I love it when we're cruisin' together

Over all we had a great time on board the Carnival Holiday. Next time we will probably choose a bigger ship (you can see how tiny the Holiday is by the picture) to avoid all the rocking and also to have a greater variety of amenities to choose from. Since we don't drink or gamble, that kind of limited us! We still managed to have a great time though and our bank account is very happy with our decision. Thanks to Mom and Dad Gervens for carting us to the port and back. That alleviated a lot of stress for us!

Our first night at dinner. Dave and I both gained 4 pounds during the week and it was sooo worth it.

We were the first one's to arrive at the dinner table but our future tablemates were right behind us and witnessed my napkin head display. She yelled from behind me "oh good I was worried we'd be sitting with some stuck-ups but I can see that's not the case!" :p

A different towel animal every night! The elephant was my favorite and even though I didn't get a picture of him I think I figured out how to recreate him.

Sweet and Sour Shrimp

Sirloin filet

I managed to find a little pixie dust on the ship even though this wasn't a Disney cruise. The magic follows me. How cool is that?

Lexi's Visit

Lexi came down from Chattanooga to spend the day with me. We had a blast doing some power-shopping and catching up over coffee in Huntsville's 5 Points district. Mary's antiques, gifts, and junk was mostly just JUNK as you can see. LOL. We experienced a bit of sensory overload in there so it was time to head to the mall. Thanks for going to Build-a-Bear with me, Lexi! I know you love it. :p

Look who walked into church Sunday!

It's safe to say that Csilla is the last person any of us expected to be at church Sunday, but there she was! What a nice surprise! Monday Katy, Bella, and I were able to go out to lunch and scrap shopping with her before Mom met us all at Dairy Queen for dessert. We miss you Csilla!

Jack Hanna

This definitely ranks up there with one of the cooler experiences of my life. Dave had no idea who Jack Hanna was, and really doesn’t care about animals but still really like the show! Being the animal nut that I am it looks like I’ll be using my bachelor’s degree to scoop poop at the vet’s office. LOL!

Jack was super nice and took time with everyone for autographs, pictures, and chit-chat before and after the show Can you tell I'm super psyched? I'll never wash my arm again.Haha.

Jack took the gospel tract I gave him, thanked me, and promised to read it. I hope he is already saved because I can’t stand the thought of such an animal lover going to Hell. Just like I don’t like to think about the fact that Walt Disney probably wasn’t saved. Yes, there are thousands waiting to here the gospel in Africa….I’m so carnal. LOL

The cheetah was the last animal brought out and no one was allowed to get out of their seat or clap while he was on stage. Such a gorgeous cat! Their front claws are not retractable so they look similar to a dog’s paw which is kind of bizarre.

Afterwards there was a little meet and greet with some of the animals. Dave decided the two-toed sloth would make an awesome pet. They live their whole lives in three or four trees and only sneak down once a week to poop!

I forget what kind of armadillo this is, but his shell (which feels just like a sea shell) is almost hinged so he rolls into a perfect little ball. They are the funniest things to watch scamper around!

Roll Tide!

Fight night turned into game day since we couldn’t get enough participation to justify pay-per-view fees. J Dad and the Cedillos came over for some food, fun, and fellowship and if Bama had only won the game it would have been the perfect evening!

This was my first attempt at a cool looking cake and I’m pretty proud of it considering I had no clue what I was doing and haven’t started my decorating classes yet!

The kids and I had fun hanging out and being kids! Clarissa and Bindi just loved swapping clothes.

Then out came our awesome Mr. Potato heads with all their new Disney accessories. We got some pretty neat combinations together!

Redneck Roses

Dave brought flowers home from work (along with a Lipton citrus green tea) because he is such a sweetie. This is how us redneck girls display our flowers. :p Don't worry...I'm getting a vase from Mom's house tomorrow. Although this arrangement does have a certain je ne sais quoi don't you think?

Our Last Day

On our last day we slept late, did all of our laundry, checked our baggage with bell services, then took Old Key West’s Ferry to Downtown Disney.

Saratoga Springs was on the route. We stayed here for Dave's birthday.

Fulton’s Crab House had some of the best food we ate on the whole trip and the prices were much more reasonable than inside Walt Disney World. You can’t beat the atmosphere either!

After lunch there was enough time to see Ratatouille at the theatre and do some shopping and pin trading before riding the ferry back to Old Key West in time to catch the Magical Express back to the airport. Our flight home was smooth and we even had fun on the car ride back from Nashville! When can we go again???

The Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom was decked out in Fall/Halloween finery for the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party events that take place from September-November.

I finally got a picture with Ariel! Her grotto is usually packed out, but since this is the off-season we didn’t have to wait in line for very long. Just a little factoid for you…Did you know that Disney Princesses are required to be a size 10? Yep, they are contracted not to loose or gain weight during their stint as a Disney princess since all princess costumes are a size 10. Why a size 10? They’ve determined that a size 10 is the perfect size to showcase the costumes and look realistic at any distance. Any smaller and the princess looks too slight in the parades and doesn't have a curvy figure and any bigger and she looks too chubby! Disney thinks of everything.

Check out Mom on the Space Ranger Spin. I think she’s been watching too many action movies! LOL

Typhoon Lagoon

Today Dave and I decided to go to Typhoon Lagoon waterpark since neither of us had ever been. Mom opted to use her annual pass to do some theme park hopping. I got some great shots of Typhoon Lagoon that will hopefully develop OK on the disposable waterproof camera. TSA wouldn’t let me carry it through the metal detector on the way home so I’m hoping the X-ray machine didn’t ruin the film.

By far our favorite ride!

We fell in love with the wave pool which sends 10 foot waves your way every two minutes. Don’t even try to stand up or keep your head above water! They actually give surfing lessons in the pool before the park opens.

I opted to snorkel with the sharks in the reef, but Dave decided not to since the water was kept so cold (and it was freezing!). Discovery Cove is definitely a better experience, but this was still worth doing.

Coral Reef Surprise!

Happy anniversary to us! And what better way for three junkies to spend it than a trip to Walt Disney World? Southwest had an incredible deal on airfare that just happened to be on our anniversary, so Dave was excited to come along with Mom and I on yet another of our trips to see the Mouse. After landing in Orlando and checking into our room at Old Key West, we rushed over to Epcot (and got our special Disney anniversary button pins) for our reservation at the Coral Reef restaurant. Little did we know that Mom had a special surprise in store for us.I was so happy that we were seated right next to the fish tank which had never happened in all of our 20 years of coming to Disney World. Additionally, there was a giant sea turtle taking a nap beside our table, so I chalked it up pixie dust and was enjoying our “lucky” spot.
Disney water just tastes better for some reason! LOL

After placing our orders, we noticed a diver in the tank who appeared to be feeding the fish so I grabbed my camera hoping he would wave to the diners or something and I could get a neat shot. Now for the cool surprise….He swam right up to our table and revealed his anniversary good wishes on a waterproof scroll! The whole restaurant was reading the message aloud then cheering and clapping. Next, he took out a ghostwrite/magnadoodle thing (remember those from the 90’s?) and wrote “even though I didn’t get invited to dinner!” on it. So funny and magical that Tinker Bell herself could not have given us this much pixie dust! If you would like to celebrate an occasion at the Coral Reef with a diver just contact my mother. Surprisingly, it is a free service but takes a lot of planning, begging, Disney know-how, and luck to be chosen! Thanks so much, Mom!

We hopped over to visit Figment afterward since he was right next door.

Old Key West

Old Key West, true to its name, provided us with the perfect laid-back atmosphere for a relaxing long weekend. Mom had reserved a studio room at an annual passholders discount rate but when we arrived at the resort, they announced that we had received a free upgrade to a one-bedroom suite!!! Thank you, Lord for blessing us with so many little extras that we don’t deserve. This trip was just packed with them…as if we deserve to enjoy a place like Disney World anyway!

The entire suite including the Jacuzzi was handicap accessible. This tub was huge!

The lighthouse is actually a clever disguise for the resort’s sauna. Only at Disney! And people wonder why we keep going back. :)

Towel animals were waiting to welcome us to the suite.

Yawn

I’ve been a blog slacker lately! That’s what happens when you are too busy to think straight and the things that you are busy with are just plain boring! Shall I post a picture of myself writing paper after paper, taking test after test, scrubbing toilets, and learning to crochet? How about Dave punching the time clock, managing our 2ish acres, and repairing my aging car? I know: the excitement would kill you. So until something more interesting happens to us, I leave you with Calvin who pretty much sums up my feelings of late….only 8 more months to go!

P'cola

We had a great Labor Day visit with the family in Pensacola. It was great to hear Dr. Ruckman preach again and to see him as spry as ever! Dave and I skipped church Sunday night though in order to pay a little visit to Pensacola Beach. J It was crowded but well worth it.


My crazy mother-in-law is just as flexible as her grandkids! (I wasn't kidding when I said this was going on the blog, Mom!)

All the kids were sick and had fevers, but Amelia felt well enough to give me this gorgeous princess makeover complete with wand!

The little princes are just thrilled to be a part of this!

Stephanie and Phil were able to meet us for a quick lunch Monday before we headed out into the rain and traffic. It was great to see you guys!