Our CRUISE!!!

WARNING! This is by far my longest post ever!!!

We had such a blast on our cruise. Our destination was switched from Cozumel, Mexico to Key West Florida. What a blessing!!! (You will see why later.) Us girls had so much fun. I went with Monika Peterson and her friend from her ward Lisa. Our sweet husbands stayed home with the kids and did a great job holding down the fort. Tim even tried to take the kids camping but because of bad weather and tornado warnings they had to come home. But they went back the next day for breakfast. It was a fathers and son's camp out but he took the girls too.

Day 1: 5:30 AM - Monika came to drop off her boys (Tony had to work so Tim watched them) and to pick me up. We went back to her house to meet up with Lisa who was driving.

6:30 am - We were on the road to ALABAMA!

11:30 am (Alabama Time) 12:30 pm (Georgia Time)- We arrived at our port in Mobile, ALABAMA. We got all Checked in and on the boat within 1/2 hour. We went and had lunch while waiting for our room to be ready. Our room was ready by 1:30 so we went and hung out.

4 pm - DRILL. We had to grab our life vest and go to the assigned area for the drill. We listened to an announcement that told us what to do and where to go if there was an emergency and then put on our life vest. That was it. We were now leaving the port. So we went out to the deck and hung out for a little while. The breeze was so nice. The port was ugly and dirty. There was junk everywhere and the water was brown and gross. But that didn't last long. After we got out of the port and actually into the ocean, it was Beautiful! It took about an hour to get out.

5:30 pm - We went and took naps. We were sooo tired! Our dinner reservation wasn't until 8:15.


7:30 pm - We woke up and thought we were gong to be late for dinner. We hurried and went to dinner. When we got there the guy said your reservation isn't until 8:15, come back in 1/2 hour. Or cell phones had switched to international time and said 8:20 - we didn't know what time it was. I had to go buy a watch from one of the stores there so we would know the time. So we went out on the deck again to enjoy the ocean view until our dinner time.

8:15 pm - Dinner. It was really nice. We had more silverware and cups on our table than we knew what to do with. It was all fancy and gourmet. Which doesn't mean good. With me, it usually means disappointing. All I wanted was a yummy juicy steak. I got a Flat Iron Steak (the only steak on the menu)and it tasted like a Salisbury steak from those frozen dinner meals. Oh well. It was a dinner I didn't have to cook or clean up after. The other girls LOVED their Shrimp Cocktails and fish. I am not a seafood person so I wouldn't know.

10 pm - After dinner we went to one of the shows. It was a welcome aboard show they did some relay races and then a guy came out and did comedy. We had some good laughs but we were so tired that we were falling asleep too.

11:30 pm - We went back out on the deck for a few min to enjoy the night air and then we went back to our room and discovered our first towel animial. Oh, we had a letter on our bed when we got back that they took my Iron because they we were not allowed to have ions in our room. They said it was a fire hazard. So now I have to worry about remembering to get my Iron before we leave the boat. Dang it! Then we went right to sleep!

Day 2: 9 am - Woke up and got ready to go out and see some sun!

10 am - We got breakfast

11 am - Got a good spot on the deck and began our sun bathing process! We laughed and talked. Read some good books/Ensign Articles and drank Virgin Pina Coladas! It was a blast! We were really enjoying our day. It was beautiful. The sun was out but there was a constant cool wind to keep it a nice day.

2 pm - Went in for a late lunch and discovered the famous animals made of fruits and veggies. I realized I was getting burned. I knew I needed to be a little more cautious in the sun and cover up more.



2:30 pm - Back on the deck to hang out more in the sun! Monika and Lisa went for a spray Tattoo! I just hung out and got back to my book that I stole from Lisa. It was so good! By Dr. Laura - In Praise of Stay-at-home Moms! I was LOVING it! I put on Sunscreen first but my can was almost empty and so I really had to spread it thin. But I thought it would still work. We watched a guy on the deck do an Ice carving and watched a Hairy Chest Contest - EWWWW!!!! I am not a person that likes hairy chest. By this time I was feeling burned and so I put a towel over my legs, shoulders and chest.


4:30 pm we went in to start getting ready for dinner. But FIRST! Had to go buy alovera spray because I was feeling really BURNED! They were too but not as bad.

8 pm - We went for dinner. It was formal night so we had to dress up in our nicest attire. I had another Steak but this time it was a - NY Strip? I cant remember. It was good. And so big, I had to split it with Monika. The girls again loved their shrimp cocktails and Lobster.

10 pm - we went out on the deck to enjoy the night air for a few minuets and to eat Ice cream. We had some good Laughs! We were like 3 teenage girls. We went and saw a show. And then went back to our room and discovered our next towel animal
and then
went to bed. Well, Monika and Lisa went to bed, I laid in bed in pain from my sun burn and couldn't sleep. After a while, I was up pacing the floor in TEARS from the PAIN!!! I could not sit or lay down to relax because I was in so much pain! I paced the hallways and said multiple prayers begging the Lord for some relief so I could lay down and sleep.

Day 3: At 5 am I again, tried to lay down and sleep after pacing the hallway all night. I couldn't. I got up and went into the bathroom and sat in the shower for a hour and let cold water run on my legs. By then, I was so tired and worn out I laid down and slept for about 20 min. Then I was up in pain again. So I got ready for the day. I couldn't wait for the medical center on board to open at 8am so I could go down there to get some pain releif for my legs.

Finally at 7:45 am I went down there and talked to a nurse. She said all she could give me was Tylenol and Alovera. I told her I already had alovera on my legs and I took the MAX Tylenol I could take in a 24 hour period! She said she couldn't help me. I called Tim in tears. He gave me some comfort.

8:05 am - I went back to my room. The girls were up getting ready.

8:30 am - We got breakfast. I couldn't even sit still to eat. I ate so fast and was up walking again. I sprayed LOTS of sun screen on my face legs and arms and we headed off the boat on to the Island of Key West. As soon as we walked outside the heat hit my legs and it was more painful. It was like getting sunburned all over again.
We walked around and found a place where we could sign up to do some fun stuff. Because I am pregnant I can't really do anything. So I just went along to video Monika and Lisa. There were so many things to do. They all sounded fun. We decided on Para sailing.

11 am - we got on a boat to para sail. I kept a towel over my legs. That kept the sun from touching them but that didn't help when somebody bumped my legs. Every time somebody bumped my legs, I was about to cry in pain. It was lots of fun to watch them para sail though. I was so envious. I really wanted to go.

12 pm - we got off the boat and started looking for our next adventure. We didn't get far. I told the girls I was in so much pain. We decided to go sit at a restaurant in the shade and relax for a bit and get lunch. Right after we sat down I looked at my legs and they were swollen up twice their normal size. I broke down in tears!!! I couldn't take it any more. I told them to go do some fun stuff and that I would meet up with them later. I was going to the hospital. They were so sweet. They said they would come with me. A guy (who was on the same cruise ship as us) in the restruant saw what was going on and offered to take me to the hospital. We had to go to a different Island to the hospital. This is my reason for being so grateful that we we did not go to Mexico or Bahamas. I don't know if I could have gotten help on either of those Islands.

12:45 pm - We walked into the hospital and Tim called to see how I was doing. I broke down in tears AGAIN! It was good to talk to him though. The girls were so sweet and kept me in good spirits. We had some good laughs.



2:45 pm - We finally got in to see the Dr. He totally understood what pain I was in. I had a 1st degree burn on my legs. He said as the cool air came across my legs my body would jump and cringe because my legs were so HOT (not sexy hot, but temp. hot). He knew it was painful. He said my legs were swelling up as a reaction to the burn and would swell more if I didn't keep the elevated. He said stay out of the sun and keep those legs elevated. He prescribed me the best pain medicine he could considering I am pregnant and couldn't give me much. I was happy with anything that would take the edge off the pain. He said there was a cream that would help more but couldn't give it to me because I was pregnant and it would absorb into the skin and go to the baby. They called us a taxi cab to take us to Walgreen's to get my prescription filled. We got it along with some Coco Butter with Aloe and some burn spray to numb the skin.



3:30 pm - We called another Taxi Cab to pick us up at Walgreen's and take us back to the Island of Key West. I went straight back to the boat and the girls went shopping. Since I didn't get a chance to get any presents for the kids, Monika grabbed a couple things for me to give the kids. I went right to my room, took my pain pills, elevated my legs and crashed! I was so tired! And I was finally able to have some relief from the pain. Oh, before I fell asleep I called Tim to give him the update. He was so sweet not to lecture me or make me feel stupid for doing a stupid thing by laying in the sun for too long without a sufficient amount of sun screen. I love my sweetheart! anyway, then I crashed. The medicine did not take the pain totally away, but it did take the edge off so I could relax.

4:30 pm - Time to be back on the boat. The girls came back and told me about the cool private beach they went to. I was so glad they went and did some other fun stuff. I felt so bad that they even went with me to the hospital. They are great!

5 pm - I ordered Room service since I couldn't walk anywhere. It was yummy! The girls ate with me since they missed lunch because we went to the hospital. We had more good laughs and hung out. Then they got ready to go to dinner

8: 15 pm - They went to dinner. I painfully got out of bed to take a shower. That was not fun! It hurt so bad!!! Then I took another pain pill, filled out my room service card for breakfast put it outside on the door and went to bed for the night. I slept soooo good!!! We didn't get a towel animal this night because I was in my room when room service came so they did the minimum and left! I only had to get up once to go potty. The pain from standing after having my legs elevated for so long was so horrible. But I had to do it. I took ANOTHER pain pill and went right back to sleep.

Day 4: We laid in bed until 9:30am when room service showed up. I was so excited because I had put on the card to come at 8:30 and I had ben awake since 8:30 waiting for it. I was so hungry. I ordered a Banana, Muffin, Milk and Cereal. The guy walks in with 10 plates on his tray along with 8 boxes of cereal 3 different drinks, plus Hot chocolate. I was thinking he had somebody elses order on there too. Then he gives it all to us. I looked at the girls and said "did you order something?" The guy handed me the room service order card and the girls started laughing. Every thing accept Coffey was checked off on the card. They did it the night before and thought they would get a good reaction out of me. They also changed the time on the card to 9:15. That is why it came so late. It was pretty funny. I was so confused at first. Between the 3 if us we ate it all. The portions were so small it wasn't that hard to do. We hung out in our PJ's until 11. IT was great! We just talked and had some good laughs.

12 pm - we got ready for Lunch. I rented a wheel chair since I couldn't walk. That was great! I think we got down to lunch about 1:00. There was a nice family that came and sat by us. We had fun talking. Then they told us there was a Chocolate Buffet upstairs until 2:30pm.

2:15 pm - We rushed up stairs to get some chocolate. Some of it was good. It was mostly gourmet which to me means, disappointing. IT was not very good. Oh, on our way to the elevators to go up to the chocolate buffet, we saw the guy that took us to the hospital. He was such a nice guy. We were ever so grateful to him for doing that.

2:30 pm - The girls took me back to the room so I could elevate my legs again and rest. On our way back to our room, I got in a wheel chair accident. Monika was driving. We were laughing so hard, I almost peed my pants! Monika thought it would be fun to run down the hall way and then jump on the back for a ride (like we used to do with shopping carts when we were kids) She ran and then hopped on and we ran right into the wall but it wasn't just the wall. It was somebodies room door. I've never seen anybody come out of their room so fast! I don't think he expected to see 3 girls with 1 in a wheel chair. I think he expected to see drunk teenagers or something. His face changed so fast from a Mad, "what was that" look to a concerned "are you ok?" He even said, "are you ok?" we were trying to not laugh and said "yea" he just shut his door. We were trying so hard to be quite until we got in our room. And then we just busted out laughing! Then went up on the deck to swim and enjoy the day. Then they came back and got ready for the evening.

7 pm - We went to the last show of our trip. They had some good performers. Their costumes were kind of small which I was disappointed about. It was supposed to be a family performance. I guess the actual performance was for families but not the costumes. Anyway, we had a good laughs with one of the guys trying to keep his pants up while dancing but they just kept falling and eventually were down around his ankles as he finished the dance. It was really funny! Luckily he had shorts on underneath.

8:15 pm - We went to dinner. We had the same waiter the whole trip so when he saw me in a wheel chair he was shocked! He said what happened?! Telling somebody you got a bad sunburn seems so stupid. And I am sure lots of people thought, I've had a bad sunburn but it didn't put me in a wheel chair. How do you explain how bad it really is? You don't. I just let them think what they wanted to think. Believe me, if I could walk, I would have. Despite the pain. But seriously, It was that painful and my legs were that swollen. My ankles wouldn't bend. So when I walked I looked like a lobster colored penguin walking or worse. LOL!

Baked Alaska

Dang! I wish I could remember the name of this one...

We got another cool towel animal

We had fun dressing it up



We also had to take some fun pictures before we returned the wheel chair.


10 pm - The girls went to another show while I stayed and got ready for bed. My legs and feet were killing me despite the pain pills. I called room service to reserve the wheel chair for then next day and found out that we needed to have our bags outside of our room by Midnight so they could pick them up. That way we didn't have to worry about carring all of our bags off while pushing me in a wheel chair. So I quickly packed. The girls came back at 11:30 and quickly packed too. We got all of our bags out by midnight and then went to bed!

Day 5: We woke up at 7:30 am. The girls went and got breakfast. I couldn't because I didn't have a wheel chair (I had to return it the night before) and it was still to painful to walk. I had a granola bar in my bag that I ate. They came back and we hung out until our number was called to get off the boat.

9:15 am - A lady came with the wheel chair and got me and the girls. She took us to get our bags and then all the way out to the curb where we waited for our car. It was so nice that I didn't have to walk at all. Then we got in the car and left. I expected it to be a sunny day but the sky was totally dark and it was raining hard. I asked the girls. "Is there a tornado warning?" I called tim to ask him and he said yes. Oh, how exciting! We quickly got on the road and got out of Mobile, AL. The sky cleared up about an hour outside of Mobile. Then I realized I forgot to get my Iron. I was so mad! I called them 3 different times for different reasons and asked them each time how to get my Iron back and they kept telling me they would give it to me when I lef the ship. Well, they didn't give it to me and I forgot to ask, as I figured I would. That is why I kept telling the girls to help me remember but, I still forgot. Dang it! Anyway, We drove back home. It took us about 6 hours to get home. Which sounds long to me but it we had so much fun talking that it did not seem that long. IT was GREAT! Dispite the PAINFUL 1st degree sunburn.

On our way home

I brought the kids some star fish.

What my legs look like today. Not lobster Red anymore but they are turning purple which is making me nervous! And still painful. I can't wait until I can quit taking these dang pain pills. They make me dizzy.