vacation

Let’s go cruisin’

August 12, 2016August 12, 2016by Sheridan Johnson4 Comments

Johnsons take cozemel

So my niece graduated High school this year and wanted to take a big family trip with everyone in the summer to celebrate! She just didn’t know quite what she wanted to do. Well, fast forward a month and a half and we finally all booked a vacation to Cozumel! Well, the only thing was.. we were taking a giant ship to get there!

First off, let me just say that I have never left my husband and babies for this duration of time, and it felt like an eternity without them.. and technically it was only 5 days!

Day 1: This was the day we were so excited/nervous to all (all 7 of us) to be going on this cruise, not knowing what to expect and we just wanted to make the most out of it! When you arrive to park your car at the drop off, no one seems to tell you that it takes about 45min-1 hour to get through security/check your luggage to actually get on the ship. Then once you enter, you must go to guest services to put cash money on your “charge card” because that is the only way you will be allowed to buy anything on the ship. no cash/card purchases are accepted. They then give you a key to to your room and you head on down to the room.. along with thousands of your closest friends as well, ha! Just as soon as you load all of your belongings in your room and think you have time to go “explore” the ship, they call you on the intercom down to floor 0 (bottom floor where the life boats are) to go over an in-service on property safety and rescuing techniques, in case an emergency would ensue (let’s just say.. they have a terrible system in place, it took them over an hour to do a proper head count of all the guests on the ship)!After standing shoulder to shoulder with no A/C for so long, we were ready to start our exploration of the ship! Carnival Liberty has a total of 11 floors, with LOTS to explore/do ALL the time. That’s basicallyhow day one was spent (along with gambling and trying these crazy good drinks)!

Day 2: Let’s just say this was night 1 of no sleep.. I don’t know how people could actually live/work on this cruise year around. The sleeping quarters are terrible (tiny room to accommodate 4 people per room), and you feel/hear the ship moving the entire night (especially when using the restroom/taking a shower).Moving on–this day was all about checking out what they have to offer during the day (trying one of the 3 dining rooms, new food, going to the gym, just an overall day of a lot of walking and exploring and attending lots of shows), and making the most of it! It was definitely a lot of fun, and since you have no Wi-Fi, or any way to get in contact with anyone.. we tried not to go off very far from one another.. because there is definitely no way we would run into each other.. it’s THAT big! We knew we had to go to bed semi-early since the ship was to arrive at Cozumel bright and early at 8:00am that next morning!

Day 3: Night 2 of no sleep yet again. haha (who actually sleeps on vacations anyway?! lol)! Woke up bright and early at 5:30am to make sure I was showered and had everything in order to have time to eat breakfast before heading out since I didn’t know if we were going to make a food stop in Cozumel or not. We bought $29.99 excursion which allowed us to spend 4 hours experiencing the culture and really seeing a lot of how they actually live. When we arrived off the ship, we had to walk through this area where they sold practically everything.. for less than we have here in Texas (or in America really). Alcohol, clothing, cigarettes, jewelry, perfume.. you name it, they had it, and they definitely hustle for their money! About 30 mins after we arrived, we were set to start the excursion.. well let me tell you.. if you think Texas is hot.. add a TON of humidity.. dang! We got to spend 1.5 hours at the beach (HELLO $20 all you can drink.. and let me tell you, I took advantage of that deal), and then the other 1.5 hours eating (they had the best guacamole I have ever tasted) and shopping (bought the kiddos some cute stuff)! Literally right when we got back from the excursion, we had to rush to get back on the ship before it departed. Once we got back we all just relaxed for the rest of the night, way to tired to do anything.

Day 4: Night 3 of no sleep (of course), and felt the ship move at time high this day. We were all basically ready to do this day. Legit just roamed around the ship, relaxed, worked out, went swimming, and went to a couple of shows and participated in 80’s night which was so fun for majority of us! It was a great way to end the trip and I was SO READY TO GO by the end of the night!

Day 5: (I actually got 3 hours of sleep, hooray)! I got up at 530am, showered, made sure everything was packed and ready to go and went out to get coffee and see the sunrise for the first time before heading home. I actually met up with my sis-in-law and mother in law on the top of the ship and it was so pretty and SO nice when we actually stopped moving and knowing that we had arrived back to Galveston, Tx! Thank goodness.

Overall would I do it again? Probably not for a LONG while..if ever!

Was it worth almost $1000 round trip? No. Next time I am going to fly there and spend the same amount of days and actually get to ENJOY Cozumel all day, every day.

I did LOVE spending time with my in-laws and getting to just talk and hang out–sans kiddos. I would have loved if Shane could have gone as well, which is definitely a must for our next major vacation!

I will leave you with a few pictures from the trip, and hope it doesn’t deter you from taking a cruise with your family/friends. Everyone’s perspective is different, this is just my opinion. 🙂

corpus christi, Family, vaction

July 4th weekend

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015by Sheridan JohnsonLeave a Comment

This past weekend was definitely one for the books! My parents and our little family haven’t gone on an overnight vacation all together in a while. I could not wait to get away, especially after working SO much the week before!

We packed up everything Friday morning and my parents met us at our house and off to Corpus Christi we went! We stopped and ate lunch in Rockport at the The Melting Pot ,a seafood restaurant, where everyone is given a bib to wear, and paper on the table which Brielle LOVED to draw on pretty much every piece that she could get her hands on. I strongly dislike the smell of seafood and it made me sick to my stomach to the point where if I didn’t lay my head down, it was going to come up. I felt like I had strep throat the two days prior as well, and since my throat was burning with pain, throwing up was the last thing that I wanted to happen. After we ate, we went on our way to Corpus Christi to meet my moms longtime friend Lea and her mom at the Corpus Christi Aquarium. Just a little FYI for people that go; bring a stroller, and it was a pretty expensive visit ($25 per adult), plus in order to get seats at the dolphin show you would have to wait in line for 1+ hours (which we did not know, and I don’t think Brielle would have wanted any part of that anyways), and the food and drinks are very expensive! But, other than that, it was a GREAT time, and we even got to watch the dolphin show on the outer side of the place and it was still amazing to see. I still can’t say I have touched a stingray, but I did touch a baby shark. The alligator was beautiful to see, and just the place overall with all the little activities we could do, we all had a good time and got some pretty cute pictures out of it!

After that, we went to dinner at this pretty good Mexican restaurant, and let me tell you the dessert was by far the best part of the meal. I think it was fried ice cream with little whip cream bites with chocolate on top. Afterwards, we checked in the hotel, and then walked down to the marina to see the beautiful ocean and walked around there. Overall, it was a great day and couldn’t wait for the next day!

Saturday was our day to go fishing, and since Brielle wanted to stay up ALL night, Shane and I both got 0 sleep and I started our morning early by making every one get dressed at 5:30am and walk down the marina to watch the sun rise, which was BEAUTIFUL! We then went back to the hotel to eat breakfast, and I actually got a call from the family I used to Nanny for and they were staying literally diagonal from us at their hotel, so we all walked over there once my parents woke up to go visit them and say hi for a little while. They looked adorable, and I was so happy to see Brielle play with them. It’s surreal to see your child playing with the children that you helped raise (it literally makes my heart so happy!). WE love you Zavaleta Family! We then went back to hotel and let everyone nap before we packed up and went to Wal-mart to get any last minute things before heading to the beach at Padre Island. It was so fun and VERY sandy, but we all had a blast celebrating Independence Day, and just being with each other. Once the beach was complete, we packed up and headed to Bob Hall’s Pier in Mustang Island to do some fishing, watch the sunset go down, and see the beautiful display of fireworks, literally in every direction! Afterwards we headed back our hotel and of course got stuck in the 4th of the July traffic when everyone was leaving when the fireworks ended, and once we got to the hotel, we all showered and then went to sleep.

Sunday morning (with Brielle having MUCH better sleep than the night before) we all went out to eat breakfast at the restaurant near our hotel, and waited on my brother and his family to meet us there. Once they joined, we had a day full of windy swimming, pizza for lunch, and some nice relaxation with all the family. We loved every part of it! Once all the kids had pretty much had enough of swimming, we packed up and headed back home to Yoakum (only to literally be home long enough to do 3 loads of laundry, deep clean the house and organize, unpack from the beach and re-pack for my work week in Austin and then watch the USA women’s Soccer team WIN!!) I then headed out and drove the hour to my moms, just in time for Brielle to run around and play for a little bit, and go to bed!

Note to self: Plan a full day of rest from a vacation before heading into work the next day. I was exhausted those two days during work and just dragging during those 12+ hour shifts! Thankfully we ALL made it home safely with all of that driving, and I am SO happy we got to get away, even if it was for just three days!

Here are some of the pictures from the trip! 🙂

First stop in Rockport, and she HAD to touch the water! :) — First stop in Rockport, and she HAD to touch the water! 🙂

Lea, My mom, and Me while watching the dolphin show!

Brielle on Daddy's shoulders! It was VERY windy that day! — Brielle on Daddy’s shoulders! It was VERY windy that day!

mommy and daughter with the sunrise behind us!

Brielle, Family

Weekend In Review

March 3, 2015March 3, 2015by Sheridan JohnsonLeave a Comment

Well since Shane was going to New Orleans for the weekend, I figured a nice girls trip was a definite necessity for Brielle and I for the weekend! On Friday morning was probably one of those days, that you wished would end pretty soon and it was only 9AM.

Friday morning we had a lot to do before heading to Lockhart, to spend the night at my moms before heading up to north Austin on Saturday. I had to weigh-in at the gym (down 7 pounds in 3 weeks!) and then I headed over to go support my friends in her fundraiser for the morning (hope you had a great turnout Ashley and Sylvia) then I had to pack up the dogs and Brielle and head to Lockhart. The only problem was, as I was backing up Shane’s truck to put the kennels in the truck, I had run into the side of the trash can with his mirror and it knocked it off and left it hanging. Well, needless to say my mind was all messed up after that, thinking that I didn’t want to tell Shane what I did while he was on vacation. (Thank goodness, he is such a great guy and didn’t get mad at all!)

Once I finally made it to Lockhart, I was going to go to the store to buy Brielle’s favorite snacks to stock up for the weekend, and I realized I forgot my wallet at home, in Yoakum. I put Brielle down for a nap at my moms and drove my hour drive back home. I figured why not hit the gym hard, since I had to go back home anyways, and afterwards I felt so much better! I felt ready to conquer the rest of the day! She had so much fun at Nana and Papa’s house, and LOVES to learn new things with them!

Saturday afternoon, we left for Val’s house (I used to be a nanny for her, and now we are really good friends) and the girls loved Brielle. Well, most of the time! She accidentally broke a couple of their favorite cups, but she did have fun dancing, chasing after them, talking to them and loving on baby Natalie! She enjoyed taking pictures in her Easter dress, and loved the chocolate goodies she received as well. She is going to LOVE Easter this year! We then headed to Adriane’s that night, to unpack, get comfortable, play with the dogs, and head to bed…or so I thought that was the plan!

Sunday morning after a crazy night of sleep with Brielle not wanting to sleep in her playpen, so she ended up in the bed with me. After she tossed and turned all night, I woke up in definite need of a coffee!! Sunday was a fun, relaxing day with Brielle playing with the her dogs, Adriane and I fitting in a 30 minute workout during Brielle’s very short nap, and Lauren coming over and enjoying some nice girl time! Brielle loved seeing them both, she doesn’t get to spend quality time often with them so it was nice!

Monday afternoon we headed back to Lockhart, and realized my tire had a nail in it, and so we had to wait until late afternoon after it was fixed to pack up and head home! So glad Shane met us at my parents house to take Brielle and the dogs home, so I could go straight to the gym and work out! Shane took the dogs and Brielle fishing on his way home, and she LOVED it! I swear, she is definitely Shane’s mini-me with her obsession with fish!

Overall, it was a crazy weekend, we probably would have been safer at home, but I am so glad we made the trip up North and can’t wait to do it again!

Walking on Nana's treadmill! — Walking on Nana’s treadmill!

Sara and Rachel were putting on a magic show for us!

Brielle loved showing Adriane how she loves liptstick

We straightened Brielle's hair.. well as best as we could! — We straightened Brielle’s hair.. well as best as we could!

Faith, vaction

Damaged Goods

February 11, 2014May 3, 2016by Sheridan JohnsonLeave a Comment

This past weekend my husband and I got to go our second road trip outing without our precious baby girl and we headed on to Houston,Tx. I was so excited because I have always wanted to go to Lakewood Church and see Pastor Joel Osteen in person. Let me tell you, I was in awe of how amazing this church was on the inside and how nice and welcoming each and every person was to the both of us!

First off, let me explain that his choir was amazing!! I have never felt so alive and uplifted and danced to every song they sang. It was amazing and I could feel the Lord letting me know that I was suppose to be there on that Saturday night.
Victoria Osteen came out first and spoke about praying before it’s too late. She stated that so many of us reach to God during the hard times and times where prayer is needed then and there but times where everything is working out we tend to slack on prayer. I am guilty of this at times as well. I have made it note to myself to wake up every morning and say a prayer and be thankful that I, as well as my family get to see another day. There are definitely more opportunities I can pray instead of say negative things and pray during many other aspects of my life.
Joel Osteen then came out to preach about Genesis 21:18 “Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a great nation.”
His sermon was on removing the damaged goods label from our mind and body. He said “You have to get out, you’re inside is perfect; it didn’t stop your destiny, you have the blood of a winner.” This sets home for me when I was called a fat whale, worthless, obese, unsuccessful in my middle school/ high school year by my classmates and those labels stayed on me and my back for years until one day I decided I was worth something. I knew I could overcome my battles with my weight, I knew I was going to graduate college and become someone successful and help people in their lives, but first I had to take off that damaged goods label and throw it away. He then said “you have to take the hands you’ve been dealt and make the most of it.”

How many of you have been labeled as damaged goods?? Today is your day to step out of that label and throw it away!