Miami Day 2

WOW! What a day in Miami, FL.  We rented a car today and went EVERYWHERE!

Our first stop was at the Cape Florida Lighthouse.  I got a 'tourist' brochure from the hotel lobby last night and was going through it and saw that Florida has a lighthouse and the first thing I did was think of my Momma!  So after breakfast today Daniel and I took a taxi (1st taxi ride ever btw) to a 'rental car center' (yes I said center)... See here in Miami they don't have rental car companies on any random street they have a whole center for rental cars.  It's this 4 story parking garage that has like 10 rental car companies inside it where you can rent a car. So we rented a car and headed out to this lighthouse.  Luckly the rental car company had a GPS that we could use so that helped us find all of our destinations.  Below is a pic. of the Miami Skyline while we were driving to the lighthouse...

 Miami Skyline

 So finally we made it to the Cape Florida Lighthouse which is located on in the Bill Bags Cape Florida State Park on Biscayne Bay.  We got to climb all the way to the top of the lighthouse which was WAY COOL but OMG it was so many steps and you got so dizzy going around and around in a circle up the spiral staircase, BUT once you got up there and stepped out on the deck it was a GEORGOUS view.  Pic's below:

Cape Florida Lighthouse

 View from the top of the lighthouse!

 So after we worked up a good sweat climbing to the top of this beautiful lighthouse we ate at a little restraunt called Lighthouse Cafe. (Which really wasn't that great but that's okay)

Our Next Stop... Miami Beach aka South Beach..

On our way to South Beach we found where the Port of Miami was and there were three ships docked leaving out today.  One was a Carnival Cruise Ship (This ship is smaller than our ship however)

Another Ship that was in Port from Carnival.

Once we reached Miami Beach we saw so much.  Miami Beach was a very happening area.  There were SO MANY people there and the town was just so alive.  Every corner you turned there was a bar and music playing.  We decided to step away from the city life but before we headed to the beach I got to see DASH Miami (anyone who watch the Kardashian's know what this is)... so anyway we headed to the beach for awhile and took a nice little stroll on the South Miami Beach.

 South Miami Beach, FL

 After that we just decided to drive around and low and behold guess what we found!... the MIAMI CITY BALLET.  (anyone who knows me knows why I was super excited to find this place)!

 Miami City Ballet

After that we continued to drive until the GPS lead us to the Holocaust Memorial which was awesome.  There were walls of historical information on the Holocaust.  Here's one pic. of the Memorial but many more moving pic's to come after we get back.

 Holocaust Memorial

 After that we continued to drive around for a bit until we finally were ready to come back to the hotel PLUS we couldn't miss the Manager's reception with FREE Drinks! 

Well that's about the majority of what we did today.  Of course there is so many pictures that were taken but everyone can wait until we get home to see the rest of them.  : )

Well tomorrow's the day that we get to board the Carnival Liberty.  Daniel and I can't wait.  We are checking out at 10:45 AM and the hotel will take us to the port at 11:00 AM.  Talk to everyone once we are on-board.  Love you guys!

Myriah and Garrett... Look at the moon tonight b/c Mommy and Daddy are looking at it thinking about you!  We Love and Miss you bunches!  ♥ ♥ ♥

Kim & Daniel

Miami Day 1

Well today was officially day one of our vacay.  After having to get up at 3:00 in the morning we finally made it to Miami, FL only to wait 2 hours for our hotel shuttle.  However we FINALLY made it to our hotel and boy are we glad to be here!  It was a gorgeous day today.  We got situated in our room and just chilled out for awhile and ordered food in (since we hadn’t eaten ALL day and it was now like 4:00pm).  They had a managers reception tonight in which we got FREE drinks from 5:30 - 7:30 so what could go wrong with FREE DRINKS!  After a couple drinks we headed to the hot tub (which was SUPER Hot and Oh So Relaxing).  The hotel here is nice and the scenery is fabulous.  So many palm trees.  Well Daniel and I are super tired and going to call it an early night tonight.  We have something planned for tomorrow but we’ll let that be a surprise!  Chat at you all tomorrow night.  Goodnight!  Here are some pic's we took today.  Enjoy!

Mommy and Daddy love you Myriah and Garrett!  ♥

 Miami Skyline

 Our Hotel

Yummy Cosmo!

  Daniel enjoying his FREE drink

 

 R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N

♥ ♥ ♥
Daniel and Kim

Our 10 day agenda

It's FINALLY Time for our trip!  For the sake of my children and my family I've listed out our 10 day 'agenda' so my kiddo's and family can see where we will be each day while we are gone!  Daniel and I are SUPER excited and can't believe the day is finally here.  Thanks to everyone who has helped me count down to this special day (especially to my co-workers who have put up with my count down for the past month!)  Whelp good-night and good-bye for now and.... here you go!!!
___________________________________________________

Destination:    Miami, FL, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica
Dates: 7.29.10 - 8.7.10     

Day 1- (Thursday 7.29) Leave for Miami, fl   

• Our plane leaves from Austin, TX at 6:30AM (Fight #652)
• Layover in Dallas, TX - Leave for Miami, FL @ 9:00AM (Flight #1568)
• We arrive in Miami, FL at 1:00PM (Miami Time)
• Staying at the Embassy Suites Miami, FL
• We will have our cell phones on while we are in Miami.  Feel Free to call us!  : )

Day 2 - (Friday 7.30)   

• Day in Miami, FL
• We plan on seeing some of Miami.  Going to the beach, looking around etc.
• We will have our cell phone’s on this day as well!

Day 3 - (Saturday 7.31) Set Sail!   

• Today’s the DAY!  We get to set sail aboard the Carnival Liberty!
• The Hotel will take us to the Port of Miami where we will board our ship.
• Check-In for the ship begins at 12:30PM (Miami time)
• The Ship will set sail at 4:00PM (Miami time)
• We will have our cell phones on up until the ship set’s sail.  Once the ship set’s sail the cell phone’s will go off and won’t turn back on until we disembark. (b/c I don't want a HUGE cell phone bill when we return)

Day 4 - (Sunday 8.1)   

• Today is a FUN Day at Sea as we head to Cozumel, Mexico.
• There will be activities on-board, shows to watch, swimming, golf etc. to do on the boat.
• Don’t know what we will do yet but they give you a Carnival Capers in which you can plan your day of activities the night before. So we will see what’s in-store for this Fun Day at Sea.

Day 5 - (Monday 8.2)   

• Today we arrive in Cozumel, Mexico!
• The ship docks in Cozumel at 8:00AM (Still Miami time aka Ship Time)
• We have a shore excursion planned for Cozumel.  We will be going on a ATV Jungle Adventure through the Cozumel Jungle which will take us to the Mayan Ruins in which we will get to see two original temples that once held the bodies of Mayan Royalty.  This excursion is a 4 hour excursion so the portion of our day will be spent doing this.
• Once we are done with our excursion we plan on just site-seeing and checking out the beach (in the safe zones of course).
• We leave Cozumel at 10:00PM
• There will be shows etc. on the boat for us to see so the fun keeps going!

Day 6 - (Tuesday 8.3)   

• Today is another Fun Day at Sea as we now head toward the Grand Cayman Islands.
• Again there will be activities for us to do on the boat like swimming, shows, golf etc.

Day 7 - (Wednesday 8.4)   

• Today we arrive at the Grand Cayman Islands.
• The boat docks at 7:30AM.
• We have two shore excursions planned for this port.
• First we are going to go Parasailing 400 feet over the crystal blue waters of Grand Cayman.
• Later in the day we are going Snorkeling.  We get to stop at two snorkel stops.  One is over a Coral Reef and the next stop is over a shipwreck.  We get to learn the history of the wreck and then we get to dive right in and snorkel over the shipwreck. We hope to see lots of tropical fish and maybe even Nemo!
• Our day in Grand Cayman ends short as the ship leaves the port at 4:30PM.
• We have our dinner date planned at the exquisite Harry’s Steakhouse on the ship. This is a ‘fancier’ restaurant on the ship that is for adults only and of course cost extra, but I’m sure it will be worth it.
• The rest of the evening we will enjoy the endless activities as we head to our next destination.

Day 8 - (Thursday 8.5)   

• Today we arrive in Ocho Rios, Jamaica!
• The boat will dock at 8:00 AM.
• We have one shore excursion planned for Jamaica.
• We will be going horseback riding on the beach of Jamaica.  We will take a ride to Chukka Cove Beach where we will meet up with our horses, saddle up and ride off on the shoreline.
• We get to unsaddle the horse for about 15 min. where we can ride the horse into the sea!
• We leave Jamaica at 3:30PM but will be back on the boat for another fun filled evening.

Day 9 - (Friday 8.6)   

• Today is our last full Fun Day at Sea as we head back to Miami, FL.
• No telling what activities we will do.  After everything we’ve done all week we may just sit and relax poolside!  Yeah, that sound nice and stress free! 

Day 10 - (Saturday 8.7)   

• Today our Vacation comes to an end.  : (
• We arrive at the Port of Miami at 8:00AM and begin our disembarkation off the Carnival Liberty.
• The Carnival bus will take us to the Miami airport
• We board our plane to Atlanta at 1:35PM (Flight #3609)
• We arrive in Atlanta at 3:40PM
• We board the plane in Atlanta headed to Dallas, TX at 4:50PM (Flight #1197)
• We arrive in Dallas at 6:10PM.
• We board the plane in Dallas and head to San Antonio at 7:00PM (Flight #1197)
• We finally arrive in San Antonio, TX at 8:00PM where my Kids will be waiting to see us and I will be SO READY to see them!

I want to Thank my Momma (Nana), my Mother-N-Law (Oma) and my Sister-N-Law (Tee Tee) for watching the kiddo’s for Daniel and I while we are gone.  Words can’t express how grateful Daniel and I are that ya’ll are willing to watch the kids for us.  We are so grateful to have a WONDERFUL Family!  Thanks in advance for everything and we LOVE ya’ll SO MUCH!!!!

To Myriah and Garrett:
      Mommy and Daddy are going to miss you so much while we are away.  I want you to know that ya’ll will have so much fun with Nana, Oma and Tee Tee and I want you to check our family blog everyday (probably in the morning’s b/c Mommy will post late at night) to see what Mommy and Daddy are up to.  We will be thinking about you everyday while we are gone and will take lots of pictures for you and bring you back lots of goodies from all the places we went.  We LOVE YOU SO MUCH and can’t wait to see you when we return, so you better be at the airport ready to see us!  Lots of Hugs and Kisses from Mommy and Daddy!  Remember look up at the moon and know that Mommy and Daddy are looking at that same moon thinking of you and blowing you kisses from far away!  Love you bunches and see you in 10 days! MUAH!

Lot's of Love!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Kim & Daniel

Yay it's Saturday!

Happy Saturday everyone!  It's been a good day so far.  Got pedicure's with my momma, daughter, mom-n-law and two favorite sis-n-laws and the two best nieces a auntie could ask for.  Went window shopping and then ate lunch with all the girls (oh and Daniel).  Now at home cleaning getting ready for our trip!  We leave on THURSDAY only 4 days away!  I only have to work on Monday and Tuesday this coming week I'm SUPER EXCITED!  I need to get packing though no matter what the hubby says.  Daniel want's to wait until Wednesday to do it.  I think he's crazy... I think I'm just going to start and let him bicker all he want's.  He'll be glad I packed early when he realizes he could of forgot his underwear!  J/K  Welp better get off this thing and get to it!  4 Days! 4 Days! 4 Days!

♥ &hearts' ♥
The Gibbins Family

Wow What a Day!

The title says it all... Wow, What a Day!  This week has been crazy busy at work.  If it's not one problem it's another and today it was all the problems wrapped into one.  Phew, can't believe I made it through today... 12 hours later I finally made it home!  The good news to that is we only have 6 more days til Daniel and I leave for Miami and I only have THREE more working days! Thank GOD!  I'm so ready to be away from work for awhile.  I do feel sorry for my co-worker who just started... What's the old saying... It's sink or swim time!  Haha he'll do great though! (I hope)

Well enough about work talk, on to the family... The kids have been busy this week going and doing things with their Oma for summer.  They finally got to go to Schlitterbahn and were super excited they got to go.  They've been shopping, swimming and got to go see Alvin and the Chipmunks the squeakwal (sp?) today.  No telling what their adventure will be for tomorrow. 

Myriah got registered for Dance Class.  She will be starting hip hop on Wednesday's at the end of August.  Her teacher is a boy!  She's super excited though.  She's been begging me for a year and a half now to sign her up for hip hop classes.

The kids are also getting excited to get to go stay with Nana in the upcoming weeks.  Nana has all kinds of things planned for them to do while Mommy and Daddy are away.  I can't wait to post blogs on here for the kiddos to see where all Daniel and I have been on our 10 day trip.  I know they can't wait to see it either.

Welp I better go make sure the kids are in bed, they gotta get up early.  Then it's SATURDAY!!! Pedicure's with my momma, mom-n-law and sister-n-law(s).  Myriah is excited to get her toe's done as am I!  ♥

Take care everyone and goodnight!

♥ ♥ ♥
The Gibbins Family

Happy Weekend!

Yay! It's the weekend again!  Phew made it through another work week.  Kids are doing good.  Myriah had to get two teeth pulled yesterday.  : (   She was in pain for most of the day yesterday but is back to her old self today! My Aunt Wiener had her 87th birthday yesterday.  My momma took her and all of us out to eat at Mamacitia's (sp?) last night.  It was so yummy!  Thank you momma.  Well it's off to clean the house, do laundry or maybe just sit around to doing nothing.  Got my company picnic tomorrow.  Talk to everyone later!

Lots of Love!  ♥ ♥ ♥
The Gibbins Family

The Clock's a Tickin'

Hello Again from the Gibbins Clan...

It's Sunday here in sunny New Braunfels oh and did I mention it's darn HOTT too!  The weekend flew by for us BUT the good news to that is it puts Daniel and I two days closer to our trip.  We now only have 18 more days til we leave for Miami, FL.  We are so excited that clearly we can't hide it.  It seems like it's so close yet still so far away.  The kiddo's are getting excited for us.  They keep asking us what we will be doing while we are gone.  I've told them we are going on this cruise to see if it's something they will like (kind of like a 'trial' cruise) to make them not feel so bad that they are not going. I've promised them a trip next year (hopefully on a boat) to show them that we are not leaving them out on purpose.  As bad as I feel that the kids aren't coming with us it's a trip that Daniel and I truly deserve to go on by ourselves. It's what I call our 8 year overdue honeymoon!

Welp not much happened this week or this weekend.  We were busy with jewelry parties, birthday parties and more parties... and now unfortunately it's time to go back to work tomorrow.  Hopefully this week doesn't go as slow as last week went. Well I guess that's enough chit chat for now... gotta get back to folding clothes.  Lots of Love!

♥  ♥ ♥ ♥

The Gibbins

Moving Time...

Happy Saturday Everyone!  Not much going on today, Daniel the kids and I are helping Daniel's Sister move into her new house.  They are super excited to be moving back to New Braunfels as am I, because now I get to see my beautiful GOD BABIES all the time now instead of just every other weekend.  Garrett is excited to be helping Tiffany move because his Oma promised him she would pay him to help move.  As with any child money is an awesome thing, it would only be my child who is expecting to make $3,000.  Yes, I said that right... Garrett has told his Oma she owe's him $3,000 for his help.  Crazy kids.  Maybe he'll get $3.00 out of the deal and to Garrett $3.00 is still a lot of money because didn't you know the new Mario Wii game only cost $1.00. (in my child's eyes) Anyway - better get going now to go help Tee Tee move into their house and then I'll have to get to cleaning my own house.  Happy Almost 4th of July everyone!

♥  ♥  ♥
The Gibbins Family

Yay! It's a Three Day Weekend

Well hello!  Haven't been on this thing in awhile.  Need to get everyone up-to-date on the Gibbins Family.

Well, let's see what is there to update?  Kim is still very very busy with work.  Daniel is still mostly a stay at home dad (although he does work a couple days a week to bring us some $$$).

Garret is still Garrett.  He did break his arm about a month ago. Damn School's and their monkey bars.  However now he's back to his old self again.  Cast is off and his arm is doing fine! It was so hard for him to face the fact that he couldn't go swimming.  With the help of his Nana and Oma they bought him a 'cast protector'.  It worked about the first 4 times and then stopped working so he did get to swim for a little bit while he had his cast on.  Then once he got his cast off it rained and rained and New Braunfels had a mini flood which flooded his Oma's house (She's the one with the pool) so he couldn't swim again.  Poor Kid, has had a rough summer so far...  BUT all is good now and he's back to his ole' fish swimming self.  Below is a picture of him when he first got his cast on.

Myriah is getting ready to show her first steer!  She named her steer Blackie.  She has over-come her fear of big ole' Blackie and is working really well with him now.  She helps her daddy walk him, she combs him, feeds him etc.  It's a great way for her to learn responsibility and she enjoys spending all this time with her daddy.  Daniel enjoys the quality time with his little girl as well.  Below is a picture of Blackie and Myriah (my cowgirl)!

Well as most of you know Daniel and I will be setting sail soon on the Carnival Liberty.  27 days and counting!!! I can't believe it's almost here.  Daniel and I are VERY excited.  It will be hard to be away from the kids for 10 days but we know they are in good hands thanks to their Nana, Oma and Tee Tee.  We don't know what we would do without them.  I've promised Myriah and Garrett that I would blog everynight while Daniel and I are away so they can see some of the places we've been and so we can keep in touch.  Welp it's getting late and Garrett is still awake so I best get off the computer and get him to bed.  TTYL - Peace and Love! ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Love,
The Gibbins Family