We're Back! Bahamas Cruise Highlights Part One

Hey hey hey, we're back! And for the record, let me say that I cannot believe that this is the last day of April. What in the what?! I'm feeling the pressure of graduation looming on the not so distant horizon so I'm going to have to focus all my energies into that this month. But first things first. Vacation. Our very first cruise. Very first trip to the Bahamas. There were highs and lows, of course, but overall, it was the wonderful adventure with our children that we'd hoped it would be.

I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking because it's getting late, I just settled Levi back to sleep in my room, and I've decided to give early morning workouts another chance. We'll see how it all goes. :)

I was thrilled that there were no inhumane pre-dawn departures for this trip. We drove to Logan in Boston right after lunch. Lots of nervous but mostly excited energy on this drive, ha ha.

Goofballs :)

Love the sight of the Tobin Bridge!

But the tunnels freak me out royally!!

Of course everyone around me is sensitive and does not harass or make fun of me in any way. Of course. Yeah, right.

We grabbed a few snacks at the airport before boarding. We haven't flown from Logan in a while, and while I'm thankful for the extreme safety measures, they do seem pretty extreme. We got held up for several minutes after one of the security checks because of... Levi's three board books. What? I mean really.

He was excited and nervous and curious all at the same time, but he LOVED take off and landing. Weirdo, ha ha

One of the suspect books right there. Better watch out for those mouse cookies!

 He had so much to say. About everything!! :)

We learned something important on this flight: Levi was not gonna sleep. Good to know.

And then we made it to Orlando! I love the international airport. It's gorgeous, mainly because it's in the south and something is always in bloom. A real treat for us northerners. We opted to stay near the airport since it would be well after dinner time by the time we landed and got our rental. (It was cheaper to rent a dumb van for the week than to just get rides to Port Canaveral for all of us. Crazy. Plus, we could come and go as we pleased and not have to wait for shuttles and such, which was SO nice.)

By the time we found dinner- thank you, Wendy's, ha ha- and came back to the hotel, it was about 9 pm. The perfect time for a swim!!! We haven't been swimming since early September!

I should've just changed and brought Levi in with me, but I wasn't sure he would even want to go in the water. The other kids usually had some sort of adjustment period getting used to the water after fall and winter. Well, not this one! He was going to jump right in! It totally surprised me because he is not generally a risk taker. Cute little stinker. :) I let him play around on the steps in the pool and in the hot tub- here he was pretty annoyed with me that I was trying to take a picture when he wanted to be in the water, ha ha. He was plunging to the ground...and he's getting hard to hold when he wriggles like that!

Okay, so the night in the hotel stunk. Just was bad bad bad. I can't get into it here, but someone who may or may not be in the next picture was just making things miserable. That part is so hard. I don't handle that well as a Mom, either, meaning I'm not super compassionate in this area. I guess I'm more in the camp of  "get over it because it's not all about you." So there's that.

But the next morning was a fresh start to a brand new day. We didn't have to rush, which was really nice. She was drawing here, with her feet in the pool. Living her best life. :)

Meanwhile someone was still trying to get in that pool!

Since we had never cruised before, I was slightly anxious about what to expect. The thing that stressed me out the most? How to handle tipping people! I had read so many different things from seasoned cruisers, and lots of it was so conflicting! Funny the things that occupy our thoughts sometimes. I knew we'd have a mandatory safety drill- which literally took over an hour and a half...seriously??!!- and I knew the cabins would be tight, and all these other things. But. I get stressed out when I just don't know what exactly to expect. I try to keep a go with the flow kind of mentality, and most times, that works just fine.

Here we were, heading to the ship! We were driving a new Sienna, which I absolutely loved, by the way. I drive a Town and Country at home, and it grinds way too much for my liking. This van was so smooth!

 Poor Levi is hidden, but I love Ethan's smile here, so it stays. :)

See? Smooth. ha ha (And let's just not talk about my hair in severe humidity. I learned too late that if I add about four times as much product than I normally do, then maaaaybe I can keep it from flying away. Maybe. What you see is what had escaped being pulled back, ugh.)

We made it on board and explored for a while. The weather was crazy! Huge storm clouds rolled in, though it didn't rain until the middle of the night. We checked out our room and then headed to the pools. Levi was smitten with his private indoor deck, ha ha. It was the perfect size for him.

Look at that sky! I grew up on water, and I felt terrible and nauseous the entire night- it was rough, choppy sailing for sure. Everyone around us commented on how it had never been that bad for any of their other cruises. I would not have anticipated having a problem out on the sea, but I did. It got better finally...the next day. That was a long night.

Also, we decided to purchase a small stroller for the trip and I am SO GLAD we did. We would not have survived without it. I think it's WalMart, but we saw it on Amazon as well - it's a Jeep something and it was great.
 
We all got ready for our first dinner in the main dining room...and Levi was not having it. We took turns taking him out, and finally Bill just brought him back to the room for a shower and story. I wish I had a nice picture of us all but things were so chaotic and crazy this day...

We chose not to purchase wifi, so the only thing our phones were good for were taking pictures. Everyone took pics of their entrees- they were delicious!! 

Okay, and the menus, because clearly he has no food here in front of him, ha ha ha

We woke up to sunshine and smoother seas. It felt terrific! My adorable cabin mate kicked me to the curb, ha! See that little corner at the foot of the bed with the pillow wedged up against the desk? Yeah. That was lots of fun. What we do for our kiddos. (I'll explain the room situation in a bit.)

Perfect way to start Day Two on the sea! After breakfast, we strolled and explored some more.

See what I mean with the hair? Yikes. No really. YIKES. It needed its own zip code by 9 am. I finally figured out that if I slathered it in both cream, gel and then twice as much Argan oil, then it was okay. Not great, but okay. I was jealous of other ladies' gorgeous manes out there. Truly.

Okay, I've already put in fifteen minutes of cardio whilst getting breakfast and lunches ready...cuz I'm just that good. ;) I'm ending here because this feels pretty long, but tomorrow's post will probably be even longer, ha ha. Hope you have the best day!