In the middle of February, we packed our car full of suitcases and people we love and we headed for Galveston, TX. Nothing has ever been more worth driving 14 hours!;) Our trip was amazing. We, of course, had some minor hang-ups (thank you, Kellen), but even with those our trip was beyond words.
A trip of a lifetime describes it perfectly. The fact that Scott and I got to share this vacation with our kids was amazing, but the fact that we got to share this vacation with our mothers made it absolutely perfect! I don't know if we will ever get to do something like this again. But we don't need to...because we packed a lifetime of memories in to that week.
As everyone assumes, I took about 9,000 pictures and it's so hard to chose the few that best paint the picture of our magical week. Here goes...
I was so apprehensive about the drive. How would the boys do? How would I do? How will we survive so many hours in such a packed car? All of the worry was for nothing! The drive was perfect!
Valerie scheduled all of our hotel stays for the road trip! She did awesome! The hotels were perfect and had everything we needed!!!
Finally! We arrive!
The ship was beautiful! The first two days were too chilly to swim, so we had to find other ways to enjoy ourselves (mostly eat).
Our room was nice. And it would have been very comfortable had our children not been afraid of the bunk beds. Sleeping was not ideal on this trip. in fact, it sucked. Really hard. Not only were Scott and Kellen sharing a twin bed and Landon and I sharing a twin bed, but poor Kellen had a TERRIBLE eczema outbreak and scratched his skin to the point of blood the whole night. He would cry so loudly, we had to take him out of the room and outside so he wouldn't wake our neighbors. By the second night of being awake literally all night, and Scott and I snapping at each other, and us yelling at Kellen to sleep, we decided we had to do something... we broke down and took him to the medic at 3:00am. The doctor was so glad we came and said he had never seem anything like it. Poor Kellen received steroids and finally got some much needed relief. And we all got some much needed sleep.
On the second night of the cruise, we had "formal night" it was fun to get dressed up and have a nice meal kid-free! The boys went to the kids club where they had a blast and the adults went to the dining room where we enjoyed the bottle of wine that Scott bought! ;)
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| Our stunning mothers |
Picking up the kids from Kid's Club was always one of my favorites! They enjoyed themselves SO much and we enjoyed seeing their faces when we came to get them! The kid's club was such an added bonus...they had tons of activities for the kids to do every day and they were open pretty much all day! We only really utilized it during dinner, but it was awesome to have just a few hours each night where Scott and I only had to worry about ourselves! ;)
The first port on the cruise was Honduras. It was beautiful and an all-around wonderful day for Scott and I. Because Kellen had received steroids the night before (and those motha's are freaking amazing) he was , for the first time in his life, able to really enjoy the beach. His skin was healed and the salt water didn't burn his baby skin. It was amazing to see that boy enjoy the water. I could have stayed on that beach for days!!!
Another favorite memory was when Landon wanted to come to the "fancy" dinner. He asked Grandma and Nana on a "date" and he got dressed up for his dinner in the dining room. We talked about manners and what he would order and he was excited! Scott and Kellen stayed behind for the evening. We were all SO proud of the little gentlemen that Landon was that night...just more proof that he is growing all too fast.
The next morning we woke in Belize! Scott and Valerie awoke extra early to go on their excursion to the Mayan Ruins. I was so glad that they were able to have this day together. I know it meant a lot to Scott to be with his mom. And I can't speak for Valerie, but as a momma of boys, I can only imagine how nice it would be to have a full day with just me and my grown boy! ;)
I was so proud that they took pictures! ;);)
And as they left, my mom and I waved goodbye and told them that we would stay safely on the ship for the day.
And as soon as they got out of sight...we booked it for Belize!!!;)
You see, Scott and Valerie wouldn't have been able to enjoy themselves had they thought mom and I were trying to navigate through Belize with two young children, so we saved them the worry and like two teenagers would, we snuck out!
And boy, are we ever glad we snuck out! Belize ended up being a perfect day. It was so impromptu with zero expectations. The day blew me away! I will literally NEVER forget the time I had with my mom.
We ended up going on horse drawn carriage through Belize City. The sights were unreal. I feel like we got such a taste of Belize. It will always remain one of my favorite places because of this special day...
One of our very favorite things to do on the ship was to hang out at the pool. Thankfully, we have two sons that love the water! Just being outside, under the hot sun, listening to the reggae music and eating treats made for great days!
Our last port on the cruise was Cozumel. It was probably our least favorite of the stops only because it seemed so commercialized. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful place with warm weather and our family, so we made the most of it. And...I got some of my favorite pictures ever here, so it was a win for me!
Scott bought the boys some shaved ice...in Mexico...freaking MEXICO!!
After Cozumel, we headed back to the ship so we could grab some lunch.
This is where the trip took a small turn...
We got and enjoyed our lunch...
But after Landon needed more fries and went up to order, his shadow, Kellen followed.
And after Landon got his plate, Kellen turned on a slick spot, lost his footing and slammed his tiny chin into the concrete. It was terrible. Terrible.
Back to the Medic we went...
Because Kellen had just eaten, he had to wait hours before his stitches.
It was the second formal night of the trip. They were serving lobster. Everyone was ready to send the kids to the kid's club and have some "adult" time, but Kellen changed those plans. And as a family we ALL went with K-Man to support our baby (also, I told Grandma and Nana the Dr's were hot, so I think that had something to do with them wanting to come too. Ha!).
This is quite possibly my favorite picture of the trip. Kellen feels so safe with daddy.
I love the way they are looking at each other.
Kellen did great. And he was the ship celebrity after his accident. Everyone knew about the cute, little boy who fell and had to have stitches.;)
The rest of the trip was a breeze! The weather on the way back to Galveston was superb! We hung by the pool a little and really enjoyed our last day.
That night, the boys went to the club and we had our last great dinner. We had a waiter named Elmer that we loved!
And when we got the boys, Elmer had sent Landon a special treat to the room...
A steak and cheesecake at 10pm! Landon was in heaven!!!
The week was great! I was even looking forward to the drive home!
And as we said our goodbyes in a McDonald's parking lot, I looked through my camera to hide that my eyes were filling up. I was sad for this experience to be over because I knew that it was a once in a lifetime trip.
Because even though we may go on another cruise, and we may bring our mom's with us, and we may drive, and we may stay at the same hotels, and we may eat the same food, we will never have a three year old and a six year old again. The next trips will be amazing too, I am sure, but they will not be with these EXACT babies.
I am so thankful for this opportunity to make these memories.
Memories with my incredible husband and my awesome mom's and my perfect babies.
It really was unforgettable!
