Eli and Angela's Family: More Cruisin'

We left Utah at a good time; right before several snow storms hit. The areas we went to were beautiful, but the best part of the cruise was being with my family. My parents and all of my siblings with their spouses were there (when there are 8 children, it's quite a feat to get all of us together at once). One of my sisters also brought her daughter Lexi who was 8 months old at the time (I might add she was the star of the ship. Everyone wanted to see her).

We sailed on the Norwegian Dream. It was the longest time I've been away from both my girls.
Some of the things I liked about the cruise are:
It was nice to come into our room every night and have our bed made (I make the bed at home, but not consistently)
Have some sort of towel creation on our bed, our sheets pulled down, and a chocolate on the pillow (I always got two because Eli only likes sweets right after lunch)
Having a handicapped room; we didn't request this room, but it was nice because it was a lot bigger than the standard rooms
Eating food that I didn't prepare and leaving my dishes on the table for someone else to pick up and wash
Being able to get hot french fries at midnight!

I gained a 1 1/2 pounds during my week of high dining, but it was back off two days after I got home. Eli, of course, didn't gain any weight. It was really fun and we are really glad we went. Our girls got to spend the week in Kansas with Eli's parents. They also had a good time. Eli's already looking for deals on another cruise. Anyone want to go with us?

This is my sister Andrea teaching her addiction to my dad and grandpa: Sudoku. She even got me to try some; it was pretty fun, but I'm not at the addiction stage yet.

Eli learned how to make a monkey out of a towel. He did a pretty good job.

This was the only sunrise we got up for. It was hard to keep track of time in your room if you didn't have a window because it's so dark and there are no alarm clocks. It makes for a good environment for sleeping in.

Before we flew home, we got to attend the Houston Temple. The temple & grounds were just beautiful! I took a lot of pictures here.

The food was always fun to look at.

Here's my family: Front row l to r: Andrea (oldest); Annalee (#2) with Lexi her daugther; me (#4); my mom; my dad; Elizabeth (7th); Anita (#3); Nicole, Evan's wife.