Not so Paradisey day 5

Today, Jude and I landed in Freeport and had an excursion planned to snorkel.
Very long story. Not a great story. Will not post details about it. Scarred. lol
I think we picked the wrong adventure for this place. I regret our decision and don't advise you go with the company, Reef Tours.

Cheeseburger in Paradise day 4

Today, I ate meat. And it was goooood meat. Terrible, I know. Maybe it was the accidental bacon bite from yesterday, or the smell from the grills at lunch time, or the Jimmy Buffet song. Maybe it was all of it combined. Whatever it was, the cheeseburger was off the map. Yummy! We docked at Nassau, Bahamas, today and did the Aquaventure excursion at Atlantis. The bus driver we had getting us there had everyone on it scared to death. I was definitely ready for a relaxing time after that hell ride. Once we arrived and were standing on land, I have to say I was quite impressed with his driving skills. The water was amazingly beautiful and the property itself was true Paradise.


I guess that is why they call it Paradise Island. In the Atlantis casino, they have these million dollar glass sculptures that are gigantic and truly fascinating. I took a picture of one but I know that it does not give the true effect.

Our favorite part was the non-lazy river.

We had an awesome day!! It rained for about an hour but not once did it ruin our time. That is when we decided to grab a table and eat under an umbrella.

When we got back to the ship, we immediately took a nap. After waking, we decided to dine out on the deck in a quiet spot. As the ship was sailing along, it was pitch dark on the water. We noticed something orange in the distance and became very curious to what it was. It looked like a fire. Then it started to take shape and it was circular. It was the moon. The most wonderful and amazing moon I had ever seen in my entire life. It was like it woke up from a dead sleep and crawled into the sky. The light was so bright from it and it was so large, that there was a beam across the water pointing right to us. As I ran down the deck trying to escape it, it followed me. I asked Jude if he set that up but he denies it. As we walked toward the center of the ship where the party was happening, , the band was playing "Hey Jude". Really?! Could life get any more perfect at that given moment? Answer, no.
As far as not feeling well, I felt a whole lot better having taken Sudafed for a twenty four hour period. Jude, on the other hand, has inherited my cold, poor baby. I still feel a little sick but I know he feels much worse. Tomorrow we go snorkeling. I want to be a professional snorkeler when I grow up.

Atlantis.com
As you slide down the water slide, you go through tunnels. This one had sharks sitting above what was a clear glass. Cool!

Beautiful fountain behind us

Stingrays swim under little bridges you cross

Key West day 3

At 6 a.m. our time, there was a loud banging going on which woke us both up. It was bright and sunny outside and we were almost to port. It was 7 a.m. Florida time and we were both ready to go. All the sleep we have had in the past few days made us completely refreshed. Now, we were still sick and the first place we wanted to hit up was a drug store, but we weren't sleepy. We had breakfast, walked out to the dock, with no excursions planned, we weren't sure what we were going to do. Our plan was to just hang out. Relax. Shop. The island is no more than three miles around and we wanted to see it all. We decided to rent a motor scooter and that was the best thing we could have done. It was so much fun!

We shopped, toured a museum with a haunted doll named Robert,

saw the southern most point of the United States and took photos there,

cruised around some more, stopped at a beach,

had lunch at the Hogs Breath Saloon,

shopped some more, had Hagan Daz and turned in our scooter. It was 3 p.m. and our day in Key West was almost over. We boarded the boat and went to sleep. We slept for four hours. When we woke, it was time for dinner. We had another delicious meal. Today makes two months that I haven't eaten meat. At dinner, I wanted to taste Jude's appetizer. It was a white pasta of some sort. As I took a bite, all I could taste was a smoked meat. Jude said, "No, there's no meat in it". Oh, I could taste it. That's all I could taste. Right then, our server walked up and confirmed there was bacon in it. Funny how overwhelming the taste was to me.
Now, we lay in bed watching Benjamin Buttons.

Facts about Key West:
They have Banyan trees, just like in Maui.
That was the last time I saw one, five years ago on our honeymoon. Everybody say "Awwwhh".

Just like around here, Key West has pigeons (rats with wings) roaming the streets AND they have CHICKENS! Can you believe that? Chickens are protected under some city code and you are not allowed to bother them. The locals said they sing all day AND all night. Crazy! They walk through restaurants and all.

Fun Day at Sea day 2

So that's what they call it. We are on our way to Key West, Florida. We slept in late, getting about twelve hours sleep. Yes! No babies disturbing us, demanding we get up and wait on them, asking us to take them places; it was nice. We had breakfast and went out to the top deck for some fun in the sun.

Still not feeling too well, I had to make myself do stuff today. After lunch, we went to our room to take naps and spent a good while sleeping. Woke up, went to the "Serenity Deck" for adults only, layed in the sun for another hour or so and went to get dressed up for the formal dinner tonight. Jude looked totally hot and I wasn't looking too bad myself.

We had a nice dinner, went back to our room for a break, where Jude had a fantastic layout on our bed. There was champagne, a rose, chocolates, and chocolate covered strawberries. He wooed me!! I will skip the juicy details and say we ended the evening at an adult comedy show. It was one of the best nights we have had in a very very long time.




Just a peek

Bon Voyage! day 1

At twelve o'clock, I was almost done packing to take our five year anniversary cruise to the Bahamas when I couldn't find my camera. I was searching high and low, and as time was ticking by, I was begining to panic. I had searched my purse so many times, the swim bag, the boys diaper bag, the sofa, etc. I couldn't imaging leaving without my camera. Just as I had given up, and had convinced myself that a disposable camera would be just as good, I found it. You do not know the excitement I received at that very moment. Every thing was going to be okay!
Us, orange, waiting in line to board at customs

We boarded the ship and our room was right inside; literally two doors in. Easy enough. I was impressed with the window view, as our last cruise had a little port hole of a window with a jogging track in front of it.
Our room for the next seven days

We walked the ship, trying to get a sense of direction on it. We had lunch, caught a beautiful sunset on the very back of the boat, and watched different towns as we cruised down the Mississippi river, trying to guess which town was which.
Cruising down the Mississippi River


It was a lovely evening. That night, we had dinner in our assigned seating. It was right by the server station. What is funny is Jude and I are kind of cursed, if you want to call it that. It seems like no matter where we go out to eat, we are ALWAYS sat by the server station. It is a joke between us. Sometimes we ask to be moved, as we do not go out to eat that often because of the kids, and it kills me to think of our fun night out next to the noise nook. This cruise, not that big of a deal. After dinner, we went to bed early as I have a nasty cold and Jude is catching it.

Mr. and Mrs. Jude

Five years ago today, Jude and I became one.
Best thing I ever did in my life!
Happy five year anniversary, baby!

Cullen's father

I married him ten years ago today. Now we aren't celebrating any anniversaries or anything over here, as we are Divorced with a capital D. The reason I remember this date (I assume) is because it is the day before mine and Jude's anniversary. Yes, I married EPT on June 4, 1999 and JJD on June 5, 2004. It just happened that way! So anyway, I thought it would be neat to rip out some old photos and share a few stories with Cullen. He is very interested in his previous life, as he should be. The boy can't remember before the age of five. As we were looking through photos, we came upon one of me with a terrible short hairstyle. Cullen says "Wait, wait, go back. Is THAT you?". Happily, I reply, "Yes, it is" as I am a few pounds lighter in it. Cullen replies "No wonder my dad left you. Look at your HAIR". Nice! And just for the record, that's not what happened, E.T. leaving. As far as Cullen knows, it was a mutual decision.
I always tell Cullen his dad and I didn't agree on anything anymore and it was time to part ways. If I said it was black, E.T. would say it was white. If E.T. said it was cold, I'd say it was hot. Etc, etc. We make great business partners raising a child together! We just hated being married to each other. The best advice I got after the separation was to treat this (raising Cullen) as a business. No emotions in it. If the conversation would start to turn ugly, I would simply say "I have to go. We can talk about this when we have calmed down". If (and when) he would try and insult me, I would say "I'm sorry, I am not your wife anymore. I am Jude's girlfriend and you can not talk to Jude's girlfriend that way". I know there is no easy recipe in these things, but we do run a good business raising Cullen together.

October 2000

Blue eyed boys picking blueberries

A friend of ours found a great little farm on the Northshore for picking blueberries and that is what these blued eyed people did with their MF's today. It was such a great day. The weather was a tad bit hot but it is June in Louisiana, so it is expected. Roman had so much fun being "allowed" to pick things off the bushes. He is usually getting fussed for picking flowers and such. Aiden had a blast with his buddy, Xan the Man. Cullen was home, so he came with. He has been pretty awesome with his little brothers lately, playing with them, chasing them for me, loving them, etc. I think my boy is growing up. Wait, brb.....I had to go knock on wood. :)





The plan is to make blueberry muffins with our collection.
After, we stopped at the local grocery for a few items and it started raining on us. We hopped in the car, but not before I noticed a Lincoln in the parking lot that couldn't start. It kept trying, but never would start. So, I was feeling a little nice and I pulled up next to it, in the rain, to ask if they needed help. At this point, while I was motioning for the person to roll down the really dark tinted windows, I worried what I might have gotten myself into. A man in his fifties rolled down the window and he was quite big. I asked him if I could help and he said he could use a jump. With all three boys in the car (not smart) I turned my vehicle around and as I was opening the hood, I said "You're not going to hurt me, or you?" He said no and actually looked to be a little crippled. I felt better. As he was setting it all up, I made sure to make plenty of eye contact with everyone in the parking lot (which was semi-busy) so if anything happened, maybe someone would remember me. Those thoughts were actually going through my head. When the jump didn't work, I was about to leave and he asked if he could use my cell phone. "Sure, no problem." He then says "I am a father of two girls and I always tell them not to do this. I'm a grandpa, too. I just want to thank you for stopping to help me." I felt I had done a good deed for the day and was very pleased I survived it all! The things I do before thinking them through...
That afternoon, we were all rained out for swim lessons so we stayed indoors the rest of the day.
When night time came, I was able to get out of the house for a mommy meeting. I love my time with my boys, but I LOVE my time away. Adult time.

Juicy Juice playdate

Today we went to one of our MF's house for a House Party play date.
We also skipped swim lessons because we were pooped and Mommy had a headache.
Aiden, tasting, with his busted lip

A very serious taste tester

Ro playing

Cullen, waiting patiently for me

Even Delaney says "Bottoms up"