and I've had the hardest time getting back in to the swing of things around here! I just want to go back and feel the sand between my toes, 
take a 3 o'clock nap with my husband everyday and play with my friends all night! 
I miss opening the door to my room every night and finding my blankets turned down and a funny, towel animal friend waiting with chocolates. 
I miss my room always being clean, dinner being made for me, music everywhere and having a reason to get dressed up every night. 
Miss the non stop laughter, late night dancing, the many nights of karaoke .jpg)
and being known around the ship as "the California crew". I miss Vitalli asking if anyone needs any "Who-oo juice" and yelling "VACATION!!!".
Just thinking the word in my head makes me smile. Ahhh... I could go on and on... and on and on...BUT my sister Jen is much better story telling and she got started before me. :-) Here is what she had to say: (I am missing a few of her pictures, but you get the idea!)
LET THE FUN BEGIN!
For me, being a woman of many words, the hardest part about going on a trip like this one, is knowing how to tell my story of an amazing week. Do I tell it day by day or thematically or one giant post trying to cram it all in at once? The other problem is trying to decide which pictures to post and how many is just too many. The biggest problem though, is that are no words to describe just how much fun we had. It was simply the best. I'll do my best to tell the stories and give you a taste of our fun, but let this also be a warning to you. I will say too much and show too much and you still won't know the half of it. On that note, let's start at the beginning...
Friday afternoon, all five couples headed to the San Francisco airport. Most of us were fairly sleep deprived. Haley and I had been texting while packing at 1am that morning! I was getting a horrible cold that I ended up sharing throughout the week with Jeff and Tara. Jeff and I rode up the the Poulsens and after a few failed attempts, ended up at the long term parking garage at the same time as Jason and Tara. You could hear the whistling, yelling and honking
at each other echo throughout the structure. This was pretty much how we rolled all week. You knew when we were coming...
When we met up with the McCauley brothers and their beautiful blond babes, we had the passengers all around us entertained.
We were taking the red eye direct from San Fransisco to Ft Lauderdale, leaving at 10:40pm and arriving at 6:00am. Jeremy ordered up Ambien for all of us since we all swore it was impossible for us to sleep on planes. That stuff is amazing. I watched as everyone nodded off in a drunken daze before we even took off, and then I joined then in dreamland.
I think I got about 2 1/2 hours sleep on the entire 6 hour flight. Aaron slept like a baby and continued to do so as he waited for his luggage.
We arrived in Ft Lauderdale and then shuttled to Miami where we were told we couldn't board the ship until noon and it was just 9am. We took a taxi across a bridge and over to a shopping area where we had a great breakfast. The guys spent their morning getting massages and in Brookstone, and we women hit up all the little shops!
By the time we boarded the ship we were dead tired and in desperate need of naps! We had book rooms all next door to each other, but none of us heard anyone else as we left our rooms after showers and naps. We all bumped into each other on the deck by the pool with ice cream cones in hand!
I think I got about 2 1/2 hours sleep on the entire 6 hour flight. Aaron slept like a baby and continued to do so as he waited for his luggage.
We arrived in Ft Lauderdale and then shuttled to Miami where we were told we couldn't board the ship until noon and it was just 9am. We took a taxi across a bridge and over to a shopping area where we had a great breakfast. The guys spent their morning getting massages and in Brookstone, and we women hit up all the little shops!
By the time we boarded the ship we were dead tired and in desperate need of naps! We had book rooms all next door to each other, but none of us heard anyone else as we left our rooms after showers and naps. We all bumped into each other on the deck by the pool with ice cream cones in hand!
Not a single one of us could wipe the smiles off our faces, even when we had to go to our muster station!
As we pulled out of the port we could still feel the warm sun beating down on us as it set behind the high rises of Miami. Let the fun begin!
As we pulled out of the port we could still feel the warm sun beating down on us as it set behind the high rises of Miami. Let the fun begin!
Austin 
Jessica
It had stopped snowing and was absolutely beautiful outside! I was doing the dishes after breakfast and looking out the window above the sink and I couldn't stop smiling. Everything was perfect. Matt and Margaret are so much fun to be with and they are just so easy to be around. Everything is low stress and just fun. Margaret is just about as real as they come and I love her for it! She is such a good mom and I always leave feeling inspired to be better after spending time with her. We played more games with the kids, hung out and enjoyed the view and the company... 
They guys spent some time outside seeing if they could somehow get the Superbowl at the cabin. So, so close, but not quite. I think they had more fun trying to set it up than they would have watching the game!
The kids built a snowman
Braiden, Austin and Lauren
The sleds found their way to side of the hill again
It was such a fun weekend! 
After a few hours of shopping, we jumped back in the cars and made our way into San Francisco! We had dinner at John's Grill... 
And had a few good laughs that had us near tears! 
My sister Jen, my mom DaNae, and Me!
Austin had a great year! He was really fun to watch as he became more aggressive on the court. 
In one of his games, he scored 10 points in just a few minutes! 
Ashlyn loved going to watch Austin and Jessica. I love how she adores her brother and sisters.
