{St. Thomas}

Why is it that it seems to be taking ages to document this trip?  The pace of life has gotten a little crazy lately & I seem to have fallen behind!  When I thought about updating my blog/journal I realized the last time I made an entry was our vacation... It made me a little bit excited to get on and add some more because looking back at our trip pictures is almost as sweet as experiencing the wonderful adventure the first time!

I guess I'll just dive right in...

Our second port was St. Thomas.  This was probably the least exciting stop for us (but turned out to be one of my favorite days) just because we had been there the year before and we weren't crazy about it.  In the end we decided to stay on the ship and enjoy the massive pool / waterslides while the masses were off exploring.  

Here is a cool shot of the water park on our ship!  The boys loved it.

Jana and the boys met us for our water shenanigans.

Calvin looks up to his older cousins so much.  I will be one lucky mama if he turns out to be as good a young man as these dudes are!

I call this one "the hair" 

Collin's face is noteworthy in this one!

The boys both enjoyed this little waterslide that seemed to be just their speed (maybe a little too quick for Wesley judging by the look on his face)

There was a photographer there who ended up capturing one of my favorite family pictures from the entire trip!

(this one is my favorite)

A few other ones we got of the boys playing and enjoying every second - 

Here is Wesley trying to charm one of the workers

He loved running along the benches - that little boy has an affinity for running!

Calvin and Daddy

No trip to the pool would be complete without getting ice cream afterwards.  We got our moneys worth just by the soft serve ice cream the boat served!

Mike volunteered to stay on board with Calvin and Wesley while they napped and Jana, the boys and I decided to get off and walk around the shopping area in St. Thomas.  We enjoyed the little shops.  They caught us on the way out and made us pose with the sailors -

When we were getting back on the ship we ran into the rest of the family who were on the return trip from a beach!  It was a little rainy and we were all having fun and laughing.  I loved this little dance party moment that Carter and I got to have - what a cool kid!

Here is a shot we managed to get as we pulled into St. Thomas -

And as the sun was setting & our ship left the island here was our family picture - 

I also find it noteworthy - whilst the family was off galavanting on St Thomas I entered the boggle tournament and took first place. 

This was Paul, the only other person who entered who had never played boggle in his life.  Real competitive :) anyway I was pleased to participate in a boggle tournament regardless and may or may not have exaggerated the number of participants to my family later that night!

St. Thomas was a great day!

{Amber Cove}

Our first port was Amber Cove, in the Dominican Republic.  

The town is small & there isn't a whole lot to do in the area other than the beach!  We went with the Colvin family, Mom and Dad, and Quincy & Collin to a small fairly secluded little beach really close to the port.  

It was kind of perfect, because we didn't have to drive too far and the kids loved playing in the sand there!

Calvin stayed on the boat in the kiddie camp to make it a little easier since we didn't really have a plan other than "we'll find a beach and see what happens" (sometimes I really like when my vacation is like that)

Mom and Dad posing near the back of our ship - the "Carnival Magic"

Julie & I - getting ready to work on our tans!

This was the great view of the ship we had from our secluded little stretch of beach.  Highlights of our beach trip included - 

• Fun splashing & playing in the water
• A refreshing drink of coconut water offered by one of the locals (literal coconut water)
• seashell hunting
• playing in the sand, and for Wesley eating half of the beach
• Collin holding a monkey
• Sun and lots of vitamin sea!

Amber Cove was a great port!  : )

Vacation 2018: Part 1 - Orlando

My next few entries are going to be dedicated to capturing the moments from our family vacation that took place in January - 

We went on a cruise in the Caribbean that visited the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and Grand Turk.  

The whole family went - it was so fun to experience the cruise style of vacation with all the kids! 

Our first day in Orlando we took the kids to Seaworld - the perfect park for them.  It was not a busy day and the boys loved seeing the different animals and riding a few of the rides! 

Calvin was most excited about eating the ice cream - he asked for that very first!

Wesley knows he's cute - he is such a ham!

Like father like son... the boys are both captivated by a large roller coaster right above their heads.

Calvin was a little uneasy about petting the sting rays but his confidence grew with his dad behind him.

We enjoyed the Shamu show!  We sat in the splash zone which kept Calvin and I on the edge of our seats. 

The boys riding a train together

Watching the Baluga whale

 Sea World was good to us - it was a fun & relaxing way to spend the day!

The next day we were able to connect up with the Colvin's as they arrived in Orlando.  We had a day full of fun at the Crayola Experience.  We also crashed their pool for some night swimming - it was the best!

We kicked off the trip in the best way possible!  Stay tuned ... more to come in the travel series :)