Maarten.. Thomas & Cay we are on our way!

Time to see the sights!!!

The ports of call on this Disney cruise were
St. Maarten, St. Thomas & Disney's private island Castaway Cay.

In this entry is all the stories and sights we saw while exploring.

St. Maarten.

When we travel we usually take the interesting route. We don't book excursions with Disney, we piece adventures together ourselves. We do this for two reasons;

1. Everett is to young for most Disney approved adventures &
2. We like to get a flavor of somewhere by a unscripted local and see what happens.

St. Maarten proved to be just that, an adventure and an adventure the local way. The Newman's decided they wanted to try their hand at the unpredictable way. We set out early morning in search of a boat in a marina down the trail. After a 15min walk we found our meeting point and Trent was able to locate the captain FINALLY! Things started to fall into place.

On St. Maarten we decided to book our own private motor boat to fish a little and snorkel with the kids. The weather was not cooperating as much as we would have liked and the waves were a thrill ride in of themselves. We scratched our original plan and headed to a bay for a few hours of play time.

(our mode of transportation. The captain and his mate made us laugh and the homemade cookies were yummy. We had great friends and a beach to play on ... what more could you ask for)

(us girls out in search of treasure. Unfortunately the visibility was not the best but it was fun to float around anyways)

(my fish... Emma says her favorite place to be is in the water)

(a quick video of a piece of St. Maarten from the water)

True STORY! When we got to Simpsons Bay Beach, Collin dove into the water and he came up screaming. When he dove in a fish bit his nipple. What are the chances of that, it was pretty funny but he was in pain. The little fishy was looking for some free food I guess.

(a view from the beach... The guys trying to decide which boat they are going to buy..haha)

(a view of Simpsons bay from the water... )

(all the kids searched for sea shells and came up with some beauties.
The boys said it was COOL to be on the beach)

(our some times narcoleptic son. Ev did like he always does when he gets on a boat...
Starts to snore)

WHAT IS THE ALLURE OF St. Maarten?

The island of Sint Maarten-Saint Martin is the smallest land mass in the world to be shared by two different nations. Only 37 square miles are owned by France and the Netherlands Antilles.

The official currency of the French side is the Euro. The official currency on the Dutch side is the Netherlands Antilles guilder (florin). Good thing they take the US dollar from the thousands of cruisers that dock each and every day at the island as well.

St. Maarten was a nice day. In the afternoon Trent and Collin took the kids to play while Jen and I perused the shops. It was fun just walking around the streets checking out the merchandise.

(St. Maarten is beautiful, I love the colors and the European feel to it)




ST. Thomas

On to our next adventure. We again booked the next excursion with a local company and we were not to sure what to expect. After walking and walking and a bit more walking we finally found the correct dock to await for the arrival of Captain Mike and his sail boat. Our destination this day was Buck Island to do some snorkeling and if we were lucky see some sea turtles among the marine life.

Captian Mike and his mate ... WOW they were awesome. Customer Service, they had down to a science as well as their banter with eachother and the customers. It was a fantastic day.

(here is our sailboat for the day... )

This was the kids first experience on a sailboat and they did amazing. They loved when the mate put up the big sail and the boat tilted over. Easton sat on the side of the boat saying "this is the life". He knows how good he has it.

(our chief sailors ... BOND for life (BOND is some sacred football stuff... ask the guys)

(East & Em are thinking they could get used to this life)

(and again our narcoleptic Ev again... No joke we got on the boat and 15min in he was asleep. He was moved twice to accommodate the change of sail direction and did not wake up)

(Ev is up ready to rock & roll. He was putting on a dance performance once we anchored)

(East jumped in the water ready to look for some turtles)





TURTLES WE FOUND!

(Trent took this great pictures of the turtle. What a graceful creature. Did you know a turtles hold their breath for about 15mins. They come up for air and then descend down. It was pretty cool to see them so close. This was a great learning experience for the kids. They learn so much when put in these environments)

(here is Emma so very close to the turtle. It is VERY tempting to pet them but that is against the law carrying a $10,000 fine and it is not fare to Crush to endanger him with our touch. Emma wanted to but showed great restraint by pulling back. It was hard because it was easy to get caught up in the moment in this majestic peaceful place, on our planet earth)

The Sail Ride Back to Shore

The ride back was interesting since Captain Mike called the kids to the helm for each to have their turn at sailing. It was pretty comical since he encouraged the kids to grab a cold one while on the job. Ahhh.



This story would be very funny to you if you met the captain... he was clueless when it came to children... he was a middle aged man with no kids. No offense but not a clue.

(here is Emma fully in charge of our boat. No problems on her watch)

(Easton's turn and OH my goodness he has a cold one.... What kind of driver can he be?)

(Everett not missing in on the action, grabbed the wheel and a cold one to boot)

(I love you guys... laugh it up)

(A fantastic experience on the sail boat. It was like we were the only ones around. Thanks for the memories)

The rest of our day on St. Thomas we spend on the Marriott beach. I loved watching everyone get tumbled by the waves and have permanent smiles on their faces. I will not forget Jax walking up the beach with his eyes closed following the sound of Jen's voice, he looked so cute.

(we left just in time for the rain. Here is a look back at St. Thomas from the ship. A very Caribbean flavored island)




Castaway Cay - The Disney Island

There is no missed detail with Disney. This was our second time on Castaway Cay and it is Disney Style. It was nice to find a seat (thanks Newman's) and just hang out for the day.

(here is Everett's masterpiece we worked on together. He was so proud of his creation, he couldn't wait to destroy it as soon as it was completed. Ah that's my boy!)

(our next sand creation... Easton... can you guess how he is buried? Is he in a big hole or is he laying on his belly?)

(My hunky husband started a friendly game of football on the beach)

(love this picture of Em... you are free to be anything babe)

(Easton dances every where he goes... You go Man, no one moves like you!)

(Ev showing his moves on the beach. I have about 50 pictures of him striking pose after pose after pose... you crack me up)

(me and my chicky on the beach having a wonderful day)

(I almost forgot that the kids wanted to learn all about sting rays again. It was a great opportunity to feed and touch them)

(two buddies after all these years enjoying time together with their families. Life is grand)

(the Newman's taking a nice family walk along the beach)

(Ev says WE ARE OUTTA HERE!)




It was a fun week on the floating ears. My kids have definatly had their fill of Mickey & Gang. So much in fact they said they could take a break from it all :- ) You have to love their honesty...

Now off to our next stop. Florida... where in Florida I am not sure, all I know is that we do not fly back to Panama until Feb 25th so we better find a place, nothing like living life on the edge...haha. But with faith everything always works out!


All our love to you... xoxoxo Jody. Trent. Em. East. & Ev xoxooxo

Mickey oh Mickey

Mickey was calling our names!

We left Calgary on Jan 16th for our next North American adventure. I can not say enough how amazing our kids are at traveling... they take charge of a very stuffed 50lb suit case (I have mastered packing with-in a pound of the limit..haha) They have perfected what to say to the immigration officers and negotiate who sits with who leaving Trent & I no option. On the plane they settle right in and are relatively quiet the whole ride. It is their Dad I hear from the most... Oh, love you honey.

Jan 17th we met up with our friends the Newman's (Colin, Jen & Jax) for a fun week on the Disney Magic Cruise. The kids found out about the cruise the night before we sailed out and like any children they were ecstatic. We have asked the kids over and over if they like to be pre-warned of surprises ... they choose to find out at the moment.

This cruise took us to St. Maarten, St. Thomas & Disney's own island Castaway Cay. The first two days were spent at sea which made for a very relaxing few days despite the temperatures of not +30 . What made it so relaxing was the consistent rocking of the boat the waves gently provided. I liked being rocked like a baby to sleep :- )

(our cozy abode for the week. It is perfect for what we need, believe it or not there is a great amount of space, it helps to have someone straighten it up twice a day :- )

(a funny monkey our room steward left for us. Towel animals take lots of practice but are fun to make...
Emma & I have tried)

(another cute creature left for us... A bunny this time and the chocolates were
not half bad as well)

(our boy Ev new all to well where the ice cream station was as soon as we boarded the ship)

(Mr. Easton was not far behind his brother searching for some messy chocolate ice cream)

(the kids with Jax catching up with their buddy Pluto)

(you can not leave without a squeeze from Minnie)

(the boys think this is the BEST trip EVER!!! Emma had fun among all the boys)

ARRRRR Matie... All the Pirates came out this crazy night...

(The Schmu & Newman Pirate gang... the boys danced up a storm on top deck)

(the kids are so fun, they get right into character)

(the big Daddies Trent & Colin... love the get-up, nice creamers for earrings honey)

Some fun memories from the ship

(Ev, East, Colin & Jax waiting for the girls while they shopped)

(Easton & Jax at the Fun Lab making flubber..
our future chemists)

(my boys having a great time in the Walt Disney Theatre watching 3D Bolt movie)

(the Mousketeers)

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED... all in the fun of it!!!

The entertainment was fabulous on the cruise... The adult entertainment was even better. One night they had a fun game of scavenger hunt at the adult lounge and in the final round you can see what was needed. A man had to find a brassier, woman's shoes (wearing them) as well as wearing lipstick while carrying a purse. Colin was selected to represent our team since Trent could not get a bra on...haha...

Watch below of Colin's winning performance!

(you look amazing!)

ADULTS VIEW FIRST... WHEN YOU STOP LAUGHING YOU DECIDE IF YOUR KIDS CAN WATCH OUR CROSS DRESSER..HEHE...

(now those are some moves! Trent was coaching him from the sidelines NOT these are Colin's original moves)

Like I mentioned the entertainment was first class on the ship. The Broadway productions are something only Disney can pull off and the comedians hurt my cheeks from laughing so hard.

One night Emma was picked as a volunteer and went up on stage while the jugglers RootBerry
(www.rootberry.com) juggled machetes around her... It was crazy.

A few nights later Everett was picked out of the audience but he passed the torch over to Easton to head up on stage with Micheal Harrison at (www.funnyguy.ca) He is Canadian and unbelievably hilarious! Easton was a great sport and made my stomach hurt laughing so much even though he shied away from the mission.

Check out the videos to see what the kids were up to...
Press PLAY and turn up your speakers this is funny stuff!

Emma & the crazy Rootberry Team... way to go babe






Easton hamming it up on stage with Micheal Harrison.

(a quick snapshot of the amazing production of the farewell. Even the Newman's were taken back at how amazing the shows were each and every night)

(Ev and I hanging out by the pool. To cold for me but perfect for him to watch the mammoth TV screen that is out of this world huge)

(Em and I went for tea with Alice & Mad Hatter. Trent and the boys came but only to down their cookie and tea, then left as quickly as possible. I guess they have mastered their tea skills)

We had some great laughs and stuffed ourselves until buttons were nearly popping off. The food was de-lish and our waiter was a pro at his job... he kept the food flowing.

I am working on a blog that is all about the island adventures. It is overwhelming trying to keep up with all the pictures. Now that my kids are taking a keen interest of handling my camera they are adding to the crazy amount I already take. IT IS AWESOME!

Thanks for keeping in touch. It is always awesome to chat with everyone. I am so thankful for our life we have been blessed to live...
not normal by many but it is normal for us :- )

xoxoox

(my and my man after 12yrs. What a ride it has been honey xoxoxo)

All our love
Jody. Trent. Em. East. & Ev
xoxoxoxo