Life as Jodi sees it: July 2012

Anyone who knows me, knows that one of my favorite things to do is going on vacation. I look forward to it for months, love all the shopping and enjoy getting ready. My all time favorite vacation to go on is on a cruise ship. I have been on 9 cruises and each one gets better. (My sister's seven year old has been on four). We finally decided to go on another Carnival Cruise this year.

July 7th
We left Phoenix early Saturday morning and drove to California. We stopped in Riverside to see my cousin Jerelyn, her husband Phil, and their twin sons Justin and Matthew. We visited for a few hours and drove on to Huntington Beach. We checked into our hotel and decided to have dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. I LOVE that place and as usual the food was delicious.

The restaurant was on the water in Newport Beach. The view was beautiful.

Kianna and Mariah ordered chicken, Caeli had salmon, and the rest of us had shrimp. What a wonderful way to start vacation.

The restaurant was crowded and noisy, but we had so much fun. We were all tired and went to bed quickly when we got back to the hotel.

July 8th.
Everyone was up early and had breakfast and got ready. We had a 30 minute drive to Long Beach and drove to the pier. The terminal is located next to the Queen Mary. We boarded The Carnival Splendor quickly and were on the ship by 11:30 am. We went up to the Lido Deck and had our first photograph taken on the way.

We walked up the ramp and entered the ship. We took the elevator up to the ninth floor where the Lido Deck is. The girls walked around a while.

There were people everywhere and we found a table.

Lunch was served and everything was delicious. The food on the ship is amazing.

We had to wait until 2:30 to go to our cabins. We walked around the upper decks and took lots of pictures.

We hung out by the pool. It was a beautiful, cool day (to us - it was in the low 80"s).

This is my idea of a great life.

We had two cabins, Lori, Kianna and I were in one cabin. It had a balcony. Pam, Mariah, and Kianna were across the hall in an inside room. Our luggage was delivered and we unpacked. At 4:00 we attended the safety drill (the most boring part of the trip). We had the late sitting for dinner (8:15 pm) and were seated at table 310. There was a welcome aboard show at 10:15. When we got back to our room each night there was a towel animal waiting on the beds. Kianna couldn't wait to see what animal was waiting for her each night. I think the bulldog was her favorite.

July 9th
We were up early the next morning. It was a Fun Day at Sea. After breakfast we headed up to the pool.

The morning was foggy and cool. It did not stop the girls from going into the pool.

Mariah preferred the jacuzzi.

Around noon the fog burned off and it was warm and beautiful. The girls enjoyed the activities around the pool.

We love to watch the ice carving. This man was amazing. In 20 minutes he carved an Indian head.

(Kianna is right behind him watching intently)
Then there were many fun games by the pool.

Lorraine and Pam played miniature golf with Kianna. It is on the top deck and the view is amazing.

The ship has two elegant nights. We showered and dressed for the first one.

Kianna loves dressing up!

Before dinner we walked around. There are photographers everywhere and the girls love to have pictures taken.

Our family portrait.

July 10th
The ship docked in Cabo San Lucas early in the morning. We were all up early. After breakfast, Lorraine, Pam, Mariah, Caeli and Kianna took a tender into Cabo. I stayed on the ship. My knees and back are not great and a lot of walking did not sound like fun. I LOVE the time alone on the ship. I read and do puzzles.

When everyone was back on board the ship, we had lunch and laid by the pool. Our favorite bartender found us quickly and we ordered Margaritas.

One of the advantages to a cruise is that all food is included. (if only all drinks were, our bill would have been a lot lower.) Kianna ate her weight in ice cream cones and loved every minute of it.

Tuesday night we got ready and posed for more pictures.

They took so many cute ones. Lori finally decided on the one below and had it made into a canvas for over her fireplace.

I love these girls!

Dinner was delicious. Our waiter (Jonathan from the Philippines.) did tricks for the girls. He liked to make the napkins into animals and told Kianna that he could turn her into a bunny.

Jonathan and all the other waiters danced at dinner.

The girls joined in.

July 11th
Second day in Cabo San Lucas. Lorraine, Pam and Kianna went into Cabo and did more shopping.

Kianna had so much fun.

They had so much fun exploring the area.

Back on the ship we laid in the sun, swam and ate.

Kianna was excited to finally be tall enough to go on the water slide. She went many times!

It was wonderful to lay in the sun, cuddle with kids, read, and have someone bring us drinks. This is the only way to live (one week a year)!

Mariah and Caeli were exceptionally close on this vacation. Caeli is going into 6th grade and has more in common with Mariah. They did everything together.

Mariah and Caeli slept late and joined us at the pool each day.

The girls got ready for dinner.

The dining room was fun every evening.

That evening they had a party on deck at 10:30.

July 12th
We arrived in Puerto Vallarta early Thursday morning. I stayed on the ship again, but everyone else was off early to swim with the dolphins! They took a short drive on a bus to the Dolphin Encounter.

They were given a brief talk on dolphins and then broken into groups of 9 or 10. They entered the pool and met two dolphins, Tanelli and Nellie.

They taught the dolphins tricks.

They each got to hug and kiss the dolphin.

Then it was time to go for a ride on the dolphin.

They had so much fun, but were sorry that they only got 30 minutes in the water with the dolphins. They took the bus back to the ship and joined me for lunch.

We swam and laid in the sun. It was a beautiful day.

While in Mexico the girls each bought a dress (Kianna also got one for her American Girl doll.)

We went out on deck before dinner and took pictures.

We even took adult pictures!

Dinner was delicious. The waiters perform every night and tonight was a very sexy dance. Jonathan performed right in front of me and I might have been embarrassed, if the girls reaction wasn't so funny. Mariah and Caeli were each red as a beet and everyone around us was laughing hysterically.

Friday, July 13th

Another fun day at sea. We slept in, enjoyed coffee on our balcony (we even saw dolphins jumping in the ocean) and then headed to the pool. There were lots of food, drinks and games.

The loved the hairy chest contest and Caeli joined in the limbo contest. She was eliminated on the final round.

The girls spent time together in the jacuzzi.

The pool was beautiful and we swam a lot.

The 2nd Elegant Night was held and we all dressed up and went on deck for more pictures.

Pam and the girls

More dancing

Lorraine and Kianna

July 14th

Saturday was our last day at sea. We went to the dining room for breakfast.

Mariah and Caeli slept in and missed the delicious food.

It was a cold, windy day and we headed to the pool area. At lunch they served a chocolate buffet. There was a chocolate fountain, and every chocolate dessert that you could imagine. We took a lot of different ones and everyone tried a little.

Kianna had a cream puff shaped like a swan, her look said "Do you expect me to eat this?"

The cold got the best of us and we ventured inside and spent the afternoon playing UNO.

Every night a sushi bar opened and it was delicious. Caeli and I visited a lot!

We enjoyed dinner and spent a lot of time talking and hanging out on the Promenade.

Reluctantly we all went to our cabins and packed. We had to put our luggage outside our door by midnight.

July 15th

We were very surprised to get off the ship quickly. We were in our car by 9:30 and headed to Huntington Beach. We stopped at Subway and bought sandwiches. Then headed to the beach.

It was cold, only 69 degrees and the beach was empty. The girls ran and jumped and had so much fun.

We ate lunch on the beach. I have never figured out why food tastes so much better there.

We had bought pails and shovels before we left Phoenix and brought them with us. Caeli helped Kianna build a sand castle. When we left we gave them to some children on the beach.