Yes, these pictures are from a while ago but I love them just the same!
AMBER-JAMIE-MAKENA The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. -e.e. cummings
Monday, April 6, 2009
Dinner Nite
After the egg hunting on Saturday, I went to dinner at Lindsey's house. It was a wonderful dinner and a great time for us all to catch up! Dylona, Tamara, Carrie & Lindsey - love you girls - it's been a long time!
Carrie made cute little desserts!
Lindsey made a wonderful dinner! 
me taking a picture of Lindsey taking a picture of me!
Until next time...
the beautiful dinning room (love that light fixture by the way!)
Carrie made cute little desserts!
Lindsey made a wonderful dinner! 
me taking a picture of Lindsey taking a picture of me!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Easter Egg Hunting
I got to go Easter Egg hunting with Kylah and Kallie yesterday in Sherwood. It was a fundraiser for a first grader with an inoperable brain tumor - they had a GREAT turn out! We were running a little late, so the girls were rushed to get as many eggs as they could. Kallie only wanted the candy out of the eggs - she would pick one up, shake it and then move on if the egg didn't sound right. : ) Kallie and I then tried to help Kylah find some eggs with her age group, with not much luck. So, Kylah went her mom when it was the adults turn.
Because we were at an elementary school, the girls wanted to play on the playground for a while. All of my pictures are on our Picasa, but here are a few of my favorites. (I'm still working on learning how to shoot white clothes in bright sunlight!)
Because we were at an elementary school, the girls wanted to play on the playground for a while. All of my pictures are on our Picasa, but here are a few of my favorites. (I'm still working on learning how to shoot white clothes in bright sunlight!)
After the park, we played in their backyard for a while - enjoying the beautiful Oregon sunshine. Thanks for letting me spend the day with you girls!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Spring Vaca - Day 5
Day 5 (Wednesday 3/25) - We tendered outside of Belize around 8am. It took about 20 minutes for each tender boat to reach Belize City - total time depending on the lines to get back/forth. As with Costa Maya, the area where the tourists shop, eat or stay (port) is the nicest area of the city. Our ship's staff suggested we stay in the tourists areas of each city as the poverty outside can be extreme and the streets aren't always guarded by police. The people of Belize City could not get into the tourist area unless they actually worked in the shops and had badges. We had to show our ship card to get in and out. Jamie, of course, decided that we were going to tour the city rather than stay at port. He found someone to walk us around - a 'local tour guide' from the street. : )
After walking around for a while, we caught a taxi to a local beach. Again, as with most of Mexico, the beaches are private. You either have to pay to get into the beach or be part of a shore excursion. The nicer beaches in Belize were another boat ride away, so we decided to stay at the closest beach to the city. They had a large pool - which was actually part of the ocean, just bridged off - as well as a zip line over the pool and park, a large water slide, a restaurant and museum.
Once back on the ship, we had to get ready for dinner again. After dinner we went to another show at the theater - a magic show by Rand Woodbury that we all really enjoyed.
Every night, when we got back to our room after dinner or a show, there would be a towel animal. Apparently these towel animals are expected on all Carnival cruises - very cute.
Belize City - Port
inside the actual city - small stores & places to eat along the streets
a Flea Market - tents were everywhere in the streets
After walking around for a while, we caught a taxi to a local beach. Again, as with most of Mexico, the beaches are private. You either have to pay to get into the beach or be part of a shore excursion. The nicer beaches in Belize were another boat ride away, so we decided to stay at the closest beach to the city. They had a large pool - which was actually part of the ocean, just bridged off - as well as a zip line over the pool and park, a large water slide, a restaurant and museum.
Once back on the ship, we had to get ready for dinner again. After dinner we went to another show at the theater - a magic show by Rand Woodbury that we all really enjoyed.
Every night, when we got back to our room after dinner or a show, there would be a towel animal. Apparently these towel animals are expected on all Carnival cruises - very cute.
If we were to go back to Belize again, I would like to take a shore excursion across to the other private beaches. I was hoping to do some snorkeling in Belize and apparently that is the only place to do it.
I don't think I've posted any yet, but I took a picture of my feet in the sand and water at every city. No, there are not many pictures of me on our vacation - I enjoy being behind the camera and I don't enjoy very many pictures of myself. : ) I also took several pictures of the food we had (something the comedians made jokes about) as well as all of the towel animals. All of those pictures can be found on our Picasa page.
Day 6 coming soon...
Friday, April 3, 2009
Spring Vaca - Day 4
Day 4 (Tuesday 3/24) - we arrived in Costa Maya around 8am. We enjoyed breakfast on the ship and then went off to do a little shopping before our Costa Maya Highlights shore excursion.
This was only the Carnival Valor's second time back to Costa Maya since Hurricane Dean in 2007. The pier and local area was mostly wiped away, and tourism didn't start back up until late 2008. The locals were very eager to get the tourism back - 80% of Mexico's funds come from the tourism industry. The poverty here was still very visible once you were off of the pier and shopping area. Most of the people that had lived in Costa Maya before the hurricane, have still not yet returned.
loved this sign!
After some shopping, we had lunch and were ready to tour Costa Maya! The excursion that we had chosen took us in a large safari-type jeep around the island, to a private beach and to another shopping area with a stop for cervezas!
A woman has rescued this money (Poncho) during the hurricane and then tried to set it free once they were safe. Poncho decided to continue living with the woman rather than return to the jungle.
This was only the Carnival Valor's second time back to Costa Maya since Hurricane Dean in 2007. The pier and local area was mostly wiped away, and tourism didn't start back up until late 2008. The locals were very eager to get the tourism back - 80% of Mexico's funds come from the tourism industry. The poverty here was still very visible once you were off of the pier and shopping area. Most of the people that had lived in Costa Maya before the hurricane, have still not yet returned.
Costa Maya & pier from the ship
loved this sign!
Due to the bright sunshine (which you will never hear me complain about) several of my pictures were overexposed. Once I got to really look at them, I liked the way that many of them turned out - like the picture of Makena below and of the boat a little farther down. That's what happens when amateur photographers like myself are still practicing! : )
After some shopping, we had lunch and were ready to tour Costa Maya! The excursion that we had chosen took us in a large safari-type jeep around the island, to a private beach and to another shopping area with a stop for cervezas!
A woman has rescued this money (Poncho) during the hurricane and then tried to set it free once they were safe. Poncho decided to continue living with the woman rather than return to the jungle.
Once back at the pier, we only had a short time to get back on the ship. I think we only picked up a couple of souvenirs in Costa Maya.
he was playing a song for me and wanted to see a picture of himself
After returning to the boat, we got ready for dinner and another show. It was a busy and great day in Costa Maya!
I did finally get all of my pictures sorted/loaded onto our Picasa site if you would like to see them. I deleted several hundred of my 2000+ photos but also added all of Makena's pictures in the same album. It is probably easiest to select the album and then click on 'slideshow' to view the pictures. Due to size restrictions, there are three albums total. I did use a polarizer on my lenses for some of the day - again, being an amateur photographer, it's still a learning process.
More vacation posts to follow...
Spring Vaca - Day 3
Day 3 (Monday 3/23) - Was actually our second day on the boat and our first full day at sea. Carol, Makena and I enjoyed the sun and some books on a deck, while Jamie tried to win some of his money back from the casino.
it was a formal dinner night
After dinner, we headed over to the ship's theater for a show by the Carnival Valor Dancers. Makena and I then returned to the room while Jamie & his mom went to a comedy show. Makena had picked up the Twilight movie before we left on Saturday and was eager to watch it again. Right around bed time, we realized how sunburnt we had gotten that day. Even with my SPF 70, the sunshine was hard on our Oregon skin.
Makena enjoyed a Strawberry Smoothie
Jamie was at the casino late into the night, so he needed a nap
it was a formal dinner night
After dinner, we headed over to the ship's theater for a show by the Carnival Valor Dancers. Makena and I then returned to the room while Jamie & his mom went to a comedy show. Makena had picked up the Twilight movie before we left on Saturday and was eager to watch it again. Right around bed time, we realized how sunburnt we had gotten that day. Even with my SPF 70, the sunshine was hard on our Oregon skin.Spring Vaca - Day 2
Day 2 (Sunday 3/22) - we arrived in Boston very early on Sunday morning. Within the hour, we were on our second plane - headed to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We arrived in Florida around 11:30am, boarded our shuttle van and headed to Miami. After some time in the terminal, we were finally on board the Carnival Valor!
Because we couldn't get in to our room for a while, we had lunch at the buffet. (Oh...the wonderful cruiseline buffets!) When we finally got into our room, it wasn't ready and we were a little worried about it's size. Once everything was put together, we felt a little better about spending the next 7 nights in it.
After the emergency drill (that takes place before every cruise) we went back to the room to take a short nap. Makena took this time to take some photos of Miami.
We had dinner in the dinning room and then returned to our room to unpack our bags.
Because we couldn't get in to our room for a while, we had lunch at the buffet. (Oh...the wonderful cruiseline buffets!) When we finally got into our room, it wasn't ready and we were a little worried about it's size. Once everything was put together, we felt a little better about spending the next 7 nights in it.
our 'castle'
After the emergency drill (that takes place before every cruise) we went back to the room to take a short nap. Makena took this time to take some photos of Miami.
We had dinner in the dinning room and then returned to our room to unpack our bags.I took this sunset picture out a window in the dinning room.
Spring Vaca - Day 1
We decided to spend our 2009 Spring Break cruising to the Western Caribbean! We chose the Carnival Cruiseline as the dates we needed to be gone were only available with them. We enjoyed our cruise very much, as well as the places we visited, but will probably not take another Carnival cruise. (We were spoiled on our previous cruise with Celebrity!) Here are the details of our journey...
Day 1 - Martine took us to the train on Saturday afternoon. Makena and I were eager to start taking pictures right away!
We hadn't been on the train to Washington before, but plan to do it again soon! Great way to get to Seattle - no traffic and a lounge near by!
Day 1 - Martine took us to the train on Saturday afternoon. Makena and I were eager to start taking pictures right away!
We hadn't been on the train to Washington before, but plan to do it again soon! Great way to get to Seattle - no traffic and a lounge near by!
The train took us to Tukwila and then we took a taxi to the Seattle airport. (The beginning of our 'planes, trains, automobiles & cruise ship' journey.) After grabbing a late dinner (11pm) we we boarded our first plane - headed to Boston.
Day 2 coming soon...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Honor Roll
Makena made Honor Roll again for the second trimester of middle school. Great job Pook, we are very proud of you!
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