We're BAACCKK!!!

We just came back from a fabulous 8 day trip to Florida and the Caribbean, compliments of Kelly's wonderful Grandma. We had a blast. We had such a fun time and enjoyed spending time with all of Kelly's family, cousins, aunt and uncle and grandparents. But blasts do not come without adventures and we had our share of those too.



The Friday before we left to go on our trip, Mads came home from school and had the chills. I didn't think much of it (it has been below freezing here for a long time), and so I kept on packing. Halle found me a while later and informed me that Mads, yes, my active, little Madison, was taking a nap... Now that got my attention. I can't tell you the last time Mads had a nap, like NEVER. Mads had a fever, and was just kind of tired. Not too bad. No barfing etc. I can do tired subdued Madison. I even like her like that. She seemed to snap out of it on Sat before we left and was fine. In fact on the plane ride to Tampa, my girls were amazing. Great travelers. It was so cute to see their faces light up as we entered the plane and then lifted off the ground. I also made them swear that they would leave their little cousin alone for a couple of days when we got there so that if we were contagious, we would not share with him.





I dropped Mike and the girls off at our hotel (at the cold swimming pool), and went back to the airport to pick up my sister-in-law, Jenny, and nephew. When I arrived, the airport paged me overhead, and I got to go directly to the gate to pick them up. When I got there, Jenny was sitting on the floor, holding my 20 month old nephew. He was only wearing diapers, and was eating cheese puffs. She told me that on her plane ride over my nephew Ryder had had a seizure (probably febrile) on the plane. The paramedics were there, and trying to help her. Poor Jenny. And my brother, Todd, was all the way across the country in California, poor guy. We went back to the hotel to chat with Mike and to see what he thought about Ryder.

My parents showed up an hour later, and Mike and my mom took Jenny to the hospital to get my nephew checked out. We were leaving on a cruise the next day, and medical care in the middle of the ocean is not what it is like on land, even in the Caribbean. They admitted my nephew to the hospital over night to run some tests on him to make sure that all was well.

Meanwhile, my girls went and had a sleepover with my sisters, and partied like rock stars until WAY past their 7 pm deadline. Mads woke up the next morning (from about 2am on) with a fever of about 104. My sister called me about 8am to let me know. We drugged Madison up, and she seemed to be doing pretty good.

We went to the Tampa Bay aquarium, which was right by the cruise ship. Halle and Mads got to pet sting-rays, and Halle got to see her first live hammerhead sharks! They were less than 2 feet long, but SOOOO COOL. She could have stayed there all day. By the time we boarded the Cruise ship, Halle needed a nap due to excessive partying the night before with the aunts. In the meantime, my nephew was cleared and deemed OK. They were discharged from the hospital made it to the ship with an hour before we set sail.






The girls loved the ship. Mads was so impressed with how big it was. It was an obsession before we left, and Carnival did not disappoint. They also loved "what time is it, Grandpa?"...the code words for "Let's go get ice cream"! There were glass elevators that you could see the 9 floor atrium through.



Halle of course got sick next, so our "Fun Day at Sea" was spent with Mike and I trading off staying in our room with sick Halle. Mads loved the hot tub, and spent A LOT of her time there. Jenny, my sister-in-law, also came down with the flu. (At least we did not share it with her).





Tuesday we went to the Grand Cayman Islands. We went to Sting Ray City, a sand bar just off the island. It was so much fun. Mads kissed a sting ray. Halle was still not feeling good, and so her dream of kissing sting rays.... well, it was not fulfilled. I guess we will just have to go back. Mike had the time of his life. He would love to live in the ocean. They got to do some diving in the reefs surrounding the island. He found starfish, conch, and all sorts of other things. Mads got her first taste of salt water and was not really impressed. Oh, and it was the day that I got sick with the flu too! But, I mean really - where would you rather be sick - at home, on the couch or sitting on a beach in the Caribbean? I choose the Caribbean.









Wednesday, we went to Cozumel, Mexico. It was very fun. We went to a place called Paradise Beach. They had an inflatable iceburg, sea trampoline, a bungie jumping thing, and a place where you could climb the palm trees. It was kind of windy, but we still had a fantastically fun day.







Thursday, we woke up to Belize City, Belize. The water was really choppy outside so we decided to take a few of us in to cancel the excursion that we were planning. When we got there, the weather in Belize was perfect, so we convinced Mike, and two of my sisters to go without us. They had a blast. They took a small boat to the reef to do some snorkeling. (Mike's only complaint was that they had to wear life jackets!) They had many interesting adventures.... and met some interesting natives. (including one that had a phallic tattoo with wings. He loved my sisters). Mike was even given a drink called the "bitters". I guess it is supposed to increase stamina (wink wink!). My mom was a little concerned that she left the three of them alone without supervision.





Friday, we were able to go to Roatan, Honduras. It is a beautiful, undeveloped island off of the coast of Honduras. Mads spent the day looking for seashells. Mike spent hours of the day snorkeling ("the most amazing in the world!"). And Halle and I did a lot of cuddling. Neither of us were feeling stellar still.









On our last "Fun Day at Sea" we finally signed Mads up for the Kids Club that they have on board. She got to do some face paining, and hunting for Fun Ship Freddy. She was in a talent show, where she did the watered down version of the "Macarena". And most importantly Mike and Mads did a family scavenger hunt and due to some "thinking outside the box" they won. And now we have what they affectionately call a "24 K plastic piece of ship on a stick". It was a proud moment.







It was sad to come home. We miss family and the fun times that we had. It will be a trip to remember. Despite the girls and I getting sick (and Jenny and Ryder too) and spending most of our time recovering, we still had so much fun. I'd do it again in a heartbeat...just as soon as I get over my cough!