Mom and Rachel Cruise

Mom escorted her quilting group out of Baltimore and since it was over Rachel's Spring Break, she was able to come along and "help".  We both had a great time.

 

At Muster - waiting for the ship to sail away

 

Rachel having a Piragua (Shaved Ice) in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Mom and Rachel heading out to snorkel in St. Thomas

Mom and RAchel in front of our ship, Enchantment of the Seas

Our flippers!

Ready to snorkel

Our formal night picture

Sexy snorkeler!

Cocktail party with some of our quilters

Rachel, Scott and Michelle - El Morro in San Juan, PR

Rachel in front of El Morro

Rachel - in San Juan

Rachel and Scott

Rachel at the fort

Ready to go looking for some sea turtles

Some of our group on our yacht

Captain and 1st mate with Rachel

Dancers in Samana, Dominican Republic

Before Ziplining in Dominican Republic

All geared up!

Rachel's new "friend" in Samana - Capuccino

Rachel's Dominican 4-legged friends 

Rachel and one of her new Canadian friends

Another cruise friend

Rachel was team captain in the pool volleyball tournament, officers vs guests (guests won)

Passing out gold medals to her team

Mom and Rachel in Labadee, Haiti (waiting for the sun to come out)

After the rain shower, Rachel trying to warm up

Rachel in Haiti, in front of our ship

Rachel found her friends in Labadee, Haiti

Radhouan (assistant waiter) and Rachel - oh yeah, he was having a crush this week.

This was beneficial to both of us - he made sure she had whatever she wanted right away - I was also treated well as he called me Mom every night - I didn't pay for one drink all week.

We sang Happy Birthday to Rachel (in 12 days) - she reminded us all everyday how many more days.

Rachel was voted Enchantment of the Seas Prom Queen on the last formal night

Our sea turtle towel animal

Rachel in San Juan

 

Ziplining in Samana, Dominican Republic

Marshel - now an Arrow of Light Scout

Marshel finished all the requirements to earn his Webelos badge in Cub Scouts. 

He also completed everything to earn his Arrow of Light as well.  He was really excited

to cross the bridge, symbolic of leaving Cub Scouts and entering Boy Scouts.

 

Mom is one Tough Mudder

Mom and several friends from town worked The Tough Mudder in January in Phoenix. 

Those who competed were subjected to freezing temps, ice cold water, extreme heat, mud, and electric shock.  It was very interesting to see some of the "costumes" people showed up in, some that could not posted here due to the lack of clothing.  We thought we were cold in the wind and low temps, but once we started seeing these people at the finish line shivering and suffering from hypothermia, cuts and bruises, even some broken bones, we didn't feel so bad after all.

 

Rachel's last high school cheer event

Rachel ended her High School cheerleading career with a Pep Rally and her last game. 

She is excited and nervous to tryout for college cheer in April at Dixie State University.

 

 

Mom and Rachel visit Washington DC

Rachel was able to go with Mom on the Quilting Cruise Mom was escorting.  It was Rachel's Spring Break, so she came along to help out.  But, first - a quick visit to Washington DC.  We flew into Baltimore, drove to Alexandria for a Cruise Party for a 2014 cruise and then back to our hotel.  The next morning, we woke up early, had breakfast and headed to the train station.  We took the MARC train from Baltimore to Union Station in Washington, D.C.  It was cold and Rachel was tired.

After arriving in Union Station, we took the Metro to the National Mall area.  Our first stop was the Holocaust Museum.  We had tried to get tickets to the Special Exhibits but were told they were gone.  When we arrived this morning, we asked if they might have any and they did, so we were able to do the Special Exhibit, which was very interesting.  We were given a "passport" of someone who had been alive during the Holocaust.  We followed the exhibit through, learning about Hitler and his rise to power, the treatment of the Jews prior to and during the Holocaust, and heard stories from survivors.  There were many artifacts from the death camps, etc.  It was a very emotional experience.

 

Rachel had the opportunity to write her own pledge of how she would treat others regardless of the differences in people.  We also went through the exhibit of a little boy and his diary of events.  Rachel also lit a candle in memory of those who died during those times.

We headed over to the Museum of American History, with a quick picture stop of the Washington Monument (closed up for repairs from the earthquake last year).

We toured many exhibits within the museum.

Rachel was able to play President and give a speech.

 

 

Our $26 Washington DC lunch - we did get an extra packet of salad dressing for free!  Woo Hoo!

The wind was bitter cold and our Arizona winter clothes didn't quite fit the bill, but after walking from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial to the White House to the Metro - we were pretty much numb. 

 

Rachel at the Vietnam Wall

Rachel with Reflection Pool and Washington Monument in the background

 

Mom and Rachel at the Lincoln Memorial

 

Administration building next to the White House - our picture of the White House somehow got erased from Rachel's phone camera (dangit).

 

Waiting for the Metro to head back to Baltimore.  It was a fun day and we definitely need to come back so we can see more of this awesome city together one day.

Our President's Day

Mom was trying to find something fun for us to do on President's Day.  There was no school and Mom figured we would need to get out of the house and use up some energy.  So, Mom bought tickets to AirWorx and we had a fun time playing here.  She and Rachel just watched us and then on the way home, we got drinks at Circle K.

 

 

These are trampolines they jump on while playing Dodge Ball.

 

Here they try to run and jump high to make a Slam Dunk - not as easy as you would think.

 

Kellee forgot the name of the game was "Dodge" ball.  She was hit almost every time she stepped in there.