“Beach Fun” is the photo challenge theme this week at I Heart Faces. On our cruise we stopped in Jamaica and my daughter begged to be buried in the sand. What a perfect beach fun photo for this week!

I’m one of the co-founders of I Heart Faces and just entering for fun. I hope you’ll enter a photo this Monday and Tuesday.

NEWS: We just announced the date of our 2nd Annual I Heart Face Photography Workshop in Dallas. It will be the first weekend of November. Be sure to subscribe to our updates so you won’t miss out. We’ll open registration to a limited number of people only starting in September. It’s going to be wonderful!!

Be sure to join Amy on Facebook for more fun!
Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!

I just returned from my 7 day cruise on the Carnival Conquest. In a nutshell it was amazing! There is so much I want to tell you about and over 1,600 photos to show you… but don’t worry I’ll condense it all into a few posts this week:-) I know many of you have questions, so on Friday I’ll do a question and answer time.

Today I want to give you the 5 reasons I will definitely go on a Carnival Cruise again.

1. The Beauty

From the time you step on the ship, you’re surrounded by beauty.

On the inside of the ship you have Vegas style lobby decor, elaborate restaurants and leather sofas along windows that make you just want to sit and enjoy the view.

On deck or your balcony you get the fabulous views of the sea, the clean wooden deck, the pretty pools and how could I forget the amazing sunsets.

2. Family Time

When you leave port, there is NO phone access unless you want to pay ridiculous international roaming fees. This means no distractions and you have to relax and spend time with your family. I was in Carnival’s internet cafe a few times, but the connection was very slow so most people just checked their email and left quickly.

We don’t realize how much time we spend on our computers or phones. There was free WiFi at the resort we visited in Jamaica and I noticed a couple on the beach laughing while typing on their iPhones. I knew right away they were playing Words with Friends (and probably NOT with each other). Because we were in the beautiful ocean talking to their kids, I asked them if that’s what their parents were doing and sure enough… they rolled their eyes and said “Oh, they play that ALL the time!!”

On the cruise we were totally absorbed in the moment and with our kids. As much as I love my iPhone, I really enjoyed having some forced time off. I noticed a lot of families with everyone from grandmas to aunts and uncles in their group. A cruise is perfect for the whole family because there is something fun for every age and it’s so easy to create memories that will last a lifetime.

3. The Fun

Carnival does a wonderful job at keeping everyone entertained. From ice cream eating contests, ice sculpting demonstrations and group games, to country night, magic shows and comedians, there was something fun going on all the time! You could be a part of it, or not. I loved the fact that I could hop around to different events or just lounge by the pool or a quiet deck if I didn’t feel like being fun at the moment. But most of the time, I got sucked into watching or participating!

I also loved how the activities were kid friendly throughout the day and then geared more towards teens and adults later in the evenings. The comedians were my favorite! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time:-)

4. The Food

How can I mention a Carnival Cruise without mentioning the food?

If you didn’t know, Carnival not only has a delicious buffet each day, but also a sushi bar, 24 hour ice cream and pizza! My kids were in heaven over the ice cream!

My husband who is watching his weight and doesn’t eat desserts anymore seriously got Carnival’s Signature Melting cake every night at dinner. (More on this cake later… it was so good, it deserves it’s own post:-)

5. The People

Carnival has the nicest employees! They make you feel so special. My daughter looked at me one day and said, “How does everyone know my name here Mommy?” I told her they just really like you! She and she replied with “They think I’m cute too!”

Our wait staff was amazing and did everything to make our dinners special. You ask for something and they will get it!

The Hotel Manager, Marvin Barrantes, even took time out of his busy schedule to talk with me. He assured me if I fell asleep at port, there would be arrangements made for me to get back to the cruise. For some reason, I had the biggest fear I would miss the ship! Ha!

If I was away from my family so long, I might not be as joyful, but everyone on the ship was super sweet and make sure you have a fantastic time. They also make the cutest towel animals! One of my kid’s favorite things was being surprised each night with a new animal.

Look for more details about my cruise all this week! I’ll be answering your questions on Friday, so get them ready:-) Be sure to read my post about Camp Carnival and how much fun a cruise is for kids.

Follow Carnival on Twitter and Facebook. For more information on their ships and booking, visit them at Carnival.com!

Today I’m also guest posting over on Reluctant Entertainer!

Sandy has a brand new web site and a brand new book published as well!! Please go visit and leave a comment over there. Be sure to check out her new book! It’s so exciting when another blogger gets published. Yay for Sandy!!

Disclosure: This seven day cruise was paid for by Carnival as a part of their Brand Ambassador program.  All opinions and photos about the trip are my own.

Be sure to join Amy on Facebook for more fun!
Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!

Theme: Beach

If you aren’t a regular reader of my blog, then you might not know that I’ve been preparing for my daughter’s mermaid party all week. So I’ve got mermaids on the brain!! When I saw this photo of my niece from last summer, of course had to use it as my Beach entry!! My kids wouldn’t let me create sand art from them, luckily my sweet niece did:-)

If you want to see photos from the mermaid party, they’re online now! It turned out so cute, the girls (and big brothers) had lots of fun.

I LOVE sand castles! If I could pick between going to a fancy art museum or a sand castle making contest… the sand would win hands down! ha. What’s the best sand art you’ve seen or created?

I’m a co-founder of I ? Faces and only joining in this photo challenge for fun!

Come on over and enter a photo or at least take a look at all the fun entries:-)

Please visit I ? Faces for weekly challenges, photo tips and tutorials.

? Grab this Headline Animator

Be sure to join Amy on Facebook for more fun!
Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!

This week’s theme is Hats

Adult Entry

When my family was here from Boston, we when to a Renaissance festival. There were knights, kings, queens and the best of all fairies! My daughter was in awe over this beautiful fairy. She played the party to a hilt… so much so it kind of creeped me out:-) I love the way she looked right at my camera and her costume was so neat. She also gave my little girl a fairy stone that she carried around in her pocket all day! If it was my son, he would have lost it in 2 minutes.

Kid Entry

This is one of my favorite photos from our trip to The Outerbanks in North Carolina last summer. We always wear hats on the beach. Not really a “face” photo, but I’ve used all my good ones for previous entries. Oh well… I really wish I was sitting in that exact spot right now!

I’m co-founder of I ? Faces and only entering for fun.

Good luck to all who enter!!!

Make sure to visit I ? Faces this week to see all the fun hat photos. We have a Photoshop plug-in giveaway worth $199 going on now and another great one to come!

? Grab this Headline Animator

Be sure to join Amy on Facebook for more fun!
Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!

This week’s theme is Self-Portrait

I can’t wait to see everyone!! If you haven’t entered our challenges before now. Please grab your camera and do it today! Your photo must be of YOU. Hurry, you have until Tuesday evening to enter!

Adult Entry

I have pretty much used ALL of my self portrait shots in previous contests. So I dug deep for this one! We were at the State Fair and I cropped out my daughter who was frowning and not wanting to smile.

I don’t think there are many photos of me with my parents when I was little… only of me. So I’m a big fan of taking self portraits with my kids. I have LONG arms and am able to hold the camera out far enough away to get good shots. I want my kids to know what I looked like when I was young and cute! ha!

Kids Entry

*** I’m a co-founder of I ? Faces and only entering for fun. **

Good luck to all who enter!!!

Make sure to visit I ? Faces this week for some AWESOME giveaways!! We have a fun announcement that you won’t want to miss also!

If you live in the Dallas area, we are having an I Heart Faces Meet up on May 2nd!!!

Visit our site for more details and to RSVP.

Enter the Jewel Box Home’s Apron Giveaway!

You have until the end of April to submit your stories about small home/room living to win.

? Grab this Headline Animator

Be sure to join Amy on Facebook for more fun!
Also, be sure to check out Printables by Amy! Find easy and affordable digital files to download and print at home or at your local quick print shop. Each product is custom designed by Amy, a professional graphic designer. Amy makes do-it-yourself projects a breeze!