New Years Eve! - Party 'til it's 2016!

 As we were heading into the dining room, this cream puff tree was the welcoming decoration. Noise makers, hats and new years crowns were all around.

Party of eight for a memorable new years evening!

This son of mine treats me so well. Exactly one year before Jake returned from his mission, we planned this cruise. It would be a trip complete with the whole family. 

We told everyone about it just three days after Jake got home. The anticipation was part of the fun, but being here is the very BEST!

 Celebrations were happening in all areas of the ship - we loved dancing to the mariachi band.

Jake made sure to document all the parties with his go-pro.

The balloon drop was pretty impressive.

We ran back and forth between deck 5 and deck 12 to dance and scream!

Enjoying a little group line dancing...so fun!

My favorite guys in the whole world!

Welcome 2016 - We think it will be a very good year!!

Puerto Vallarta - Port #2

This awesome bird was one of the first things we saw today after getting out of our taxi. He was waiting right by the fish market for any droppings that might fall down. From the look of the sidewalk...I think he is well fed!

He had a friend on the roof as well. Pretty cool birds...

Also, we found Patricia Petroff in Mexico. Haha

She was enjoying the latest braids in her hair as she watched the ocean.

Alli's ready with the video camera to capture some acrobats high up in the air.

Making a friend on the Malecon Boardwalk - This man was very amused listening to Madi try to speak Spanish. 

It was entertaining to watch all the things happening along this beautiful boardwalk. The weather was perfect too.

I don't know what can be more intricate than creating with sand. This was a work of art and this man knew exactly what he was doing.

Climbing up...

A little dip in the ocean before heading back to the ship.

Manzanillo, Mexico - Port #1

 Have you ever been to Manzanillo before? I have never even heard of this place. It was a standard Mexican town.  Of course, we were anxious to head for the beach...really any beach would do. We are not too picky when it comes to beaches. We spent the day here. Drank some coconut juice, went snorkeling, saw a school of angel fish, some sting rays, a few puffer fish and crabs. Madi cut her foot on some coral, ouch! She sliced it pretty good, so we had to take her to the medical center on the ship before dinner. It was right on the brink of stitches, so we figured it's just a toe and they gave us some bandaids - polysporin, then Derek cleaned it out and fixed it up great. 

Two buddies in Mexican waters! I believe this was before the toe injury...

Fresh Coconut Juice!

 Dinnertime is always a great time to sit around and visit about the adventures of the day. I enjoy being with these grown-up kids so much. We have had a fabulous amount of family time and there is still four more days to come. Yay!

 Daddy's girl no matter how much older/taller she gets.

A little late night reading and snacking before heading to bed. We were lucky to have this part of the deck all to ourselves!

Two Days at Sea on the Crown Princess

Happy girls, outside in the sunshine, on deck 12. We have secured our chairs for the day.

Time in the hot tubs with everyone!

Sara and Jake charmed us with their handstand competitions. 

Crazy jumping people - I'll claim them! 

Reading and relaxing with a little snack... 

 Indian Buffet for lunch brought poolside. This is a good day!

Kayli & Chris went with Jake & I to a swing dance class in the afternoon. 

These two were tearing up the dance floor. 

Hands down they are the cutest dancing couple!

Getting ready for the 1st formal night!


Jake looked very dapper in his new Russian suit and new shoes!

Sara picked out the perfect pink dress for formal night.

Watching the waves off the promenade deck after going to dinner and before the show. 

A wonderful evening all around!

The next day at sea, we watched "Enchanted" until it warmed up.

Princess has a great set up for watching "movies under the stars"

The sun is out and the swimming pool is calling these two.

These girlies have so much fun together! And they still entertain us with the crazy games they make up, especially when they can't stop laughing.

Adorable Alli

Lunch again by the pool. We found a perfect spot and slowly collected enough chairs for us all. 

Time to cool down in the pool again...

It's been a great day all together!
Just when we didn't think the day could get any better, the sun set. And it was unreal!! I have never seen a sunset that was made up of so many blue and pink colors.

Sunsets are magical! 
So glad we got to see this on our way to dinner... 

Alli was enjoying taking professional sunset pictures with her expensive camera equipment.