Cruisin' the Caribbean!

I just uploaded 171 pictures from my camera from our trip! It is so fun looking at them, reliving each and every day. It truly was an amazing trip and I know we made memories that will stick with all of us. It's funny because I was worried that my kids would be disappointed on Christmas Day that there weren't a lot of gifts this year, but I have decided that family vacations and the memories that are created are far more exciting than anything that can be wrapped in a box. As I look at how fast my kids are growing and feel like there are only so many years left, I look forward to as many more vacations as we can squeeze in!

I decided to do a day-by-day recap so we can remember what we did each day. Trying to choose pictures to post is hard, so this will be a very long and picture heavy post!

Day 1 - Sun., Dec. 26th - Travel day to New Orleans. Brandon and Erika flew in before us and we caught up to them in the afternoon. Doug and I got a private tour of the plane and cockpit before we took off from Jay, which was a real treat! Our hotel sat just a block from Bourbon Street and it was quite a sight to see. I can only imagine what that place must look like during Mardi Gras. We grabbed dinner at a local joint and Doug and Coop even tried oysters on the half shell (gross!). None of the kids slept well at all that night--too excited to board the ship the next day!

Ready to go!

Our own plane tour!

New Orleans

Some snuggle time at our New Orleans hotel

Bennett's dream club (kidding!)

Day 2 - Mon. Dec. 27th - We slept in a bit, got up and then found a taxi to the port. We checked in at noon and by a little after 1:00, we were through security and all the paperwork and walking on the ship. Just as we were boarding the ship, Kinley said, "This is the best day of my life!!" I don't think they had any real clue of the size of the ship. It was bigger than I remembered, too. We found our cabins and then had lunch. They wasted no time in putting out fancy food! So impressive. After that, we all just walked all over the ship and checked out everything from the kid's club to the workout facilities. Around 4:00, the ship set sail and the kids got a kick out of watching it pull away and start moving. Our assigned dinnertime was 6:00 and we quickly fell in love with our waiter. His name was Anang and he is from Indonesia. He learned our names and just made each night so special. He got a workout, too, keeping up with Bennett's appetite. :) That night, we went to a show in the big theater and the kids went to a 'get to know you' party in the disco lounge. It was unreal how many activities they had for kids all day long!

Almost to the ship!

Finally climbing aboard!

The slide on our ship--The Carnival Triumph

Our teeny cabin

Wearing her warm chocolate melting cake (Kaiya and Erika's fav!)

Trying their luck in the casino

Opening night games in the kids club

Day 3 - Tues. Dec. 28th - Our first full day at sea. It was still cool outside, but by the afternoon, it was warming up as we got further into the Carribean. The kids went to the kid's club for a while after breakfast and started making friends. All 3 kids were in different age groups for activities, but some of them were together. We let them choose when to go (we got a daily schedule) and Kaiya and Coop could sign themselves in and out as they pleased. They did crafts, games, video games, mini golf and so much more. The grown ups all settled into a routine of meeting for a workout or run in the morning (in fact, we all worked out every day including Coop!) and then having a late breakfast. The gym was way up on the top deck and had super nice cardio machines and weights. The afternoon was spent soaking up some sun, reading our books, catching a nap and going to the Marriage Show. That night was the first sports trivia contest and Brandon smoked his competition and won! He got a nice plastic trophy to take home even. Ha! This was the first of two dressy nights and so we were all decked out for dinner. Dinner was amazing, as usual, (always a 3 course meal) and then we headed to the comedy club after dropping the kids off for their own night of fun at the kid's club. The comedians were hilarious!!

All dressed up for formal night #1

Heading to dinner

The sports trivia winner!

Nice pole . . I mean pose!

Our dinner table every night looked out to the ocean

The pool on the top deck at night

Day 4 - Wed. Dec. 29th - Another day at sea, but by now, the weather was really nice! We went to the pool, rode the big slide that was on the top deck, read books, and started to plan for our day in Belize. The boys always snuck in some time at the Blackjack tables and we tried a few penny slots in the casino. That night was a casual night at dinner and by this time, our head waiter really knew our preferences. He always brought chocolate milk for the kids before we even asked and really took care of us. We later learned that he has two daughters about the same age as ours and he is away from them for six months at a time. We caught two comedy shows again that night.

One of many kid's activities

Cookie decorating time

Snoozin on the top deck

A perfect sunbathing spot

Perhaps my favorite photo of these two goofballs I call brothers

Aw . . how cute!

A magic show right at our dinner table!

One of many towel animals that was waiting for us every night!

Day 5 - Thurs. Dec. 30th - Belize! We were too late in trying to buy a shore excursion from the ship, so we just did our own thing in Belize. You had to be tendered in by boat to get to shore and since we didn't buy an excursion, we didn't get off the ship until about 10:30. In Belize, we did some shopping, had lunch at a fun local restaurant (got some spicy jerk chicken and wings that about caught Bennett's lips on fire!), and the girls got their hair braided in corn rows. Those women are amazing to watch and the girls LOVED getting it done. In fact, the braids are still hanging in there and they will get to wear them to school tomorrow! After yet another amazing dinner, we went to a magic show in the theater, which was amazing. I'm still amazed they get all the sets and special effects loaded onto the ship! The kids loved it. After the show, we let the girls order room service for a bedtime snack before going to bed.

Belize hair braiding

Pretty cute!

They did this all in 15 minutes!

Jerked wings were a bit spicy!

Such a fish!

Livin' the good life

Room service!!

Day 6 - Fri. Dec. 31st - New Year's Eve!! We woke up at 7 a.m. to an announcement from the captain that the winds and high seas were going to prevent us from docking at Mahogany Bay in Honduras. Kind of a bummer, but the weather was so nice and the crew went to work coming up with more fun stuff to do on the ship. So, some went back to bed so we could stay up late for New Year's Eve, got our workouts in, others took an afternoon nap, the girls did some kid's club activities and then we got dressed up for our 2nd formal dinner. The crazy part of the day was when Doug went on top by the pool in the morning only to see 9News streaming on the jumbo screen showing the storm and freezing temperatures at home. So crazy!! After dinner, we went to a great New Year's Show in the theater and then headed up top for the big party. We watched the ball drop in NYC and then stayed up there to ring in the new year. We danced and played up there until just after midnight and then headed to bed to get ready for Cozumel the next morning.

Happy New Year!!

Fell asleep right at our dinner table!

Couldn't get enough 'fro yo'

Right at midnight!!

How darling!

2011 ice sculpture

Day 7 - Jan. 1st - Cozumel!! We got off the ship at 9:00 and headed into town. We found a cab and Jay talked to the locals and found a great snorkeling company. We had our own private boat and headed out to three different spots to snorkel. I was a little worried about the kids, but they did awesome! Kinley figured it all out within minutes and was giddy with all of it! Kaiya got the hang of snorkeling, but quickly got freaked out by how close the fish got to us. We were proud of her for hanging in there, but she was not a fan of the fish almost touching her. I have never snorkeled with so many colorful fish up close. I'm hoping our underwater camera got a few good shots. After our snorkeling trip, we found a great Mexican food place for lunch and did a bunch of shopping. The kids got money from my dad for Christmas and they loved being able to buy their own stuff!!! Before dinner, Brandon won his 2nd trophy at sports trivia (after winning a tie breaker!). After dinner, we went to see two new comedy shows and then crashed.

Cozumel

Ready for our snorkeling adventure

On our private boat

Getting ready to jump in

Goofy boys

Watching the pelicans dive for fish was awesome!

Ready to go back to the ship

Day 8 - Jan. 2nd - We all slept in pretty late, got our workouts in, the kids did some more fun crafts and kid's club activities, started packing, read our books, and just enjoyed the day. It was cooler up on the swim deck, so we did some shopping on the boat, looked at all the pictures that had been taken by the photographers, and then enjoyed our last dinner together. Kinley lost a tooth at dinner (she learned the next morning that the Tooth Fairy brings pesos when you lose one in a foreign country!), and we really took our time at dinner. We had a chance to really get to know our waiter and about his life on board the ship. He was truly amazing--always doing little magic tricks at dinner, and just being so warm and friendly that you felt like he was family. Anang is away from home for six months at a time and talked about missing his two girls. We all got a little emotional as we said goodbye to him. After dinner, Doug decided to play penny slots again (after all, he was up about $27). He snuck the girls in with him and was showing them how dumb gambling is. I then took the girls to a show only to find out that right after we left, Doug decided to play just a few more pennies and hit the jackpot. Turd! He won $240 in one shot and came home up a total of $300!!!

Relaxing on the ship

Their belated Christmas card photo

Lost tooth at sea!!

Saying goodbye to Anang

Our last dinner

The map showing where the cruise went in green

Our favorite towel animal hanging from the ceiling

Until next time . . . .

Day 9 - Jan. 3rd - Departure day. We got up early and got off the ship by 8:00 and took a bus to the airport. We had a few stops en route to Denver and had to say goodbye to Bennett in Dallas. You would think we would be getting better at this, but there were plenty of tears all around. We got home to snow on the ground and cold! Yuk!! The laundry is piled to the ceiling and the kids go back to school tomorrow.

It was truly a trip of a lifetime!! Here are some other things we will never forget . . . .

--"The waiters dancing up by the tables every night

-- Kaiya becoming a master at the self-serve frozen yogurt ("fro yo") machine setting a record of 7 small cones in one day

--Our towel animals being made every night when we got back to our room

--Aunt Erika taking each kid on a 'date' to pick out a souvenir

--Spending so much time together with no phones, computers, TVs or other distractions.

As we got off the boat, I saw a tear in Kaiya's eye and all she said was, "Thanks, Mom!" In fact, each of my kids must have said that ten times on their own. It really was a trip of a lifetime. :)