Cruise Day 1

We had such a great time on our cruise! We left Monday morning just in time to beat the snow, thank goodness! We got to our ship, The Sovereign of the Seas, around 1pm. First on the agenda was eating our first buffet meal, and having our first drink. Then we walked around and did a tour of the entire boat. Here is a picture of our ship, and of our room. It was tiny, but you really aren't in it that often so it didn't matter much. The bathroom left a little to be desired though!

That afternoon we had to do our "Muster Drill" which was when we had to put on life jackets and go stand near our lifeboat. That evening we went to our first show, and had dinner in the Mirage Dining Room. We had second seating, which was at 8:30pm and the meal was great. The best part was that if you wanted two of the appetizers you could. If you'd rather have a different side, you just had to ask Nicholi (our main server) and you got it. After dinner we went to Karaoke Superstar (and wow, Simon from Amerian Idol would have had a hayday with some of them!) and then hit the sack. We were getting up early Tuesday morning!

Cruise Day 2

Day 2 of the cruise was my birthday!! Rather than docked, the boat was tendered, so we took little ferry boat over to CoCoCay Beach - the private island owned by Royal Caribbean. We got there about 9am, and even though it was cloudy, it was all still so beautiful. By 10 am, we'd had our first drink (a CocoLoco!) At 10:40 we had our first excursion - all 6 of us went on the Wave Runner tour. It lasted about an hour, and we got to stop a few times, and even though it was a tour, the guys were still able to drive the wave runners as fast as they wanted.

Lunch was a fabulous barbecue and then we went snorkeling for a few hours. The fish were beautiful and as soon as we get our underwater camera developed I'll post pictures. We left the island around 4:30pm to go back and get ready for formal night. As a birthday present from Jason, I got to have my hair done. Sitting up in the dimly lit salon/spa, feeling the gentle rocking of the boat, which having my hair done was so relaxing!

We all met for drinks in the Captain's Welcome Aboard Reception and then went to dinner that. The highlight of the meal were the appetizers - Jason and I both had the shrimp cocktail and escargot - yum! At the end of dinner our table, plus our 3 waiters all sang happy birthday to me and brought an extra dessert.

After dinner we went to see the night's show "Dancin' Thru the Movies." After that it was time for the Rockin' Dueling Piano show (and more drinks of course!)

The best part of the night was the Chocolate Buffet - so much chocolate, so little time! We finished off the night with the pizza buffet. What an action packed birthday!!


Oh and when we got back to our room we had our first towel animal - an elephant!

Cruise Day 3

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the day that we were docked in Nassau. We weren't all that impressed - once you saw one block it was all the same. There were tons of jewelry stores, and of course the straw market. "Hey pretty lady - you want your hair braided?" Jason was most impressed with the Nissan Skylines he saw driving around and the guns on a ship we went by.

We went back on the boat for lunch and then back out to Nassau to take a water taxi over to Paradise Island and Atlantis. It was beautiful over there! The largest room in Atlantis goes for $25,000 a night, with a 4 night minimum. To see the room you have to put down at $5,000 deposit, which you lose if you don't book the room. Atlantis is also famous for it's aquarium - and Jason took tons of pictures of that!

That night we decided to just eat dinner in the buffet, and then we to see the "Love and Marriage Game Show." It was hilarious with questions from "how many people did your spouse date before you" and "where is the most unusual place you've made whoopie?" The couple that had been married 58 years won the show. Afterwards we went to the Dancing Under the Stars and poolside midnight buffet. Then it was time for bed! We had two swans kissing from our towels that night.

Cruise Day 4

Thursday was our day at sea. The morning started out sunny and hot, but the closer we got to Florida, the cloudier and cooler it got. We still had time to lay out, but ended up spending a lot of this day watching some of the contests (Men's sexy legs, and the belly flop), hanging out in one of the bars, and playing in the casinos. (We came out $6.25 ahead.)

Dinner was at the buffet again, and then we went to see the last show. It was called "Flashback" and then did some awesome musical numbers. At the end they brought out a lot of the crew and it was a great way to end it.

After the show we went to Superstar Karaoke again, and then came the highlight of the cruise. We played an adult scavenger hunt game called The Quest. Some of the items were:
- a male team member must bring up two ladies bras. Jason took up mine and Beth's.
- a female team member had to go kiss a guy's bald head. I did this one.
- 2 male team members had to skip around holding hands. Jason and Ben did that one.
- a male team member had to go crawl around and bark like a dog. Jason did that one.
The grand finale was:
A male team member had to take his shirt off, put on a bra, wear lipstick, ladies shoes, and carry a handbag. And you guessed - Jason did it! If you click on the link below you can see video of it (sorry, no sound.) It starts out and Jason tells Rob, our cruise director, that we are team #5. Then Rob tries to fix the bra on Jason. Then you get to see his fabulous model walk, finishing up with a nice smack on the butt. Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUM6Yz-N_pk

In case you can't get the video to work, here is a picture:

After another great pizza buffet we went to bed. Our final towel animal was the best!

Congratulations Megan and Allen!

Gavin Andrew Tucker entered the world on Feb. 7th, at 3:11am. He weighs 6 lbs, 8 oz and is 21 inches long and has a full head of black hair. The proud parents seem to be doing great! Jason and I get to go meet Gavin tonight at the hospital and we can't wait - until then, here is a picture of him:

Birthday Weekend

My mom's birthday was today and since Jason and I will be on a cruise for my birthday, we also celebrated mine. We went to an amazing dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse downtown, where the steaks sizzle and the Chocolate Mouse Cheesecake was to die for. We went as part of the Indianapolis Restaurant Week (www.indyrestaurantweek.com) and had a great time.

This morning we had the family over for a joint breakfast brunch. We had apple cinnamon bread, bacon, and Belgian waffles with all the toppings. Afterwards, Karen and Patrick went back down to IU and Jason, mom, and I went down to the fairgrounds for the Indianapolis Home Show.

What an awesome day!!!!

First, happy anniversary to us!!! We kept it pretty low key today - had an early dinner at our favorite restaurant, Charlestons, and then watched the Colts game with some friends. We weren't going to exchange presents because of our upcoming cruise (3 weeks!) but Jason created a whole scavenger hunt for me and at the end was tickets to go see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat next weekend. They are "paper" and it was perfect!

We watched the Colts game at Anne and Kyle's and all I can say is "SUPER BOWL BABY!!!!" It was amazing and my heart is still racing. It's going to be an I-65 Superbowl between the Bears and the Colts!!

We cut into our "anniversary cake" and at the end of the game toasted with some champagne we saved for the last year. The cake was a remake of the top layer of our wedding cake, as we at that at our one month anniversary.

Snow!

This was actually earlier this week and so far is the most snow that we've had this year. Just wanted to get a picture of our pretty house.

I met Joey McIntyre!!!!!

Last night my mom, aunt, and I went to see Dancing wth the Stars. First, that was absolutely fantastic! (Getting to see Joey Lawrence, Joey McIntyre, and Drew Lachey all in one place certainly helped!) The dancing was amazing and fun and probably made everyone want to run out and take dance lessons. Drew and Cheryl (winners of Season 2) did their famous “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” routine and had everyone whooping and hollering for them (there is no other way to describe it.) Cheryl had even added a horseshoe to the back of her little vest – Go Colts! I didn't get a picture of them, but here is a picture of the "set" and of Edita and Joey Lawrence dancing.

The icing on the cake for the evening was after the show. Joey McIntyre (formerly of New Kids on the Block, and who, when I was 10, I was convinced would be my future husband) released a new cd. It’s all of the “classics” – The way you look tonight, Moon River, My funny Valentine, etc. It’s a lot like Michael Buble, who we all know that I love.

Anyways after the show he was signing autographs and taking pictures, and of course I stood in line for it! Luckily I didn’t start crying or say something incredibly stupid when I got up to him. But I did get my cd signed, and my picture taken with him!

Sigh – he’s still so dreamy! (Ignore the orangish face – he still had the makeup from the show on.) I think that all of my childhood fantasies have now been fulfilled. I met Debbie Gibson a few years ago (who, when I was 10, I wanted to be) and then last night Joey McIntyre!!

And yes, I know I’m a dork.

Holiday Gathering

On Tuesday night we had the high school gang over for munchies and drinks. Jen, Chris, Nikki, Tyler, Anne, Kyle, Chrissi, and even Arfman were able to come over. I'll have more pictures after Nikki sends me the ones from her camera.

More Christmas!

After we celebrated our own Christmas on Saturday night/Sunday morning we went down to Ellettsville for the Fletcher Christmas. We went to the midnight service on Christmas Eve and then opened presents Christmas morning!


When we got back from church we walked in to find a ball of yarn (I've taken up knitting again) rolled out all around the living room floor. Apparently one of their cats decided to have a little fun.

More Christmas pictures

We tried to have a family picture taken for our first Christmas together, but Cali and Pickles weren't really willing to cooperate.


Speaking of the kitties, there were a few gifts this year that were their favorites. The catnip, the treats, and the laser light thing that they chased everywhere. Even when Jason shut it off they both stared at the wall waiting for it to come back.

It's Christmas!!

Christmas started for us on Thursday evening at the Felts house. We went to dinner, watched some movies, and woke up Friday morning to open presents! Then we went back to our house to get ready for our dinner that night.

Our main Christmas present to each other was a brand new stainless steel gas grill. We decided to break it in Friday night for our dinner, so Jason had to spend about 3 hours putting it together.


For dinner we started with drinks and munchies, then it was on to a hot bacon dressing salad, steak, creamy mashed potato bake, glazed carrots, garlic green beans, and rolls. Dessert was a red velvet cake.

The Best Hot Chocolate Mix Ever

For our neighbors and coworkers we made the best hot chocolate mix ever to give them. It seemed to be a big hit.