sail away, sail away...

we were fortunate enough to take a cruise to the bahamas to celebrate the close of a very busy summer. we all had a great time tanning in the sun, swimming with dolphins, eating great food, relaxing, and laughing together.



the girls won a high school musical competition



is this not the cutest pre-teen you've ever seen?

we celebrated maddy's birthday a little early on pirate night.

argh!

they kinda look like a special ops team, huh? the girls snorkeled for hours. at the end of the day, their backs were a lot browner/redder than their fronts.










hailey couldn't remember having seen a palm tree before. anyone who knows hailey knows she has to touch everything. when she saw a palm tree on the beach she said, "i just have to touch that, dad. are we allowed to touch them?". i've never seen anyone so excited over such a simple thing.





that is not a smile, it's sheer terror on my face. the dolphins totally gave me the creeps.

my much braver daughters







4 princesses






one of the great things about cruises is that the food is all-inclusive, which means you can try things you normally wouldn't pay for. our last night on the ship escargo was on the menu. we told the girls we would give them $6 (the price was lower to start, but they have become savy negotiators) if they tried it. hailey and madison were takers. here's how it turned out...