So "What [were] you doing New Year's...New Year's Eve?" I always start singing that song when New Year's comes around. What were you doing? Me? Oh...I was with my family. In JACKSONVILLE, FL! Yes, we traveled about 10 hours to be at the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. We left Thursday morning around 6, so we could play and not be so rushed for New Year's. Rhonda, Kristin, and Lee met us at the hotel and we ate a bite....wearing maroon everywhere we went!

Daddy, Mama, and Rhonda

Me, Russ, Lee and Kristin

I loved this trip! Every bit of it. In fact, I could've stayed an extra day or two just to shop. The outdoor mall was HUGE and had amazing stores all in one spot! It also had a heavenly spot right in the center! Cheesecake Factory! We slept in Friday morning and played around in the room. And, don't be deceived....us adults can still play! Ha! We ate a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory and were STUFFED! But, we all saved room for a phenomenal cheesecake!

Go ahead! Click to enlarge and look at all the cheesecake choices! I won't judge.

Lee, Kristin, and Rhonda

Mama, me, Russ, and Daddy

After stopping in a few stores and...yes, purchasing more maroon...we got back to the hotel just in time to get ready for our evening. A night with 4,000 other Bulldogs! With the exception of Dustin and Mary, who went to the Dawg Pound New Year's Eve Party, the family went to the Alumni New Year's Eve Party. We pulled in around 7 or so and saw a huge crowd of people waiting to get in. This was the place to be. Somehow, Daddy formed a completely new line so we ended up being the first people in this particular line. He'll never reveal his secrets of getting to the front of lines or finding good parking spots, I'm sure! Ha! We waited until they opened the gates at 8.

Me and my hubby on New Year's Eve

The guys in their new maroon sportcoats they got from Kristin and Lee for Christmas

Once we got in, Mama did what she does best...found a spot to save for the rest of us! Ha! There was music, dancing, a great view of the river perfect for fireworks later on, and lots of State fans fired up about a big game!

Kristin, me, Rhonda, and Mama

Happy New Year from Mama and Daddy!

The crowd downstairs by the dance floor. Mama's spot was on the balcony overseeing it all!

I was very excited for a couple of reasons. #1 - I got to spend the first moments of the new year watching fireworks on the river with my hubby in Jacksonville, FL with people all in love with MSU football! #2 - We got to spend the new year with some of my college friends. I was super excited about seeing my college roomie, Kelly and her her husband, Aaron! We go back a long way, and we can always pick right back up where we left off. I love this girl! In fact, I bawled my eyes out the night she got married and held a grudge against Aaron for taking her away...until his little incident in Iraq. Then, I forgave him. You're lucky you only have one leg, Aaron, or I might still be mad! Love you too!

Kelly and me

And her husband is not too bad either! But, if you've never hopped over to their blog...YOU MUST DO THAT! It is worth your time to read her hilarious posts. And that is just the way she is all the time! I miss her. Maybe, we should have a second apartment just for us to room together once in a while, Kelly!

Russ, me, Kelly, and Aaron

And, to my surprise, we ran into more college friends on the dance floor during the "Cha Cha Slide!" Thanks, Van Winkle, for teaching me that. I was cool for just a few minutes! Ha!

Kelly, me, Kristin, Marcee, and Catherine

Russ and I found food at some point, and we were SO happy! I talked Kelly into eating her first hot dog in 20+ years despite the nickname Aaron came up with for it. Hot dogs are yummy, aren't they Kelly? Ha! They were out of hamburgers, so she really didn't have a choice anyway.

Yep, that's my man! I'm so proud.

As for the rest of the night, it involved dancing, dancing, fun, dancing, and more fun!

Kristin breaking it down with her bro-in-law

Me and my new brother-in-law!


The band even came to party!

Daddy says, "Happy New Year!" I have absolutely NO idea how or where he got the second headpiece! Ha!

Just before midnight, Daddy motioned for us to join them on the balcony to get a better view of this....


Happy New Year!

This is the best picture we got!

I have a feeling it's gonna be a great 2011!

Final Day - At Sea

All good things must come to an end, right?

I suppose. Although I was quite excited about celebrating Christmas with our families the following week, I was very sad to leave this paradise! We soaked up every lazy second of our last day on the cruise. Russ and I laid in bed all morning watching a movie with our balcony door open with the sound of the waves. You may think this is a waste of a tropical day, but I disagree. You know that when you are at home, there is rarely - if ever - a day that we can just lay in bed and watch movies. In my case, Russ would be wanting to go work out or run or something else productive. So, I've come to cherish those times when we are able to not feel guilty or pressured to do something. Then, around lunch time, we emerged to the top of the ship to lay around some more in the sunny blue skies with the rest of the family!

Russ is really not into "laying out"! Ha!

But, I love it!

Our fabulous balcony - Russ and Lee rigged all our balconies so that they would adjoin. All I can say is...make sure you close those curtains if you don't want your siblings or their "significant others" to see you unclothed! Ha!

Our last night, we ate dinner at Cagney's Steakhouse, and it was fabulous! Yummy food and a nice atmosphere. This is the night we went around the table telling our favorite part of the cruise. The two highest votes were the first night and the ATV ride, I think.

Party of Two

After dinner, we meandered around the ship making last minute purchases and playing all we wanted to play before disembarking for the final time the next morning. We also enjoyed a comedy show by Second City before heading our own directions, purchasing our pictures from the cruise, and heading to bed.

Russ and me

Mary and Dustin

Lee and Kristin

Mama and Daddy

Before Russ and I went to our room, we stopped to get some cheese sticks for a good night snack.

Yummy!

We didn't sleep much at all that night because Russ was up every hour or so looking at the lights of the USA and trying to take pictures as we got closer. He had also gotten up around 2 that morning to visit Kristin and Lee. So between all that, I was not ready to wake up quite yet.


But we did.

We woke up, ate breakfast, gathered all our belongings, left our stateroom for the last time, and...

...headed for the elevator.

The Smith family...piled in like sardines!

What a wonderful week! I cannot thank my parents enough for treating us to such a fabulously fun vacation! I know the word is that there won't be another for five more years, but maybe you'll recover before then!

Day Six - Cozumel

Thursday morning, the Epic tied up at the port of Cozumel, Mexico. Russ and I stopped here on our honeymoon cruise. It was our favorite place then, and I think it was our favorite place this time. We needed more time.

Me and Russ....Look at that crystal clear blue water!

The children singing Christmas carols near the port...if you look closely, you'll see Dustin and Daddy in the background. Some more "Where's Waldo?" play

Mama ready to go!

Our excursion for the day was an ATV ride through the jungle. Now, if you know me at all, you know I was first concerned about SNAKES! Then, they asked us to bring old shoes, bug spray and bandannas for our faces. I was quite nervous. I tried to act excited about it, but I was honestly a nervous wreck....which made me on edge the closer we got to the ATVs. We got our instructions, which I didn't listen to, and loaded onto our rides.

We put our helmets and bandannas on before cranking our ATV and taking off. Let me try to describe what it was we actually rode through. At least we had a trail....so it wasn't actually through the jungle greens! Ha! We had a dusty, boulder-filled, root-filled, muddy, muddy puddly, and FAST ride through this trail in the jungle. Now, I understand the bandanna and the old shoes!

Party of Two Bandits

We made our first stop not long after we started just to make sure everyone was okay and for our guide to ask us if we were ready for the real ride. Uh oh! Ha! Dustin, Daddy, and Russ were driving at one point. This is when the race started. They began passing each other or trying to pass, which made us all speed up over these boulders and huge roots sticking up out of the ground and the big holes. At one point, Russ and I went airborne! Tears were shed. Apologies said. Then, Russ and I sped up to catch back up with the group. Obviously, Russ tried to stay out of the racing for fear of his life...or was it wife? Ha! Then, we stopped to view one of the underground caves.

Dustin and Mary

You could see the water line from the last hurricane that swept through the area. I can't exactly remember the specifics, but this cave used to be several feet under the water and used as a water source. It is now completely dry and used for shelter during hurricanes. I hope I got that right. I'm not very good at listening to guides with such a thick Spanish accent.

Me and Russ in the cave

Right outside the cave, we saw this huge iguana. Once iguanas find a place, they stay there. This iguana, according to our guide, has been at this place for four years! Crazy, isn't it!?

We jumped back on our ATV and took out on a journey back to our starting place. We were only half as dirty, dusty, and muddy as we would be in the end! Ha! At this point, we all just wanted to see how muddy we could get. Who cares now that it's caked three layers deep! Let's make it five! Ha!

The whole dirty crew

Russ and me...with Lee and Kristin behind us

After we parked our ATV, we walked toward the little building where we could sit and wait on our taxis to take us to the beach. On our walk, we saw these amazing parrots. There were three of them, so we snapped several pictures.

Once back at the final destination, we were able to assess everyone's filth. I just hate I didn't get one of Mary. She had mud caked all the way up to her bottom! Ha!

Dustin's uni-brow

Mine and Russ's legs...somehow the passengers ended up worse off than the drivers!

Our taxis arrived and took us to a private beach for lunch, to clean off in the ocean, and to relax on the sand. We went straight for the food after we dunked our shoes in the ocean to attempt to clean them off. You don't even want to know what happened when we blew our noses! Imagine what it would have been like without the bandannas!

Russ's dusty forehead

Russ and Lee immediately went for snorkeling equipment and headed out to the ocean. They saw neat fish and a huge stingray. Kristin and I, of course, found a chair to lay in on the sandy beach. Mama and Daddy visited with Mary and Dustin at the table and enjoyed the breeze and the view. It was a nice ending to a rough ride!

Lee and Russ snorkeling

Me and Russ looking a bit cleaner

The taxi ride back to the port was nice as we looked at the scenery of Cozumel. We saw a man riding a donkey to get where he was going and a few dune buggies riding through the area. Cozumel had SO much to see and do near the port. We walked around the shopping area until it was time to load the ship. Russ found some Cuban cigars, and he decided to enjoy the rest of his shopping with one. Ha!

Russ looking Cuban! Ha!

We also found some Christmas decor...Cozumel style! Merry Christmas from Cozumel!

Santa Russ

Megan the Snowwoman

I think we all ended up with a handmade bracelet, and we even got a few for Christmas gifts. We enjoyed the local smells, sights, and atmosphere. Russ and Lee enjoyed bartering for goods. I got ripped off because I don't enjoy bartering! Oh well! Ha! It was a beautifully fun day in Cozumel all the same!

Russ with the city behind him

Russ, me, Kristin, and Lee getting ready to board the ship

Just as we were getting ready to board the ship, the sun was setting. I couldn't help but watch this beautiful sunset God created in Cozumel.

Whew! What a fun and exhausting day! We all went straight to our rooms to strip and shower after such a dirty day! Ha! Kristin, Lee, me, and Russ had quite the party in our room. You just shoulda been there. There's no way to explain what all took place there! Ha! Unforgettable! We finally got dressed for supper at an Italian restaurant, La Cucina. I ordered pizza, of course, and it was yummy!

Russ and me

Several of us agree that Cozumel's activities were the most fun. It's a toss up between Cozumel's ATV ride with beach time and the first day on board! Ha! Either way, Cozumel was a great way for the trip to start coming to an end. We only had one more day at sea before our final port of Miami.