We spent our first week of vacation on a cruise with my family--a family reunion that totaled 44 members. I've had several friends ask me if we had fun and well...if a picture is worth a thousand words, I think you'll understand how completely amazing this trip was by the pictures we took of the week.
Why is cruising so fun? I think I'd summarize it this way. Exotic places to see, activities galore, as much yummy food as you could possibly want to eat (EVER), daycare services provided (smile, we took the kiddos this time), and no dishes to wash or beds to make all week.
Excess is possibly a good work to describe a cruise. We enjoyed dressing up in our fancy best for our first formal dinner and then (tolerated) taking hundreds of pictures together. Naturally, when we sat down to select our menu choices, no one could limit themselves to just one appetizer and one entree and one dessert. This is why I would recommend slimming down BEFORE you go cruising.
And I shouldn't forget to share Ella's near-death experience. She is my girl who enjoys a steak. So, she had ordered herself the filet, but unfortunately failed to cut the pieces small enough. Next thing we know, she is holding her throat and someone yells that she is choking. I assume she just needs to chew a little more. (Biting off more than you can chew and then trying to swallow it before it is chewed enough is a common occurrence in our home.) But, Stephen recognized that she was purple and ran across the room to give her the Heimlich. With a couple of thrusts, she was breathing again and we had all witnessed a superdad in action. We were all so relieved and happy. From then on, Stephen and I supervised Ella's meat-cutting.
Our first shore stop was Cozumel, Mexico. Stephen and I were scheduled to tour the ruins of Tulum, an ancient Mayan city. I was incredibly impressed with the details in the architecture and the many things I learned about Mayan culture and belief.
Our second stop was Belize. One group of our family went scuba diving, Stephen and Ella went with another group of a tour of more ruins and then cave tubing, while the toddlers and I shopped the local market. I said "no" a lot that day. But, I have very happy memories of how beautiful the city was and I enjoyed the market stalls and haggling over prices. I wish value and cost were so subjective in the states! We came home with a few treasures. Stephen reported that he and Ella loved tubing (although Ella was not in raptures over the ruins).
Honduras might have been my favorite stop of the trip. It was our most low-key day. Our whole family headed straight for a beautiful beach, grabbed some goggles, shell hunted and pulled together a pick-up game of volleyball with some natives.
We dutifully headed back to the ship in time to get ready for our second formal dinner and more pictures (naturally). This time the children did not endure the big family photo as well. I think Kayla cried through most of the shots and Dessie refused to look and smile. Somewhere in the middle of all this, Stephen and I decided to send the kids to "Camp Carnival," for the dinner hour and we enjoyed a great meal sans children. It was quite the perk. They didn't dine with us at dinner for the rest of the vacation. :) I think everybody was happier with that arrangement.
Our last stop of the trip was the Caymen Islands. Our whole family signed up to do a boat tour of the area to see the stingrays and do some snorkeling. I have truly never seen water more blue and teal. It was incredible. And the stingrays were fascinating. Apparently, they are so accustomed to tourists, that they will consent to being handled and touched in exchange for some tasty treats. It is apparently good luck to kiss a stingray, so several family members did just that. I was able to get Dessie and Ella to touch one, but Kayla wouldn't touch a toe near the water for that. She stayed on the boat for the rest of the trip and seemed perfectly content to remain grounded.
What would a cruise with our family be without some karaoke, a fashion show, and Mafia (among other games). We quizzed my grandparents (our benefactors for this adventure) on how they raised such a great family and they indicated the importance of time spent doing family activities together. Truly, we are reaping the benefits of their commitment to that vision.
It was hard to say goodbye to our family and our Carnival ship. It was truly a "bon voyage!" The girls did the trip justice by grabbing one, two, or maybe three more ice cream cones on the morning of our departure. I wasn't originally thrilled by our day layover in Tampa, but we enjoyed ourselves exploring the children's museum there and enjoying some time with Aunt Jennie who joined us. (More on that later).
I walked back in the house and started sorting laundry and unloading the dishwasher. Sigh. It's always hard to come back after such a fabulous vacation.
We spent our first week of vacation on a cruise with my family--a family reunion that totaled 44 members. I've had several friends ask me if we had fun and well...if a picture is worth a thousand words, I think you'll understand how completely amazing this trip was by the pictures we took of the week.
Why is cruising so fun? I think I'd summarize it this way. Exotic places to see, activities galore, as much yummy food as you could possibly want to eat (EVER), daycare services provided (smile, we took the kiddos this time), and no dishes to wash or beds to make all week.
Excess is possibly a good work to describe a cruise. We enjoyed dressing up in our fancy best for our first formal dinner and then (tolerated) taking hundreds of pictures together. Naturally, when we sat down to select our menu choices, no one could limit themselves to just one appetizer and one entree and one dessert. This is why I would recommend slimming down BEFORE you go cruising.
And I shouldn't forget to share Ella's near-death experience. She is my girl who enjoys a steak. So, she had ordered herself the filet, but unfortunately failed to cut the pieces small enough. Next thing we know, she is holding her throat and someone yells that she is choking. I assume she just needs to chew a little more. (Biting off more than you can chew and then trying to swallow it before it is chewed enough is a common occurrence in our home.) But, Stephen recognized that she was purple and ran across the room to give her the Heimlich. With a couple of thrusts, she was breathing again and we had all witnessed a superdad in action. We were all so relieved and happy. From then on, Stephen and I supervised Ella's meat-cutting.
Our first shore stop was Cozumel, Mexico. Stephen and I were scheduled to tour the ruins of Tulum, an ancient Mayan city. I was incredibly impressed with the details in the architecture and the many things I learned about Mayan culture and belief.
Our second stop was Belize. One group of our family went scuba diving, Stephen and Ella went with another group of a tour of more ruins and then cave tubing, while the toddlers and I shopped the local market. I said "no" a lot that day. But, I have very happy memories of how beautiful the city was and I enjoyed the market stalls and haggling over prices. I wish value and cost were so subjective in the states! We came home with a few treasures. Stephen reported that he and Ella loved tubing (although Ella was not in raptures over the ruins).
Honduras might have been my favorite stop of the trip. It was our most low-key day. Our whole family headed straight for a beautiful beach, grabbed some goggles, shell hunted and pulled together a pick-up game of volleyball with some natives.
We dutifully headed back to the ship in time to get ready for our second formal dinner and more pictures (naturally). This time the children did not endure the big family photo as well. I think Kayla cried through most of the shots and Dessie refused to look and smile. Somewhere in the middle of all this, Stephen and I decided to send the kids to "Camp Carnival," for the dinner hour and we enjoyed a great meal sans children. It was quite the perk. They didn't dine with us at dinner for the rest of the vacation. :) I think everybody was happier with that arrangement.
Our last stop of the trip was the Caymen Islands. Our whole family signed up to do a boat tour of the area to see the stingrays and do some snorkeling. I have truly never seen water more blue and teal. It was incredible. And the stingrays were fascinating. Apparently, they are so accustomed to tourists, that they will consent to being handled and touched in exchange for some tasty treats. It is apparently good luck to kiss a stingray, so several family members did just that. I was able to get Dessie and Ella to touch one, but Kayla wouldn't touch a toe near the water for that. She stayed on the boat for the rest of the trip and seemed perfectly content to remain grounded.
What would a cruise with our family be without some karaoke, a fashion show, and Mafia (among other games). We quizzed my grandparents (our benefactors for this adventure) on how they raised such a great family and they indicated the importance of time spent doing family activities together. Truly, we are reaping the benefits of their commitment to that vision.
It was hard to say goodbye to our family and our Carnival ship. It was truly a "bon voyage!" The girls did the trip justice by grabbing one, two, or maybe three more ice cream cones on the morning of our departure. I wasn't originally thrilled by our day layover in Tampa, but we enjoyed ourselves exploring the children's museum there and enjoying some time with Aunt Jennie who joined us. (More on that later).
I walked back in the house and started sorting laundry and unloading the dishwasher. Sigh. It's always hard to come back after such a fabulous vacation.
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