What we did while aboard the Carnival Liberty

For the last 3 years we have been on a cruise with Kayla's work. They are very generous in taking us places and rewarding their employees. It is very nice of them and we are glad they take us with. I would have to say this is the best cruise we have been on as far as the boat but last years stops were better. See the pictures below about our stops. As far as the boat we enjoyed the food, entertainment, and actives much more this time than in the previous two years. We were on the Carnival Liberty. It is only two years old, the length of 3 football fields and taller than the statue of liberty. I enjoyed going down the water slide and Kayla really liked the Karaoke Bar. She did even get up to sing Walk Like and Egyptian. We went to a few of the different Las Vegas style shows and one of Kayla's co-workers performed as James Brown in the Carnival Legends show. The ship puts on a production of famous music artist like James Brown, Madonna, Garth Brooks ... It was pretty good. We went to the Midnight buffet which was really cool. The chefs on board are culinary geniuses. They have some amazing talent. I wish I could prepare food like they do. Flowers out of vegetables, amazing cakes, and squash shaped like birds. I think because we involved ourselves more with what the boat had to offer, and not play cards for hours like we did the last two times, we enjoyed it a lot better. One night we even stayed up late and danced. It was so fun because you would go from bar to bar then they ended up on the Lido deck, (top floor) and danced some more in the Mardi Gras celebration. It was a BLAST! Kayla participated in some group called "Ocean of Gratitude" when the lunar eclipse came they got out some drums and chanted to the moon. I thought it was really weird but she said it was actually quite fun! Anyway we had an awesome time on the cruise but reality hit us like a ton of bricks on Monday when we got home so I took an extra day off. Now that I am back I will be more frequent with the posts.

Panama

The last stop of the cruise was in Panama. We of course went to see the Panama Canal. It was only a 2 hour bus ride, one way, to get there but it was worth it. We did however, start off with some trouble. Our group of 40 went out to find the tour guide a little early. If you have ever been on a Cruise you know that the locals swarm you when you get off the Pier because that is how they make a living. Well our tour guide was not there so we asked for some help. BIG MISTAKE. The company that helped us tried to sabotage the other company that we actually went with because i am sure they wanted our business. Needless to say we sat in our bus for about 45 minutes waiting for them to negotiate with the Panamanian police and the other company. Well, we finally got to the Panama Canal and it is very Americanized because it was part of the US until December 1999. The locks though are really not that big. I was thinking huge but a cruise ship could never fit in it. But it really does save time for the cargo haulers. The toll is really expensive but they save time and gasoline by using it. After we saw the canal we went to the capital city and saw their version of the White House. What a dump and the city surround it is the same way. We also saw the set of the new James Bond movie that is coming out this year. It was also a dump but they had tried to clean it up a little for that. That is all we had time to do in Panama because of the length of time it took to get back to the ship. We arrived back right on time but the ship did leave two hours late because of one of the ship tours was delayed. Overall it was really cool to see the Panama Canal but everywhere else was very dirty and i don't think i would want to just fly there for a vacation.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica was the second stop on our cruise. Here we had booked a tour with the majority of Kayla's office. It started off on a river boat tour where we saw some monkeys, sloths and caiman (small crocodiles). Then we went to Cahuita National Park where we got to walk on the beach again. Here we saw the Howler monkeys much closer and even heard them howl. SCARY because when they howl then throw thier poo at you. We ate some lunch and saw many different parts of the country. We spent a lot of time driving but as we did our tour guide kept us informed about the culture and animals. As an FYI a male snake has two penises and a female bat gives birth to her young while upside down so she has little catcher thingies to help out. Our guide was actually really smart but she could have been a little more tactful and not so racist against the Nicaraguans. The first thing she did tell us though was to watch out for the little kids because they are the ones that will rob you. So we were nervous from the get go but overall we had an enjoyable time and did our souviner shoping inside the port.

Cozumel

Our first stop on the cruise was Cozumel Mexico. We decided to just go to the beach and then to some Mayan Ruins. It was a really fun stop. The beach could have been a little bigger and less rocky but the weather was excellent and the resort was actually really clean. After we went snorkeling we got our bus driver to take us to the Mayan Ruins. They were really cool and old. It was supposed to be some sort of temple where people would go to get married or pregnant. We did stand under the fertility arch but we are NOT going to have another baby. We shopped for a couple of hours before going back to the ship. It was fun just to hang out and be on vacation.

A quick trip to Idaho

February was a month of vacations. The 8th – 10th we drove up to Kuna Idaho (by Boise) to visit our friends Justin and Megan Patterson. The drive is sooooooo long but it was worth it. We watched movies, hung out, ate and found me some new shoes. Kayla and Megan have been friends for a long time and Justin and I have been friend for a long time too. In fact, it was them who set us up on our first blind date. And here we are married now for almost 4 years. It is good to have such fine friends. My other good friend Brady came with us. The pictures are mostly of Jaca, their dog who was named after the Brazilian fruit. It was a great weekend I just wish they didn’t live so far away.

Wyatt was certainly not a fan of riding Jaca

Brady is not much of a dog fan either but he seemed to like Jaca

Happy Early Valentines Day

Kayla and I have a couple of busy weekends a head of us so we decided that we aren't going to celebrate Valentine's Day. In the past I tend to have gone overboard, and for some unknown reason end up at Kayla's work with flowers and candy. But this year I am really not going to do that. This year the day after Valentine's Day we will be on a plane heading to Florida to go on our cruise so any flowers that I purchase would just sit in our unattended house to die. Totally not worth the $50.00 to not enjoy them. So to make it up to Kayla I made her chocolate covered strawberries, pretzles, cinnamon lips and straberry flavored peeps (shaped like hearts of course.) Even though we don't need these delicious treats I couldn't help but let them get the best of me. I ate 3 tonight and will probalby eat several more tomorrow. I love my valentine.

Here's the picture of how they turned out. They are sooooooo good. I am hoping to be able to save some to take on our trip to Idaho this weekend. but my sarcastic, yet practical, inner-self says YEAH RIGHT!!