Cruise Pics (part 1)

I know you've been waiting to see a few pics from our cruise! I'm just now getting around to seeing them myself! CRAZY - I know!

We got up at 4am on Friday (September 17th). AA, Rick, & Kennedy came to our house - we loaded up the truck and then went and picked up our neighbor (Carl - but we started calling him CARLOS on his first cruise!) because he graciously agreed to drive us to the airport at 4:30 in the morning! (Yeah, he deserves some sort of award!). By 5:20 we were making our way to the gate - oh JOY!!! We were tired, but happy! We had a layover in Dallas before we made it to Orlando. In Dallas we texted people, checked e-mails, and took silly pictures! When we arrived in Orlando, Shani and Jaren (my friends from Omaha) were already there - at the gate - waiting on us!! I had my camera ready and so did Shani...hehehehe, I just love that gal!! It was a WONDERFULLY HAPPY reunion. As we made our way to get our bags, Kennedy found this "$100.00" bill - she was thrilled, til she realized it was simply an advertisement! hehehhehe - WELCOME TO ORLANDO!

We hooked up with the rest of the gang (my dad and Ronda) - and made our way to the hotel where Tim and Jaren promptly began playing with the sleep number beds. (UGH - hated those things, it didn't have MY sleep number apparently!). After we got settled we headed to the COVE to eat dinner. It was a quaint little seafood place and the price was good - so we tried it. I didn't pay much attention to the food, I was just so happy to be in Florida with my family and friends - chatting and preparing to embark on another wonderful adventure!

After dinner, Shani, Jaren, Tim and I headed out to find a Wal-Mart to get a few things that were forgotten. (like Shani needed another suitcase and AA needed sunscreen, etc). On our way to locate Wally World - we found the Kennedy Space Center!! We drove in, hoping to see something cool - but instead we just got yelled at by the guard because they were closed and we needed to leave. We knew they were closed - we were just touring the parking lot!! The next morning we got up and found our SHIP parked just a few miles away!! YAY - let the excitement and pants wetting begin! We got our luggage loaded up and tagged and we were off!!!

After a quick trip through the embarkation process (really - it was rather fast for us!) we started to explore the ship!! We saw the launch pad, all of the food and alcohol that was being loaded, the funnel (that's what makes the ship a CARNIVAL ship), a putt putt course, water slides, the Disney Cruise Terminal, and so much more!!! AH.... the wind was in our hair, the ocean was calling my name.... let's toot this big horn and get out of Florida - I was READY TO GO!!! (you would be too if you had this trip planned for almost 2 years!)
MORE TO COME SOON... stay tuned!