Where to begin. First, flying with toddlers is not fun. We sort of lucked out and Pierce had his own seat on the way down because the plane wasn't full. However, he was too small for the seat belt to hold him in. So he would rather stand in the aisle and attempt to get run over by the flight attendants. Can you say Exhausting? Steve and I both said we can't wait to fly to Vegas without kids to entertain. So much for reading that US Weekly I brought. And my great idea of Play-doh was way messier than I thought. But we made it!
The boat was fantastic and our cabin was nice but very, very narrow. So narrow that Steve and I required synchronization to enter and exit the cabin. We got unpacked and hit the pool. Technically, Pierce was only allowed in the splash area but that was underneath and mama needs her sun. So I folded that swim diaper down into a bikini and pulled the trunks up and we were "swimming dirty"- shhhh don't tell! We never got caught and Pierce loved the pool. Putting Pierce into a high chair is a 2 man job and he screamed and screamed. He did get better as the trip went on.
The first island was Nassau. We were just going to get off the ship and walk around. It took Steve 3 seconds to spot a Harley store.
We always buy papa a shirt for watching the baby and Steve has been on the hunt for a swimsuit he actually likes for a long time. We found one we liked right away and it combines his love for hibiscus flowers and motorcycles! Here is a bad pic of the trunks:
I need to get a Christmas ornament every time we take a trip and I found a cute one in the gift shop on the boat. I was also on a mission to find real carribbean vanilla and I did in Nassau!
Now if you know our boys you know they are
addicted to Lay's Salt-n-vinegar chips. I am ashamed to tell you how many bags we go through a week around here. Well the 3 mini bags I packed were gone by Monday afternoon and we left Sunday for crying out loud! So we stopped at the grocery store in Nassau and hoped and hoped they would have them - and they did!! At $4.98 a bag. After the mini stroke I had right there in the store, we bought 2 bags. And I thought $2.99 in Buffalo was a lot.
And the poor lady who cleaned and vacuumed our cabin three times day well lets just say we tipped her very well. We picked up a little Mickey shirt for Reid and we got back on the boat to get ready for dinner. Tired from all the shopping but here we are:
The next day was Disney's private island. After the 7 minute hike to get to the beach, it was heavenly! Turquoise water and the softest sand.
Confession: I am a serious underpacker but in a weird way. For example I remembered to pack sand toys but not enough shirts for the boys to wear. I forgot how 1 bite of watermelon equals a drenched t-shirt. Just once I would like to go on vacation and not do laundry. We joked the next time I am done packing, Steve needs to go ahead and pack some more stuff. One good thing about doing laundry was me discovering how amazing tide detergent is. We use Arm-n-Hammer for my sensitive skin but Tide is amazing for watermelon and ketchup stains!! I will be going to target asap to pick some up - here's hoping for a cartwheel :)
One more family picture of us cruising'!
Wait and how could I forget about the 220v hairdryer in the room. yup that's right 220v!! I want one installed in our master yesterday. I have curly hair that I straighten every single day of my life. Even Steve commented on how fast I did my hair on the cruise. Here's a pic:
I was so worried baby Reid would crawl when we were away but he didn't! We sure did miss him and all his smiles :) Next year - 5 days is a must now that we know the boys can handle the boat.
