Cruisin' 2010

That time of year again folks! We (Jason, I, and about 75 others) went on our annual NorthStar Alarm cruise the weekend before last and I still haven't fully recovered. Really it's true. I'll just sit here for hours with my eyes glazed over thinking about endless swirled ice cream cones and warm chocolate melting cake a-plenty. We had a ridiculously good time!

Don't know what it was about this cruise, but it seemed just the right combination of everything perfect. Maybe it's just the fact that now we have two babies and so the hubby/wife time was more appreciated than ever. Or maybe it was the 3 miniature adoring mexican men that I met on our way to playa del carmen. (more on them later...much more). Either way we had 4 spectacular days in the sun and then were excited and relieved to come home to our sweet munchkins. (Thank you so much to Grandmothers on both sides for making this possible!) This post is mostly pics... and a lot of them... so hang in... (I told you last post this would be the world's longest post!)

Despite taking the red eye flight to Miami (with said flight being delayed 3 hours til 3 AM) the previous night, we were bright eyed, bushy tailed and ready to party first day on board.

The flight delays even made some of our group have to leave their luggage and wear matching T shirts most of the trip... (Truth be told they actually had these T-shirts custom made for the cruise...:)

Sometimes I embarrass my husband. But euphoria sets in when I realize I can stay up 'til midnight without severely regretting it the next day when my babies are waking me up before dawn. Just look at the euphoria.

Oh if life were but an endless round of karaoke... that's what I wish every year when I blow out my candles.

Katie bun-in-oven Carlile was cuttin' a rug more than anyone. I actually had someone stop me in the elevator and say, "Hey! You did karaoke last night with that pregnant girl! I didn't know pregnant women could move like that..."

This number was award winning... until Aimei started inviting drunk people up on stage with us, (this one took the invitation, snatched the microphone, and stood directly in front of Katie for the remainder of the song.) We forgive you Aim!

Still couldn't shake her for Eric's performance. At least she had some funky moves.

Love that big blue ocean

and dinner again... I have no idea why I'm standing like this, but that's what I chose and I can't back out now.

Aimei and me in a sea of matching men...

That night on the dance floor... no one can save DC from those cougas... NO ONE!! (He can't even save himself.)

Ok... this one might be my single favorite picture from the entire trip. Katie's medusa exoticism and my strange muscle ripples... a unique shot that embodied everything magical on the dance floor that night.

Lovin' that baby! She doesn't even know how much trouble she's in when she gets here!

Julie, Katie and me shoppin' in Cozumel

And back to these loverboys I mentioned before... Everyone was taking couple pics before getting onto the ferry when Jason decided to leave me in the dust. What's a woman to do? Except when they got fresh and picked me up they pretended to throw me in the water and my hat actually did go in. They fished it out and handed it to me but as they did I couldn't help but give it back and shove every last one of them off the dock as well. It turned out to be a slightly awkward exchange for everyone around. I did slip one of them my number though. The one in the suspenders. Okay, I didn't push any of them into the water. For the story's sake, let's say I did. And that I did slip him my number.

The ruins at Tulum. Really amazing.

We had booked a reservation with an LDS tour guide beforehand. We loved the Book of Mormon related history, it was superb and so fascinating.

Before getting back on the ferry that night, Aimei and I decided to give the water a feel, and for some reason thought trying to reinact the "I'm a bird" scene from the Notebook was a good idea. Didn't work out too well for us.

Our boys. Jason wore this to bed that night. 'Twas quite invigorating waking up to him. And when he put me in a scissor hold in the middle of the night, invigorating as well.

Don't be jealous of my form on the water slide. You can be just as graceful and blissful, after years and years of dedication and practice. (I may or may not have known full well that Jason was waiting for me at the bottom, camera in focus. Guess you'll never know!)

And for the grand finale... The costume contest on the last night was something most definitely worthy of mention! Turns out my husband is even more of a costume fanatic than I thought, spent 2 solid hours on that wolf face. And I love him so much for it.

Zach and Kelly... worst part is she doesn't know who the daddy is, Zach or AC Slater.

For the costume contest we didn't really know what to do when we were told to strut our stuff besides have him chase me around on stage. There were crickets chirping while that was going on, but it was so worth it! Along with Christine, a sumo wrestler friend (from our group as well), we took first place in the contest! That's out of the whole ship folks! And it turns out I CAN run in heels. I'm thinking about trying to punt a football next with them on. Lots of hidden talent.

Almost didn't make it on this year... Scarlett was running a slight fever the night we left from her flu shot and I nearly had a nervous breakdown about leaving her... phew... But so glad we all made it and baby girl felt better quickly! Only in the hands of my magical mother. We got home late at night and Scarlett was already in bed, but once that 4 AM feeding time came around the next morning, let's just say there was no happier reunion between mother and daughter in history! (4-5 day using a pump is not as fun as it sounds.)

I'd have to say my favorite part was gathering around the table every night and stuffing our faces with pizza and ice-cream... something that we didn't even document with pics. But man I wish we would have recorded those convos, because listening to them would make me pee my pants...daily. And that's something I wish I could be justified in doing. :) Hooray for wonderful friends and co-workers! Hooray for hubby/wife time!! Hip hip hooray for company cruises!