Monday, May 16, 2005
Celebration
Cruise time… where do we start. I am sorry it took so long to post this, but I had to make sure and do it when I knew I had enough time to write about all our adventures! Let me just say this, the cruise was AWESOME! Tyler LOVED it. I mean this child went on the Disney Cruise when he was 3 and he has not stopped talking about it since – you can only imagine how excited he was for this one. The first day on the boat we got on at about 3 and the weather was not super hot, so the pool water was way too cold for my Floridian child! Other kids were swimming, but he was not having it. That night I took Tyler to the Camp Carnival Family party. It was pretty funny because it was the “club” on the boat and they were playing music like that, but there was a whole bunch of kids there. We danced and they played a couple games and then they had the dancing contest… They had the kids against the parents and they chose the best mom, best dad and the best boy and girl. Guess who got the trophy for the best dancing mom???? You guessed it – ME! Tyler was so proud. It was that whole American Idol moment all over again. Tyler didn’t win for best boy, although I truly think he should have, some African American child won whom I have to say danced a whole lot like Michael Jackson. Tyler was dancing up a storm, he’s pretty good. He got this ribbon with a medal on it. It was a fun time.
The second day it took him like an hour but he finally ventured into the water. I have to say for most the trip he swam or ate ice cream. There was an ice cream machine right by the pool and he must have had like 40 ice creams!!! He moved from pool to pool. At first we were by the children’s pool, then he made it into the 4ft pool, and it wasn’t until the last day that he got in the big pool. It was perfect because all us girls just laid out and he swam around.
When we were in Key West, we rented an Electric car and a moped. Tyler loved the moped!! It was so funny to see him on the thing. I was cracking up. The ship got in Key West at 7:30am and left by 2:30pm, so we didn’t really have that much time there. We rode all around, we saw the Southern Most Point, we saw Hemmingway’s house, the Little White House, and we saw a really old cemetery with the graves above ground! We saw the Aids Memorial and all kinds of other things. Vicky had the map and she got us all over that town! After that we shopped all around near the cruise ship. Tyler got some little pirate men and then we went to the Key Lime Pie factory and I have the BEST picture of Tyler from there. You will really laugh when you see it, I will post it soon.
In the Bahamas we went to Blue Lagoon. It was like a Tropical Paradise!! It was so pretty, I just loved it. That was the day that we had probably the best weather of the whole trip, but still not great. The sun was coming in and out. As soon as we got there Tyler got right in the water and was swimming in the crystal blue water. He had his mask and snorkel on and even saw some fish. We decided to snorkel, but the only ones brave enough were me, Vicky and Tyler! (Truth be known, I might not have been brave enough if it wasn’t for Tyler.) The water was FREEZING! When you went to the side of the island to snorkel on you walked out a couple feet through these rocks and then the water got really deep, probably like 20 feet. It was strange because you would be over these rocks and think it was shallow and then when you would get in an open area it was so deep! This was Tyler’s first time snorkeling in the ocean, so all these factors were adding up. Poor little guy was trembling he was so cold. And I think the water depth really got to him. He had never been in water this deep before. So, he was holding on to me for dear life and I thought he was going to drown me. (We both had life jackets on, but you know I am dramatic!) Anyway, we are snorkeling along and he was doing really well. We saw all kinds of fish; clown fish, Dora from Finding Nemo, white fish with blue lips, and a really long ribbonfish. It was so nice, we even saw a gigantic sea urchin! So, here we are snorkeling along and what should we come across? How about a 8 foot shark!! Yes, true story. There was a nurse shark right below us (like 15-20 feet) hanging out. I think it could have been sleeping, because he was just there. I wanted to Tyler to see him, and he did. So here we are in the water with this giant shark and of course some other drunken snorklers, so one really smart guy swam down to the shark and pulled his tail!! The shark just gave a big swat of his tail and stayed exactly where he was, but that was a little scary because I thought that thing was going to come after us! After that Tyler was a little freaked out and wanted out of the water. Smart kid huh? When we took him back to shore that was when we found out the shark was 8 feet long. I guess it is always around there and has never bothered anyone. Vicky took a whole bunch of pictures of it, but I don’t think they turned out too good. Of course once Tyler got out of the water he was telling everyone he saw a shark.
Overall, the trip was a blast. I think Tyler really enjoyed himself. I have some really sweet pictures of Tyler, I will post them really soon.
The second day it took him like an hour but he finally ventured into the water. I have to say for most the trip he swam or ate ice cream. There was an ice cream machine right by the pool and he must have had like 40 ice creams!!! He moved from pool to pool. At first we were by the children’s pool, then he made it into the 4ft pool, and it wasn’t until the last day that he got in the big pool. It was perfect because all us girls just laid out and he swam around.
When we were in Key West, we rented an Electric car and a moped. Tyler loved the moped!! It was so funny to see him on the thing. I was cracking up. The ship got in Key West at 7:30am and left by 2:30pm, so we didn’t really have that much time there. We rode all around, we saw the Southern Most Point, we saw Hemmingway’s house, the Little White House, and we saw a really old cemetery with the graves above ground! We saw the Aids Memorial and all kinds of other things. Vicky had the map and she got us all over that town! After that we shopped all around near the cruise ship. Tyler got some little pirate men and then we went to the Key Lime Pie factory and I have the BEST picture of Tyler from there. You will really laugh when you see it, I will post it soon.
In the Bahamas we went to Blue Lagoon. It was like a Tropical Paradise!! It was so pretty, I just loved it. That was the day that we had probably the best weather of the whole trip, but still not great. The sun was coming in and out. As soon as we got there Tyler got right in the water and was swimming in the crystal blue water. He had his mask and snorkel on and even saw some fish. We decided to snorkel, but the only ones brave enough were me, Vicky and Tyler! (Truth be known, I might not have been brave enough if it wasn’t for Tyler.) The water was FREEZING! When you went to the side of the island to snorkel on you walked out a couple feet through these rocks and then the water got really deep, probably like 20 feet. It was strange because you would be over these rocks and think it was shallow and then when you would get in an open area it was so deep! This was Tyler’s first time snorkeling in the ocean, so all these factors were adding up. Poor little guy was trembling he was so cold. And I think the water depth really got to him. He had never been in water this deep before. So, he was holding on to me for dear life and I thought he was going to drown me. (We both had life jackets on, but you know I am dramatic!) Anyway, we are snorkeling along and he was doing really well. We saw all kinds of fish; clown fish, Dora from Finding Nemo, white fish with blue lips, and a really long ribbonfish. It was so nice, we even saw a gigantic sea urchin! So, here we are snorkeling along and what should we come across? How about a 8 foot shark!! Yes, true story. There was a nurse shark right below us (like 15-20 feet) hanging out. I think it could have been sleeping, because he was just there. I wanted to Tyler to see him, and he did. So here we are in the water with this giant shark and of course some other drunken snorklers, so one really smart guy swam down to the shark and pulled his tail!! The shark just gave a big swat of his tail and stayed exactly where he was, but that was a little scary because I thought that thing was going to come after us! After that Tyler was a little freaked out and wanted out of the water. Smart kid huh? When we took him back to shore that was when we found out the shark was 8 feet long. I guess it is always around there and has never bothered anyone. Vicky took a whole bunch of pictures of it, but I don’t think they turned out too good. Of course once Tyler got out of the water he was telling everyone he saw a shark.
Overall, the trip was a blast. I think Tyler really enjoyed himself. I have some really sweet pictures of Tyler, I will post them really soon.
