Crusin' Here We Come!

Going to Miami...Welcome to Miami
We had the funniest thing happen on our flight from Dusseldorf to Miami. Our plane from Zurich to Dusseldorf was late so when it arrived, all the people with connecting flights to the US were rushed through the passport line. The lady had us all wait until everyone was together and then we RAN FULL SPEED through the Dusseldorf airport following her. There were old ladies, fat people, and of course we had the baby in the stroller - and were still behind the pack! Tally had to run ahead to see where they were going and then poked his head around each corner to make sure we were following. I wish I could have caught it on video. Then our flight was delayed and we waited for another two hours. So much for organized Germans. They're definitely fit though!
Happy Anniversary to us. I never thought we'd spend our 5 year anniversary FLYING. Kelsey did pretty well on the flights all things considered. She only slept 2 hours out of 10 and cried for maybe a total of 5 minutes. They were a long 5 minutes though. She didn't want to sit in the baby seat belt that Air Berlin has that attached to my seat belt but luckily that was only required during take off and landing. Kelsey showed off her new walking skills and made many friends on the plane. Luckily the guy next to us in bulkhead was nice because she kept pulling herself up on his legs and waking him up.

It was such a long flight that Kelsey started reading - and in German! Haha...she loved her little bassinet, when she could play in it.

Prodigy Child

Once we got to Miami, we rented a car and drove to Ft. Lauderdale. Our GPS was on "shortest distance," which we didn't realize for the first half of the drive. It wasn't until a few missed freeways, a lot of red lights and ghetto back streets that we pulled over and realized it wasn't on "fastest time." We met my parents at a restaurant and ate at 10pm, which was 4am our time! Kelsey, who had fallen asleep, woke up and had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and then went back to sleep. It was all but a dream to her :). It was so good to see my parents and to NOT be on a plane! Our hotel, Hilton's Ft. Lauderdale Grand Yacht Club, was very nice, especially compared to European hotels with similar price tags.

Our View

Kelsey played with kids from the Bahamas

My mom and sister, Julia with a tired baby

The next morning, after a run to IHOP and Target and a dip in the hotel pool, we boarded Royal Caribbean's "Enchantment of the Seas." My dad found my Uncle Wes (mom's brother), Aunt Mimi and their girls at the entrance and it was great to see them there. Brooke and Taylor have grown into beautiful young women with great personalities. They also brought along their friend Carly. I had seen them the month before we left for Switzerland (Feb 2007) but my family hadn't seen them for 6 years and Tally & Kelsey had never met them! They all got along really well with Tally and they loved playing with Kelsey.

Enchantment of the Seas

This ship was nice, but a bit outdated and smaller than the ship we went on with Carnival.We agreed that the next cruise we'd try to go on the biggest ship in the carrier's fleet with a mall and a wave pool. What was most important was seeing and spending time with our family.

Here we are during the ship's emergency drill. Don't be alarmed, they do it on every cruise. Kelsey did NOT like the baby vest so we didn't make her wear it. Even in the heat she was entertaining the crowds.

Playing with my family

Making complete strangers her biggest fans

Family snapshot

I just posted this picture to embarrass my sister. She's the queen of sweet poses.

Crazy Kelsey

Setting Sail

My sister Julia was such a good aunt. One night she watched Kelsey while I took a shower and Kelsey cried the whole time (little stinker). She still loves her anyways but Kelsey may never get cousins.
At dinner, we met up with Lisa & Steve. It was so heartwarming to see them and catch up with them. Lisa is always so thoughtful and brought us a gift for Kelsey and an anniversary card. My Grandma Nanoo or Grammie didn't end up making it on the cruise (the whole reason we planned it). She suffered some heart problems before we left and it would have been too taxing for her to come. We all thought about her daily and even got to call her, with all of us gathered around. It was sweet and a bit emotional. We're hoping to do a book for her with all the cruise pictures. The food on the cruise was pretty good and of course there was plenty of it! Here's some shots of us putting it down.

Kelsey playing with my Aunt Lisa before bedtime.

Soaking Up The Caribbean Sun
We had great weather (which the forecast had called for rain and we left the week after a hurricane) which meant lots of time in swimsuits and sun. The music was playing and it was relaxing to lay out and do nothing. My parents took Kelsey for awhile, which was a nice break.

Brooke & Taylor

Mimi holding Kels

The wonderful babysitters (and family) of the sleeping one

THE ROCK CLIMBING WALL

Formal night was the next day and Kelsey was dressed to impress! She had a crush on the head waiter (Abdullah from Turkei) and laughed, flirted, and even reached up for him to hold her!

Me and my mom

The Lovely Ladies

Pretty Girls!

After five years, we've still got it!

A not-so-good family photo with the sunset

My beautiful baby sister who is currently bike riding across the US

Julia and the Pirate