DISNEY CRUISE & THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TRIP

So we are back to reality and getting back into our routine's! Can I just tell you I have never in my life felt so completely grateful for what we have and the country we live in! I've been to the Dominican Republic (DR) before but taking the kids and being in a large group makes it a completely different experience...Well I'll start with the first week of our trip which was Florida and the Disney Cruise! I do have to say that was the BEST part of the trip hands down! We flew to Orlando, Florida a day early so we could go to Sea world before we boarded the ship! That was a full day of great shows, rides and all different types of animals and the kids LOVED it! Then Sat Oct 4th we boarded the Disney Cruise ship -- what a day! 7 nights of bliss... There was of course stressful times which happens anytime you are in a very small space w/no windows, 2 kids and not enough room for all your luggage! We will definitely spend the extra money on a bigger room next time that's for sure!!! But for the most part every part of the cruise was extraordinary! We would highly recommend this cruise to anybody of all ages with or without kids! They had things for everyone and the ship is GREAT!

We had 2 Sea days which were my favorite--of course we took advantage of it and had massages in there beautiful spa how could you not! Then we had 4 port days to different places! Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Castaway Cay (which is the island Disney owns in the Bahamas)! Our favorite was Castaway Cay for sure! Their sand there and beaches were PERFECTLY soft and white...And the snorkeling was fabulous! They had sunken ships, treasures and lots of really cool things to see while snorkeling!

In Key West we just walked the streets (Duval St.) and went to a Butterfly museum which the kids LOVED! Then went almost to the farthest most southern point of the US. Then on the walk back enjoyed some good ice cream and a little shopping!

In Grand Cayman we took a tour of the island in an air conditioned bus which was great b/c it was HOT! We stopped at a beach, a place they call HELL and saw many historical places and of course all the banks where the rich hide there illegal money ;-). We really wanted to go scuba diving there but I didn't have enough time to get certified so we will make that a priority so the next place we go Brian and I can do that together he really wants me to do that with him sometime and I think it would be AWESOME!!

In Cozumel we did some shopping, got a mini massage, played w/a monkey, bartered and took another tour around part of the island. The tour took us to the Ruins there which were cool to see except for all the mosquito's and other biting creatures, luckily they sold bug spray there hhmm wonder why!! Anyway then the next stop was at a nice beach area with some good food so we got in the ocean for a short swim and then back on the ship!

On the cruise they had Disney characters all the time for kids to get autographs and pictures with there favorite characters! Also they had a kids club that the kids could go anytime they wanted and for as long as they wanted! There was always so much fun things going on Brook always wanted to go which was great for mom and dad;) Also there was a nursery for 3 and under that weren't potty trained but the only downer on that is that you had to reserve and they booked up fast also it was $6 p/hour so we only had Spencer in there one day for like 6 hrs so we definitely took advantage of the only area of the ship kids aren't aloud while he was in there and that was really nice and very quiet, imagine that! They had shows every night, parties for kids during the day, a character breakfast where they came to your table for pictures and autographs, tons of swimming pools, A formal night, a pirate party where everyone was dressed up as pirates and fireworks! There was so much more but I'm already writing way too much! You'll just have to go on one yourself to know EVERYTHING!!! It was a sad day when it was over but we all still had another week of vacation so we focused on that but yet we were also partly ready to come home too but DR here we come! --

I guess just before we had our flight to the DR we had a full day to do something so we decided to go to the Disney Animal Kingdom...There was so much to see and so little time for us most people go for 2-3 days but we only had like 5 hrs but I think we saw a TON for the amount of time we had and it was well worth it! We all enjoyed it and the ride they had was AWESOME one of my favorites! Now it's off to the Dominican Republic...

Well as for the second half of our trip this is why we were so grateful for where we live--It started out by getting there at like almost midnight, then having absolute drama at the car rental place (never rent from AVIS) let's just say our hotel was 15 min from the airport and we didn't get checked in until 1:30am! It took almost 2 hrs at the car rental place and still left with not what we reserved, just absolutely crazy but we made it work! So once we get to the hotel and go to the rooms they were completely not what we had reserved online AT ALL! We reserved ocean front and the rooms to have 2 beds! We got the oldest bldg with the oldest rooms and only 1 bed in each room! So when you have a family of four how does that work when you have 1 Queen bed and NO WATER! Brian went to take a shower and there wasn't any water at all! Then everyone else had freezing cold water for showers! Also you can't drink the water out of the tap there and there was NO bottled water ANYWHERE in the hotel so Brian and Loran went into town to get some and had some great stories to tell after that! I'll leave that to the imagination! So the next day Brian and I complained to the manager and we got the rooms we reserved in the first place just only thing was only 1 was ready that night but the rest would be available the next 2 nights so we took them anyway and after that we had a GREAT time there! They had water aerobics in the pool and we went kayaking and got a sailboat too so it was a good time just had to go through a lot of rough times first! Isn't that life though!

Then we headed to the west side of the island where Brian served most of his mission time but it was a 4 hr drive which was ok since the kids slept most the way so that made it nice! But once again when we got to the hotel there they didn't have the rooms we reserved! What is going on we had all just had it at that point! And again we were there waiting FOREVER while getting bitten like crazy from the mosquito's there which btw were way worse than in Boca Chica the central part of the island! Anyway we get into our rooms and they still weren't what we reserved but at that point we just didn't care anymore at least they had 2 beds that was all we cared about at that point! Then there food there was very different from what we had at the previous resort but not in a good way! But we made the most of it the best we could! We swam and went snorkeling which was an awesome experience I thought! Some Dominicans took us out on a small boat and we went out into the ocean! It was just the parents and no kids of course, thanks to Marcile for staying back and listening for the kids while they slept and watching Brooklynn for us! Well some had their own snorkeling gear and some didn't so we used the Dominicans and well lets just say who knows what was growing on those mouthpieces--uuuccckkkkk--I can't think about it! But it was raining on us hard and we were so cold we didn't care we just wanted to jump in the WARM water! I love the Caribbean!! Once we jumped in it was like a hot tub I didn't want to get out! But we snorkeled out there in the open sea and even went to the drop off which was a little scary I have to admit but what a cool experience! So it seemed like things were looking up, we were all excited after that and thinking at least the trip will end on a good note!

Well we had one day left so we took a drive to the next city to see the ocean and play on the beach! We pulled over at a couple outlook's to take pictures and see the gorgeous views! The first place there was a lot of people around and kids came and talked with us for a while and one even had a crush on Brooklynn it was really cute! So they asked for some money to buy food--there is a lot of poverty there and we had handed out coins to children throughout the trip--seems like the right thing to do right!! Well we gave them some and that was that we loaded up and headed farther to another outlook--we saw some shade and decided to make our sandwiches and eat there! We were parked farther down the outlook by the highway but there wasn't any other people around! So we're all eating having a GREAT time and loving the most American food we've had since the cruise and just all very happy! So Brian took the kids on a walk up to the top of the outlook b/c they were getting restless since not everyone was done eating yet--also Loran (Brian's dad and his brother Brent and little Zaylee) So all of a sudden I hear we're being robbed! I look up and there's a gun pointed at Brian with both our kids by his side...Brook had Spencer's hand and they were frozen and just staring at the guy w/a gun! I as a mother was frantic not sure what to do, my first reaction was to run up there and get my kids out of there--but then logic hit and realized but what if that spooks the robbers and they shoot someone and so I just stared in sorrow of what was happening and felt so helpless and just HOPING that we get out of this with everyone safe! There was a second man that didn't have a gun over at Brent taking his stuff from his pockets and Zaylee was screaming for her mommy which was down below w/me and the others by the car still. Luckily Loran was there to hold her and try to comfort her the best way he could! Loran was the last one they got to so he had time to take his wallet out of his pocket and put it in the back of his pants hoping the guy wouldn't look. Sadly though he still had his camera in his pocket which they took from him. They took $100 from Brent and his Treo phone that had his whole life on it and luckily Brian didn't have much cash in his wallet (which is unusual for Brian) so they only got like $40 or $60 bucks from him but took his camera as well...And that camera had EVERYTHING from the past 2 in a half weeks on it!!! It's all gone and that was the saddest part for our family--especially dear Brooklynn...She broke down that night in tears just sobbing about the pictures we had taken of special things and all the characters on the trip she really had a rough time with it but we snuggled and with some words of comfort she is now doing better with it! So sadly I am posting this with no pictures included from our camera--I am hoping to get some from the other 2 families that were there that didn't get there camera's stolen, so if I do I will post those later! I guess we at least have the 5 pictures that we purchased from Disney of the kids and the characters so I'll at least post those on here! But we all came out of it ok and no one was hurt and that's all that matters! We are so lucky and grateful that these punk teenage kids didn't freak out and shoot someone! Brian said he saw them shaking as he held the gun and was in his pockets! Oh and the craziest part was after the robber's ran off with our stuff the guys ran down to us and flagged down the first Dominican that came down the highway and told all of us woman & kids to get in the car and lock it. So we got in and I couldn't find the keys ANYWHERE..We started to get concerned that the robber grabbed the keys out of Brian's pocket while grabbing everything else. It was so hot w/out the car started so we had to open the doors and just wait for them to come back praying (literally) that they wouldn't come back to the car! We did say a prayer and just waited... Finally Brent came back to check on us and decided to just go up to where we were robbed and look on the ground hoping they were there. HE FOUND THEM!!!! Such a relief... So we aren't sure if the robber had some kind of conscious and threw them on the ground and didn't want them or if they just fell out while he was grabbing everything else...We would like to hope he had a conscious and left them there!! Well that was the rest of our day--nope we didn't want to go to the beach as planned after that we all just wanted to go back to the hotel and just go home! What a bummer to end a trip on let me tell you! We had to go to the police station first though and had to wait a while until the guys got a report filled out. We all believe that it was some guys from the first outlook that saw us give money to those kids for food...There was a ton of them up there just hanging out and I'm sure they saw that or the kids told them that we gave them money and they decided that they deserved some too...It's really sad in life when you try to do the right thing and help out some poor hungry kids and for it to end in tragedy like that...It really makes it hard to want to do that again but I know that we probably will but we will be more cautious and take a tourist policeman with us next time!! But for sure we will NEVER go to the west side of the island ever again!!! That was our last time!

Don't get me wrong the Dominican Republic is a GREAT place and so beautiful! Brian has been there 5 times since his mission and me twice now and we LOVED it that's why we wanted to share it with our family since we were so close anyway while in Florida... It's just that when you go to a poverty stricken place like that you have to be so careful b/c there are desperate people there and they are willing to do anything for money... But I think it's all about the situation you put yourself in--we were in a place that there was NO ONE else around, we parked by the highway but then walking up it was hidden by trees so anyone on the highway wouldn't be able to see the robbers, and every Dominican person there said you should of had a Dominican with you or they do have tourist police there (which no one knew about after all the times we've been there) so if anyone goes or knows of anyone going just please relay these things to them especially the tourist police! Also to not carry things on you of great value or at least in your pockets don't carry a lot of money and always download your pictures onto your laptop or take several chips and not one big one that stores a ton of pictures that way you'd at least have some of them and they all wouldn't be taken! Well that's my two cents sorry this is such a long post but I felt it was important to share this story so in the future my loved ones will be able to know what to do in a situation like that or what not to do too!! We got home safe and we're SOOOO happy to be home and are really OKAY with not traveling for a long time!!!