My sister Amber just left for college and is really missing Aliyah. Here is just a bunch of recent pictures of Aliyah.
This is for you Amber!!!
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Cruise (Finally!)
In July, we went on a cruise to the Carribbean with my entire family on my mom's side. My grandma, aunts and uncles, and all my cousins were there. Luckily, we were all able to leave our little ones at home so we could fully enjoy it.
We left Florida on Sunday.
Monday we spent the day at sea and enjoyed exploring the boat and having fun with our family.
Tuesday we stopped at the Grand Cayman Island. Some of us (all of my immediate family included) went on a tour where we went to a sandbar in the middle of the ocean--the water was only about 4 feet deep--and played with the stingrays. They were a bit scary at first, but by the end we all felt comfortable touching and holding them. We then went to another site and did some snorkeling.
Wednesday we stopped in Cozumel, Mexico. Bill and I, and my sisters, and Dallin all went on the Twister Boat to Passion Island excursion. We took a speedboat and along the way the driver would do 360* spins and get us wet. We went to a private island just off the coast where we spend the day. If I could imagine a paradise tropcial island, this would be it. White sand, lots of palm trees, calm beaches, and not alot of people. There were probably less than 100 other tourist on the island with us that day. Our excursion included an all you can eat Mexican buffet, access to kayaks, a water trampoline, volleyball, hammocks, and clean restrooms. What more could you want? We had so much fun. It was one of our favorite parts of the cruise.
Thursday we stopped in Belize City, Belize. We were warned that it was a very dangerous country and to stay only in the tourist areas. Bill and I got off the boat and did some shopping close by and then went back to the boat for the day.
Friday we stopped at the Roatan Island, Honduras. We did a canopy tour where we zip-lined through the jungle. It was a lot of fun and so beautiful. It was a little scary at first, but by the end we would jump off the platform and twist upside down doing the "crazy monkey" as our tour guide called it. After the ziplines, we went to a beach. It was actually the prettiest and cleanest beach we saw the whole trip—we were sad we only had a short amount of time there. We drove across half the island to get there, and it was the only place where we actually saw how the people there lived. It made us really appreciate our homes and lives back here in the U.S. The whole place, the people, the homes and neighborhoods, and the beautiful tropical surroundings reminded me alot of El Salvador and Guatemala (I spent the summer there in 2003).
Saturday we spend the day at sea.
Sunday we got back off the boat and flew home.
We had so much fun. Although we missed her, it was soooo nice to have a whole week free of taking care of and worrying about Aliyah. I had forgotten what life was life when you can just do what you want to do and go where you want to go. It was so nice for Bill and I to have a whole week to ourselves. We hope to be able to take more trips with just the two of us.
Besides the fun excursions, we had lots of fun on the ship with our family. We went swimming, played games, went to shows, and of course we ate, and ate, and ate...We had our "formal" nights where we got to dress up for dinner and take pictures.
One of my favorite things of things of the whole cruise was Bill doing kareoke. He has a really good singing voice, although he doesn't want everyone to know. He found a couple songs that he knew and liked and did an awesome job. He really got into them, dancing and adding his own little things to the song. And of course I was his biggest fan, clapping and screaming for him.
So that was our cruise. We had so much fun and we hope to do it again someday.
Grand Cayman Island
Roatan Island, Honduras
We left Florida on Sunday.
Monday we spent the day at sea and enjoyed exploring the boat and having fun with our family.
Tuesday we stopped at the Grand Cayman Island. Some of us (all of my immediate family included) went on a tour where we went to a sandbar in the middle of the ocean--the water was only about 4 feet deep--and played with the stingrays. They were a bit scary at first, but by the end we all felt comfortable touching and holding them. We then went to another site and did some snorkeling.
Wednesday we stopped in Cozumel, Mexico. Bill and I, and my sisters, and Dallin all went on the Twister Boat to Passion Island excursion. We took a speedboat and along the way the driver would do 360* spins and get us wet. We went to a private island just off the coast where we spend the day. If I could imagine a paradise tropcial island, this would be it. White sand, lots of palm trees, calm beaches, and not alot of people. There were probably less than 100 other tourist on the island with us that day. Our excursion included an all you can eat Mexican buffet, access to kayaks, a water trampoline, volleyball, hammocks, and clean restrooms. What more could you want? We had so much fun. It was one of our favorite parts of the cruise.
Thursday we stopped in Belize City, Belize. We were warned that it was a very dangerous country and to stay only in the tourist areas. Bill and I got off the boat and did some shopping close by and then went back to the boat for the day.
Friday we stopped at the Roatan Island, Honduras. We did a canopy tour where we zip-lined through the jungle. It was a lot of fun and so beautiful. It was a little scary at first, but by the end we would jump off the platform and twist upside down doing the "crazy monkey" as our tour guide called it. After the ziplines, we went to a beach. It was actually the prettiest and cleanest beach we saw the whole trip—we were sad we only had a short amount of time there. We drove across half the island to get there, and it was the only place where we actually saw how the people there lived. It made us really appreciate our homes and lives back here in the U.S. The whole place, the people, the homes and neighborhoods, and the beautiful tropical surroundings reminded me alot of El Salvador and Guatemala (I spent the summer there in 2003).
Saturday we spend the day at sea.
Sunday we got back off the boat and flew home.
We had so much fun. Although we missed her, it was soooo nice to have a whole week free of taking care of and worrying about Aliyah. I had forgotten what life was life when you can just do what you want to do and go where you want to go. It was so nice for Bill and I to have a whole week to ourselves. We hope to be able to take more trips with just the two of us.
Besides the fun excursions, we had lots of fun on the ship with our family. We went swimming, played games, went to shows, and of course we ate, and ate, and ate...We had our "formal" nights where we got to dress up for dinner and take pictures.
One of my favorite things of things of the whole cruise was Bill doing kareoke. He has a really good singing voice, although he doesn't want everyone to know. He found a couple songs that he knew and liked and did an awesome job. He really got into them, dancing and adding his own little things to the song. And of course I was his biggest fan, clapping and screaming for him.
So that was our cruise. We had so much fun and we hope to do it again someday.
Grand Cayman Island
Cozumel, Mexico
Belize City, Belize
Roatan Island, Honduras
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Coming soon...the cruise
I promise to get some pics of the cruise up soon. I just need to go get our water camera developed and on a CD. Give me a week...or two...
Our New Neice
Aftin's brother Kyle and his wife Katie just had their first child - Minnette Atley Willman. She was born over two weeks early but was still somewhere in the 7 pound range. She is such a beautiful little girl and we are so excited that Aliyah finally has a cousin on the Willman side.
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