Cruise 2010

I've almost recovered...ALMOST!  We've only been on 2 cruises, but for sure, THIS was our best!  The Carnival Dream ship was so much nicer than the Carnival Triumph.  It was newer and to me, it made all the difference.  There also seemed to be a better selection of food.  We did "anytime dining" on this cruise and it worked out better than I had thought.  We only had to wait once for a table and it was only for a few minutes.  We got to eat whenever we were ready and this is really good when you have 2 hungry kids!! 

Anna had cheerleader tryouts on Friday afternoon (she made it, by the way), so we left after the results were announced and we finished our last minute packing..about 1am.We left from Memphis at 6:10 am on Saturday.  I'm not sure if we'll tackle that again the next time!!  When we finally got on the boat that afternoon we all crashed in our room and didn't even see our ship leave the port!! 

Our first day on the ship was at sea, which was perfect for my crew! 

Our first port was in Cozumel, Mexico.  We didn't have an excursion planned for this day and I wish we had.  There wasn't a whole lot to do, other than shop.  

 

We had lunch at Pancho's Backyard...authentic Mexican...yummmm.

I just loved the inside of this restaurant.  

This was our view from the patio while we ate

Our second port was Isla Roatan, Honduras.  Our excursion this day could not have been better.  We had a short boat trip to Maya Key, which was a private island and a refuge for abandoned and abused animals.  We got to see sharks, monkeys, parrots, jaguar, etc.  Jake was truly in heaven!  Anna made quick friends with George, the monkey....

The kids got there first chance to snorkel.  I couldn't believe how much they loved it!  They had a guide that was very helpful and showed them where to find the coolest fish!!

The guide is a little dark, but you get the idea!!

Here they are snorkeling

And here are a few of the animals that were on the island..

The next port was in Belize.  We had to get a wake up call at 6 am for this excursion!!  Ugh, on vacation!!!  Anyway, it was well worth it!  The ship had to anchor away from the town, so we had to boat in to Belize.  From there, we took a boat down/up the Sibun River for about 8 miles.  This was really cool, because we got to see a few crocodiles.  Here is one that I got to snap a picture of....

Amazingly, our guide said that they have never had a single report of a crocodile attack.  We saw 5 or 6 within the first 3 miles on the river.  

 

Once we made it to our destination, we loaded up in Land Rovers to head to the jungle!

This was an adventure!!!

We road for about 30 or 45 minutes until we got to this area....

We ate lunch in that thatch-roof building.  We had what they call, "Sunday Lunch", which is barbecued chicken, rice and beans, slaw, and a banana.  I don't know if we were all really hungry or what, but it was delicious.  

  We visited a cave there that was pretty awesome. 

 Here are Anna, Joe, and Jake showing off their fashionable headlamps!!

From there, we took a bus ride back to Belize City.  It was a fun day.

The last port was Costa Maya, Mexico.

Jake had recently studied about the Mayan's, so he was really excited about this trip!!  We had a wonderful guide for this tour, as well, so it was educational AND fun!

Here are a few final photos.  

This is a tree that they cut an "X" with a machete to expose the sap to make chewing gum.

Costa Maya, Mexico

Our waiter, Witchit, from Thailand

Isla Roatan, Honduras

and my favorite, from Belize City....

Bye for now....

A week in our life....

 Joe and Jake went to see the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies play last Saturday night.  

 This is Bird Man.

 They came home with lots of funny stories!  Jake said they got "kinda lost" and were told they weren't allowed to drive on the "trolley track" in downtown Memphis!!!  Jake even said that they stopped at every red light behind the trolley!  I can only imagine......  I bet people were laughing and pointing at those crazy people from Arkansas!  haha   

They did come home with an autograph from J.R. Smith, who apparently was the MVP of the game.  

 

 

They got to visit Beale Street....

They ate at The Rendezvous, which Jake told me had the best ribs in the entire world!

This is Jake with his two favorite buddies, Logan and Steven.

While the boys were out "playing" in Memphis, Anna and I took part in D-Now at our church.  D-Now is short for Discipleship Now.  It was a really fun, draining time.  We had about 12 or so girls that stayed at our house Friday and Saturday night.  The girls even had the nerve to go SWIMMING in our pool!!  You could hear them screaming for miles!!  It was a great time and I hope we get to host the girls again next year!!

This week has been full of "Things to do...."  Anna and Jake both have projects due tomorrow.  Anna's science project is practically finished.  All she has to do is adhere the pictures to her poster and it will be done!!  Jake has a Leprechaun trap due and it is almost finished.  It was painted yesterday and just needs the finishing touches (mardi gras type necklaces) glued around for decoration, and it will be complete!!  

Anna has cheerleading tryouts of Friday, so things are getting a little tense, to say the least, around the Dunaway house!  She has practice all week after school, so that will only add to the stress!  She has to learn a new dance, cheer, and a chant for tryouts.  She is nervous, but she will do fine.  

We are ALL excited about next week!  We leave out of Memphis on Saturday morning, heading for blue oceans and white sands!! Joe has been packing since Sunday!!  He is like a big kid!  I am so thankful that we are able to get away for a little while.  Joe has been working really hard and deserves a break!  I hope to get lots of pictures to share.  I've never been to the ports that we have lined up, so I will be the typical tourist snapping pictures left and right.  

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week.  If I am able, I will post next week, but not sure if I will be able to.  If not, expect LOTS of pictures the next week!!  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bye for now.....

Yippeeee for Friday

Dropping in to tell everyone "Happy Weekend!!!"

The temperature here is perfect.....59 degrees, expected to get close to 70 today!  Bring on spring!

Got a little scrapping inspiration this morning from one of my favorite blogs....kristina werner designs.

It was perfect timing, because we have a special birthday girl in our family.  Joe's oldest granddaughter Alexis, is turning 11 next week.  I hope she will like it.   HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXIS!  We love you!

Anna has a band ensemble tonight, so we're traveling to Dover (about 35 minutes from here) to listen to her play her trombone.  She has been going to school early, just to practice, so I know she will be ready to play!  She is trying to decide whether or not she wants to play in the band next year.  In 9th grade, at Clarksville, you play in the high school band instead of junior high band.  It is a big step and an even bigger commitment.  She has been asked if she would like to take lessons from a professor at Arkansas Tech and I think, if she is going to stay in band, that will be a great opportunity for her. 

Last night was filled with science project stuff! 

Anna's project involves ibuprofen......she is testing 3 different types and different water temperatures to see how fast the medication dissolves.  It is going pretty well so far..her dad is planning to get some stomach acid/hydrochloric acid type substance to help her to see if that makes a difference with the "dissolvability".  We were both surprised at how much faster the medicine dissolved in the warmer water!   Can't wait to see what a little acid can do!! 

We are looking forward to a wonderful, warm, spring-y weekend and I, for one, cannot wait!!  Hope yours is the same!

Bye for now.....

Sun, Sand, and Springbreak!!!

In exactly 18 days I, along with my little brood, will be sailing the high seas!!!  I, for one, can't wait.  We went on a cruise last spring break, to St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Grand Turk.  We, overall, enjoyed it, but I would have liked to have been on a newer ship and our itinerary got a little screwed up, when on the first night, a man had an appendicitis attack and we had to reroute.  We ended up going to the furtherest port first, which took 3 days.  Friends, that is a LONG time to be on a boat for this little Southern girl!!!  Anyway, we're gonna see if we can fair a little better this time.  We leave out of Port Canaveral and our ports are Cozumel, Mexico; Isla Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya, Mexico.  Joe said he was going to start packing this weekend!!  He is probably the most excited of us all!!  I've already started tanning a little, so hopefully I won't be slowed down by sunburn.  

In the meantime.....I've been attending a women's bible study at church on Monday nights and I have really enjoyed it.  I have never done this before, worried that Joe and the kids couldn't live without me for a couple of hours each week.....duh!  They are making it JUST FINE.  The study is by Beth Moore, who is just WONDERFUL!  She is a spunky thing and makes the hour or so of study literally fly by.  Here is her website if anyone is interested...Living Proof Ministries.  

This is our study...

Well, to switch gears a little, we have decided that our sweet little Bella, is actually a BOY!!  I did not ASK for a boy....I didn't not PAY GOOD MONEY for a boy, and I didn't WANT a boy!!!  Well, regardless of that SHE IS A HE!  We'll have to deal with it, but I'm just saying....I think she, he is too cute to be a dad-blastid BOY!

We haven't decided on a new name yet, so for the time being, we are going to continue calling her Bella.  It's not like anyone would ever know the difference, right?   

Jake has his last basketball game tonight.  He hasn't really seemed too upset about it, so I guess we are alright with it too.  He won't have another sport until August!  That seems like forever, but I'm sure it is going to be here in no time.  


Anna has cheerleader tryouts the day before we leave for our cruise.  She is a little nervous, just like the years before, but I'm sure she will do her best.  It just adds a lot a nervousness and anxiety around here for a while!!  

Since the Olympics are over, I'm not sure how much longer this absolutely wonderful dipping sauce will be around, but RUN, don't walk. to McDonald's and grab one!!  Jake and I endulge ourselves everyday after school with this "snack", just because of this SWEET CHILI  SAUCE!!  I've actually talked to the manager of our local McDonald's and asked her to put in a good word.  She said she loves it too and has already told them, but for us, she would do it again!!!  Gotta love a small town!

Speaking of things I am loving right now.....

Here are a couple of my scents...

If you don't have one of these....and you like "smells" like I do, you will love the Scentsy.  They are sold by individuals, sorta like avon, or Stampin' Up products.  Just find a distributor online and they will take care of the rest.  It is a wax-warmer that is heated by a 25 watt light bulb.  NO FIRE hazard!  There are tons of scents and apparently they just came out with 28 more this month!  I am going today to pick out something new! 


Well, gotta run....I have much to do!


Bye for now!