready to get in on the action too!
White sandy beaches are no myth...they exist! It was so much fun to play at the beach...especially know how cold things had gotten back home. A nice break from reality!

Dave and Melissa went on a shore excursion through the cruise line. They went to go to an animal reserve and saw iguanas, tropical birds, and monkeys. This little fella took a liking to Melissa! They hit the beach after seeing the animals!
After a great sun and fun filled day, we all left Roatan wanting to come back for more. It was a beautiful island. It's definitely been added to our list of places to visit for longer than 8 hours.

This is a shot my dad took of us pulling out of port.
Next stop...Beliz City, Beliz.

another Cruise post - Fun on the Ship!

There is so much fun to be had on a cruise ship. Activities galore. Here is a glimpse into some of the fun...

Chillaxin' on our balcony. A great place to get some fresh air and watch the water (which was one of Colby's favorite things to do.)
There were two golf cages on the ship. Everyone took some swings, but Kyle probably played golf the most (surprise, surprise!)
Scott played in two soccer tournaments.
Basketball on the sports-court. (Yep! That's Big-Dave helping Colby sink a ball!)
HUGE chess pieces! They boys have no idea how to play, but the pieces sure were fun to move around and mess up.
Shuffleboard was a FAVORITE! If Kyle wasn't playing in the kids club, he wanted to be golfing or playing shuffleboard. We all had a lot of fun playing together.
The pools and slide on this ship weren't quite as awesome as some of the other ships we've been on in the past, but still tons of fun! There is something super cool about playing in a pool on a ship that is in the middle of the ocean. Kind of a trip.
And last, a quick family photo. Colby isn't a fan of the camera these days, so it is virtually impossible to get him to sit still and look at the camera. We'll take three out of four!
Next post? Ports of Call! Roatan, Honduran - Beliz City, Beliz - Costa Maya, Mexico - Key West, Florida.

We've been back almost a week...

We've been home almost a week from our fun adventure. Vacations are funny...you save$ for months (sometimes years) for a big trip, prepare for months, pack for weeks, and then it's over in 7 days. THANKFULLY the memories last a life-time! Which is why we put ourselves through the craziness to begin with!

Last week we packed up the house (okay, at least that's what it felt like!) and took the boys with us on a cruise! This wasn't just any old cruise, the itinerary took us to two spots where Scott served his mission 10 years ago. To top off the awesomeness of it all, some of our favorite people joined us for the adventure. Scott's parents, my parents, and Dave and Melissa Madrishin (they are our friends-neighbors-adopted family.)

We have lots of fun pictures that I want to post over the next few days. Here are a few to get started!

What is one of the first five things that come to mind when you think cruise? I would argue that it is the awesome towel animals left in your stateroom during turn-down. A true cruise icon! I've seen the dog before, but a mouse and monkey are new to me.
There is something exhilarating about being a few hundred feet above the water on the top deck of a ginormous floating vessel, and then rock climbing a few more to ring the blasted bell! Looking out when you are up THAT high is pretty cool. Seeing nothing but water as far as the eye can see it quite the trip. And yes, my 59 year old mom made it all the way. Way TO GO Grandma Sandy!!

Summer's Palace Dining Room - Day 1
We were able to board this ship 'early'. General boarding begins at 2:00 PM, but because we have traveled Norwegian Cruise Lines before we were able to participate in their pre-boarding, which began at 11:00 AM. It was a fun perk. The lines were all but nothing getting on to the ship, it wasn't the usual cattle call that we've been in on previous cruises. (Kid you not, I will cruise NCL again for the pre-bording. The less chaos the better!) The only down side to pre-boarding was that the staterooms were not quite ready for occupants. (The poor room stewards only have about an hour to turn around the rooms from one week to the next, crazy.) We were able to store our stuff in a luggage room and cruise around the 'public areas of the ship.' One of the first places we headed??? To eat of course! Isn't that what cruises are known for?

Below is K-man enjoying his first cruise meal of the trip. Chicken nuggets and fries, the lunch of champions! (We had decided before hand that this was his vacation too, and we would let him eat whatever he wanted, or not eat if that was his choice, I just wasn't up for the fight the whole week. He ate nuggets and fries and chocolate milk at least 3/4 of the meals!)
Scott's parents. Monte and Sherry Pugmire. This was their first cruise. All smiles day one...success!My parents, Milt and Sandy Walters. Seasoned cruisers. Happy to be with their favorite daughter and son-in-law and two adorable grandsons!We were still at the port of Miami, so we'll give Melissa the pass for the cell phone today. After all she did leave her six children at home. I guess checking in on them to make sure the house hasn't burnt down yet is okay. (Their oldest is 20 yrs old, youngest 9, they were in good hands!)
And thus begins the journey. More fun to follow!

Belated Happy Halloween!

My excuse for the delayed pictures are legit. We celebrated Halloween on a cruise ship! I have so many fun pictures to put up on the blog, but will get to those in the next few days. For now...These fun pictures were taken on our Stateroom deck. I SO miss that beautiful blue water and warm weather. I'm already starting to save my pennies for our next big adventure!