Cruise 2010 {Excursions}

I keep saying this but I am so behind in telling you about our Cruise so forgive me.  We took so many great pictures and I am so glad because they will be great memories later on. The Excursions we took were pretty awesome. Our first Port day was in  Cozumel Mexico. Mom and Dad C. made us all special matching shirts to wear for this particular excursion.  We were the " CUTLER CRUISERS!" 

 Cody set us up to us to go see the Ancient Ruins in Tulum with a LDS tour guide. It was a very long process but it was so worth it.  We first had to get a Taxi to take us to the Fairy. Finding a taxi to fit 12 passengers was a task..LOL!

The taxi ride was tight but we all squeezed together.  None of the Children were in car seats but hey that's how we roll in Mexico!!!

 Derek and Tayli were my partners in crime for the ride:)

 Next we had to buy tickets for the fairy ride.  I am not sure we knew what we were in for. I am not sure how long the  ride was but it seemed like it was FOREVER not to mention the feeling of nausea from the rough waters. My stomach was up to my throat the whole way! I know my kids were feeling it too and they were already tired!

When we arrived I realized I could not find my camera anywhere! Chris said he knew he put it in the bag but it was not where to be found. He even went back and looked on the fairy and still no camera.  I was extremely upset about it and cried. Hey, I am allowed to be mad about losing my 320 dollar camera! Anyways, besides that we could not ask for more beautiful weather.  We were right next to the ocean and the water was crystal clear.  I just wanted to jump right in. 

 Porter was laughing hysterically while going up and down this ramp next to the water. We met the tour guide there and then he took us on another bus ride. Mind you like I said my kids were already getting tired!

If it was not for all the family that helped out with the boys that day I don't know if Chris and I could have done it. Thank you to everyone who entertained, held, and just helped in anyway they could with our kids.

When we arrived at Tulum there were these cool people doing some type of a show.  They were hanging upside down spinning on ropes.  It was pretty neat!

 We then took a small Train ride into the Ruins.

 We the had a little hike on a trail before we were able to see the ruins but it was so stunning.  I love ancient stuff.  Our tour guide Helamen did a awesome job  and he knew so much about all the Ruins. 

The time period, the stories, and the pictures on the wall all coincided with the timing in the Book of Mormon.  This strengthened my testimony because it all testified that the Gospel is TRUE!

Dad C. was there with us and got to tour the Ruins.  This was the day that Karlee got sick and Mom stayed behind.  We did not know this would be the last day that everyone would be together. 

My kids were tired and the hot sun was not helping. Casey gave Treyson a should ride a good portion of the tour and Trey would just lay his head on top of his head or play peek a boo with him. It was really cute!

 By this point Porter was out cold.  He was so exhausted so I just carried him in the back pack in front of me. We did have so much fun looking at all the Ruins.  The scenery made for great picture taking and the tour guide was more then happy to shoot our pictures.

Chris kept saying, "this is so cool!" "this is so cool!" The fact is, is that it was really neat!  Our little Price family could have been standing where our ancestors from the Book a Mormon once were. Also that could have been in the same place where the Savior himself once ministered to the Americas when he said, "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold."  It reminded me of the movie "The Testaments." 

AMAZING! And it even made it better that we were all there experiencing it as a family(minus Karlee and Mom.)

 The ocean overlook was even more amazing.  

The water the prettiest color of blue I had ever seen! This was the best way to end the tour!

 Of course when it was over Porter woke up and had some sort of a melt down.  Trey was so hot and all he wanted to do with play with my hair..LOL.  Excursions with kids is hard and now to mention everything we did to get here we now had to do to get back...train, bus, fairy, and taxi ride!

Whew it was a long day. While wait for our taxi the boys were itching to get in the water.  Meanwhile Dad is on the phone with Mom trying to figure out the situation with Karlee.  It was crazy day but very worth all the time and effort. 

 Mexico was good to us even though I am not sure I would take small kids on that extensive of an excursion again..LOL. Remember my camera? Well later that night when Christ was cleaning out the boys stuff from his bad it fell and slipped out of a clean diaper!! He had it in his bag the whole time, but who would of thought to check a clean diaper? I was thrilled but really felt dumb for getting so upset about it when he had it the whole time. I am just happy that we were not camera-less for the rest of the trip!

Our next Port day was in Limon, Costa Rica.  We planned on just relaxing at the beach but that changed when the rain came and also the cost of driving to the beach. Last minuet and just spur of the moment we decided to do our own little excursion!

We had to wait a little while for everything to come together since we were not doing it through Carnival but that was OK.  Derek decided last minuet he did not want to come.  I am not sure he was feeling well. The kiddos were holding up pretty well thus far!

The excursion consisted of bus ride...

 We got to see most of the city.  I was so shocked on how poor Costa Rica was. It made me sad and feel so grateful that I live in America and for all the rich blessing I enjoy. 

 After the tour we took a boat ride through the rain forest canals! The kids were still holding up pretty good and Jaden was zonked out by this point.

 My family loved the boat ride!

Treyson was wanting to jump in of course. He kept wanting to feel the water with his hand.

 Porter was standing up and pointing at everything and saying, "oooo," "ahhh!" He was sure holding on tight when the boat starting moving too!

 The rain forest was so cool, there was so much to see!

 Wild Bananas and beautiful flowers!

 There was even this little raccoon that someone had as a pet.

The tiny alligator was a big hit of the boat ride. All the macho guys were not shy to hold him.

 Trey thought he was pretty neat until he got a little closer and Porter grabbed its tail.  Good thing Daddy knew how to handle an alligator:)

 We saw Monkeys...

 and pretty little birds perched on a brand. This was such a fun experience for us and kids.

 Our next stop was the beach.  The rain died down and the weather was rather decent. We bought a coconut to sip on while enjoying our time at the beach.

The water was so nice and all families were loving it.  Kimber started not feeling the best while we were there which was a bummer.

 The kids loved the water.  The waves freaked them out a little but other then that they liked it.

I would like to apologize for my white legs...LOL! I was looking pretty pasty in my swimwear.  Even my blond haired sister was darker then me! That's OK Chris said I was still a "beach babe!" ;)

 Our boys could not get enough of the sand.

 This was Porter and Jadens first time in the sand and Port was surely digging it! He kept scrunching his nose and saying, "oooo", "WOW", and looking at me like, "what is this cool stuff!?!"

 He was literally covered in it from head to toe, just rolling in it laughing!

 Trey was more consumed with the water then the sand and him and his Dad had a fun time swimming together. When he got out he kept shouting, "Mommy I COLD!" Poor guy was shivering. At one moment he was too cold to get back in. We only had about an hour at the beach before we had to load up and get ready to get back on the boat.  We made the most of the hour and I am so glad that my kids got to have fun at the beach since they were dying to get in the water in Mexico. Costa Rica was the most fun I thought.

Our last stop was Colon Panama. We were going to go on a Pirate Excursion with Cody and Camille but Camille and Jaden were under the whether this day.  Derek also stayed behind because he was up all night puking so he was not able to go kayaking either..BOO! Anyways it was raining pretty hard so we just hung out until it died down.

 We just walked around and looked at all the little shops they had. I got a couple pair of earrings for pennies compared to the US.  They had Christmas Tree that was decorated really pretty. It felt weird seeing a Christmas Tree and no snow..LOL!

Some of the women  dressed so authentic in Panama.  It was neat to see even though I think Trey was scared of them..hehe!

 They had these little children dancers that sang and danced for you has you walked by which I thought was really cute.

They also had all sorts of different people playing their different instruments for you.  We bought Trey some maracas at one of the shops so as he walked by and was shaking them the people would come up to him and play for him. He was just playing right along and they started dancing and playing together. He has always had a love for music.

 Porter actually slept through our whole "excursion" through Panama.  Oh well he was sure all smiles when he got up:)

Casey, Kimber, and Tayliann went kayaking in the Panama canal.  I wish we could have done that but with kids you have to pick and choose.  They say it was awesome so we might have to try that on our next cruise. 

 Finally we are done. I know that was a lot so thank you for sitting through that. Yes everyone ended up getting sick besides our family, it was so sad.  Porter got some ear rash again but we met a Chiropractor on the boat to adjust him to get him back on track. Other then all the sickness the excursion days were a hit. You may think this is all but there is still so much more...until then..

Cheers to more CRUISING!