Day at Sea and Cozumel

We really enjoyed our days at sea. It was relaxing and nice doing what we wanted without a schedule. Paul and I would wake up to workout a bit while Sofia played in the Oceaneer's Club. Of course, Jessica would still be sleeping from staying up late the night before. I attended the art auction while Paul had a chance to visit with his parents. We took Sofia to the pool and Jessica met up with her friends. We had dinner and hungout until it was time for bed.

Our day in Cozumel was fun! I enjoy being in a Spanish speaking country. It's nice for me because I understand everything and get a chance to speak some. Paul and I have been to Cozumel before, but we usually just shop. This time, we decided to go to the beach with the girls. The water was a little chilly, but it was fun playing in the sand. We found some friendly parrots in the bar and shopped on the way back to the ship. We were excited to see a Starbucks and the bargains were nice, too!

Paul with his parents, Ken and Barbara







Sofia playing on the beach

The Kuzma girls enjoying some sun

Parrot eating a french fry

The two parrots at the bar

Sofia with Princess Minnie

All of us with Minnie

Sofia with Goofy and Max

Key West and Evening On Ship

Well, we spent the first day of our cruise in Key West, Florida. We hadn't been there before, so we were excited to see it. Our first stop was a visit to the local aquarium. We had a great tour and enjoyed seeing the sealife. We even got to touch a nurse shark and a baby alligator. Paul really enjoyed holding the alligator. Afterwards, we walked around and did some shopping. My in-laws showed us where the most southern point in the US was. Then, we walked past Ernest Hemingway's house and the beginning and ending of Route 1, which goes all the way to Maine. It was a beautiful day!

Sea Turtles

Jessica looking at the nurse shark :)

Family photo with the baby alligator

Paul and the gator again!

Southernmost Point

Hemingway's House

Photo of the house

End of Route 1

Beginning of Route 1

Our Ship!

We went back to the ship and took Sofia swimming. She tried going down the Mickey slide all by herself! After dinner, Sofia saw so many characters! We stood in line to take pictures. She had a blast meeting her favorite Disney characters and Princesses. Of course, it's the best thing about being on the Disney ship!

Sofia coming down the Mickey slide




Sofia with the "elephant" towel animal






Belle





Donald and Daisy






Chip and Dale






Captain Mickey





Family shot with Mickey

First Two Days

I've finally found time to blog about our Disney Cruise. Things have been kinda crazy, since we got home. Sofia and I both had strep throat and now she has it again. Poor thing!

The first few days of our trip were fun. We flew to Florida a couple of days before the cruise left, so we would make there in plenty of time. We fly standby because Paul works for Southwest and we didn't want to take any chances in trying to get there.

We picked up Jessica from school at lunch on Thursday and then a friend drove us to the airport. We had a non-stop flight to Orlando and it was nice. Sofia did really well and we surprised the girls by staying in the hotel that's located inside the airport. It was so convenient.

We got a rental car the next morning and drove to Port Canaveral. My in-laws, who live in Florida, were going to meet us there and spend a day with us. It was so warm and a nice change from the cold in Texas. We put on our shorts and the girls got their swimsuits on. We hit the beach and it was Sofia's first time to see the ocean.

After the beach, we went to dinner. My in-laws surprised us by telling us they were coming on the cruise with us! They don't see us often and they wanted to spend time with the girls. So, it was going to be a fun trip for everyone!


Getting on board the ship went really smoothly. None of us, could believe we were actually on vacation now. The ship was so nice and the staff was great! It was fun seeing the girls' reaction to everything, since they've never been on a cruise before. We walked around and tried to figure out where everything was. Our room was a good size and the girls had bunk beds. Sofia wanted to sleep on the top and thank goodness there was a rail there.


We changed for dinner and had a great meal with our friendly wait staff. Ken and Barbara (my in-laws) were able to change their dining seating and sit with us everynight. After the show, we took some pictures with Goofy. There were character pictures everynight on the ship. So much fun for Sofia!

After dinner, the girls went to check out their areas. Sofia loved playing in the Oceaneers Club. They had a slide and play area in there. They also had activities for them everyday. Several characters would come and play with them throughout the cruise. Snow White showed the kids a dance and Belle read them a story. So special! The teen area was nice, too. They had several Wii games set up and loud music playing. It was open til 1am everynight. Jessica made friends right away and we didn't see her much after dinner the whole week. She had a great time!

Sofia exhausted after the first day!

**The next blog post will be about our first stop---Key West!

Christmas, First!

We are back from our trip! But, I thought I better post pictures from Christmas before the trip pictures.

We had a nice Christmas at home. We just love living in San Antonio and not having to travel during the holidays. Plus, it's nice for Sofia to wake up in her own home on Christmas morning.

Paul and I had fun playing Santa. Sofia understood she was going to have presents under the tree this year. It was fun telling her Santa was watching, if she was "naughty or nice". Of course, we really wanted her to know the true meaning of Christmas and celebrating Jesus' birthday. It helps that she attends our church's preschool. She learned Christmas songs about Jesus and they went over the story of Jesus' birth. So, she understood so much more this time.

She had a fun Christmas day. She was so excited Santa remembered to bring her a "Swim to Me Puppy". Being the only grandchild on my side is nice. She had so many presents to open at my Mom's. Of course, Santa made a stop over there, too :)

All in all, it was a great day with family. We had so much to be thankful for this past year. We pray 2010 brings good health and blessings for everyone.

In front of the tree on Christmas Eve

Getting ready to leave Cookies for Santa

Sofia's presents on Christmas morning

Santa's gifts at Grandma's house

Loving her Build-A-Bear

Playing Hungry-Hungry Hippos with Francesca

My A&M candy dish from my mom

Paul rocking out on Sofia's barbie guitar

Disney Cruise

I can't believe we leave for our vacation tomorrow! We are heading to Florida to go on a Disney cruise for a week. We are all SO excited! Plus, it will be nice to see my in-laws (they live in central Florida) for a bit before we leave.

Paul and I have been thinking about where we wanted to take the girls this year. Our friends, the DeYoungs, have taken their girls on a Disney cruise the past two years in a row. They always talk about how much they love it, so we decided this was the year to try it. The girls are both at great ages to enjoy it.

This will be our first time on a Disney ship, so we are excited. The last time we went on a cruise, Sofia was 6 months old. We didn't feel comfortable leaving her again for that long. So now, she can come with us.

We are praying for a nice, relaxing time. Sofia will LOVE playing with the other kids and we'll take her to swim everyday. Jessica is excited about being old enough to hangout with the other teenagers and even roam the ship by herself. She's also never been out of the country, so she's happy about seeing new places. It should be a fun time for everyone.

Of course, I'll post pictures when we get back. Bon voyage!

Olga's Visit

My step-grandmother's birthday is today, so I thought it would be fun to blog about her visit this past December. She is 91 and still going strong. She lives in an assisted living facility in Northwest Arkansas. She always tries to come and see us right before Christmas. We are always so happy to visit with her. It's amazing how she still flies down and stays for a week.

We usually go to my parent's house a few times while she's here. She just loves Sofia. We even exchanged Christmas presents and took pictures. Her visit was nice and I pray she continues to do well!

Sofia showing the purse Olga gave her for Christmas

Sofia holding the sweater Olga crocheted for her

So sweet!








My step-dad, Greg, and his mom