Well, I did something today that I said I'd never do. I got a new toy today. It's a digital camera. I can't say I am a proud owner yet but I'm sure I'll get there. For those of you that don't know, I am not a huge fan of digital photography although I do appreciate what can be done with it. I am more of the 35mm type but I'm going with the times.

Amber and Alicia you should be proud. Here is what I got and what it came with.

Canon S3 IS Powershot Camera USA
2x AF Super Telephoto Lens
0.5x Wide Angle Lens
Multi Coated Video 3Pc Filter Kit
Lens Adapter f/Canon Powershot S2 IS
1 GB SD Secure Digital Card
Digital Camera Battery Charger with 4 AA Batteries
Secure Digital Reader USB
Digital Camera Carrying Case
Lens Cleaning Kit
Mini Table Tripod

Happy Birthday Emma Grace. It seems like just yesterday we were holding you in our arms for the first time. Now lots of laughs, tears, hugs and kisses later you are two. How time flies. I love you Emma and Happy Birthday!!!

Love,
Aunt Nana

So Tammie had the great idea that we would crochet the kids a santa hat for their pictures the next day. She said she knew how to make them. This is how they turned out. Does it look like something familiar? The good news is that it didn't look so bad on the kids.

Before






After

I was in Dallas last week for business and I was able to go see my cousin Tammie and her family. While I was there I took their first family portraits. It was a lot of fun. This is the Norris family, Kirk, Tammie, Blake, Ben and Kirra.

So I finally have all my pictures from the cruise posted. I had 14 rolls total so it took me awhile to sort through them and get them online.

I had a really good time on my cruise. It was a 7 day Western Caribbean adventure with stops in Key West, Florida, Grand Cayman Islands and Cozumel. I had a great time with my good friends Amber in Jennifer. They were the only young ones in the group that we were with.

The ship itself had a great crowd on it. Everyone was out to have a good time. We even had a famous alternative group (The Killers) on the ship and they dined two tables down from mine every night. I also had a stalker that I gained on the first night. It seems like there is always someone running and hiding from a new friend that was made on the boat, from Christian Bale to the cocktail waiter! Some of you will know exactly what I'm talking about.

Enjoy the pictures and leave me a COMMENT or two. I love them and they make my day. You do NOT have to have an account to leave a comment. Let me know if you want to hear about any part of the trip. I would be more than happy to share.

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Here are some random people pictures. It's a little bit of everything from the cruise. Enjoy!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Our first stop was in Key West, Florida. This was probably one of my favorite days. We didn't dock until about 3:00 pm, We got off the boat and Amber and I decided to take a sunset cruise on a catamaran. This was a lot of fun. The sunset was beautiful and we had a great time. I wish the colors in the pictures accurately reflected what we saw. It was so relaxing and just what I needed.

Those that went into town were in for a surprise. It was Mardi Gra in Key West. They got to see nude painted bodies and people with virtually no clothing on. No pictures of that. Sorry if that disappoints you.

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

This is Grand Cayman. I loved this island. It was so pretty. I was orginally going to go swim with the sting rays but no one else seemed interested so I talked myself out of it. That is probably the only regret that I have on the entire trip. I should have gone with or without anyone. Jennifer, Amber and I went into Grand Caymen together. We did some shopping and headed to the beach. Unfortunatley, due to a mistake in time we thought we only had about 20 min on the beach when really we could have had about and hour and a half. But that's ok. There's always next time.

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Here are some of the sunset pictures from Key West and Cozumel.

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Cozumel, Mexico was our last port of call. I decided to spend my day with my mom, dad and Lisa. Once we got off the boat we found a snorkeling excursion that sounded like fun. The boat was a glass bottom boat which was great because my mom and Lisa weren't sure if snorkeling was for them. They took us to two places to snorkel. We had a blast. In case your wondering, mommie picked up on snorkeling and Lisa decided that it wasn't for her.

I took a ton of pictures but I was pretty disappointed in the way they turned out. The camera didn't even get close to catching the vibrate colors of the fish and the water. I don't know the names of all the fish that we saw but I know that we saw lots of parrot fish and angel fish. There were many others I just can't think of the names of all the fish.

After snorkeling and lunch we headed off to the beach were my mom and I got henna with Alicia in mind. She lives in India and gets it frequently. On our way back to the boat I made friends with a bartender on our boat. We had quite the entertaining conversation. You learn a lot when talking to a drunk crew member.

So every night when we would go back to our rooms from dinner they would have our beds turned down with a chocolate on our pillows and a cute little towel animal. We had an elephant, dog, sting ray, swan, monkey, turtle and something else that I can't remember. We had fun taking pictures with them. Sometimes a little too much fun. For your viewing enjoyment, I've added other towel animals from other rooms.

The food was amazing. These pictures are of some of our dinners and of the midnight buffet. The pictures really don't do the food justice. One of my favorite things that I had was an appetizer on my first night. It was the tomato soup and was by far the best tomato soup I've ever had.