Day 5 Belize

Today I was excited to wake up and get going. Today was the day I got to meet Darlene and Johnny Glasgow. Darlene is the person I met from TWITTER on a random "God thing" post. I wanted to get off the boat quickly!!! We ate breakfast in Raffles as usual. It was weird not looking out at a port, however, while we ate. We had to tender to Belize. This means we had to take a boat to the actual port from our ship.

We made the 945ish boat and made it to port b y 10am. We got off the boat, had our pic made with the pirate and Johnny was standing there and said to Rusty "You guys must be the Tanners". Immediately there was a comfort level with him and I couldn't wait to see Darlene. She was sitting in the shade with her precious dog "Bama". Immediately we hugged and just felt at home.

They were gracious enough to take us around in Belize. We loaded up in their van after a short walk out of the port and we headed down the street. I wasn't really impressed with the way Belize looked but it was okay. They drove to their hotel where they dropped Bama off and we headed back out in the car. We went to Old Belize which apparently is a place outside of Belize City. We went to a restaurant there and ate. It was a neat restaurant. The food was great! Payton had this pizza which was absolutely scrumptious. The restaurant was an open air type restaurant and overlooked a lagoon that had a big slide and big trampoline and a beach. They had a zip line there but I don't think I would have wanted zip lining over a restaurant. It didn't look too interesting. There were some nice boats in the harbor there.

Once lunch was over, we did the tour through the info part about Belize. It was interesting. We finished that in about 15 minutes then got back in the Glasgow's van to head back to port. We stayed in Old Belize for a few hours. Once back in the van, we drove around and got to see parts of Belize we wouldn't have seen on our own. It was interesting. We went to a department type store and looked around. Johnny said this is where the Americans shop when they come to Belize. We walked around the streets for a little bit and then started to head back to the port to say goodbye to the Glasgow's and board our ship again.

Upon doing this, Rusty realized that he left our backpack back in Old Belize. This was a little scary because we only had about an hour an a half to board the boats to get back to our ship and Old Belize wasn't too close. But Johnny raced out to Old Belize, Rusty hopped out and got the backpack (which thankfully had everything still in it...passports, money... etc etc). We raced back to the port and still had time. We hugged the Glasgows with regret that we had to leave. They were gracious hosts and I felt like we had known them forever. I feel as if we have made some good friends.

After we were back in the gates of the port, we did about 30 minutes of shopping. We got Payton a Tshirt and me a sterling silver bracelet. Jackson couldn't find anything so we told him we'd get him something in Cozumel.

The boat tendered us to the ship and we immediately went to our room and began preparations for the evening. Of course, Payton and Jackson wanted to go to Raffles to grab a quick bite to eat so that's what we did.

Tonight's theme aboard the Spirit was "White Hot Party". Rusty and I didn't really participate. We walked to the Galaxy of the stars.. the night club at the front of the boat. We thought it would be really decorated white but it was just a so so thing. We stopped into the Galaxy as they were finishing up the Family Feud game or something like that. We watched for a while then it was over...so much for timing.

We went to get our photos in the photo place on the boat then sat listening to the piano guy in the main atrium. He's pretty good and we enjoy this. While there Jackson' friend's mom came and sat with us. Her name is Mary. She is a pilot in Mississippi where her husband is a psychiatrist. She and her son, Damien, went on this trip by themselves and they were a sweet family. Jackson really hit it off with Damien. They have pal'ed around all week together. We talked with her then we all headed to pick up our kids.

The kids were a little tired from the day so we are turning in aroun 1130 tonight. We have a big day in Cozumel! Looking forward to seeing it again!

Day 4 Santa Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala

Wow, I can't believe we are actually in Guatemala. The boat arrived at 8am but we didnt' get off right away. We didn't have any plans for excursions. We had heard that Guatemala wasn't the best of ports so we weren't expecting much. Boy, were we wrong.

After getting the kids up and dressed, we went back up to Raffles for breakfast. I'm getting addicted to having breakfast fixed for us and not having to clean up! :D

Once breakfast was over, we brushed our teeth (again) and got ready to disembark the boat. When we got off, we were surprised how warm it was. Jackson and I are still hurting from our burns so the warmth didn't appeal to us! We got off and took a few pictures then headed down the walk way. We got bombarded by the tour guides wanting our business. I was happy that I saw Happy Fish tours there (http://www.happyfishresort.com/) They had a wonderful tour that we decided to go on. It was only $50 per person and included fish... with the eyes still in the head and shrimp with the heads still on.. YUMMY!

We boarded our small boat with a wonderful tour guide, Sandra, and left port headed for a 5 hour tour... a 5 hour tour.....the weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed... Hey... wait.. that was another tour. Our tour was great. We got to visit 4 different places. I got to visit a school in the rain forest which was amazing and a lily field in the middle of the river. I fell into a hot spring and got to stinking like sulfur and we ended with lunch in Livingston featuring the eyeballed fish and head on shrimp. It was actually pretty good just scary. We got back on our little boat and headed back to the boat. It was a full day but the kids and Rusty and I totally enjoyed it.

We got back to port and shopped a little. We bought Payton a bracelet and mom and dad some coffee. That was about it because there was nothing else we really wanted.

After getting back onto the boat, we immediately went to the 10th floor out by the back pool and watch the boat leave the port. It was amazing. All the dancers and people at the port shopping area came out and gave us a show to send us away. Jackson remarked, "mom, look they have a sign that says 'have a good time. Consider Guatemala your home.'" He was happy that they came out to say goodbye to us. He stood on the railing and waved goodbye.

We went back to the room and got showers. The kids went to eat at Raffles and we took them to Kids Crew for the evening. They about busted down the doors going to the Kid's Crew area. Rusty and I headed to the Windows to eat but got turned away because Rusty had shorts on. We had to go back to the room to get him changed. Once changed, we enjoyed a great meal at The Windows. We strolled around for a while then went and picked the kid's up at 1030.

Going to bed shortly after wasn't too hard for us because we were wiped out. We are excited to see the Glasgow's tomorrow. I can't wait!!! Goodnight all!!!!

Day 3 Costa Maya

March 17, 2009
Well, we arrived in Costa Maya by 8am. We all got up and went to Raffles for breakfast. We had a great breakfast and then prepared to leave the boat. We got to the port and did a little shopping but then decided our best plan of action was to rent some form of transportation. We found a place that would rent us a golf cart. That was the only thing available. We rented the cart for $45 for two hours. We didn't have enough cash so we had to put a down payment on it and then cart to an ATM. We finally found ONE ATM in the entire place. THAT was an experience.

We didn't know what the exchange rate was so we just took out $200 pesos (it wouldn't give us the dollar amount). We found out that we had taken out basically $14. HA! So with a very hesitant moment.... we took out $3000. Now, that scared me because I had no clue how much $3000 pesos was. But, we had enough to pay the guy the remaining money when we returned the cart.

We got caught up with a hammock salesman! I went in to look at his hammocks and couldn't get away from him. So, I did something VERY sneaky and asked Rusty to come over. When he walked over I turned away and left! I was thinking Rusty was stronger than I was and would walk away. Well, he did walk away... with a Hammock! But the guy originally wanted $40 from me and Rusty got the hammock for $20!

We walked down a bit and he bought some Cuban cigars. It was interesting as well. The guy wouldn't take no from Rusty. So, he bought these cigars.. which will go unsmoked!

After we shopped, we got back in the cart and I drove us down the strip out of town. We got to see the devastation from the hurricane that hit Costa Maya (I believe it was last year). We drove down the beach a ways then decided we needed to return the cart and eat lunch.

We returned the cart, payed our balance then went to a restaurant at the port. This port is about all that is Costa Maya. There isn't much of the town other than the port. We ate at a restaurant there. I had nachos....they were DELICIOUS

After we ate, it was time to go snorkeling. The kids have never gone before so we knew this was going to be a blast for them. We went to our meeting point at the dock and met our excursion group. From there, we took a big open jeep type deal and headed toward the place where the catamaran was. We loaded the boat, and started our sail to the snorkel spot.

We were given the masks and flippers to try on first.... and thus, the picture of Payton and me! We dove in and began exploring. While this wasn't our most beautiful snorkel ever, the kids had fun. They were amazed at all the sea life down there. I know they were amazed at all the beautiful fish. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes and then loaded back into the boat. We headed back to the dock, gathered our stuff and, basically, sprinted back to the boat. We were the last people to arrive back at the boat. Once we got on board, the boat took off. We weren't even on the top of the deck to watch the disembarkation good! whew! We did witness one of the most amazing sunsets in the Carribbean though. SSSIIIGGGHHHH

NCL Day 2

March 16, 2009
Well, today we got burned up...literally. I guess I had forgotten how strong the sun was on the water. Jackson and I got totally and completely burned. The sun didn't seem as strong as it was. Live and learn!

We spent the entire day out by the pool. Rusty was the smart one by staying in the shade. He was reading a book he needed to read for work.... ok.. REST already! But, he was smart. He didn't get burned at all. Payton and I went up to the big Tivolli pool. It is nice. It is the biggest pool on the boat and has 4 hot tubs on either corner. The bands play up there. Today they had a reggae sounding band. Payton and I stayed up there so she could be around kids her own age. Jackson was in the back of the boat with Rusty in the kids Buccanneer place. Both places are amazing.

Payton decided to go to the Wii sports tournament in the NCL Kid's crew. She stayed there most of the afternoon therefore, NOT getting sunburned like Jackson and I!

After a day in the sun, we went back to our room and got dressed for dinner. We ate at Raffles tonight. It is the buffet style restaurant. It was okay. Not as good as last night. I guess I just like being waited on not waiting on myself.

After dinner, Jackson wanted to go to the Kid's Crew. So, he went there and Payton, Rusty and I went to the Stardust Theatre for the performance. It was WONDERFUL. They did all the songs from broadway musicals in a new way. It was so cool. Afterward, we went to Family Karoake started. We went into the little pub (Henry's Pub) for Karoake. Payton and I sang. Rusty refused to sing by himself but he sang with me. We were about the only ones singing for a while. I think Payton intimidated everybody! But, the spring breakers came in and they hammed it up and we had a great time. We left at 1030 to get Jackson then retired to our room to get ready for a day in Costa Maya.

Day 1 on the NCL

March 15, 2009
Today is the first day of our cruise. It was a good day and very tiring! We got up and thought we’d head to downtown New Orleans to Café Du Monde but when we got there, the line was almost 2 blocks long…. Yeah… so we rethought that! We went down to the French Market and bought my mom a pin that she wanted us to get. Afterward, we went to a café in the market and had an outstanding breakfast. Jackson was antsy to get to the ship so we went back to the hotel and loaded everything into a taxi cab. The taxi was $28 to drive us almost 5 blocks. CRAZY! We got here, got all unloaded, got in line and almost checked in when I realized that I didn’t have the pictures we are supposed to take the missionaries in Belize. I was sick! But, we got all checked in, made our pictures, came to our room and I decided to head back to the hotel to get the pictures out of the truck. I was sick that I didn’t think to get them in the first place. Rusty and the kids stayed on board and just hung out. It really only took me about 30 minutes to get the stuff and get back on board….but an additional $11!!!! Ha! When we got on board we went touring the ship. It is a great ship. The kids wanted to go swimming but their suits were in the luggage which hadn’t made it to our stateroom yet. Jackson got extremely bored. Finally, our luggage made it (actually pretty quickly). The kids changed into their suits and Rusty took them to the pool. I stayed in the room and settled us into the room. The room is quite small. We didn’t realize this when we bought this room! We are basically wall to wall beds. Payton is on a floor bed, Jackson is on a drop down overhead bed and Rusty and I are in the big beds. Tomorrow, we may try Jackson in bed with us while Payton in the overhead.

After I finished, I found the kids and Rusty on the 11th floor by the big pool. It is a gorgeous pool . It looks like a Venetian/Greek style pool. We were there for a little while when we decided to go eat dinner (since we didn’t each lunch). We ate tonight in The Garden Restaurant. It was good. Rusty had a steak, Jackson had the chicken, Payton had pasta, and I had Mahi Mahi (my favorite fish). It was all good. Of course we got desserts but they weren’t that good. I think Rusty one the flavor contest with that one and he had a suffle.

After dinner, we took Jackson to the kids play thing. He had a blast in that. He said they played games and were quite busy the entire time. He also said he made new friends. Payton, Rusty and I went to Harry’s Pub for the family Karoake. Payton and I sang quite a bit. It was fun. We went and listened to the piano guy for a while before picking Jackson up at 1030. He had a blast he said.

We went on a quest for ice cream but had no luck in that department so we went to the café and got some snacks. It was all pretty good.

Now, we are trying to get some sleep so we’ll be rested up for a full day at sea tomorrow.
Sleep well my friends… I know we sure are!
The Tanners

Saturday

Omgoodness.. we are finally on our trip. I am sitting here on my bed in our hotel....Mason St. Charles...with Payton reading over my shoulder! :) We have just wrapped up our day and WHEW what a day!

I got up around 830 this morning and went to the Walk for Me (Easter Seals Walk). I stayed for just a bit but the rain caused the walk to be cancelled. I got my tshirt and basically left after turning in the almost $1300 we raised!!!! Afterward, I stopped, got us breakfast at Whataburger, then headed home. We ate breakfast and started getting ready to leave.

We left the house around 1130 and stopped at Walmart before heading to New Orleans. We made just a few stops along they way. We stopped in Meridian for lunch at Mcd's and then in Hattiesburg at Gander Mountain so that I could get a rain/wind jacket. Then, we made our way to the BIG EASY.

We got to the hotel and it is the cutest. It is like a little suite and is as quaint as can be. It has that old flair feel to it. It's difficult to explain (look at my facebook for pics).

We got settled, then went out for dinner. We ate at Mother's restaurant. It was pretty good. Payton and I had shrimp poboys while Jackson had a shrimp plate and Rusty had red beans and rice. Afterward, we went for a walk around NO. We walked for blocks and blocks. The kids got to see Bourbon Street and didn't like it at all.

We made our way back to the car and headed to find the cruise terminal which is pretty close to our hotel. We got back here and I've been uploading the initial pics to Facebook. We are planning on getting up in the morning and heading to Cafe Du Monde before going to the terminal. I can't believe that this time tomorrow night we'll have the water beneath us and be cruising toward warmer and, hopefully, better weather!

We are all excited and I'm sure will be too excited to sleep tonight!
Toodles for now.
The Tanners

2am on a Saturday morning

What are YOU doing?

Well, I've been trying to pack us up for the last 3-4 hours. It's been crazy. I've got a HUGE headache right now and just want to go to bed but I wanted to post here! (Call me crazy)

Tomorrow we head off to New Orleans to stay the night before we got on our cruise. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I just want us to have the best time available!

We bought tons of new clothes, got the suitcases pretty much packed, now it's just loading our stuff and heading down to NO. Tomorrow night we will probably go do a little of NO for a while before trying to sleep before the big day!

I'll try to write tomorrow and possibly post a few pictures!

Two days until we leave!

It's Thursday night and I'm sitting here looking up excursions. We really want to do something fun with the kids. I' ve looked up ATV's, snorkeling, speed boats, cave tubing... who knows... but by this time next week, we'll have done two days worth of excursions!

We are all getting extremely excited. Just to get away will be the best thing of all.

Ok.. I'm signing out because the sooner I go to bed, the sooner I can wake up, finish my last day at school then get ready ready ready!

Goodnight!

Two days until we leave!

It's Thursday night and I'm sitting here looking up excursions. We really want to do something fun with the kids. I' ve looked up ATV's, snorkeling, speed boats, cave tubing... who knows... but by this time next week, we'll have done two days worth of excursions!



We are all getting extremely excited. Just to get away will be the best thing of all.



Ok.. I'm signing out because the sooner I go to bed, the sooner I can wake up, finish my last day at school then get ready ready ready!



Goodnight!

Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday.... counting down

I sit here on my kitchen table and realize that this time next week, we'll have boarded the boat from our first stop. Don't ask me what the first stop is because I, frankly, can't remember! I am just looking forward to getting away. I need the break.

I have a few interesting things to tell however. Through the wonderful works of God, I have become TWITTER friends with a missionary in Belize...Darlene Glasgow. They are missionaries from the home church of Riverside in Helena. It was nothing BUT God how we met. I am a newbie to Twitter and someone decided to follow me. I have no clue who she is but I clicked around on her Twitter and found Darlene who I noticed was from Belize. I snooped on her Twitter, found out she was a missionary from the home church of Riverside and I messaged her to see if we could bring them anything from home.

To make a long story short, I am supposed to be taking them a laptop and portraits for the villagers that were taken a while back. I'm so excited to be used as a vessel on this trip even if it is for pleasure. I'm just glad God is using us to do this!

To make a longer story.. LONGER... Darlene has now introduced me to Janice who is also going with her family on this ship next week. They have an 11 year old son... same age as Payton! It is a small world but it is amazing how God brings people together. I'm excited!

So, give me a few more days and I'll know the whole list of passengers aboard! This is going to be fun. I am so looking forward to a wonderful week!....Now if I can just get through GRAD EXAM TESTING!!!!

Countdown to cruise

I cannot believe that in a week, Rusty, the kids and I will be on our cruise. We are so excited. The kids are looking forward to this family vacation. I have been reviewing cruise critiques so that we are fully informed about what to do.

We are planning on doing the "Walk with Me" walk for Easter Seals and children with disabilities on Saturday March 14, 2009 and then heading to New Orleans. I will have to basically pack on Friday night and be ready to roll after our walk. The kids and Rusty are going to walk with me (YEAH!!!)

We will stay in New Orleans on Saturday night and enjoy a day in the Big Easy before embarking on our ship.... Norwegian Spirit.

My only goal on this vacation is to relax and thoroughly take in being with my family. We need this more than anything. We need to be together for 7 days of uninterrupted fun!!!!

I will post photos as soon as I am able (internet fees on ships are CRAZY) but I will keep a travel log everyday! I am so looking forward to sharing our experience!