Monday, May 3rd-dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa Jenne's at 8:00 a.m. and then headed to the airport where we met up with Mis and & Kal. Our flight took off at 11:00 and we arrived in Long Beach at 12:00 (and no it took longer than an hour but with the time change....) Once we arrived, I was immediately in heaven because of the shining sun and how warm it was outside. I was surprised by the Long Beach airport though and how run down it was especially since coming from the nice SL airport. My dad & brother then picked us up at approximately 12:48 pm (I only know this because we all made bets and Jake was only one minute away from the actual time they arrived). We then headed to the Carnival ship where we proceeded to check in. My parents were kind enough to take our suitcases so we didn't have to pay to fly them there. As we were checking in, Wes (Emmy's husband) pulled out an emormous pocketknife and said "Can I take this in" to which we all responded "NO" and so they had to go put it in the car before proceeding to check in. We all got on the boat around 2:00 and of course headed to the buffet where we stuffed our faces. We then checked the boat out and before we knew it, the boat was launched. We didn't actually get to see this launching though because we waited and waited at 5:30 and then finally left just after six to the dining room, to which it then took off right after. We had a great beginning dinner and everyone again stuffed their faces. Afterwards, I can't really remember what we did. But it was fun. We hit the sacks sometime that night to which Jake then woke up at 4:00 a.m. the next morning and roamed the boat for a few hours before the rest of the world woke up!
Tuesday: The boat anchored by Catalina and so we took a ferry over around 9:00 to hit our 9:30 kayaking time. This was by far the best part of our trip for most of us. It was so fun kayaking in the ocean down the side of Catalina where there weren't many people. We saw a sea lion and luckily no sharks. We went about 2 miles down and then stopped for a bit. Our guide gave us cookies which were good until Missy laid on them. Wes & Jake found lunch for us! Well not really but a big daddy crab and a wee little crab. So that was fun. We also hunted for seashells and found a pink one for Sam. After our kayaking adventure (and no one tipped) we met up with Mom, Dad, Krissy, and Scott. They went parasailing which we didn't see since we were kayaking but heard it was AWESOME. I can't wait to see pics of those! We then had a snack and then went snorkeling. We saw TONS of fish but the water was really cold and even with wetsuits we didn't last more than 45 minutes or so. After, we got back on the boat and ladadadaa. Not really sure what else we did. Oh yeah. The formal dinner. Dressed up, took some pics and stuff. Maybe a show. Arcade games later.
Wednesday: We were in Ensendada Mexico. The boys left at 8:00 a.m. to golf and didn't meet back up with us until 6:00 p.m. that night. Apparently they did 18 holes at some really cool place. Us girls went into the city and bought some souvenirs where I unfortunately got pick pocketed. That part stunk but everyone loaned me some cash so I survived. We then came back and ate and waited for the boys. When they didn't show, we went back over again so Emmy could get a sparkly bracelet that she had desperately wanted. We took a taxi ride back which was kind of scary and I am suprised we survived but we made it to dinner and there met up the boys. My mom was worried that something had happened to them, but I knew better. The funny part of the night was the note that Missy wrote. She left a note to Kal saying "We went of the boat. We will try to be back by dinner." Funny how one word can make all the difference. Of instead of off. So the boys were looking all over the boat for us. Kinda funny. Also note: if any of you or we go on a cruise again with a group of people, take walkie talkies. There is really no way to communicate with anyone since your cell phone can't be on. Makes it a little tricky to find people. Anyhow, we had dinner and later that night caught a comedy show which was REALLY funny. We also watched the boat pull out of Ensenada and that was really cool too.
Thursday: Day at sea so we went nowhere, rather we stayed on the ship. Jake, Krissy, Wes and I hit up the waterslide and boy was that fun. I learned the trick to going fast and so we FLEW down that slide. The sun was out and it felt so great. We layed by the pool, swam, ate fries and burgers, mini golfed. I also jogged around the top of the ship (they had a track) and so that was really cool. Best way to run I have found yet. At dinner that night, we celebrated Em's birthday and so that was fun. We also watched some of my family gamble and only Em came away with $25 in winnings. Later that night we packed up our stuff and hung out.
Friday: Ate breakfast and then pretty much got off the boat. My dad and brother gave us a ride to the airport. We flew and were home to pick up the girls at 4:30 to which they didn't really even seem to miss us but we sure missed them and were ready to be home. All in all, it was a great trip and I am glad to have written a novel about it!
Time for another party! It was crazy getting one party ready after the other, but Sam had a blast. She kept asking if her birthday was today again (on Sat) and I kept saying no but you are having another party. She didnt really get it though and kept asking and so finally I said "Yes it's your birthday again today to which she responded "Yes! I knew it!" So a lot of family came for a barbeque (thanks for the good cookin' Jake) and we even had a pinata for the kids which they loved. Sam loved all her presents (maybe not right after opening since presents were opened in a furry, but over the last couple of days). Thanks everyone for coming and making Sammy feel special!
