Cruisin...

On April 17th, David and I set sail on our first (and last) cruise. We decided it was time for us to go on a trip with just the two of us, and we decided to go on a cruise since neither of us had been on one before. We left on Saturday morning for a 5 night cruise that stopped in Progresso and Cozumel, Mexico. David has always wanted to go on a cruise, but I was a bit more hesitant. I am not a big fan of boats or open water, but I decided to give it a try.

Our cruise started off great. The first day David won us scalp massages in the spa, so we booked full body massages with facials to go with the scalp massages. We did some things on the boat during the first day at sea, and we both played our first game of black jack. (we started and ended with $10) We had the most fun laying out in the sun...it was very relaxing...especially when drinking a pina colada.

During our first port day we stopped in Progresso, Mexico. In stead of doing an excursion that day, we booked our spa appointments. It was a very relaxing morning of pampering. Afterwards we decided to get off the boat just to say we had been there.

The next day was our port day in Cozumel. This was by far our most favorite day. We got off the boat around 8:30 to go on our excursion. We took a catamaran out to a reef off the coast where we went snorkeling. It was so much fun. The water was so beautiful, and it was amazing to see all the fish under the water. We even got to see a HUGE school of fish. After snorkeling we took the catamaran to a private beach with all sorts of activities.

We did a little bit of shopping in Cozumel, and then we headed back to the boat. We had one more day at sea. It was such a calm day, the water was like glass.

Little did we know how our day would turn out. At 12:55pm the boat started leaning to one side. At first we didn't think anything of it, but then it just kept leaning. We were right beside the dining room where we could hear dishes slide off tables and breaking, and could see all the bottles and glasses break from a bar below us. Finally the boat settled back to level. It was the scariest thing I have ever experienced. I really thought we were about to tip over. After about 5 minutes, where everyone was freaking out, they came on the PA system and said the boat had to make a sudden turn to avoid a buoy. It was amazing how much stuff was damaged on the boat in such a short period of time. We were mostly amazed with how much stuff is not secured on the boat. The picture below is of the liquor store. The cabinets fell over, and people had to be shoved out of the way so they didn't fall on the shoppers.

While they kept telling us it was a buoy, we were all convinced the boat made a turn due to how close we were to these little small islands that were out in the gulf. Below is our path and the sudden turn was when we were right next to the green dots.

Here is a desk that slid all the way across a walk way and slammed into the outer wall. It put a rather large dent in the wall and broke the desk.

Every time the boat tilted at all after, I got a little paranoid, but thankfully everything was ok. Here is a picture of us with our wait staff. They were so nice, and made our dinner every evening very enjoyable.

All in all, it was a good trip, but I don't think we will ever go on another cruise. I'm not very sure David and I are "cruise" people...next time we will just fly to our destination.

1 Potato....

Yesterday my mom and sister came up for a visit. My dad wants to make sure we are well fed so yesterday he sent a pot roast and some potatoes with them. Well this morning right before we were about to head off to church Lily found the bag of potatoes. At first she tried to pick them up and move them, but she soon realized the bag was a little too heavy for her. So she did the next best thing...she took out one of the potatoes! We quickly found the camera and took some pictures of her playing with the potato. She did attempt to taste the potato, after which she threw the potato on the ground...I guess she didn't like it. I love how toddlers find the most boring things fascinating.

I call the following "Lily and her Tater"

this was after the 'taste test'

Happy Easter!

Celebrating Easter was so much fun this year! Last year, Lily was just a few weeks old, so she didn't really get to participate in any of the activities (except for wearing a very cute outfit). But this year she was able to enjoy all of the festivities and eat an Easter meal.

On Saturday we headed to the park to celebrate with David's family. Lily got to hunt some eggs, and enjoy some yummy hot dogs. But her favorite thing of all was running around the park. She loved all the paths that went through the park, and she walked on them all day. We had to grab her a few times because she was walking so far away from where everyone else was. Below are some pictures of her enjoying the park. She was laughing the whole time she was running around.

Hunting Easter eggs

I love her face here

She liked holding the eggs better than putting them in her basket

Checking out what is in the eggs

posing with the bluebonnets --she only let us take 2 pictures before she had enough

Later that night, I had to make some food for the next day. Lily wanted to help out. She found a whisk and walked around the house with it.

On Sunday, we woke up early to get to church at 9:00am! This was a bit of a change from our 10:3o service. Thankfully we arrived at church before it started...whew! After church there was a brunch and then an egg hunt for all of the kids. Brunch was so good, there were so many breakfast casserole, and Lily really enjoyed the spinach, mushroom, egg casserole. Then we let Lily participate in the egg hunt. She found 2 eggs she really liked, and she carried those around most of the time.

the family at church

Lily getting her eggs

holding her eggs

After church, we headed over to my Aunt's house for Easter lunch and fun! We had a wonderful meal. Lily loved eating ham, potato salad, mac n cheese, and roasted veggies. She also loved the cakes I brought. After we finished lunch, it was time for the egg hunt. It is always so much fun because my Aunt and mom hid stuff for the big kids to find. I know it must look funny because it was 4 adults in their 20s and a 16 yr old hunting eggs...all with a 1 yr old walking around. Lily had her fair share of things to find. She wasn't much of a fan of the grass, but she had a wonderful time walking on the porch. After the egg hunt we decided to cool off in the pool...actually we got in the hot tub because the pool was a bit too cold. Lily had a great time in the pool. She LOVES water. I can't wait for summer to get here so she can have lots of fun! Below are a couple of pictures of us enjoying the water! I love the second picture :)

I can't wait to celebrate with Lily next year. We are looking forward to teaching her the meaning behind Easter and why we celebrate it every year. It is such a wonderful holiday, and we want Lily to know it is not all about eggs and candy, but it is about so much more.

Sic 'Em Bears!

Baylor made it to the Sweet 16 and then the Elite 8 games in the NCAA tournament! We were lucky enough to get tickets to the game! Here are some pictures of us enjoying the festivities!

Erin was at the game too, so of course we had to take a picture!

Go Bears!

Beltz girls!

lovely name for cotton candy :)

David wore green!?!

Elite 8 game!

The Bears ended up losing to Duke, but I am still very proud of them! We made it further than any one thought we would. And we had lots of fun supporting them!

Time to Celebrate!!

It may have been a week late, but we finally got to celebrate Lily turning 1!!!

We were so glad so many of our family and friends were able to come and celebrate with us. Lily was a bit overwhelmed at first, but she warmed up after a little bit. It was so much fun to have 2 3-year olds, and 5 1-year olds in the house. There was definitely a lot going on at one time.

The birthday girl playing by her daddy

Her perfect birthday cake!

She did so well when everyone sang to her; I was surprised she didn't cry. She started off slow when she ate her cake, but soon she dug in. She was a bit self conscious of eating in front of so many people :)

Lily loved all of her new toys and the other presents she received. She had so much fun playing with them after everyone left. She is such a blessed little girl. She has so many people who love and care for her, and we are so grateful to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

I know I have said it before, but I can't believe my little girl is a year old. I am constantly amazed at all the new things she is learning, and it seems like she does something different every day.

Happy Birthday Lily!

My little girl is now a year old...I can't believe it! I am amazed at how fast this year has gone by, and I am even more amazed at how much she has grown. It is so crazy to think a year ago she couldn't hold her head up by herself, and now she is quickly walking across our living room!

We celebrated her birthday on Tuesday at home with just the 3 of us. She got to try ice cream for the first time (which she loved), and then she got to open all the presents we had gotten for her. She wasn't very interested in actually opening the presents, but she loved what was inside. Below are some pictures of her eating ice cream and then opening her presents.

Unfortunately being one turned into no fun shortly after. Lily came down with the flu (just like the rest of us) right before we were suppose to have her party. After she had a fever for a few days (which we thought was a reaction to her 1 yr shots) we decided it was best to push back her party a week. We didn't want to be responsible for getting lots of people sick. Thankfully I hadn't bought the snacks yet, so we didn't lose any food.

Now that we are all feeling much better, I am so excited for her party this weekend. I am so glad Lily will be back to her happy self for her party.