Part Two

So, we're on the boat and make our way to our state rooms. They're more the size of a large walk-in closet, but they have everything you'll need (minus space). I'll add a pic of ours in here when I get them off of the camera. We had lunch and walked around the ship to see what our future held. We signed the kids up for their kids program. And then of course had dinner in our fancy attire. It's was a great first day.  That evening the captain came over the loud speaker and said that they would be sailing into some rough waters that evening and next day (10-12 ft waves which is about medium in wave talk, I'd say) and that you could pick up your complimentary Dramamine at guest services. Hmm... well I guess we were going to find out if any of our kids got sea sick right up front.

That night and the next morning we started swaying in our sleep. It was kind of nice while we were laying down. Like a giant rocking chair. We woke up and were doing ok until I got out of the shower. Ugh! I don't feel so great I thought. Maybe I'm just hungry because you know it's been over 9 hours since I ate a large meal.

We meet my parents and learn that Luke (who had slept in their cabin) wasn't feeling great. We walked up to the buffet slowly and I ended up having to meet them there if you catch my drift. By the time I find them I learn that Luke has puked on my dad and JD wasn't feeling well either. That started the awesome sea sickness that lasted the whole day. Everyone except for Eliza and my parents were sick. They enjoyed a nice lunch while we layer in bed and groaned. Yeah. Not fun! Luckily the waves calmed down and the ginger pills we took started to woke by that evening. So thankful that this was the only day we were sea sick.  We spent the next 2 days at sea enjoying the programs and food on board. And of course went swimming in the pool. Outside. In December. Yeah, it was warm!!!

Our first port was St. Kitts where we got rained on when we got off the ship, but it quickly cleared up and by the time we headed for the beach at 10 it was sunny and warm again. We swam in the ocean, ate flying fish or hamburger lunches and snorkeled some. It's was wonderful! I of course got a little sunburned as did Eliza. I think our genetic condition makes it harder for sunscreen to actually work, but I'm pretty sure my mom would roll her eyes at that statement :) It was a great day and a beautiful island. 

Our second port was Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had excursions booked for this day. My dad and JD went scuba diving and the kids, my mom and I went to swim with a dolphin. Note: JD had to shave his gotee for this and it had me giggling for 2 days straight. He looked so different! The boys hada. Great time and saw a sting ray, barracuda and lots of other fish. JD was so excited and thankful for this opportunity. It was his first time, but hopefully not his last.

Our trip to swim with a dolphin was SO MUCH FUN! We weren't sure what the kids would do and hoped that Eliza especially would be ok in the water with it. They did amazing. They listened to the instructor, followed the directions and were in awe of the dolphin, Kelper. We got to touch his side as he swam, give him a kiss, have him touch his mouth to our hand and feed him a fish. He did tricks for us and sang Jingle Bells with us. It was great! The kids still talk about it. We unfortunately didn't get pics of this because we're too cheap to pay hundreds of dollars for a few pics. It's was great though!

To be continued again...

What a Wonderful Trip!

Our family just spent the last 10 days on a cruise ship and it was fabulous! We went with my parents and really enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong though. There were tantrums, puke and fighting, but add a beautiful cruise ship and sunny beaches in and those things get over looked. 

It started off in the early evening on a cold Friday night. JD got home, we threw the kids in the car and off we set out on our trip to MD at 5pm. JD quickly graded his finals while there was still day light while I drove. He had to get those grades submitted before we got on the boat the next day. We made it to my sisters house with only 1 stop on our 10 hour trip. Did I mention how thankful I am for my children's amazing bladders and ability to sleep in the car? Well, if not, I am! 2:30am and we rolled into my sisters house and crashed on her couches. We were exhausted!

The next morning my parents met us there and we headed off to the ship. Shew! That is a lot of luggage for 7 people and 11 days without washing. Winter clothes for before and after the cruise, summer clothes for while we're there, dress cloths for the dining room and must look extra fancy, snorkel gear because we have it and we're too cheap to rent something we own and of course shoes for all occasions and toys. Yeah. That's a lot of stuff!

We finally made it to the ship and got on board. I'm pretty sure I could hear a choir singing "Ahhh..." as we walked up the last ramp and crossed over the threshold. Vacation had begun and we were ready! Now, I'm sure you're thinking that's a really long intro and how long is this post going to actually be, but you see I HAD to tell you the before stuff so that you could get a clear picture of how we were feeling when we started out. We were tired, stressed, frazzled and every other exhaustion word. We were ready for this trip to begin.

To be continued...