Family Cruise 2013!!!

On Saturday March 2, 2013, our adventure on the Royal Caribbean, Oasis of the Seas Cruise Boat began!! A week full of memories and lots of fun!! 

March 2nd: At Sea-
Departed from Fort Lauderdale Florida at 5:00pm!! Boys were so excited!! Had a "Sail Away" dance party on deck 15 as we headed out!!
March 3rd: At Sea-
In the morning the boys got their face painted, took rides on the carrousel, ate ice cream cones and went swimming before lunch. Jake took his afternoon nap while Kyle and boys hit the pool deck for the afternoon and back to play some games with GG on the deck. It was fun watching Kyle try some surfing today! Later that night we ordered cookies and milk to our room before bed! Great day!
March 4th: Haiti
Today we woke up to a rainy.humid.cloudy day. We were still able to make it a great day as we put on our swimsuits and headed out to the beach! Glad Nana brought beach toys and we checked out enough towels for the crew! The boys enjoyed playing in the beach making sand castles, having a picnic lunch and walking around to explore the area we had stopped at. It rained off and on. The boys loved jumping in the puddles!! Headed back to the boat to sit in the hot tub,  dry off and put Jake down for a rest.

First time in the ocean this week!! Fun to play in the water!!

Jake is checking out the water!

Nana and GG hanging out watching their boys and enjoying vacation!!

All 4 boys at the beach in Haiti...

That night we enjoyed an incredible diving show! It was one of our highlights to the week!! Glad none of the boys tried out any of the tricks in the pool throughout the week!!

March 5th Jamaica- Happy Birthday Micah!!!
Cave and Dunn River Falls Adventure:

Breakfast each morning was incredible as the kids ordered lots of omelets, bacon and their favorite strawberries! The strawberries were huge and delicious!! Worth every bite:) Our birthday boy enjoyed his breakfast before a full day of adventure awaited him!!

Today we headed out with our 3 big boys to a cave and Dunn's River Waterfalls in Jamaica! It was a great day spending time with the boys and watching them explore something new! No rain today so we were glad!

Caleb and our tour guide being silly!!! She did a great job making the trip lots of fun!!!

Getting ready to head into the cave....

down we go!!!

Daddy and Caleb exploring!!!
The cave was very interesting and fun for the boys! We headed to the falls when we were done! We unfortunately do not have pictures of the water falls as Kyle and I were worried we'd drop the camera in the water or fear of it getting wet!! AND we REALLY got wet standing inside the falls and walking through the water to climb higher. It is so fun for me as a mom of 4 boys to watch the thrill and excitement that brightens up her sons whole face when they are experiencing something new and adventurous. The more risky the adventure the better, I've learned!!  Today was a day just for thrill and it may have been my very favorite day!! Boys will be boys!! No risk= No adventure!!! After doing a little shopping and picking up a handmade turtle for Andrew, alligator for Micah and whale for Caleb, we were back on the boat to clean up for supper and spend time with our Nana, GG and Jake.

Suppertime was a special night as we enjoyed a nice supper together and sang Happy Birthday to Micah!!! 

Micah is 6 years old!!! As we tucked him into bed later that night he said,

 "Guys that was the best birthday yet!!" 

          March 6th At Sea-
So glad to wake up to sunshine!! Great morning run around the track. I figured out 2.5 laps around the track = 1 mile!! Today I ran 24 laps to get me to a 10 mile run!! I was surprised I didnt feel a bit dizzy from all the loops! Enjoyed another great breakfast before we started some of our favorite things to do on the boat...

     

                                 

Fun to watch Kyle do some rock climbing!

All the boys loved playing miniture golf. Jake even gave it a try!

The course was very well suited for little kids.

Great shot Caleb!

Off to see some great surfing by daddy!!

We thought this bench was just perfect for us!! Surfing!!

 

Today Kyle and I took an hour to relax alone without the boys. We spent some time reading and checking in with each other! So nice to enjoy a little down time...

Before our day came to a close we went to the ice show! So fun to have front row seats!! Glad we went to bed a little tanner, some of us a little burnt, but loving every minute of that warm sun today!!

 March 7th Cozumel Mexico-
Another beautiful morning! Yay!! Grabbed a quick breakfast and took off for a full day in Cozumel Mexico!!

While we were waiting to jump into a couple Jeeps we had fun looking around in this sovenir shop! Micah wanted a picture with this Mexican hat!!

The boys LOVED taking the Jeeps to the beach today and spending time in the ocean!!!

So yummy to eat chips and salsa on the beach in Mexico!!

Fun in the sun!!!

Loving up time with my boys!!

No worries in the world, just spending time with dad!!

A great family picture before leaving our beach spot!!!

Took the Jeeps up the shoreline in Cozumel and enjoyed the wind in our hair and being on vacation!!

A family favorite day in Cozumel Mexico!! Nana treated us to a few souvenirs before heading back on board!! Our favorite purchase was Micah's flute and Caleb's guitar...:)

 March 8th At Sea-
Our last full day together on vacation was spent on board and we had another great day taking advantage of everything they had to offer!! A morning focused on rock climbing was first on the list...

Nana was great at waiting in line with the boys as they loved rock climbing over and over...

Great Work Drew!!!

 

                                                                 Looking Good Micah!!!
                                                                     

Micah enjoyed his endless donuts for the week. Every time we passed the Donut Shop, Micah grabbed one to go!!!

The boys met up with some pretty cool friends on vacation!!

Jake and Caleb LOVED the caroussel on the boat!! Jake loved waving at everyone as he went by.:)

Another round of golf before we head home!

Kyle on the zip line!!

Lots of great family time on the boat today!! Kyle and I felt so blessed to have this time with our boys. No distractions of home and the world around us. Just enjoying time with Kyle's parents and our boys!!! What a gift!!

 

Caleb's BIG splash!!!

Couldn't be any cuter Mr. Caleb!!!

Andrew and Micah just being silly!!!

A nice supper to end our week together...sad to see vacation come to a close! As we reflect on our week together our boys described our vacation in one word...AMAZING!!!

FAVORITE MOMENTS:
1. Watching the boys experience the airplane. All heads in the windows!
2. Hearing their excitement as the plane took off the ground!
3. Watching the boys explore the boat, our room, the food, and the boardwalk with lots of fun activities. The overwhelming excitement of it all!
4. When we arrived on the boat and got settled with our lunch a guy came up to us and offered alcoholic drinks. We declined but Micah replies, "Well, I would if I could sir!"
5. To see the boys discover new things: the evening shows, dancing, diving show, skating, rock climbing, exploring the cave and hiking up water falls in Jamaica, riding in Jeeps in Mexico.
6. Looking out at the ocean from our deck.
7. Swimming.Swimming. Swimming.
8. Experiencing the ocean... the saltiness of the water. picking up shells.
9. Watching Kyle enjoy surfing!!
10. Dancing with Jake on the boat.
11. Watching Caleb at the beach and jumping the waves in the ocean.
 12. Getting dressed nice and enjoying a 3 course meal together and not cleaning up!!
13. Being together for a whole week with the people we love the most!! FAMILY!!

Family Cruise 2013