Little Vacay

For several years now Tanner and I have been talking about going on a cruise. So at the beginning of January we went down to Mexico on a Royal Caribbean cruise. 

We went with our dear friends Marshall and Lisa and had such a good time. 

 On the first day of the cruise we entered a spa raffle and Tanner's name was the first one drawn. We were so stoked. And then he got his prize...nail polish and fuzzy socks. It was pretty hilarious. We were even able to convince Tanner and Marshall to do a Zumba class with us. Surprisingly they were the only guys doing it. Sadly Tanner was behind me so I didn't get to see his wicked cool dance moves. But they were such good sports. 

 Shuffle board was a definite hit. Tanner's one regret was that he didn't play shuffleboard more. He really is an old man at heart. 

 Yes thats right, we each have two desserts in front of us...thats what you do on a cruise right?

 At our first port in Cozumel we got to see some cool ruins and learn about the Mayan people. We then went to a beach. The water was surprisingly cold though so I just dipped my toes. But the fajitas were good so I was happy. I'm just there for the food anyways.

This picture pretty much sums up how Tanner and I feel about getting our pictures taken. But thats our cruise ship behind us, so it needed to be documented. On the second day at port we didn't get the excursion we really wanted so we decided the all inclusive beach resort would be pretty cool. Turns out everyone else who picked that excursion did so based on the unlimited alcoholic drinks, not the kayaks...huh. But we still had a good time because if there's one thing we can do it is have fun without getting drunk. We went kayaking, played miniature golf, ate lots of authentic Mexican food and walked along the beach looking for shells. 

After this cruise I have learned that an all-inclusive vacation is the way to go, whether on land or ship. I loved being able to eat whenever I wanted and not having to worry about what to make or cleaning up after. It was glorious. Also, it is so great to be on vacation with people you love. Marshall and Lisa are so wonderful and we had so many great conversations, played lots of games and even made new friends. I also learned that after five days of being away from my children I start to get pretty anxious. 

My parents were awesome and came out to watch the kiddos, who didn't even miss us. I asked Mariah the other day if she did and she said, "No, I did wish I was with you sometimes, because I wanted to be on a boat in Mexico. But we had so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa! They spoiled us." Thats what Grandma and Grandpa do best. 

One day we were able to Facetime them and Mariah came onto the screen holding a huge soda. She just raised her eyebrows at us a couple times as if to say, "Yeah, they let us get this and there's nothing you can do about it." . They got to go to McDonalds, get ice cream and donuts and even went to the Children's Museum here. 

 One day Chet insisted on everyone going to the store dressed as cowboys, my dad already does that so it wasn't a sacrifice but Chet loved it.

 Chet loved learning all about being a cowboy.

 After we got home Grandma dressed Mariah all up and did her makeup. Mariah wanted to wear the dress we got for her in Mexico. She was so tickled with her dolled up look. 

Chet didn't want to be left out so I painted a dog face on him. This picture cracks me up. 

Our return flight wasn't going to get us home until one in the morning. There was an earlier flight that would get us home at bedtime and we decided to talk to an airline employee to see if we could get on that flight. At first it was looking like we would have to pay more and we were trying to decide if it was worth paying more for. Then the wonderful Southwest employee talked to her supervisor and switched us at no extra cost. It was one of those little things that meant a lot. 

The night we got home they were all "hiding" and we had to find them. It was such a wonderful reunion. I had missed my babies so much and they were so excited to see us. Austin kept kissing me over and over, giggling the whole time. It was pretty magical. 

It was wonderful to get away but even more wonderful to come home to those we love most.