Spring Break Cruise

On March 31st we headed to Ft Lauderdale and set sail on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas.  It was our first cruise and we were all so exicted. 

The ship was even larger than we thought that it would be when we finally saw it!



From Port Everglades, we passed right by the jetty where we have stood and watched so many other cruise ships depart during our vacations at the Lago Mar. 

Emory and Ellie couldn't wait to check out all of the activities that the ship had to offer.  There were so many different things to choose from!

One of the things that makes the Navigator special is the ice skating rink on board.  They had a really fantastic ice skating show and free-skate times for passengers too.

Another fun activity was the rock climbing wall.  It was located on the top deck of the ship and was definitely not for those who are afraid of heights!  Dan,  Emory and Ellie had no problems at all and each rang the bell at the top of the wall!

Check out the fashionable footwear!

Emory went first and climbed straight to the top.

Dan was next...

...and then Ellie.

There was also a small rollerblading track on board.

A favorite of everyone was the miniature golf on the top deck.  Boy was it windy though!

Dan and I enjoyed a little time reading by the pool and even visited the gym once while on board.

The kids were great and even seemed to enjoy getting dressed for dinner each night.  The food was fabulous and available everytime you turned around.

Here we are after dinner on formal night.

It was amazing to be at sea on a huge cruise ship and be ice skating!

On our third morning at sea, we woke to a beautiful sunrise as we pulled into the port in Cozumel.  Our little sleepy heads were a little tired!

We decided to spend our day in Cozumel at the Paradise Beach Club. 

It had lots of fun activities for the kids like floating slides, trampolines, kayaks and even a floating iceburg to climb!

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Emory loved the trampoline.

Dan rented a jet ski and took Emory out for a ride while Ellie got her hair braided and waited for her turn on the jet ski. 

Emory climbed the iceburg several times.  Dan even joined him up top for a picture.

It was a fabulous day at Paradise Beach in Cozumel.

Once we got back on the cruise ship, we found this cute little monkey hanging around our cabin.  The kids loved it!

Another night we returned to find this cute little elephant.

Ellie and Emory both surprised us and enjoyed spending time in the Kids Club.  They had fun activities planned each day for the kids.  Ellie participated in the talent show one afternoon.

On our last day at sea, we passed a boat of refugees who were fleeing Cuba or Mexico.  Our ship stopped and turned around to wait with them until the Coast Guard arrived.

It was a great cruise and as the sun sets on this one, Emory and Ellie are already asking when they can go on their next cruise!

Jekyll Island

Dan and Emory traveled to Jekyll Island in south Georgia one Saturday afternoon for a soccer game. Afterwards they stopped by a really neat beach on the island that has lots and lots of driftwood trees on it that are spectacular spots for taking pictures.

 

Cuteness!

So many pictures of the kids that I just had to sneak this one in...Isn't he just too cute?!?

5th Grade Field Trip

Bright and early at 6am on March 23rd, Emory and I headed to school for the 5th grade field trip to Universal Studios in Orlando.  Although it was early and still a little chilly so early in the morning, all of the kids had smiles on their faces as they sat in the cafeteria and waited for the news that the buses had finally arrived.

An hour and a half later and we had finally arrived.  We were all very happy to get off of the buses (and away from the potty!) and head to the park. Each chaperone had three students in their group.  Emory was paired with his friends Jonathan and Matthew.  They decided to hang out with their friends Jake, Mack and Thomas. They were a great group of boys!

The first stop once they got through the park gates was the Hulk roller coaster.  A great choice! All of the boys decided to take on the challenge of the Hulk except for 2 who waited patiently.

Next, all of the boys were ready to get wet and rode the Popeye water ride. 

They rode it over and over. 

 ...and boy did they get wet!!! 

The biggest attraction of the day was the new Harry Potter section of the park.  Emory had been there before since he is a huge HP fan but several of the boys were visiting for the first time.  Here they found the longest lines of day but they all waited patiently and just enjoyed hanging out together.  No one skipped the chance to ride the new HP motion simulator ride (even though I thought it was much scarier than the Hulk!)

 It was a really fun (exhausting!) day and hopefully a lot of great memories for these boys.

Ellie's Field Trip

All 8 second grade classes from Mill Creek Elementary took a field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo on March 22nd.  It was a hot day but the kids were so excited and had such a great time running around the zoo together and checking out all of the animals.

One of the newest members of the zoo family was a super cute baby zebra.

The newest area of the zoo that just recently opened is called All About Dinosaurs.  They have added 16 animatronic dinosaurs that are very lifelike.  They move and make noises as you walk by and a couple even squirt water at you out of the blue!  It was a fun exhibit!

Ellie rode the zoo carousel and chose to ride the zebra...maybe in honor of the newest member of the zoo?

My favorite animal at the zoo and Ellie's second favorite animal is the giraffe.  At our zoo, you can purchase leaves that you can hand feed to the giraffes as they walk up to a platform to eat.  This time Ellie and I counted more than 10 giraffes, many of which were youngsters and just so cute!

Feeding them is so much fun that it really does make you want to spend the entire afternoon there!

On each trip to the Zoo we always get our picture made with the elephant statues.

This time Elllie even took one of me since Dan swears that I'm not in a single picture on this blog!

The class had to leave early so that the school buses could get back to pick up all of the children but Ellie and I hung around for a few more hours to enjoy a fun day together.