NKOTB Cruise Day 2

Even though we went to bed very late we still got up early to go exercise Saturday morning (dedication!!). Danny is a huge exercise buff so we were secretly hoping to run into him in the gym, but had no such luck. It was fun riding the stationary bike while looking out the front of the ship though. Definitely an experience. After exercising we went back to our room and got ready for the day. We then went to one of the formal dining rooms and had a lovely gourmet breakfast!

We arrived in Nassau around 9 a.m. Before getting off the ship we decided to do some more wandering around the boat and found a great deck for taking pictures off of. Off in the distance we could see the Atlantis Resort and beautiful scenery. We were docked in Nassau until Sunday morning. Nothing was on the agenda until Saturday night so we had an entire day to wander around. The cruise line offered shore excursions that we could pay extra for, but we decided we had spent too much money already so we would wander around Nassau and buy souvenirs for our family instead.

After the majority of the "rush" to get off the boat was over, Amy and I decided to venture out. While walking down the pier towards Nassau I was able to get some photos of our boat from a distance. It was a HUGE boat! The cruise boat Dave & I went on was probably a third of the size of this boat. If you've ever been to Nassau before you'll know what I'm talking about when I say the second we got off the pier and on Bahama land we were bombarded by Bohemians trying to sell us everything under the sun. We were offered a taxi ride, scooter rentals, braiding of our hair, etc. I knew that I wanted to get Dave a Bahamas t-shirt and also a t-shirt for myself so we headed directly to the shopping area of Nassau. Since I had been there before with Dave I was able to navigate around Nassau pretty well. I think Amy was relieved that she had me with her! After we had successfully spent lots of money on souvenirs for my family and for Amy's family, Amy decided to be adventurous! Amy has been wanting to get another tattoo with her children's names and birthdays for a while and already has the design in her head. We happened to walk by a tattoo parlor that claimed to have done several tattoos for famous people. Amy wanted to go inside and see how much it would cost. After we got the tour of the place Amy told them what design she had in mind. They told her it would be $70 which she thought was a pretty good deal so she proceeded forward. After spending several minutes designing it on the computer with a guy who didn't really know how to run the program and having the stencil placed where she wanted it, she changed her mind. In order to be able to see the names and the birthdays it needed to be fairly large and she didn't like how it looked. The guy wasn't real happy that she backed out, but what can you do? After that fiasco we headed back to the boat to get our bathing suits on and go swimming.

Before heading to the pool we did some more wandering around the ship and took some more pictures. We even ran into our neighbors on the boat who Amy had previously met on her flight to Miami. While we were standing there discussing getting a picture we looked over and saw Donnie Wahlberg's bodyguard. Instead of asking him to be in our picture, Amy asked him if he would take our picture. Too funny! Our neighbor's names were Aimee and Jaime. The center of the boat was open for several levels and you could stand there and look down or up and see what was happening on several different floors. We used it to our advantage a few times to do some NKOTB "sight seeing." I was very impressed with this ship and amazed at how clean it was and how many different things there were to do on board. The Carnival staff were all very friendly and helpful. On Saturday I also had fun playing with the panorama feature on our camera. Below is a picture of the Lido Deck where we spent the majority of our time. Right before this picture was taken we had our first "encounter" with one of the New Kids. We walked out on the deck and noticed people were waving to the level above us. We turned around and standing right there was Jordan Knight. We looked up and gave a subtle wave with huge smiles on our face. He appeared to be looking right at us and waved back with a smile on his face! Priceless!
That afternoon we decided to put our swimsuits on and go swimming. The pool was a little chilly, but the hot tub was just right! While enjoying the water and soaking in the sun a few games were played on the deck. One of the games was guessing TV theme songs and Amy thought she would do really well, but it was really hard and she was only able to guess a few of them. After this game was over we started to hear some whisperings and tried to figure out what it was all about. After a while we figured out it was because Joe McIntyre had joined us all on the deck. He was sitting at a table with his dad just relaxing (in the picture Joe is the one with sunglasses on sitting next to the girl with a white t-shirt). Since Amy was a huge Joe fan I tried to convince her to go say "hi" and get a hug, but she didn't want to bother him so we just stood close by and watched him for about 45 mins.

Over the course of the day we decided that we wanted better seats for tonight's Question & Answer session with NKOTB so we ate a late lunch and skipped our formal dinner. That turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes we made the entire weekend! After we finished "stalking" Joe we headed to get in line. We were already several people back in the line, but figured we would still get decent seats. We took turns holding our spot in the line while the other one went and got ready. Tonight's theme was Dress to Impress.

Q&A Session:
Once they finally opened the doors and let us in it was like a stampede! Girls were pushing and shoving trying to get the best seats. Our goal was to sit towards the center of the room because the night before a couple of the guys had gone out in the audience and were sitting with random people. Once inside we headed to the middle aisle. One of the staff members told us that we had to enter from the side so we started booking it over to the side. When we got there another staff member told us that we couldn't enter there and in fact had to enter from the middle. So we headed back to where we had just came from. On our way back to the center aisle I looked back and saw a whole crowd of girls jump the ropes that were roping off that section. By the time we got back to the middle the section we were going to sit in had filled up. I was beyond mad at this point. We ended up with seats in the VERY back of the room. It wasn't the largest room in the world, but I would've much rather had better seats especially considering the "event" that happened later on in the session. Just like with the NKOTB Feud, a few weeks before the cruise we got an email asking us to submit one question we would like to ask NKOTB for our question and answer session. Random questions would be picked. Going in to this event I had this funny feeling that my question might actually be one that got picked. I think that led to my frustration with our seats too because if I was picked I wanted to be close enough to see the guys and their reaction to my question. The first several questions were answered with a lot of, "I don't know" or "Umm" with lots of silence. The guys didn't seem to be very creative with their answers and even skipped themselves if they couldn't think of anything. Then, the time came when I heard that the next question was from Holly from Provo, Utah. I could hardly believe it. I proudly stood (as they had asked me to) while my question was being read to them. Amy captured a picture of them looking for me in the audience and also me standing with my scared to death face on! My question was, "If you were stranded on a desert island, what five things would you take?" It took them a little while to come up with answers so they decided that they would each think of one thing instead of five.

This is what they said:
Joe: "I would take Jon Knight. He could build me a house and I could sing to him. We'd pick coconuts off the trees together."
Jon: He didn't know
Donnie: "I'd take this boat!"
Danny: "I don't know, I guess the girl in the red dress (story to follow)."
Jordan: He wasn't sure either, but then someone yelled out something about his family. He then said, "The obvious answer would be my family, but then I wouldn't want them stranded on a desert island so I would take one for the team."

Even though their answers were kind of goofy, it still was exciting to have my question picked! To explain the red dress girl, there was a completely drunk girl in a red dress who kept standing up yelling things at NKOTB and dancing to get their attention. She took up a lot of time and was pretty annoying. At first the guys thought she was funny, but then they got frustrated with her too. Joe kept telling her there was fresh coffee at the back of the room. It was pretty comical. One of the questions for the guys was how do their children feel about all of "this" and their success. Danny's daughter was on the boat with us and he asked her to answer that question herself. She said something to the affect that it was cool. Jordan then went on to talk about his littlest boy and seemed like a very proud dad. It was fun to see them in that environment, laid back and being themselves.

After the Q&A session was over we went and got a late dinner at the 24 hour diner. While there we ran into the girls we had met Friday night while in line, Melissa and Stacy. The four of us came up with a plan to try to get close to the stage so that tonight we might get to see the guys up close and personal during the Dress to Impress Deck Party.

Dress to Impress Deck Party:
We quickly ate and then headed out to the stage area. There weren't very many people around it yet so we grabbed chairs and planted ourselves VERY close. We ended up spending about 3 or 4 hours sitting there talking and also occasionally getting up to dance. Unfortunately only one of the New Kids came to that stage, Jon. After midnight he got up there just to lead everyone in singing Happy Birthday to Jordan whose birthday was Sunday. While sitting there for hours and hours we did have some entertainment! There were some girls who were on the stage who had apparently been there all day saving their spot. They also apparently had been drinking all day too. We got a few good laughs. After we all sang Happy Birthday to Jordan we continued to dance the night away hoping that we might see more of NKOTB. We weren't successful and finally gave up and went to bed around 5 a.m. Can you believe it?

Drunk entertainment on the stage

Jon singing Happy Birthday to his brother Jordan

NKOTB Cruise Day 1

Because I'm cheap and didn't want to get a hotel in Miami before the cruise and was instructed by the travel agency in charge of the cruise that all flights needed to arrive in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale before 1 p.m. on Friday, May 15th, I found this ridiculous red eye flight that left Salt Lake City at 12:50 a.m. Friday. Poor Dave had to stay up late to take me to the airport and then only had a few hours of sleep before he had to be at work the next morning. But, his few hours of sleep were much better than my few minutes of sleep! I arrived in Atlanta around 6 a.m. and found myself an airport restaurant that served some good southern cooking. I had a very non-Weight Watchers breakfast, but enjoyed every minute of it. I had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta so I found a quiet spot and read a book. I really wish I could sleep in airports, but I'm too paranoid that someone will walk off with my stuff so I just can't relax. I then arrived in Miami at 11:30 a.m. There were some storms in the area so our landing was one of the bumpiest landings I've ever experienced, pretty scary. My roommate (Amy), who I'd only met over the internet, was supposed to arrive in Miami at the same time. We had arranged to split the cost of a shuttle from the airport to the Port of Miami. Her flight was delayed because of the storms, but she finally arrived and we made our way to the shuttle pickup location. The Miami airport is a pretty confusing airport! It is under construction too so that did not help! We finally found the shuttle and were off to the boat.

Neither one of us had any problems boarding the ship. We were a little worried because our birth certificates have our maiden names on them and our driver's licenses have our married names, but we were prepared and both had brought our marriage certificates too even though we didn't need them. Once on the ship we decided to head straight for our room. Before the cruise we had been told that there would be a door decorating contest so Amy and I had planned out how we were going to decorate it and spent our first few hours on the boat working on our door. I think it turned out great, but unfortunately we didn't win the contest. The winner not only decorated the door, but also the surrounding walls which we thought was sort of cheating! We were following the rules! We had a mandatory evacuation drill, then freshened up and headed to the Lido Deck for the Sail Away Party.

Sail Away Party:
When we arrived on the Lido Deck we quickly realized people had been sitting out there for several hours holding their "perfect" spot. We found a spot on the second level that overlooked the Lido Deck and headed up there. At first there was an area that was blocked off. It appeared as if that would be where NKOTB made their appearance. We were excited because we would have great views if that were the case. Unfortunately, that was NOT the case and as soon as the guys arrived on the stage they let people fill in that spot. I had to use the zoom on my camera to get good pics. It was a blast though. On my cruise with Dave back in 2002 I remember the cruise staff making a big deal about saying good-bye to Ft. Lauderdale. On this cruise not a word was really mentioned about leaving Miami. While waiting on the guys I looked up and realized we were leaving and got one picture of Miami as we sailed away. Unfortunately the rescue boats blocked most of the views on that specific deck. NKOTB didn't really do any sort of a performance at the Sail Away Party. The DJ played some of their new songs while they sang over the top of them and did some "working of the crowd. "I think one of the main reasons I still love these guys to this day is because they go above and beyond what most bands will do to make their fans happy. During this party each one of the guys walked around and visited with girls that were close to the stage. They also were taking cameras and taking pictures of themselves and then handing them back to the owner. Many many autographs were done as well. They seem very down to earth and very appreciative of us crazy girls!

Joe trying to get a better view

Donnie taking video of the event

Jordan soaking it all in

Even shy Jon did some "working of the crowd"

Danny (he was my favorite when I was a kid)

Jordan giving a fan some love

Joe giving a fan some love

After the Sail Away Party started to wind down we headed to our assigned dining room for dinner. We both were starving because neither of us had eaten since early that morning. As most of you know, I'm a pretty picky eater, but I had a steak that was to die for! I also indulged and had cheesecake for dessert. Weight Watchers was thrown out the window this weekend for sure! After dinner we went back to our room to change and get ready for the Pajama Party. We had several hours to kill before our next scheduled event so we decided to walk around the ship to familiarize ourselves with the layout more. When we walked into the main area of the ship we saw this long line starting to form. We asked the girls at the back of the line what they were lining up for and they said it was for the NKOTB Feud game that wasn't scheduled for another two hours or so. We decided to join the end of the line and wait as well so that we could get decent seats. This was one MAJOR downfall of the entire weekend, we spent so many hours standing in line for decent seats! The plus side was that we met some neat people while hangin' out in line. On this particular night we met Stacy and Melissa who were so much fun!

NKOTB Feud:

A couple of weeks before the cruise the NKOTB staff sent out an email with a list of about 40 questions. They were questions such as "What does Donnie do that the other members of NKOTB cannot do, what is something Jon uses in the morning, how many hats does Joe own, etc.?" I filled out this questionnaire and then submitted it. They then used our responses to play Family Feud New Kids style. I laughed really hard that night! They randomly picked 10 girls out of the audience and formed two teams. These teams competed against each other and then the winning team got to play NKOTB themselves. Donnie was getting frustrated at one point because I guess he didn't understand the concept of Family Feud. He kept thinking the answers on the board should be the correct answers when in reality they were just the answers that we came up with on the questionnaire. The guys were totally helping one team with their answers and it made the other team jealous, but in the end the team with their help ended up losing. The funniest moment(s) of the evening was when the sound guy would randomly play the Family Feud theme song. Joe would run out to the front of the stage and start singing "Family Feud." He did this absolutely every time that theme music came on. It was pretty funny. The question about what can Donnie do that they others can't got a good reaction. The wining team said "Act" as their first guess and Joe got pretty upset. He has been on Broadway and took offense to that. He was a good sport though and walked to the front of the stage and said, "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Very cute! They had all but one answer left on a question about what do all five members of NKOTB have in common and were struggling to come up with an answer. Finally the guys got in a huddle and then walked to the front of the stage. They said that for this answer they had to demonstrate it. Right at the exact same moment all 5 of them grabbed themselves and said, "Grown Man." These guys are a little bit perverted if you couldn't tell. They actually have a song titled "Grown Man" as well and you can imagine what it is about. It ended up being the wrong answer. Instead the answer was big families and Jordan piped up and said that "Grown Man" was another way of saying big families. In the end the girls who played them won.

Joe dancing

"Family Feud"

Pajama Party:

After NKOTB Feud was over we immediately headed up to the Lido Deck for the PJ Party with NKOTB. Amy wanted to be closer to the stage this time so we pushed our way through the crowd that was already formed around the stage. We only made it about halfway through the crowd, but we definitely were closer than during the Sail Away Party. During NKOTB Feud my camera died so I had to depend on Amy to take pictures the rest of the evening. She got a few of Joe at the PJ Party. He is her favorite New Kid. We danced the night away and finally retired around 3 or 4 a.m. What a day!!! When we returned to our room this little guy was there to greet us. We had a new friend every night, but for some reason we only got a picture of this first one.

For those who are dying to know...

I had a FANTASTIC time on the NKOTB cruise! I slept for a total of 10-15 hours in 4 days so needless to say I was exhausted when I got home and am still trying to recover! I've been working on getting my photos uploaded and also my roommate's photos. I personally took about 250 pictures and several small video clips throughout the weekend. So...give me time, but I'll have a HUGE post or multiple huge posts to do about my experience!

1 day 13 hours

The countdown has begun! Well, in all honesty it started months ago actually! I'll be boarding a plane at 12:50 a.m. Friday morning in route from SLC to Miami with a final destination of Nassau, Bahamas via the Carnival Imagination Cruise line! I can't wait for this once in a lifetime opportunity! I'm sure there will be TONS of photos/videos to post when I get home next week so stay tuned!

I also want to publicly say how amazing my husband is! Not only did he write such nice words on our blog for our anniversary, but he is also allowing me to go on this cruise. He is the most amazing person I've ever met and the most selfless individual. He is always going above and beyond to make me happy. How was I so lucky to find him?

Ode to Holly

On this day 9 years ago, I was able to marry my sweetheart. It was cold and snowy that day, but that didn't matter. It was just a slight inconvenience. After all, the love in our hearts was more important. Nine wonderful years later, the love that we have for each other is what keeps us going. Holly is amazing in everything she does. In the past 9 years we have had some trials and hard times, but she has been very diligent. She has supported me in whatever I have wanted to accomplish. She gives advice to help me figure out exactly what it is I need to do and always encourages me.

Holly means the world to me and I am so glad that 9 years ago she was willing to turn her life upside down to marry a small town (and I mean really really really small) boy from Idaho. Words can't express my love for her and how thrilled I am to be hers for eternity.

I love you Holly! Happy Anniversary!

Take me out to the ball game

Last night Dave and I used our BYU All Sports Pass for the final time of the year and went to a baseball game. BYU played UNLV and won! We had a good time! There is just something about sitting in the ballpark watching baseball in the spring. I really do enjoy it! We ended up leaving after the fifth inning because I was cold and BYU was far enough ahead. It is finally starting to get warm out here during the day, but when the sun goes down it cools off quickly.

Cosmo getting his groove on!

Cosmo in a dance off