Celebrity Constellation Cruise to Mexico and Belize

 About three weeks before her cruise to Mexico and Belize on the Celebrity Constellation was set to sail, my mom messaged me and said, "Any chance you want to go on a free cruise with me in April?"  Free? Absolutely!

My brother and his kiddos were cool enough to pick me up from the airport after they saw the new Mario movie and we went to one of our favorite's - Carmelita's in Largo. I always love visiting Florida, but these little gremlins are my favorite reason why!

After dinner with my brother, Greta, James and Hattie, they dropped me off at my mom's house where she was waiting to take me to the neighborhood dance. They do all kinds of fun things in her neighborhood, like lip sync concerts, dances, and dinner nights. This particular night, her neighbor John was shooting Aunt Sara and my mom with a little rabbit dart gun - it was an all out war!

Everyone got to sit with whomever they wanted (chosen ahead of time) and they had to decorate their own table.

Me dancing with the Easter Bunny (aka: Debbie!)  The band was excellent!

This little guy was the source of a lot of fun at this dance!

But in the morning, it was time for the main event! David, my mom's favorite Uber driver literally JUST got off of the Celebrity Constellation where he went on the exact same cruise the week before us with his sister. He drove her home, dropped her off, came by to pick us up and took us to the cruise port!

Boarding was very easy - we had Premium Access so we got there a couple of hours before our boarding time and we were allowed to board. 

Time to go find our muster!

Finding the muster was very easy so, within minutes we made our way up to the buffet area for some lunch and a drink. They have these weird vertical portholes where you can see straight down. I don't want my chair over that (said the girl who is terrified of heights!)

It was Easter Sunday, so Celebrity had a lovely Easter dessert display!

After lunch, we walked around a bit and explored the ship. It was still relatively empty - look, there's plenty of seats at the bar!

I had a grandiose plan to have a drink at every bar on the ship but that didn't end well. You always find the bars you really like and you just tend to stick to those. 

But this was a tasty little fruity drink! 

I walked around a bit more and found this random gorilla holding a fish statue called "A Couple of Differences Between Thinking and Feeling" by Angus Fairhurst.

Just snapping photos of the Celebrity Constellation funnel.

Good news - I would find out later in the trip that the pools were "Colleen warm" - meaning, they were warm enough for me to get in!

Y'all, I can't even. All I see is flood zones here.

The Grand Foyer on the Celebrity Constellation is nice but it's not as pretty as what they've got on MSC!

Is it time for a nap yet? Fun fact: We napped almost every single day on this cruise!

After a quick rest, we went back out before the ship set sail from the Port of Tampa. You always know a Celebrity ship by the big X on the side of it.

The Carnival Miracle and the Norwegian Dawn followed us out of port. But the American Victory did NOT! It's one of only four fully functional World War II ships left.

Adios, Tampa! See ya on the flip side!

We slowly made our way past the industrial ports and out of Tampa.

Let's eat! We ate almost every night in Blu. You get a specialized menu, but you also get access to the main dining room menu. Why not? The more choices, the better!

I think this was one of my favorite moments on the cruise because I had never done this before. We sailed under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge!

Eeeek! We are directly under the bridge!

This bridge is so iconic. On May 9, 1980 (I was only 3), the MV Summit Venture hit one of the support piers of the southbound lanes during a microburst, causing the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge to fall into the bay, killing 35 people. They later built this new bridge which opened in 1987. My parents, brother and I walked to the top on "opening day" that year. This bridge has always seemed SO high to me, yet it doesn't fit Oasis class (or similar) ships underneath. 

After dinner, mom and I hit up the Martini Bar - where we would spend time every night on this cruise!

They made - and I'm not exaggerating - the BEST drink I've ever had - a lavender lemon drop!

It's a thing of beauty. The Martini Bar has a thin layer of frost around the bar to keep all of your drinks cold.

The bartenders at the Martini Bar are the best in the biz... this is Edi, who was about to pour three drinks from one set of shakers.

Edi and Andrew were so awesome. Not only do they always remember your name, but they remember your favorite drink as well!

Edi and our man Boom Boom (yes, that's what his name tag says) were a part of the trio that put on an incredible dance show every night, slinging bottles around and pouring drinks.

Our first full day was a day at sea, and I didn't take many pictures. When we woke up, we had breakfast delivered to our room which we enjoyed on the balcony. We liked that the Carnival Miracle was not too far away. They had the same itinerary we did!

And then we went to the upper deck above the pool to get a little vitamin D and enjoy a drink. I had a pina colada, and mom had a Bloody Mary! Cheers to a fun and relaxing day!

I bought some magnets for our door celebrating our 50th and 80th birthdays this year. Although this wasn't super planned, at least we were able to do something together this year!

So before dinner, we decided to hit up the Martini Bar for a drink. Imagine my surprise (my mom said, "Her jaw dropped!") when I saw one of my sorority sister's from across the bar! WHAT??? It was so awesome to see Danielle, who was on an "empty nest cruise" with her husband and a ton of cool friends. I wish I had a picture of her husband's shorts, which had her face all over them. "You know, in case we lose them, we'll be able to find them!" LOL! Both of her girls go to Auburn too!  I'm really, really looking forward to an empty nest cruise!

Dinner at Blu was once again amazing! Mom couldn't decide between two meals so our waiter Michael brought her a little bit of both!  I also REALLY enjoyed this cabernet - I'm not really a huge wine drinker, but this was really delicious.

Celebrity doesn't have a lot of those Broadway type of shows - at least not on this ship. But they did have one rock show which was pretty good with lots of singing and dancing.

There was even some aerial acrobatics!

I though this was a really good show- I wish they had more like this!

But of course, after the show, it was back to the Martini Bar where Andrew was wearing a bottle cap on his forehead.

So of course, my mom had to do that too!

When we returned to the room to go to bed, we saw some flowers on the table - so pretty!  Thank you, Captain's Club!

And we're on to Cozumel!

Fall and Winter Happenings - 2025-2026

 We have survived another Massachusetts winter! Barely!

This fall, someone got their braces off - finally! Whoo hoo! We can stop paying orthodontist bills now!

Grant also ran cross country again and set several PRs!

AND he turned 16. That part makes me a little sad.

For Halloween, our friends Kern and Dorothy came over to hand out candy with us - and Grant and his bestie Yash actually passed out the candy.

We also went over to our realtor Craig's house. He always has an AMAZING Halloween haunted house. It gets bigger every year, and this year, he even had a dead person bar!

We also went to the annual "It's for the children, dammit" fundraiser (set up by Wilmington High School's finest alum) where we day drink all day for charity.

This is actually my first year attending because I was deployed last year. SO FUN.

Maybe my favorite pin of the day. Thanks Kern! If you ever run into Kern, ask him how he had to buy 100 buttons!

We were joined by our Wilmington besties, Kern and Dorothy, and Cooch and Karen at the White Bull Tavern.

This fundraiser has grown! It was so much fun and we can't wait to do it again next year!

At one point... at The Point... Kern decided he needed to buy us a crap ton of Miller Lites. HILARIOUS. Todd and I made it to the next stop - Margaritaville, before we had to leave because Natalie was coming home for the weekend!

We saw some gorgeous Northern Lights this fall!

And there was this gorgeous girl who goes to Mizzou who went to a bunch of football games...

We also went to Todd's 35th high school reunion! They had a good crowd despite being a small class!

And then, my coworker and friend Thierry passed away. His wife told us that the only time they ever talked about funerals, he mentioned he wanted everyone to wear white. We were so crushed - he was only 45. So young, and he has a 4-year-old daughter. His passing left such a big hole in our team.

Some days, when I work in Cambridge, I go for long walks around the city. One day, I stumbled upon this - what a fantastic piece of American history! If you've watched Ken Burns American Revolution like we did, this is really special. I hate working in Cambridge, but I really love the history that we have here in Massachusetts. Good and the bad, this is what has shaped us.

Baby girl obviously came home for Thanksgiving and Craig (the cool realtor, see Halloween above) always gives us a fantastic apple pie from Out Post Farm. The kids take a picture with the pie to send to Craig every year.

OMG. WHAT. No way this little chubby faced baby has his learner's permit.

We went down to Plymouth for Thanksgiving this year and Todd and I made dinner. I'm always happy to make this dinner because it's my favorite. Aunt Betty hosted the actual dinner, but we were the chefs. And I Yam his sweet potato. Always.

We bought one of those butters shaped like a turkey and Natalie thought it was SO FUNNY when her Grampy cut his head off to butter his Thanksgiving bread!

No joke, we put the tree up and the kids - EVERY SINGLE YEAR - put like 2 ornaments on the tree. Here is the one piece of evidence that that actually happened!

Back at school, and at a bar - Natalie ran into the MOST famous running back at Mizzou - Ahmad Hardy! This is a huge deal - he's really awesome! And she said he was really nice and obviously accommodating!

In other news, our niece Lauren is having a baby! A baby girl! And Aunt Betty and I drove to Maine for her baby shower. It was just so beautiful. 

There were cookies, and onesies, and books and just a bit of snow on the ground.

And I know I'm really short, but baby girl, we can't wait to meet you! 

Remember when Lauren was one of the first to meet Natalie? Life happens THIS FAST.

A trip down to visit Bean led to a loss by Grant in a loud game of Acey Doocey! You just can't beat the master!

We also had the Bailey family Christmas party where we all got to see Henry again!  Bean got him this cute dancing cactus that repeats what you say, which of course, we all had a blast with. Henry is such a good baby. He never minds being held by strangers and he's so curious!

Even Grant "I don't know what to do with this baby" Bailey thought Henry was cute!

There might have been Jell-O shots!

By the end of the evening, after the White Elephant and all of the snacks and the dinner we almost didn't eat, we all sat around the table and told stories and laughed our butts off!

Grant has also been doing a little driving! Despite their faces, he's been doing great!

Our annual Christmas Eve photo.

Grant is now wearing his dad's clothing.

Merry Christmas from the Bailey family!

We can never be normal!

After church, we always go out to dinner on Christmas Eve - but the places we normally go to keep closing. So this year, it was Bertucci's on Route 9.

They're so cute, I love it when both of my babies are with me.

I love capturing their genuine laughter. 

Stuff mah belly and send me to bed! I'm always happy to NOT have to make a Christmas Eve meal!

Throwing reindeer dust will always be an annual tradition - at least until they have their own kids!

Natalie always says Christmas Eve is her favorite night because of all of our traditions. Everyone gets a new set of pajamas!

Todd also always reads Twas the Night Before Christmas to them. Nowadays, they laugh their way through it (eye roll!)

And Grant and I (for some reason... ONLY Grant and I) always read Hobo Dog's Christmas Tree! Ok I promise I'm not drunk here ha ha.

After the annual readings, we write letters to Santa and leave out cookies and eggnog. They left out some celery this year because we totally forgot to buy carrots for the reindeer.

And on Christmas morning, we always have to take a picture of the calm before the storm.

The stockings can't hang by the chimney with care because the hooks aren't strong enough to hold a full stocking! So they lay on the ground.

Time to stage our "running down the stairs to see all of the Christmas presents" - even though their bedrooms aren't upstairs, and the presents are totally in a different room!

Gotta have the faux fireplace crackling in the background while we open presents.

Who DOESN'T love Drake Maye, Natalie!?

Natalie and I opening presents on Christmas morning.

My mom still gets Grant a Hess truck (although it was a car this year!)

And one of my favorite traditions is Todd's amazing bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on a pretzel roll!

We never even got out of our pajamas on Christmas Day! Natalie decided she wanted to chop the top of the butter tree off with her knife (like her Grampy did on Thanksgiving with the turkey head!)

It's a very bland color but so good!

After Christmas, we all went down to Plymouth and spent time with KK, Bean and Aunt Betty.

Grant and Nat opened some presents from KK!

Perhaps one of our favorite holiday traditions is NOT going out on New Year's Eve and instead, staying in and watching Andy and Anderson do shots of tequila on CNN. 

Yes, I feel the SAME way about tequila!

Happy New Year from the Bailey family!

For Christmas, Natalie got tickets to see the Celtics play - so she and Todd enjoyed a game at TD Garden in early January.

They even made it up on the Jumbotron!

Go C's! (Even if they didn't win, a professional game is always a good time)

The Three Musketeers also went skiing at Nashoba Valley!

Nat and Grant had fun taking selfies on the ski lift.

Grant taking on the most difficult black diamond at Nashoba Valley! Eeek, glad I wasn't here to see this!

The best part of Natalie's winter break was when she and Grant had their wisdom teeth removed on the SAME DAY. They don't put you under anesthesia anymore- but they do give you some happy drugs before giving you laughing gas. Grant got the giggles after the drugs were setting in. I drove Natalie, while Todd drove Grant, so no one had to wait around in the lobby while the other kid had their teeth removed.

Natalie apparently talked about traveling the entire time she was having her teeth taken out. And then when we got to the car, she started bawling because she wasn't going to be able to see Grant all loopy after his surgery! We were laughing SO hard! Poor kiddo!

This is how they spent much of the day after the surgery. We watched two movies - Interstellar and the Lego Movie.

I also went on a little trip to Florida with my bestie!

We had a blast, eating, drinking, taking water taxis, meeting mobsters (no joke!) and even seeing a manatee!

BUT of course... on the Sunday I was supposed to go home, there was a big snowstorm in Massachusetts and my flight was cancelled. Spirit Airlines couldn't get me home until Wednesday night, so I went to visit my mom where I could stay for free. She and Aunt Sara and I went out to Eddie's to watch the Patriots play the Broncos in the AFC Championship. We had a great meal and the Pats won!

I also got to see my nieces and nephew and have some yummy Mexican food at Carmelita's - a tradition when I go to Florida!

Well, the gang is mostly here! I love my family so much!

The OG big three.

People used to ask us if we were twins all the time HAHAHAHAHAHA. NOPE!

I came home to THIS. What a mess. We could barely see our neighbors car!

Todd did a weight loss challenge at his gym for the month of January and even though I don't go to his gym, I decided to do it with him (you know, to lose those holiday pounds!). We celebrated at the end of the month with a pint at Clover Road. He lost 14 pounds!

OH there I am!

We also got to see one of my favorite bands - Jackopierce - at TCAN in Natick. SO fun!

This is a super funny story because the last time we saw Jackopiece at TCAN (more than 10 years ago), we had a bit too much to drink before the show and Todd knocked on Cary and Jack's door - to which Jack answered, and Todd said, "You're on in 10!" Jack was like "OK!" SO FUNNY!!!!

Not everything was super fun this winter. We got a big ice dam on the very highest part of our roof that led to water leaking into our walls in our bedroom (and in the living room below it).

Well that's probably not good.

We had a very nice Valentine's Day though and Todd made me chicken piccata which was outstanding. This was the first meal he ever made me when we were dating!

Kern and Dorothy had an impromptu Wilmington crew party at their new house in Woburn. They have a ping pong table set up in the basement so we had a little tournament. Kern won, but he had to get through Mike first!

Todd playing against Crias - that yellow ball is in mid flight!

We brought Kismet with us and played a couple of games. 

Me and Igor hanging out - he's the cutest dog!

There may have been some singing and dancing with Dorothy and Karen.

Poor Igor back there is like WHAT is happening here.

Shots? Sure why not. I'm sure we won't regret this in the morning! (For the record, we spent the night, we obviously did NOT drive after this!)

We bought some salt pucks to throw up on to the roof after we had the first ice jam cleared for a cool $3k. Homeownership sucks sometimes! We had a second snow storm on the way that brought us about 18" after the first one that brought us 22"!

Our neighbor Brendan also fixed our snowblower (a belt was just loose) which LITERALLY saved the day!

This second snowstorm was officially classified as a blizzard, and every time we went out to shovel snow, we came in totally caked in snow!

Shoveling is so much fun, said no one ever. 

Grant learned how to use the snowblower this year though, so that was a bonus.

Grant did part of the driveway and the sidewalk. I went over and shoveled out the fire hydrant.

The wind was whipping that snow - you can see Grant's hair is literally froze! And the snow is just stuck to the side of the house!

Ok, that's all we can handle, folks!  The wind is literally blowing snow into my eyes.

It's pretty when it's all over though!

Natalie came home for a long weekend in February and couldn't believe how high the snow was!

We got to see a pretty sunset too. We definitely do not get as many of these beautiful sunsets here as we did in Germany.

We taught Natalie how to play Kismet and of course, she rolled a Kismet! Little stinker!

And we're on to spring! Bring on the warmth!