Cruisin’ Day 3!!!

Sunday February 23

Docking in Haiti!! We had signed up to parasail, but were notified the night before that it was cancelled due to high winds. (Isn’t that the point??) We decided to just relax on the beach and swim. We walked through the little marketplace, and the locals selling their stuff were VERY persistent in trying to get us to buy stuff. It was very overwhelming for me. It rained for a few minutes, so we took cover until it stopped, and then laid out some more. Eventually the sky just opened up, and we went back to the boat for lunch and naps! Did some random trivia in the Schooner Bar, hung out with the group and had a LOT of laughs before dinner. We decided to dress nice. Just because. After dinner we hot tubbed it for a while. That became a nightly after dinner activity for Randy and I. Usually during a movie on the pool deck. 

Sitting in the round window at the Schooner Bar became my favorite place to chill 😉 

Cruisin’ day 2!!!

Saturday February 22

I woke around 6am (5am Minnesota time) and laid there awake forever until I finally went back to sleep. We went to breakfast around 9:30. We usually ate breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer Cafe at the buffet. Pretty good food. Stood around and talked with the others for a while afterwards. We went exploring some more. Made our way to the Helipad, found the exercise area, and went ice skating at 2. After that we did Disney Trivia. I got 30/40 points! At 4, Randy went to find his brothers, and I went off to read. At 7:30 we got ready for the first dressy dinner night. (I didn’t take any pics of that)

I couldn’t believe how blue the water was!!!  

At dinner I tried Calamari, Lobster Bisque, and duck. 

Cruisin’ Day 1!!!

Friday, February 21

We boarded the boat at 11. Slightly panicked for a few minutes because I didn’t need a passport, only a birth certificate. The girl said to me, “Have you been married? The last name on your BC is different than on your license.” ......yes. Oy. 

We couldn’t into the rooms until 1:30, so we sat around and talked and ate and drank. As soon as 1:30 hit, we dumped our backpacks and went exploring for a couple of hours. Went back and unpacked everything. There was more drawer space than I expected! The room was bigger than I thought it’d be too. Our dinner time was 8pm every night, so at 4:30 we went up to the deck to watch the boat sail from the pier. Then sat in the hot tub. That was one of our favorite things to do! 

We couldn’t walk ten feet without seeing a Purell dispenser! The crew members were also holding them when we’d walk into the dining room, and they’d call out, “Washy washy!” 😂 No sickness for us!! 

I heard people looking at the list of activities for the day, and one guy say, “Zumba class at 6.....What is a Zumba???” HAHAHAHAHAHA

Also, I tried Escargot at dinner. They were slimy and chewy and I’ll never eat one again. 

Pre cruise in Miami

Thursday, February 20

When we left Fairhaven to go to the airport on Thursday morning, it was -12 degrees. In Miami, it was 75. We couldn’t WAIT to get there! However, waking up at 2:30am to get out the door at 3:15 was NOT fun! We parked at Randy’s cousin’s house in Bloomington (coincidentally, a few blocks from where I grew up) and took an Uber to the airport. Got there about 5. Got some Caribou and then tracked down his brothers and everyone else that was going. Ten of us. We were the only ones flying Southwest, so our flight was a bit later than the other’s. 

We switched planes in Nashville, and then in DC just stayed on the plane. Landed in Ft Lauderdale about 5pm. Took an Uber to the hotel in Miami. Ordered Papa John’s because we were starving. Only thing we’d had all day were some pretzels and granola bars. Tried to go to sleep at a decent time, but since I have such a fantastic sleep schedule, I barely slept. 

The real fun began on Friday!!!! 

Christmas emotions

I don’t know how the holidays are for you, but for me, they’re a roller coaster of emotions. I struggle with not being able to get my kids a lot of things, but also knowing that they don’t *need a lot. Some years I have Jacob on Christmas Eve, and some years on Christmas Day. (It alternates) 

I REALLY struggled this year. I don’t know why. On the outside, I’m smiling and laughing because I’m having a blast with my family, but on the inside, I’m falling apart. My heart is so broken with not being able to see or talk to Emmy. The smiles and laughter aren’t a facade, because I really do love hanging out with everyone, and playing with the kids. But pieces of me are missing, and it sucks. 

Depression and anxiety around the holidays are no joke. Just today, I’ve already experienced joy, sadness, nausea, insecurity, overwhelmed, happiness, depressed, anxious, heartbreak, love, jealousy, and exhaustion. 

I rarely sleep a full night. I think about once every 5 weeks or so, I get a decent night’s sleep. And by ‘decent’, I mean maybe 6-7 consecutive hours. I’m so tired. Every day is a mental battle. 

If you have a loved one in your life that struggles mentally, you may only know a tiny piece of it. 9 times out of 10, we don’t tell half of what we’re feeling. Who wants to be a burden?? And you can say “You’re not being a burden!” a million times, but we won’t believe it. Keep saying it though, because one of these days, we might start to believe it. We’ll ALWAYS say that we’re fine. Find a code word or phrase that you can say to each other if they’re having a rough day, need extra love, but can’t talk about it. Sometimes talking hurts too much. 

I did have a blast at my dad’s though. Cassie took a super long nap, and I held her for a lot of it. Juju wasn’t feeling well, so she was extra snuggly. We played the dice game and got gift cards. Ate a lot of good food. Laughed a lot. 

I realized after I took this that they’re sitting in age order. 

Tour day at Target Field

What an awesome day! 

Mike's friend is Clyde, the curator at Target Field. This was supposed to happen right before the last game of the season, but Clyde never showed. Turns out he was busy with a bunch of Mauer related stuff, being that that game was probably his last. I'll admit, that day when I found out that we were able to go into the Twins Archives room, I was a little disappointed. I was thinking, "That's it?" (Sorry, Mike and Keith!) It ended up working out way better that we had to reschedule. We went virtually everywhere. Except the Twins locker room. They probably knew that if I stepped foot in there, I'd never leave! 

First we stopped in the Sid Hartman press room. So cool. Mike brought a blazer of Puckett's to donate, and of course I had try it on! I made Keith wear it too. 

We went onto the field, and up into the press box. 

Joe Mauer's catchers gear!!