Caribbean Cruise

Joseph and I went on our first cruise with two of our favorite people: Brian and Katelyn. It was a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean, and we loved it! There were a couple days "at sea" and there were four stops. The ship had awesome food, great entertainment, and no one got seasick or sunburned.

We flew into Miami on Saturday, and had some time to check out the local beach.

Sunday we boarded the ship.

First Stop: Cozumel

Waiting for our water taxi.

We are on the water taxi going over to see the Mayan ruins.

The beach near the Mayan ruins was clear and warm.

Second Stop: Belize

Here we are on the water taxi getting off the boat. It was pretty packed. One of the workers said, "Make some friends, close your legs."

We went cave tubing in Belize. Our guide was very knowledgeable. He would pick up a leaf or a nut, and have us taste it. He showed us different trees and how the native people used them. Our pictures are on the water camera, and we haven't gotten that developed yet. I'll have to do an update later.

Third Stop: Roatan

There was a free beach in Roatan, but we found a "taxi" to take us to a different beach. It was quite possibly one of the most frightening rides I have ever been on. The roads were very windy, and you couldn't see very far ahead. That didn't stop our driver from passing four cars in a row, driving on the wrong side of the road, and speeding like a madman.

The beach was very beautiful, but I was not in a very good mood for this specific trip. Having survived the death taxi one way, I wasn't sure what was going to happen on the way home.

This was right before we got back on the ship. I was relieved to have lived through the taxi ride.

This is a shipwreck that was sitting off the coast. They asked death-cab-driver what it was, and he told them that it washed up after a hurricane. I didn't talk to the driver, I wanted him to concentrate on not crashing.

Fourth Stop: Grand Cayman

We went snorkeling here. We found a reef that was full of fish. We actually have underwater pictures for this stop because Brian and Katelyn bought a really sweet underwater digital camera.

Katelyn cracks me up. The two above pictures are two of my favorites.

It's a good thing I have a healthy self esteem level.

Standing next to Gorgeous Katelyn can really make a girl feel plain.

Joseph is happiest when someone is burying him.

I'm not even going to say what Brian is sculpting.

Other Activities

Formal dinner

Brian was hypnotized

Relaxing with our non-alcoholic beverages

This was my first time singing Karaoke. We did Dancing Queen by ABBA.

Joseph and Brian sang Billy Idol's White Wedding. Later, at a comic show, we ended up sitting next to a couple that recognized us from karaoke. They said we all did a good job, but the girls beat the boys.

Some shots from dinner

It was a really fun vacation. Thanks to Brian and Katelyn for inviting us along.

Master Closet

Joseph has been complaining recently about not having enough space in our master closet. I had 2/3 of the closet, so I was fine, but I felt kind of bad for my poor boy.

I went online and found a couple websites where you can input your closet measurements and design your own closet. It will do different kinds of hanging space (you need more space to hang dresses than shirts), add shoe racks, drawers, etc. It was going to be $1000, and we were going to have to tear down the existing shelves and install the new shelves ourselves.

We took a closer look at our closet and decided that it really wasn't too bad. There was just room for improvement. We have a double row of hanging rods and shelves to the left, and one row to the right, but the back wall is completely bare. What a waste of space.

It is so hard to take a picture of a closet. That is the back wall we decided we would build on. At first I started with a grand scheme of extra hanging space and then a shoe rack, but Joseph told me our current shoe rack was just fine, and he just wanted extra hanging space. So I drew out a plan and we headed over the Lowe's.

Just like we did for our pantry closet, I sanded down the edge of the shelf (you can see the pantry shelf blog here).

Then we put up the shelf supports.

I caulked all the gaps.

While we waited for the caulk to dry so we could paint it, I told Joseph about how the rods really needed to be changed out. Whoever installed our closet just spray painted over everything, and as the hangers would slide across the bar, it would scrape paint off. I was really tired of brushing paint chips off my clothes.

So we changed the rods out.

Do you see the paint chip mess?

Paint fumes give me a headache, so I try not to help when I can. Good thing my sweetie is so good at painting.

We cleared everything out because I didn't want my clothes smelling like paint. Afterwards, I put our air purifier in there, thinking it would take care of the smell. It has a sensor for smell and dust, and it turned out dust was more of a problem than smell, which was interesting.

I have a new rule for something being level. We measure with the level, but we had a hard time getting the shelf perfectly level, so I put a screw on top, let it sit for a second to make sure it didn't roll (forwards/backwards and left/right) and if the screw stayed put, it was level.

It's weird how much better our closet looks now. You can't see it because the door jam is hiding it, but I have a huge empty space. Joseph should be worried...anyone want to go shopping?

This project went very smoothly. Almost too smoothly...it made me a little suspicious. I'm actually considering putting in the shelves I have been meaning to add to the TV room...

Birthdays and Shelves

This week was worth blogging about. Tuesday my baby sister Breezy officially became an adult, Thursday my oldest nephew Matt officially became a teenager, and Thursday I also got a new baby niece.

Isn't she precious? She's in Texas, so I probably won't see her in person anytime soon. But I am very thankful for the internet and the ability to instantly communicate.

Friday my sister Kristi had a birthday dinner for Matt.

Handsome Boy Joseph, gorgeous sister Danielle, second oldest nephew Aus.

Here's the birthday girl!!!

And the Birthday Boy!!!!

And my Dad!!!

After dinner and cake, Joseph and I helped put up some shelves in Matt's room. We brought our drill and our skills.

I really like to tease him.

And then give him the Innocent Look.

Kristi's screwdriver made noise like a maraca. Had to dance.

Joseph hit me in the head with that nerf gun.

And earned himself the Stink Eye.

The finished product...and Kristi!