Sunday, November 2, 2008

Stamp and Cruise

I finally was able to sort through my pictures and resize them to post here so you can all see what I did for the week I was gone! I had such a wonderful time on the cruise. I was REALLY homesick for my kids, but still had a fabulous time meeting all of these wonderful people, stamping my heart out and visiting some new exotic places!

This first picture was one of the many ice and fruit sculptures we saw all week. This was set up as we walked into the Windjammer Cafe for our lunch right after boarding the cruise ship.

The next picture is of Alma, Gina, Kim and myself. They were so kind to invite me out for a drink one night. I had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know them.

One of the very first things we had to do once on the cruise ship was have our lifejacket drill! Here's a picture of Julie and Amber. It was pretty funny seeing a room full of people in life jackets!

It was such a pleasure to meet Char and Wendy on the cruise! The group of friends they were with were a lot of fun and had us laughing most of the time!

This is our dinner crew. We had such a blast with Kris and Luann every night. Getting to hear the exciting excursions they took daily and their experiences in their stamping classes. Our waiter, Vivek, was such a joy. He was absolutely adorable in every way and made our dinners so enjoyable.

We had a lot of fun with Tolga too! He was our head waiter. I think he received a lot of cards that we stamped during the week. Kim made him a "special" card that made all of the rest of us laugh!

Meeting Em for the first time was a real treat. She is such a superstar and I just loved getting to know her!

Gina was a lot of fun too! She had SO MUCH energy and just never stopped. You would never know that she barely slept! LOL She is such a warm person and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with her.

Nichole was such a sweetheart. She is every bit the sweet, beautiful person she portrays on her blog. It was a real thrill to finally meet her.

Nicky is an absolute baby doll! She is so sweet and so very talented. I really enjoyed spending time with Nicky and getting to know her. It's just impossible not to give her a hug every time you see her!

I had such a great time meeting Amber. She is a friend of Julie's who says she isn't a stamper (she fooled us) LOL. I knew Julie through blogging and Paper Pretties and had talked to her a few times before going on the cruise. So, when she said she was bringing a friend with her, I was a little nervous. Being in close quarters for 7 days with someone you've never met can be scary. We had THE BEST time. I felt like I had known Amber and Julie all my life. They made the cruise (and my missing my babies) the best time EVER. I wish they didn't live so far away from me! I miss you guys!

The three of us didn't know what to do being able to dress up each night and not have kids pulling on us and getting their sticky fingers all over our outfits! LOL And for me, wearing something that didn't have to be breastfeeding friendly was a real treat!

Here's a picture of Julie and I in front of the boat in Jamaica. The weather was absolutely beautiful!



Here's a picture of the theater from the next deck up. We went to see the shows, which were great, but they really made me miss my days of performing. . .especially on the cruise ship.


Here's a picture of Wendy, Rhonda and Brenda on our last night of the cruise. They were so much fun and such a riot! It was great meeting you girls!




I almost forgot about this picture of my roomies and I on the beach in Labadee, Haiti. What a beautiful beach and a spectacular view of the ship in the background.

Last, but not least, here's a picture of my sweet daughters. I brought them each back a shirt from Haiti and they just HAD to put them on right then. I had to snap a picture because they were so excited to put them on. My homecoming wasn't the homecoming I expected, unfortunately. I missed my kids SO MUCH. When they picked me up at the airport, I opened the van door to Arwen passed out sleeping and Isaac really irritable. He didn't want to look at me, and that absolutely broke my heart. My husband said he had been irritable all day, but I really think he was mad at me for leaving him for a week. I tried to wean him before I left, but it didn't go too well, so he was forced to drink from sippy cups all week while I was gone. Savannah was so sweet and was standing in the van holding the book she had made for me while I was gone. She flipped through each page to show me the pictures she had drawn and colored of me on the boat! I just started to cry! It was so absolutely sweet. When Arwen woke up, she was VERY excited to see me too! She couldn't stop hugging me and wanted to be by my side always. It took Isaac 2 days to "forgive" me. He's back to normal now, but it still breaks my heart to think about his first reaction when he saw me. My sweet little man.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my pictures! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a great day!

16 comments:

Alex said...

Sounds like you had a fabulous time Charmaine!! It IS hard to leave the kids, and it does not seem to get any easier even when they are older! I too just got back from my cruise, and I missed my kiddos alot!! I am glad you were able to take some time for you doing what you love though - as moms, that is a rarity, lol! Great pics, thanks so much for sharing them! *STAMPIN HUGS* Alex

Jessica Diedrich said...

Ahhhh...It's going to take me a few more reads to process all of this LOL!! Glad you got to meet Char! She's an awesome friend of mine and as sweet as can be!!! Looks like you and Jules had an awesoem time and I think this is something we all need to plan for next year!!!!

carole (TruCarMa) said...

Oh, man! Looks like you had such a blast, Charmaine! And isn't Julie fabulous?! I love her! Glad to see you had such a wonderful time, but I'm sure it was wonderful to get home again.

BarbK said...

The cruise sounds like it was a real blast from start to finish. I have met Em and Nicky and agree with your assessment of them. Hugable Nicky and Superstar Em. Sorry you missed your babies so much, but I'm sure it made homecoming that much sweeter. Glad Isaac has forgiven you. Aren't babies funny?

Chris Scrappin and Stampin in Texas said...

Looks like you and Julie had a great time..
Wow meeting Em, Nicole, Gina and so many others...What fun!! Great pictures

Unknown said...

WOW! I had a blast looking at the photos and living vicariously through YOUR cruise! LOL! It does sounds like you had a wonderful time, and I am so glad you went! Moms must indulge themselves once in a while, ya know!

And the story about coming home to the kids....wowwie! I KNOW you missed them, and so I'm happy that *all is forgiven*. :-)

Bonnie said...

I am so glad you had a good time Charmaine, but I can so relate to you missing your babies! They won't be any the worse for it, in fact it will probably bother you more than them! LOL! Great pictures!

Punkydoodle Papers said...

How fun! I'm so glad you were able to go! I just dropped a quick hint to my DH for next year. . . ((wink))

Rose Ann said...

It sounds like such a wonderful time, Charmaine!! Thanks so much for sharing your memories!!!

Michele Kovack said...

Thanks for sharing your pics! Looks like you had a great time!

Anonymous said...

Sorry your babies missed you so much. However it was a pleasure getting to meet you on the cruise as I visit your blog often.

Debbie M. - Mesa, AZ

stamping bella said...

i loooove you toooo! Superstar??? NOT SO MUCH SISTAH!!
Thanks for the great times and your line dancing is NOT TO BE BEAT!
Mwah!
miss you!
Em

Unknown said...

Hey I think I should just lift your whole post, change a few things and put it on my blog - lol!! You did such a great job!!! I just haven't had time to do one yet . .but I will! I had absolutely the BEST time with you and Amber - you were the perfect roomies!!! I hope we can all meet up again somewhere!! :)

Sharon Harnist said...

OMGoodness, it looks like you had a fabulous trip, Charmaine!! Thanks for sharing all the photos. My youngest daughter is always the same way as your youngest daughter after I've been away -- clings to me for days afterwards and keeps saying how much she missed me . . . melts your heart, doesn't it? Glad Isaac warmed back up!

Charlene Austin said...

Oh Charmaine....what a wonderful post. I so enjoyed reading it and reliving the cruise again!! I am just so happy I got to meet you and that I can call you my friend. You are an amazing person! Ok...I am going to make myself cry...stop it! haha.

Your girls are beyond gorgeous!!!!

Unknown said...

WOW! Great pics! Sounds like FUN!

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