Frankie

Just wanted to do a quick update on Frankie. It has been a month and a half since we learned there is a tumor blocking his intestines.  He seems to be doing okay.  Unfortunately though, the tumor is spreading and blocking more of his intestines and is quite possibly in other organs.  On a positive note though, he is acting just like his old self.  He still growls at Sam when he gets to close to the bed or couch.  He still plays with his toys.  And, as the picture shows, he has quite an appetite.

When we went in for our second opinion, she said to think of 3 things he loves and as long as he is still doing those things, then his quality of life is not being affected.  So, that is where we are now.  He is still enjoying his life and we are still enjoying him.  Even his snoring.

Vacation Recap-Part 3

As I mention in my previous post, Tropical Storm Emily decided to join us on our our vacation.  Before we even left for the cruise, I was watching closely and knew this was a possibilty.  As we boarded the ship Monday at Cococay, we go the official word.  We would not be visiting St. Thomas and St. Martin.  Instead, we would be visiting Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  We were slightly disappointed in the change as I was really looking forward to the Eastern Caribbean and we had just done Cozumel on our honeymoon, but we were able to book the same excursions we had previously planned.  And thanks to the captain rerouting the ship, our entire cruise was smooth sailing.

Anyway, Tuesday was a day at sea.  We spent the day lounging around.  We also had booked a couples massage for the day.  While the massage was amazing, it was very over priced and they really push their products at you.  It's one of those things we didn't really regret, but probably won't do again.  The rest of the day was pretty eventless.

Wednesday, we arrived at Grand Cayman.  This is one of my favorite islands.  There is no dock at Grand Cayman so we are tendered in on large tendering boats.  Once we arrived, we had a bit of time to walk around for a bit before our excursion.

 

The excursion we chose for the day was miniboats and snorkeling.  I had never snorkeled before even though I have been on several snorkeling excursions.  I am a bit of a scaredy cat.  I had decided this time I was going to suck it up and snorkel.  And I'm so glad I did!  We got our snorkel gear and were in miniboats that held two people.  We took the miniboat out, hooked our boats together and were free to snorkel.  We saw lots of fish and it was amazing how close they would come to you.

Next, we headed to a ship wreck for more snorkeling and then took the miniboats around the cruise ship a couple times.  It was a great excursion!  After the excursion, we waited in line FOREVER and then headed back to the ship on the tender.  Once back, we showered, snacked, rested and then headed to dinner.  Anothe great day!



Up next:  Cozumel

Vacation Recap-Part 2

We spent most of our first day exploring the ship, unpacking and getting settled.  We ate dinner in the main dining room at 8:30 each night.  We like the late night seating as we don't have to ruch to get ready for dinner on days were are on an excursion.  Most of the time, you are sat at a table with other people.  We opted to have a table for two and really enjoyed it.  We were able to talk about whatever/whoever we wanted and we weren't forced to make awkward conversation.  The food most nights was very good; however, there were a couple nights that were just fare.  We had amazing wait staff that took great care of us the whole cruise.

We woke up Monday morning and we were at Cococay, Bahamas.  This is a private island owned by Royal Caribbean.  It's a great day to just enjoy the beach and relax.  We chose to parasail though.  We had done this on our honeymoon and LOVED it.  It is very peaceful and serene being up in the air hundreds of feet.  And the view was amazing.  We were very lucky and one of the boys on the boat with us took some great photos of us! 

Relaxing before our excursion



Due to someone (me) thinking our time for parasailing was an hour later than it actually was, we had skipped breakfast.  So, after parasailing, we were hungry and hot and decided to head back to the ship.  We had lunch and then headed to the pool.  I enjoyed some amazing frozen mojitos while sitting it the pool.  Monday evening it was formal night in the dining room.  I love getting to get dressed up!

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a good picture.  This little guy is Rex.  My brother created a Facebook page for him a while back and took pictures of him around his home and work.  So, he came on vacation with us.  Watch for more pictures with Rex!

Next Up:  Tropical Storm Emily decides to visit the Caribbean, too!





Vacation Recap-part 1

As summer began (forever ago), we decided we needed a vacation.  As I said before, I love cruising and Anthony has grown to love it with me.  So, that was a pretty choice.  It was also a pretty easy choice deciding what cruise line to use.  I have cruised with both Royal Caribbean and Carnival in the past and Royal Caribbean has always left me very pleased.  So, Royal Caribbean it was.  We then began looking at ships and itineraries.  We had gone to Cozumel on our honeymoon and I've done Jamaica before and left quite scared, so those two were not really on our list of places to visit.  I also wanted to do a bigger ship than what we did on our honeymoon.  We decided on the Eastern itinerary on Freedom of the Seas.

Freedom of the Seas

On Friday, July 29, we headed to my parents so they cook take us to the airport.  Then, at 4:30 on Sunday morning, we set off for the airport.  We were so excited!  We used American Airline and I have to say I was very pleased.  As military, Anthony is able to check 3 bags for free without orders.  I was so grateful for this as it saved us a good bit of money.  We flew into Orlando and then were taken by shuttle to Port Canaveral.  I had never sailed from this port, but the process was so smooth.  Since I have traveled with Royal Caribbean in the past, we had gained platinum status and were able to skip the line at check in.  Anthony was SO very excited about this part.

The ship was AMAZING!  There was a pizza place, a cupcake place, rock climbing, ice skating, 3 pool areas, a putt putt course and soooo much more.  Here are a few pictures throughout the ship.

The Royal Promenade.  There were shops, places to eat (most included in your fare), and bars along this area.  They have a few parades here as well.

Pizza-look at the line!

The Cupcake Cupboard-Surprisingly Anthony ate here more than I did.  They were yummy, I was just never hungry because I ate all the time!

Cafe Promenade-They had sandwiches, cookies, and coffees here.

The adults only pool.  This is where I spent most of my time as I was looking to relax.

The main pool which was used by most and also used for competitions and games.

The children's pool area.

Putt Putt

Rock climbing Wall

Check back later this week and I will try my best to show you a little bit of what we did on vacation...not just where we stayed!