We Went A'Crusin...

So my littlest sister, Laura, my momma and I went on a cruise in February to the Southern Caribbean. It was incredible!! I can't even believe it actually happened. Thank goodness for photos and videos, otherwise I would have thought I dreamed it all up.

Unfortunately, because it was 10 worth of amazing experiences, they are not going to be documented. Instead, I will try to show you some pictures and put a little info with each. Suffice it to say, if you have never been on a cruise, or have never been to the southern Caribbean on a cruise, DO IT!! You will NEVER, EVER regret it. Ever.

Laura and I on our flight over the Gulf of Mexico on our way to San Juan, Puerto Rico

Mom and Laura on the plane

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Feeding the birds in a pavillion in San Juan

Laura feeding the birds

Regan, Laura and Sierra at the Old Fort in San Juan

Kenny is a pirate on San Juan! Arr!

Me in the Old Fort

Steph, Brockle Berry, Regan, Jess and Brad in the Old Fort

Laura and Mom in the Old Fort

The Princess in her tower of the Old Fort

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Shopping in San Juan... Brad entertained himself

Me on the ship with San Juan behind me

The ship ALWAYS had fresh fruit and fruit sculptures

The Promanade of the Ship

Me ready for our first day on our first island, St. Thomas!

Our crew on the bus on St. Thomas

The beach on St. Thomas

A real crab they found while snorkling in the ocean on St. Thomas

Lizard just hanging out on the beach with us in St. Thomas

St. Thomas

St. Thomas

Me on St. Thomas

They had the most beautiful flowers on the islands

Formal Night on the ship! Sierra, Regan and Laura

Me on formal night. It was so humid, the curl and body fell out of my hair within 15 minutes. Sad!

Jess and Brock on formal night

Betty and Kenny on formal night

Jess and Justin on formal night

On St. Kitts, we paid $5 and got to hold baby monkeys

I wanted to buy them and bring them home!! Look at those little diapers!

Laura with a baby monkey on St. Kitts

Extinct volcano on St. Kitts

I look so gross but it was raining that day. I'm eating lemongrass that was plucked off the side of the road. It grows wild there. Along with basil and thyme. AWESOME!

This was a wild puppy that I made friends with. She was so skinny and little that I decided to give her a cracker out of my pack. She took the cracker gently from me, put it on the ground, licked my hand and went back to eating. So sweet! I wanted to bring her home too!

She had an itch

Rainforest hike on St. Kitts

St. Kitts

Beach on St. Kitts~ The water was so cold!

Stateroom on the ship. My bed was the top left

Favorite restaurant on the ship

Regan, Sierra, Jess and Brock at Johnny Rockets

My milkshake from Johnny Rockets

Wes, Betty, Justin and Jess at Johnny Rockets

Laura's hamburger

Laura, Mom, KJ and Me at Johnny Rockets

Brad at Johnny Rockets

Steph at Johnny Rockets

I may or may not have been trying to shove the straw wrapper up KJ's nose  :)

The waitstaff and customers all get up and dance

Justin decided to dance in his booth

Laura has pretty eyes

We rented Jeeps to go all over Aruba

A beach in Aruba

Me in Aruba

I climbed down the side of this mountain through lava rocks to get get to this natural arch. I stepped wrong and gouged my leg pretty good. I still have a good scar. Picture of my leg coming below.

The surf on Aruba

Another natural arch in Aruba

Laura, Regan, Sierra and KJ getting ready to parasail on Aruba

My cut up leg from rock climbing. Yay.

We went parasailing!!!

It was sorta scary, but really cool too!

Parasailing in Aruba

The beach in Curacao

Another beach in Curacao

The crew on the busride back to the ship in Curacao

Curacao

Ah, Justin... he's so pretty!!

And the greatest cruise director that ever lived... RICHARD SPACEY!!!

Every single night after the show, he would tell us how much he appreciated us coming to the show and joining in the fun. They would start closing the curtain on him, but he would just end up laying down on the floor so that he could keep talking to us. Finally, the curtain would go down and you could just hear him and he would say, "I love you". On one of the last nights, I screamed back "I love you too!" His reply you may ask....

"I love you more Darling!" Super funny.

All in all, this was one of the greatest things I've ever done. I loved it. I would never go back to Aruba (too expensive) or St. Kitts (too poverty stricken). I would love to go back to St. Thomas and Curacao though. The beaches were great, the water was warm and the people were fantastic!

Favorite Things: D

I'm going to be brief on the next several Favorite Things posts because otherwise, we could all be here all day reading/writing them!! I just love life dangit! LOL

David:

Man, there are not enough words in the English language to tell you why and how David is my favorite D. Seriously. This kid can make me laugh and cry at the exact same time. David and I met in high school as sophomores and instantly became the best of friends. We dated for a little while through high school and we had a great time, learning more life lessons than either of us thought possible. The beginning of senior year, David's family moved to Utah. We somehow managed to stay best friends. I know I can count on him, and vice versa, even now that he's married and has 2 little kids. We have this weird connection, I call it "brain waves", where whenever one of us is having a tough time, somehow, the other just feels it and there are texts and phone calls. They always come at just the right time. I sure miss him, all the way out in Florida (he's in the Navy), but I know that "... friendships are every bit as sacred and eternal as marriage." (Katherine Mansfield) and so I know that David was brought into my life to really be one of the greatest friends I've ever been privileged enough to know. And I get to be great friends forever. Boy, am I grateful for that! If you're reading this, David, Knock, Knock?  ;)



The David Lynn Whites, all 3 of them. :) I love it!!

 















Disney World:

Good gravy, how I LOOOOVE Disney World!! I've been twice now and have plans to go back again soon. I just don't know when. I love how no matter what age you are, you can be a kid. I love how exciting it all is. I love how it is a sensory overload! I love how many different kinds of people it appeals to. And I love that it is always warm! lol  There are several different parks that make up Disney World, but my favorite, by far is the Animal Kingdom. It's like an overgrown zoo. LOVE IT!! If you've never gone, do it! You won't regret it!



Mr. Dustin:

My little sister is getting married in 8 weeks to a pretty stellar guy. His name is Mr. Dustin. And I rather like him. All towering 6'7 feet of him. He is funny and spontaneous and loves my sister like no one else ever could. He has been an excellent new member of the family and I'm so glad that it's going to be official soon.



Deviled Eggs:

Um... do I seriously need to say anything here? This is self explanatory. Other than I should perhaps say that the aforementioned sister above makes the BEST deviled eggs I've ever eaten in my whole life! Well, I guess except for when the mayo has gone bad and we all start horking them down Thanksgiving day and all stop mid chew when we realize something is terribly off... LOL  Great memories!



Diamonds:

Well, why the heck not? I mean, really, they ARE a girl's best friend after all!!! I love them. Love everything about them... well, except the price... and the fact that men over in NYC smuggle them into the country by sticking them up their bum... but I digress....



Donuts:

Um, I should just state, for the record and so that we can just get it out of the way, I LOVE donuts. In fact, they are one of my greatest weaknesses. If I were kidnapped by some crazy foreigner for some international espionage ring, all they would have to do is tempt me with a fresh chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting on it and I'd be singing like a canary so fast it'd make your head spin. Just sayin... I love them so much, I keep an extra big one right around my midsection...

I have to tell you a story on this one though... When I was little, my dad owned a donut shop called Nibley's Donuts and my momma would have to go into the shop at 4am to start the donuts everyday. No one would be there to take care of me, so I would go in with her and sleep in the back office until whenever I was ready to get up. Then, I would march my little 6/7 year old, pajama clad self out into the shop area where my momma would already have a chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles ready for me and a little pint of chocolate milk. Then, I would take my tasty, and incredibly healthy, breakfast out into the room where all the customers sat, pick a patron, and eat my breakfast with a stranger. It was one of the happiest times of my life. I loved it!



Princess Diana:

It's an unhealthy obsession, I will admit it. Especially since she's been dead for almost 15 years. But, I can't help myself. Whenever I see a book with her on the front, I buy it. Whenever I see a bargain deal on some item of memorabilia (ie. paper dolls from the 80's), I scoop them up and never flinch at the price. Whenever they put her face on a magazine, I have to force myself to only purchase one (because I secretly fear that the first copy will somehow be damaged as I read it and I need to save it in pristine condition forever!!!). It's a bit ridiculous. But... for better or worse... it's the truth.



Dancing (Crazy-like):

Anyone who knows me well at all can attest to the fact that I have two left feet. However, I absolutely LOVE to dance. However, I like to "dance to the beat of my own drum". I like to be silly and crazy and dance like a complete doof. It gives me the opportunity to make others laugh, while being able to laugh at myself, and expends energy, which is always a good thing in my opinion.

This is my sisters and I. We are dancing fools!! LOL

Where's Waldo... Um.... Er.... Heather???

I've been noticably absent from the blogosphere...

Has anyone noticed?

Silly question, I know the answer is yes. I've had many questioning: "So, when are you going to write another blog?!" The answer is NOW! ;)

Actually, I am planning to spend some good time over the next little bit to update and fill you in on some happenings in my life. Wow, how things change in such a short amount of time!

In other words... I'm back. And there is much to come. Hold onto your britches.... it's going to be crazy!!