Spring Breaking It

Last week started off spring break for our kids. Although technically we all had the cold/flu for a week previous and they stayed home then too...So more or less it was just an extended vaycay. Mostly we relaxed. The kids got to color with markers which is a big deal. Most of the time markers are off limits at our house. Canon ends up marking up himself, constantly. And Penny ends up looking like she has a teal Hitler mustache. The kids got some new clothes. Including Penny's new kicks. They rode some bikes, then scowled about taking pictures whilst riding bikes...Then proceeded to make faces and ask "Does this look pretty?" One of my plants got a much needed replant, along with a pretty new pot. We also ate a lot of Oreo Birthday Cake Oreos. We can't stop our selves, although, I did managed to make these brownies with them once. Foolishly we thought it would be funny to sing Happy Birthday to the Oreos, in celebration and all...What was suppose to be a one time occurrence has now turned into a regular thing at our house.

It seems only logical.

Cozumel

Our final stop on our cruise was Cozumel. I think we were the most excited about this stop. We had plans.
Big plans.
We were going scuba diving.Now mind you, none of us had ever gone before with the exception of my Dad. We found a place through Orbitz that would give you a beginners course and then they would take you out. No need to certify, we were in Mexico. We got suited up and then we did a little practice run right off the beach. Our guide, Ricardo, made sure we knew how to use our equipment. He also made us take out our regulator under water and put it back in, and also taught us how to clear out our masks.
During our practice run I had a panic attack and wasn't sure if I would be able to do it. I thought to myself "there is no way I am taking out the only source of air out of my mouth when I am under the water." But Ricardo walked me through it until I felt comfortable. Then we boarded the boat and we were off. It is quite uncanny when you are under the water, breathing, for the first time. Blake was a natural and caught on super fast, so he was given the job of taking pictures. We mostly just swam with the natural decent. Then the deeper we got the more fish and coral we were able to spot. Blake even spotted this fish. Which we kindly refer to as the "Tron fish." We saw a lobster, and some sort of ocean snake, some fish that looked like it is made up of puzzle pieces, one sporting some new age eye shadow, and we even spotted an eagle ray. I was surprised at how relaxed I was, even considering my previous panic attack. Not as relaxed as my Dad, but...well, I was new to this. We posed for some pictures.

It is funny that when you are under water and want to pose for a picture your natural instinct is to throw out your arms and legs. Because...well...because you can? I even "photo bombed" some pictures. After about an hour and going down 35 feet we were running out of air. It makes your tank light, so no amount of trying was going to keep you under the water. So we surrendered and boarded our boat back to shore. Our vacation was awesome. It contained the 4 main ingredients for a perfect trip.

1. The best company.
2. Not having to worry about our kids. (Thanks again Mom!)
3. Sleep and food.
4. Some of my favorite people.

Random side note:

On the way back to the ship Blake spotted this girl. He was trying really hard to pay attention to what my Dad was saying but he couldn't focus. Then he finally pointed out what had captured his attention.Poor girl didn't realize that her purse looked like a censor.

Grand Cayman

We have the flu at our house. All of us. I am thinking that reminiscing about sunnier days may help.

In Grand Cayman we had to take a boat shuttle to shore. Each shuttle boat could carry upwards of 250 people. That just goes to show you how big the cruise ship is in comparison. No vacation is complete with out a "sun in your face" series...I think Jackie felt bad for me so she lent me her glasses. Better.Grand Cayman is beautiful. The water is so blue. Unreal blue. We took a boat out through some canals to go to a spot out in the middle of the ocean called Stingray City. It is kind of like a sandbar covered with water out in the middle of the ocean, full of stingrays. You get in the water with them. You get to swim with them and you get to touch them.When I first got into the water one swam by me and grazed my leg, I screamed. Sure, my Dad made fun of me. Sure, I was a little freaked out. But then one swam by my Dad and he screamed like a little girl and all was right with the world again. I figure if it freaked him out, it was OK if it freaked me out.They say kissing a stingray gives you 7 years good luck. Jackie was all over that.I figured I needed some luck in my life too. The whole time I was holding it I kept thinking "Man this thing is heavy, and slimy." Then all I could think of was the stingray from Finding Nemo and how it sings the song

"Oooh, let's name the zones, the zones, the zones. Let's name the zones of the open sea: mesopolagic, bathyal, abyssalpelagic. All the rest are too deep for you and me to see."And because we are all friends here...

I realized it was getting nowhere near my face.Blake manned up. He got all up in that action.Then because I can't let Blake show me up...I think in some states the stingray and I might be considered married now.After all of the kissing, we went out snorkeling. It was so windy that I am sure I swallowed half of the ocean.

My Dad on the other hand has never been more in his element.The competitor in Blake came out and he did some posing of his own.Then my Dad went down for another picture.Everyone sing with me

"I fought the coral and the coral won. I fought the coral and the coral won." All the while Jackie and I were safe on the boat. On the way back to the dock we saw some starfish and a dolphin jumping. We also spotted some iguanas. Man those things are rough looking. Maybe it is the salt water. The salt water does a number on my hair too. I feel the iguanas pain.