Whew! I can't believe our vacation is already over and we're back to reality. :( We got up early last Saturday and headed to the airport with ALL of our luggage. Since I cashed in 100,000 miles to get mine and Austin's tickets, we were 'Priority Access', got to board the plane first and got to check all our bags for no fees!
Woohoo! And the flight went great. Austin was awake playing and eating for the first hour and then slept the remaining hour and a half. I was so proud of him doing so well on the flight. Nobody would have even suspected there was a toddler on the plane! Then we headed to the hotel in Miami. All of us stayed in a two-bedroom suite at a Hyatt, which the setup worked out perfect for us. After relaxing at the hotel for the rest of the day, we got up on Sunday and headed for the cruise terminal. With our VIP status, we were checked in and boarded the ship in about 30 minutes; it was great. We headed to the Lido deck for a delicious lunch, 'Specials of the Day' drinks, and started enjoying the good life.
The week was filled with lots of family togetherness, gambling, drinking, eating too much food, soaking up the sun, and chasing my monkey around! The first full day was a 'fun day at sea', so we wandered around the boat all day and also took Austin to 'Camp Carnival'. He absolutely loved it in there and was an instant hit with all the staff! Oh, and it was my birthday! Jordan got our cabin all decorated, and they sang Happy Birthday to me at dinner. Day two we stopped off in Grand Cayman. Katrina and I took Austin to the Seven Mile Beach for his first beach experience, while Mom, Jordan and Logan went off to swim with the stingrays. I was worried Austin wouldn't like the sand or getting dirty. Boy, was I wrong! He got in there with his bucket and shovels and just went to town! The next day we stopped off at a hidden hideaway-
Isla Roatan, Honduras. What a beautiful little secluded island! Another trip to the beach for all of us. Mom watched Austin for a bit while me, Jordan, Kat, and Logan took a ride on a
paddleboat.....what a workout! Our next stop was Belize. Jordan and I had previously been to Belize, which is primarily a jungle destination with mostly high intensity excursions. So, we elected to stay on the boat that day with Austin and enjoy some downtime. Our last stop was in Cozumel; but it rained most of the day, so another lazy day experiencing life on the ship. The excitement and hustle of the vacation was starting to wear on us, so it was a welcome idea.
Throughout the week, we would take Austin to Camp Carnival for a little bit, so that we could enjoy some adult time to enjoy the casino, sun, or a show. Overall, he did pretty good in there. In the evenings, we would drop him off at 10pm, thinking he would be asleep in no time. When we arrived back at 1am, we were surprised to find a little boy up and still playing. But since he stayed up late, it also meant that he would sleep in, so that was okay for us! The casino was touch-and-go throughout the week for all of. We finally got Mom to leave the slots and come over to the
darkside of Blackjack and she instantly became addicted. Close to the end of the week, I walked away from the table with $700 and was very proud of myself! Jordan, well, he wasn't very consistent. His consumption of double Crown and cokes often clouded his judgment.
On our last day, it was time to say goodbye to the ship, and also to Katrina and Logan who would be headed to Omaha for a baseball tournament. In the meantime, Mom, Jordan, Austin, and I ventured to the Miami
Seaquarium to blow off some time before our flight back home. Needless to say, we were a little disappointed with it. Mom said it best, that it reminded her of the marine park in the episode of Jaws where they brought the sharks in to try to attract more customers. Yep, it was a little rundown, and it was so hot outside. We quickly grew hot and tired and headed to the airport. After entertaining Austin for two hours while sitting in the airport, we were exhausted. I was worried how he would do on our jam-packed flight back to Dallas after being so tired and ready to get home. Much to my dismay, he fell asleep before we even took off and slept the entire 3 hours til we got to our gate in Dallas!
Hallelujah!
Overall, it was a great trip. It took us several days to recuperate and get back in the swing of things of everyday reality. To see the joy on Austin's face while playing at the beach was enough to make it a success in my book. As for me, I will never go on another cruise pregnant again! My nausea and vomiting came and went most of the week, and the
exhaustion got to me. Not to mention, no 'Specials of the Day' for me either!
Whew! I can't believe our vacation is already over and we're back to reality. :( We got up early last Saturday and headed to the airport with ALL of our luggage. Since I cashed in 100,000 miles to get mine and Austin's tickets, we were 'Priority Access', got to board the plane first and got to check all our bags for no fees! Woohoo! And the flight went great. Austin was awake playing and eating for the first hour and then slept the remaining hour and a half. I was so proud of him doing so well on the flight. Nobody would have even suspected there was a toddler on the plane! Then we headed to the hotel in Miami. All of us stayed in a two-bedroom suite at a Hyatt, which the setup worked out perfect for us. After relaxing at the hotel for the rest of the day, we got up on Sunday and headed for the cruise terminal. With our VIP status, we were checked in and boarded the ship in about 30 minutes; it was great. We headed to the Lido deck for a delicious lunch, 'Specials of the Day' drinks, and started enjoying the good life.
The week was filled with lots of family togetherness, gambling, drinking, eating too much food, soaking up the sun, and chasing my monkey around! The first full day was a 'fun day at sea', so we wandered around the boat all day and also took Austin to 'Camp Carnival'. He absolutely loved it in there and was an instant hit with all the staff! Oh, and it was my birthday! Jordan got our cabin all decorated, and they sang Happy Birthday to me at dinner. Day two we stopped off in Grand Cayman. Katrina and I took Austin to the Seven Mile Beach for his first beach experience, while Mom, Jordan and Logan went off to swim with the stingrays. I was worried Austin wouldn't like the sand or getting dirty. Boy, was I wrong! He got in there with his bucket and shovels and just went to town! The next day we stopped off at a hidden hideaway-Isla Roatan, Honduras. What a beautiful little secluded island! Another trip to the beach for all of us. Mom watched Austin for a bit while me, Jordan, Kat, and Logan took a ride on a paddleboat.....what a workout! Our next stop was Belize. Jordan and I had previously been to Belize, which is primarily a jungle destination with mostly high intensity excursions. So, we elected to stay on the boat that day with Austin and enjoy some downtime. Our last stop was in Cozumel; but it rained most of the day, so another lazy day experiencing life on the ship. The excitement and hustle of the vacation was starting to wear on us, so it was a welcome idea. 
Throughout the week, we would take Austin to Camp Carnival for a little bit, so that we could enjoy some adult time to enjoy the casino, sun, or a show. Overall, he did pretty good in there. In the evenings, we would drop him off at 10pm, thinking he would be asleep in no time. When we arrived back at 1am, we were surprised to find a little boy up and still playing. But since he stayed up late, it also meant that he would sleep in, so that was okay for us! The casino was touch-and-go throughout the week for all of. We finally got Mom to leave the slots and come over to the darkside of Blackjack and she instantly became addicted. Close to the end of the week, I walked away from the table with $700 and was very proud of myself! Jordan, well, he wasn't very consistent. His consumption of double Crown and cokes often clouded his judgment.
On our last day, it was time to say goodbye to the ship, and also to Katrina and Logan who would be headed to Omaha for a baseball tournament. In the meantime, Mom, Jordan, Austin, and I ventured to the Miami Seaquarium to blow off some time before our flight back home. Needless to say, we were a little disappointed with it. Mom said it best, that it reminded her of the marine park in the episode of Jaws where they brought the sharks in to try to attract more customers. Yep, it was a little rundown, and it was so hot outside. We quickly grew hot and tired and headed to the airport. After entertaining Austin for two hours while sitting in the airport, we were exhausted. I was worried how he would do on our jam-packed flight back to Dallas after being so tired and ready to get home. Much to my dismay, he fell asleep before we even took off and slept the entire 3 hours til we got to our gate in Dallas! Hallelujah!
Overall, it was a great trip. It took us several days to recuperate and get back in the swing of things of everyday reality. To see the joy on Austin's face while playing at the beach was enough to make it a success in my book. As for me, I will never go on another cruise pregnant again! My nausea and vomiting came and went most of the week, and the exhaustion got to me. Not to mention, no 'Specials of the Day' for me either!
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