The Afflecks

Here's to our first international adventure as a family of three! It wasn't easy to travel with a baby, but I think it might've been easier than last year's very pregnant Italy trip. This time we made the trip with James's brother Steve, sister Michelle, and brother-in-law Matt. It was fun to have a bigger group--especially when we had to take turns doing non-Joey friendly activities.

We went on a Western Caribbean Cruise that left from New Orleans. It turns out, October is a great time to visit N'awlins. We went a day early, since it was cheaper and enjoyed it a lot. Here's a picture of us getting our first Po Boys. The waitress knew we were from out of town when she asked if we wanted them "dressed" and we looked at her like "what, are you going to put a shirt on my sandwich?" (Turns out, the answer is "yes" and they put lettuce, tomato and mayo on your sandwich.) Joey won her over though, and she even gave him a piece of candy, which he held on to until we got back to the hotel, and then jammed hopelessly deeply into the air conditioner. If they ever use that for heat, the room will smell like hot chocolate!

Later that evening, we explored the French Quarter. There was some kind of breast cancer awareness parade going on, which meant a lot of interesting characters dressed in all sorts of pink things that can't really be categorized as clothes, and big floats going by throwing Mardi Gras beads to passersby. Joey loved the beads and got quite a collection.

New Orleans is definitely Jazz Central. There were street musicians all over the place, and a lot of them were really good. Joey was eating up all the music. He LOVES music! This man's name is also Joseph, so he sang Joey his very own personalized song. I think his voice was too loud and bellowy for the little guy and he melted down. He's a tough crowd.

Sunday morning we had time to go to church before boarding the cruise ship. It was such a fun ward. Everyone was very welcoming and full of vigor. We'd love to go back to that one.

We got on our cruise ship and Joey set about exploring the tiny room. We had to move a little furniture, since he hated his crib, there was no room to walk, and they had James and me in separate single beds, but we worked it out so that we even had room for that darned yoga ball that Joey still insists on being bounced to sleep on. Joey loved the room. He opened and closed all the drawers, put his beads and toys in all of them, explored the bathroom, and pointed to every part of the pattern on the carpet. I don't think he would've minded if we never left the room at all.

Our first stop was in Quintana Roo, Mexico. We went to some Mayan ruins called Kohunlich. We went with Michelle while the other guys did something dangerous...I can't remember what at the moment. It was a long bus ride, and a very hot and humid day, but we had a good time. The ruins were really neat. It was a whole city.

Here's a family picture, courtesy of Aunt Michelle, showcasing the ruins and Joey's habit of the week. I guess he was doing an archaeological dig of his own.

Our next stop was Roatan, Honduras. It's actually only belonged to Honduras for 30-something years and was first inhabited by Pirates (who saw a ton of rats there and named it Rat-ton...there's a neighboring island called Morat. I guess they saw more of the same there). Everyone speaks English at home, but they've started teaching school in Spanish since the island has belonged to Belize. Joey had a cold this day, so we took it easy. We got a tour from a local taxi driver and his friend. Joey forsook his stranger anxiety in favor of the pretty lady.

Next stop was Belize. It was scarier than I'd imagined. They made up for their high crime-rate with some delicious fresh fruit. We especially loved the bananas. I think Joey ate two by himself. We tried to take a bunch back with us onto the boat, but were stopped by an official looking British man who said that wouldn't do. We ended up giving our loot to the crew of the tender boat that was taking us back to the ship.
We took another taxi tour in Belize. It was interesting, but the driver seemed pretty jaded by a hard life. He was nice enough though, and we got to see a lot of the city that we otherwise wouldn't have.

The last stop was Cozumel, Mexico. I actually didn't get to venture past the marketplace there, but I think I've had 12 times more Mexico in my lifetime than the rest of the group put together, so it was fair. When the little man needs a nap, he needs a nap. The rest of them went parasailing and said it was really fun! I don't have a picture of that though.

Here are a few random shots of us goofing around on the boat. My favorite is Michelle acting like she's going under water in the glass elevator, and the lady behind her trying to get a look without being too obvious. Hahaha I love my in-laws.

We weren't supposed to take this picture, but really, who wants to buy a screwed up picture for $29? They took our picture in front of a green screen as we boarded the ship. It just so happened that I was wearing a green shirt that day, so I have no torso--just a disembodied head and arms coming out of the boat.

This was Chocolate Night. They had a chocolate buffet late one night. It was pretty amazing. There were chocolate sculptures and every kind of chocolate delicacy imaginable. I must admit, my plate looked about like this when I was done too. It was fun to try so many different things, and I'm glad I didn't finish it and make myself sick.

Here's Joey and Uncle Steve. I can see the family resemblance, can you?

It was a good trip! Hopefully we can do something like it before too long. We'd better hurry though, we've got less than a year before Joey is an adult, according to the airlines.

I'm out of excuses now and it's time to play 4-month catch up. I had some fair excuses though. Joey's a nice big one since he's the busiest little body I've ever seen. Then we had to move into my parents' living room, pack all our stuff into storage, I couldn't find the camera cord, the computer died...and now I really have no excuse.

Back to Labor Day weekend: We went to Happy Hollow, the annual family reunion in Indiana for my mom's dad's side of the family. It was really fun to see everyone. Joey was a big hit, although he wasn't so sure about all the noisy relatives clambering for his attention.

When we got back, we found out that Joey was very allergic to the chemicals our dear landlord used to clean the apartment carpets. He had an awful rash, started reacting to everything he ate, and started to have trouble breathing. We had the carpets recleaned by a company that used no chemicals, but he only improved for a few days. Poor baby! We had to get him out fast and my parents offered their home, so we packed up and moved most things into storage. We've been staying with them ever since, while we've been trying to buy a house.

Here are my cute boys at Nanna and Grandpa's house, all ready for church. We're so grateful that my parents decided to move here a few years ago! They've been saints to us, imposing on them like this.