30th Birthday Cruise

Aaaah! What a relaxing weekend it has been! It started on Thursday morning when I left to pick Valerie up in Jacksonville and head down to Port Canaveral for a weekend cruise with 4 other friends. Oh! And I was lucky to even go on the cruise. No, not because Erik wouldn't let me--because I packed my passport in my checked bag, and it made it on the ship before I did. I didn't know what the cruise people were going to say, but one of the porters told me that it wouldn't be a problem. I think the lady that checked my in rolled her eyes at my not-so-bright move, but I got on the boat with everyone else!
On Thursday afternoon, we boarded the ship with everyone and headed to get a bite to eat. Our dinner time was 8:15, so we needed something to hold us over, because we're not used to eating that late. It was still chilly outside, but we enjoyed each other's company and did our best to ignore the cold. We hadn't seen our friends in a couple of years, so there was a lot of catching up to do! Dinner was excellent, and amazingly, I didn't starve to death while waiting so late to eat. :) I had something for an appetizer, but I can't think of what it was. For dinner, I ate ribs and french fries. YUM!
We got into port (Nassau, Bahamas) about noon on Friday. The plan was to get a taxi over to the Atlantis hotel and check it out, and then wander over to the beach to get some sun on our white skin. The weather was perfect, and the beach wasn't overly crowded. I thought it was the best time of year to be there, although I'm sure that some may argue otherwise. When the sun started to set behind the buildings around 3:30 or so, we headed back over to Atlantis to see more of the property. We were amazed by it's size and the number of ways to get lost. Eventually, we took another taxi back to the port area and walked around the shops before heading back on board. I had another delicious dinner, this time prime rib and mashed potatoes.
Saturday was our day at sea. We began the morning/early afternoon on the deck getting as much sun as possible! Polly, Jana, Valerie and I watched a Newlywed-type game show in one of the theaters. It was really funny! Afterward, we went back to the rooms to hang out because it had started raining. We didn't care too much. It happened at the end of our trip and it was another excuse to be together. I do know that I had french onion soup for my appetizer last night and a steak with Friday night's mashed potatoes. After dinner I know we went to the dance club for a little while to show off our moves. At some point we went back to one of the rooms and hung out until 2:30 AM!! Whew! We were all kept saying we didn't know when we had last stayed up so late.
We went around to lots of the portrait places and had our pictures taken. I have a couple and the plan is to get them scanned in sometime this week, and I'll post them then. We did as many silly pictures as possible, and most of the photographers liked our humor. There was only one who wouldn't let us do our own pose. Needless to say, we didn't look very happy in those pictures and didn't buy any of his.
Today was the sad day, having to leave everyone and head back home. Valerie and I got to her place around 11. I was there until 11:45 and came back just in time to interrupt Erik putting Kayleigh down for her nap. Needless to say, she is still up. It's okay, though. I missed her and enjoyed snuggling with her and catching up on life. Brian is taking a long nap, which is good, but I'm ready to get that boy in my arms, too!
The only thing that I'm disappointed about is not getting more sleep. We girls had too much to talk about to sleep!!
Erik said he and the kids had a good time. I'm very impressed, but not surprised, how he was able to handle the two kids on his own. I had pumped enough milk for Brian before the trip, so he wasn't too thrown off with drinking formula, which he's never had.
I'm sure we'll be back to our regular routine tomorrow. Don't call during nap time! I think I'll be asleep like the kids! :)