How much damage did we do?

We returned from the Cruise on September 19th. Lauren had a follow up with Dr. Barrie on Monday, September 21st. They x-rayed her through her cast and it had showed some shifting. NOT GOOD! Dr. Barrie said we would follow up in 2 weeks and if 'it doesn't correct itself, we will correct it'. I knew what that meant, although I didn't dare tell Lauren.

I thought, boy we must have really been having fun! ha ha But now back to our calming lives and hopes that it can remodel enough in two weeks to not have to have them 'fix it'!

Bannister Island ...look out!

In Belize you cannot dock right at a port. You 'tender' at sea and take boats for transportation into the city. There were numerous excursions that we could have signed up for and I had it down to 3 choices, until Lauren broke her arm. Then everything went out the window and we had to regroup. I didn't end up booking anything before we boarded but had one in mind. After we got on board I ended up stopping by and booking the Bannister Island Beach Breakaway. We got picked up by a boat that would take us directly there. We ended up going away from Belize City which was 3 miles the opposite direction.

Bannister Island was about a 15-20 minute boat ride. Coming up on it was breathtaking. The island wasn't big at all, but big enough to handle hundreds of people and not be considered crowded. There wasn't anything else around, looking out in all directions, just beautiful blue water and a small island here or there but other than that...nothing...which was perfect.

There were probably 70-100 people on our boat that signed up for this excursion. We were with another cruise line excursion that had just arrived about the time we did. There were beach chairs, kayaks, a bar, a store, restaurant, volleyball court, hammocks, and covered tables scattered everywhere.

The girls wanted chairs almost to the end....which took all of about a minute to walk to. You could probably walk from one end of the island to the other in a couple of minutes. But it was beautiful. The swimming area was roped and blocked off. The sides had actual wood docks built with the back of it using a net. The water within the swimming area was a bit murky, but outside the docks....totally amazing. The water was so blue and clear and absolutely beautiful. Wow, did I pick the best excursion we could have done on this stop. I would definately come back here. And well worth the money.

Lauren couldn't wait to get her 'claw' on and collect some shells. She stayed in the water almost the entire time we were there. The kids loved it. And the cast/cover and arm wasn't going to stop her. She was pulling out shells by the handfuls.

They also had a starfish pool that was blocked off by a wood divider but they interchanged the starfish daily. There were quite a few in there when we went to look. I wasn't too excited about getting in but the girls didn't hesitate. They were beautiful. The girls were beautiful too, but the starfish were amazing. They were alot heavier than what I expected. No biting or anything, but wow...again, beautiful.

This was one of the girls favorite things. They picked up every one in the pool. And then we found some on the outside of the wall and one of the workers switched that one out with another one. How cool!

Here, I am standing at the beginning of the starfish pool, looking back onto the ocean. How gorgeous is this? The water was totally clear and absolutely beautiful. I think I could build a house and live here. I would definately do this excursion anytime I had a stop in Belize. We headed back to the boat in order to take us into Belize City after about 4 hours. It was one of the best 4 hours we had.

Viva Mexico...

We pulled into Cozumel around 10am. The weather, was yet again, awesome! We had already been up for awhile and had already been to breakfast. We took some pictures from our balcony before we headed off the boat.
We hadn't planned any specific excursion other than hitting the beach for awhile and the girls wanted to go shopping! This is one of a few pics of Allison without her tongue sticking out!

We seemed to have been followed by Carnival ships. Different ones each stop...but our boat was way bigger! WOW! It was HUGE!

The girls were having such a great time. It was amazing. We headed off the boat and through the shops that were at the Port! Then off to grab a taxi to Paradise Bay! Its a public access beach area. We took a taxi that took us about 10-15 minutes to get there! They had huge water toys and kayaks, bar, showers, bathrooms...and tons of sun!

Lauren had said numerous times 'I'm not snorkeling....I'm not going to, I just don't want to....I'm going to sit on the beach and collect seashells'. Well, after she found out that she could use her cast cover and actually got in the pool, I was waiting to see how long her attitude was going to last!

It didn't last. Basically we couldn't get her out of the water. Even though I measured her arm and ordered the correct size, it was way too long! But Lauren didn't mind and she called it her 'flipper' and then I put my name on it ...a lobster 'claw'. Lauren didn't care. She could get in the ocean, go under the water and get wet. It wasn't going to stop her! But she did also play in the sand and collect some shells!

She even managed to get out to this slide and go down it with a little help from Chris. If you look closely, she isn't touching the water! This slide was soooo big! She looked like an ant on top of it.

She then got over to the trampoline and jumped on that for awhile! The water is probably 10-12 feet in this area. That didn't stop her either. And she didn't wait for a life-jacket either!

Allison & I headed over to get a kayak and row around the dock for awhile! This is after we came back in. She really wanted the orange one, but we got Brianna's favorite color! Either way, she had a blast and it was fun coordinating our rowing!

Allison headed over to the iceberg next. It was a rather large water toy that you could climb to certain points and jump off. We did see some adults do it earlier!

I posted this picture to show how Allison's size compared to the size of this iceberg! I definately didn't want to climb it! I probably couldn't get one leg up...so Ill let Allison try! She did try and try but didn't make it! But thats ok...then we got on the floatie and kicked back to shore!

We stayed at Paradise Bay for awhile and then showered off and took a taxi downtown. Time for some lunch! Senor Frogs here we come!

Lauren loved this sign! I should have put my face in there too! Too cute!

The girls had fun at Senor Frogs, for the most part. Allison had a grumpy face on almost the entire time, which the entire staff at Senor Frogs noticed! They tried and tried to get her to smile! Not sure what was up with that. It is quite different than what I remember from the Cancun one but still fun! It wasn't too crowded when we got there but it was picking up when we left. The girls loved the cups....more to add to the bags!

Yes, of course thats my daughter! How could you ever tell? Can't you see how thrilled she is to have such a beautiful hat?

We did some shopping, picked up presents for everyone and then headed back to the boat. When we got back to the dock and through the shops, I found a Senor Frogs 1/2. It was just a bar with some tables and it was just out in the open. No walls, and an upstairs that had a water slide into the water. And the following lovely signs on the ceiling!

As we walked past that and went back down the dock to get ready to board the boat, it looked as if a new statue was placed in the same walkway we came down when we got off the boat. Wow! They put that up quickly. But then I realized it was a person. But wow, he looked like a real statue and most people didn't even realize it until he grabbed some ladies butt! Now, that was funny!

The paint on his clothes and hands was great! You really couldn't tell that he was real. We had a blast, and we were graced with another wonderful day of weather!

Next stop....Belize!

Nights at Sea....

After dinner, we headed up to Deck 10 to walk around. Deck 10 has a rock-climbing wall, a whole body bungee-jump, lounge chairs and a walk/run track. We headed up to take some pictures. The wind was blowing pretty good. But there were lots of things that looked amazing from up here!

The pools are on Deck 9 and most of Deck 10's center is open to the pools below. The sky was beautiful and you are looking toward the front of the ship!

This is another shot of the front of the ship with the amazing color of the sky! Wow!~

We had watched a show on Discovery a few months ago that was about the Oasis of the Seas, which is Royal Caribbeans newest ship. It is going to become the largest Cruise Ship in the world when it is in service. Anyways, the girls found out about the towel figures that are made every night. Each night it was amazing how excited they got trying to figure out what animal was it going to be!

And they figured out each day, when walking to/from dinner, the girls would look into other rooms and see what animals were on the beds. I think the most excited Lauren got was seeing an octopus!

I think I should have put this picture earlier in this post, but obviously from our balcony! Beautiful!

Southern most point in the USA...Allison & Lauren have arrived!

Key West was our 1st stop! We docked around 10am and were quickly off the boat. We definately wanted to hit the 'Southern Most Point' and the girls wanted to shop so we didn't want to waste any time!
We did catch a cab for a 15 block ride. Passing Ernest Hemingway's house along the way. Allison & Lauren asked who he was. So Im sure in the next few years, they will find out!

The cab driver we had was awesome! He let us goof off for a bit while taking pictures before we headed back. We actually got another couple who had walked down to take a picture of all of us. But they do have a volunteer that stands there and takes pictures for people for free! Pretty cool!

We got some pictures and then headed back to Duval Street to go through stores and find some stuff to buy! Lauren likes bags and Allison likes shirts....off we go!

We saw all kinds of funny stores and restaurants with great names, I should have taken more pictures! At least of the stores and restaurants, believe me, I definately took enough pictures!

This is where it all starts! And they say '1 is the loneliest number'. I did manage to get the girls in some shops and they did find some stuff, we even stopped by the Hard Rock Cafe and Allison got a shirt and a picture!

On the way back we ran across this unusual piece of artwork! Its called 'The Daydream'.

There were tons of people around taking some not so appropriate pictures, and the girls didn't really see the humor in it! But I had to get a picture!

As we got back to the boat, we got a picture with the boat behind us. It is rather large and we had a lady walking by take this picture! But you can see the large life-boats in the picture! The weather was great, and it was hot! This was going to be an awesome week!

After we got back on the boat we wanted to get to the pool. We hadn't tested out Laurens cast cover that was good for full-submersion! Lauren, I could tell, was a little apprehensive about whether or not it would work. I had heard her all week say 'im not snorkeling, im just going to sit on the beach and collect shells'. She was very sure of herself. So out came the 'claw'. I put it on her and we pumped the air out. It did form a great seal around the top of her arm.

Into the pool we went! She was still a little worried. Slowly she got more wet and more out into the pool. After about 5-10 minutes she was doing whatever. And you could see, the more she was in the water, the more she was relieved that she could, in fact, get wet & have some fun!

Lauren didn't even mind that we referred to her cover as her 'claw'. She kind of liked it!

Here's one of the many boats that encircle the boat when docking or pulling out! Notice the horsepower on the back!

After a few round of bartenders walking by with drinks, the girls realized they could have one. See, they don't put any liquor in it until after you order it! Mango-Tango it is! Actually Allison wanted the glass, but the drink wasn't bad either! Sometimes we think Lauren actually got a few with the alcohol!

The girls were having a blast and so was I. It was nice to be away from laundry, away from possibly picking up a shift, away from everything!

Lauren on our balcony, with one of the Carnival ships behind us. After we had gotten off and looked at both our boat and the Carnival ship, ours was HUGE! Lauren had poured some apple juice and said this was 'her drink'. ha ha

Here we are pulling out from Key West. How beautiful. The weather is perfect. The boat is awesome and this is only the beginning, wow, what a great week this is going to be!~

Later we had walked around the boat for awhile before dinner! Notice Allison showing off her new shirt already! And no tongue sticking out! Guess she doesn't owe me any $$, yet anyways!

All aboard........!!!!!!

The dreaded wait that we were going to have to experience upon checking in was short-lived. WOW! We pulled up, got all our checked bags out, and Chris went to park the car in the garage across from Terminal 25, which was our terminal. We entered a huge warehouse, the girls each carried their passports and I had our online check-in information ready.

We were able to walk right up to an agent to check us in. That took all of 5 minutes, followed the flow, got our picture taken and then headed up the gangway to 'officially' board the boat.

The SeaPass cards we got at check-in are our room keys as well as our on-board spending account. No cash! Everything you do or get goes against this card. We headed up and they input each of our cards into a card reader, where our face is matched with the card, so everytime we get on and off the boat, the card get swiped. As we came to the end of the gangway, here was our first step on the boat!
After getting through this, Lauren immediately got a green armband with her Muster station listed. This was for all kids under 12. This enables any staff member, in case of an emergency, to get her to the correct Muster station where she would meet us! Allison didn't need one!

We dropped everything off in the room and then headed out to explore the ship prior to departure. We went up to Deck 10 and took this picture!

This was what we found looking out! Wow, was this a good sign or what? Beautiful! After everyone had boarded, they had made several announcement about the Muster drill! Everyone is responsible to respond and they didn't make us wear our life-jackets! The horns sounded and off we went.

These life-boats are much bigger than what you would think a life-boat would be. They each hold 150 persons! I think back to the Titanic and even the movie...those life-boats sure wouldn't have held half that number. But they are huge!

Here is a view from our balcony off the back of the boat. If you follow the coastline, you can see Miami.......Key West, next stop!

After Lauren found out they had ping-pong tables, it was over! I never knew the girls loved ping-pong so much! But I would soon find out exactly how much they love it!

Pelican Grand Beach Resort-Ft. Lauderdale

We got into Ft. Lauderdale about 4p and checked in to the Pelican Grand Beach Resort. I found it on Hotels.com and fell in love with it. Mainly because they had a lazy river that ran around the pool, and I thought Lauren would love it, not to mention the old-fashioned ice-cream parlor!

This is the view from our balcony. The suite was awesome, after walking in there were two full rooms, the first had 2 queen-sized beds and the second, which was divided by a glass wall, had a couch, loveseat and chair, it also had a small table with 4 chairs to eat, as well as a refridgerator and tv. The girls loved it!

The girls wanted to head out on the beach since the lazy river was closed (we found out they closed at 5p). Lauren wanted to collect some sand and shells. Lauren put her bathing suit on but Allison didn't want to. They played in and out of the water, just getting their feet wet!

I took a tons of pictures of them playing in the ocean but this one I loved. They must have ran back and forth 100 times, trying not to get too wet! We stayed out for awhile, but then some dark clouds were coming and I saw a strike of lightening so that pretty much did it for us!

The next morning, we got breakfast and Lauren wanted to be the 1st one in the lazy river! So everyone got their bathing suits on and we headed to the pool. The lazy river didn't open until 9am and it was just a little before, so we tested out the waterproof case I bought for the Canon and headed into the pool!

Lauren put one of her cast covers on and as soon as the guy opened the lazy river, Lauren was the first in line! ha ha. She loved it! I took a few pictures of them before I got my own floatation device!

I think even Allison was having a good time! Which is amazing, since that 13 year old attitude pretty much takes over, unless shes sleeping! Are all 13 year olds like this?

I could have stayed on this for the entire day. Gone to sleep and made the pool guy wake me up at 5p! Lucky for us, there was no one else in the lazy river the entire time we were there!

After awhile in the pool and the lazy river the girls wanted to go back to the ocean. The water felt pretty good and Lauren did manage to get alot of shells!

Port Everglades is just around the furthest point you can see in this picture! The day was beautiful and we were more than excited to board the boat! Royal Caribbean ..... here we come!

We got everything put together and headed out to Port Everglades!