Exotic Western Caribbean Cruise

Making our way to the ship! Ashley and Heather: Me and Neal:

Dad and Jared (yes, we all got spray tans. Some looked less natural than others hahaha):

Jaime and Ethan:

Mom and Adam:

I get majorly sea sick, so I had to take Dramamine. Kenzi's pediatrician said it was fine for me to still nurse and take it, but that she would end up pretty hammered. I'll say! This has NEVER happened. She fell asleep while we were talking outside of our room with Gusti, our awesome floor help:

We HAD to document the special moment!:
Kenzi and Daddy on formal night:

Danny and Heather (20 something weeks pregnant) who looks AWESOME:

Kim and Danny:

Kenzi HATED going to the dining room for dinner. It was a TORTUROUS two hours for us:

The couple we were celebrating, mom and dad!:

Our fam, and a TERRIBLE angle on my hair:

Heather and Fam:

Jared and Ash:

A very happy grandma and her baby Ethan:

Dad and Jaime. She looked AWESOME on both formal nights:

Us:

Dad tried out to be Ricky Martin, and Ash and Jay were his backup dancers. He ended up getting the part of Elton Jon!:

There weren't many things that kept Mckenzi happy on the plane ride home. She was a total champ for the 5 hour flight! On the way to FL, she slept most of the way (red eye). She slept half way on the way home, and the rest of the way, she ate, played with grandma and grandpa, watched movies with Daddy, and cuddled mommy. Snack time was always the best on grandpa's side of the aisle!:

Mckenzi was playing peek a boo with Daddy. She pulls the blankey over her own head and pulls it off and everything. Too cute!:

Sleepy heads:

Kenzi has always been fascinated with buckles ever since she had control of her hands:

This kept her busy for a good 20 minutes at a time, trying to get it in there!:

Never thought I'd say it - but our vacation was ROUGH. The entire family couldn't wait to get home. First of all, it's VERY difficult going on an "exotic" vacation with two babies. Ethan and Mckenzi were total troopers...but someone had to watch them at all times, which for me and Neal, meant that we didn't get a lot of time together. Neal got to have some fun at the ports, while I took care of the babe. He took the night shift, and stayed in with her while she slept. It was nice to have a little "me" time in the evenings. About half way through the trip, everyone in the fam started dropping like flies with the stomach flu. Neal and I thought we were in the clear...but I got sick the LAST day. Everyone seems to think it all started with Ethan. It spread like wild fire to his mom, then my mom, then Adam, then Jared, then Mckenzi, and finally me. It was a 24 hour flu that involved SERIOUS vomitting and peeing through the bum bum. For everyone. The plus side to this? I lost weight on the cruise. Go figure.

Port 1: Grand Cayman: The WHOLE family went on port together. Took us FOREVER to get off the ship, cuz this person forgot that, and that person forgot this, and this person slept in, and that person had to poo (MOM) last minute...etc etc etc. Once we FINALLY got off the ship, there didn't seem like much we all could do (babies in tow) so we took a bus to 7 mile beach (which is what Neal and I did on our honeymoon cruise, too) which is beeeeautiful. Obviously it was packed with people. The air was thick and muggy, cuz it's sooooo humid in August, and it was very hot. The babies were miserable, obviously. We got them in the water, which was also pretty warm, so it didn't do too much to cool them off. About 20 minutes after getting to the beach, the babies were begging for naps and air conditioning and food...and there was sand and salt water and sweat and crankiness EVERYWHERE. So after all the work of getting off the ship and getting to where we needed to be, I decided to go back to the ship with Kenz. Adam and Heather decided to take Ethan back too. Jaime and Jared hitched a ride with us too. Neal and Dad stayed and snorkeled, mom and Ashley stayed and shopped, and Danny and Kim stayed to do their thing. When you think things couldn't become much more uncomfortable, a lovely hurrican decides to storm through the Cayman Islands. Awesome! I clutched Kenzi to me the best that I could, while we were pounded with rain on the dock. When it passed, we got on the tender boat, drenched, with cranky babies, and made our way back to the ship. We arrived, and as my baby arched and screamed and tried to squirm out of my arms, rude person after rude person cut in front of us and tried their best to get off the boat before us. Thanks for the compassion, JERKS. My baby was miserable, and all you could do was think of your own comfort. Port 1 for Kenzi and mommy: SUCKED. Port 1 for daddy: Super fun.

Port 2 - Roatan Island: We got off the ship in the afternoon, with just us, Mom and Dad and Ashley. Definitely easier! We got smoothies at an island stand, which took FOREVER. Then we walked through the shops, and came across a zip-line place. So awesome. My mom and dad watched Kenzi for us, and we got to go ziplining! 11 zip lines, not just one! Very fun. Got video of that, will post later. Port 2 for mommy and daddy: Thumbs up. Roatan is BEAUTIFUL! Very tropical looking. Lots of trees.

Port 3 - Belize: Dad and the boys (and Jaime and Ashley) went scuba diving at the world's second largest coral reef. They all raved about it. LOVED it. Me and baby, Mom, and Heather and baby, walked through some shops and checked out the knock off designer bags. They picked up a few. I couldn't wait to get back on the ship with Kenzi. So that's what we did. Port 3 for mom and kenz: eh. Not too bad, but nothin to write home about. The port itself is nasty. Didn't see much of Belize, so I can't say how nice it is deeper inland. But all the other ports were pretty, so I dunno. Port 3 for daddy: BEST port yet. For the activity.

Port 4 - Cozumel: Another beautiful port. Didn't get off the ship til pretty late, cuz Kenz was sick the night before. We met up with the fam at Playa Mia, a private resort style beach about 10 minutes down the coast. We hung out at the beach for a bit, then headed back to the ship. Port 4: eh.

Keep in mind, the only reason the ports weren't amazing, was cuz I had a little cutie in tow. I'm SURE I would have loved them all if I was allowed to enjoy them :)

Favorites on the ship:

Karaoke (Dad and Jaime did this EVERY night - I was merely a fan!)

Karaoke Live (Dad and Jaime performed with a live band - cool)

Carnival Legends (people auditioned for parts as celebrity singers for a finale show on the ship. Jaime was Aretha Franklin and Dad was Elton Jon. They did awesome! We have it on DVD. They performed for the entire ship!! So cool!!)

Late night movies on the top deck

Yep, that's the cruise. GLAD to me HOME!

Thanks mom and dad for taking all of us! There were some awesome times, and we're really happy you took us :) Happy 25th anniversary!