• Travel & Vacation: Freeze Frame Ice Show

    Yay for the Freeze Frame Ice Show!

    After some time swimming we all went to the Freeze Frame Ice Show!  It was so neat seeing all the people zooming around so gracefully on the ice.  The girls thought they made it look really easy.  We tried ice skating later that week and it wasn’t as easy as it looked when these guys were flying around!

    Karlie super excited to watch the Freeze Frame Ice Show

    Brandon, Brina, and Jeremy are ready to watch the ice show.  We got really good seats too!

    Karlie thought it was cool they had stars on the ice with the skaters

    All the kids on the edge of their seats watching the show

    One of the couples in the show

    I lost count how many times they switch outfits in this program!

    Brina’s comment…..they make it look so easy

    Now that takes talent

    Amazing

    The Freeze Frame Ice Show was really neat

  • Travel & Vacation: Pool Adventures

    Fun times at the pool

    Our first full day on the cruise we had a full day at sea which was really nice because we got to do a lot of fun activities on the boat.  The kids started the day early (at least our kids did), they were up at 6 am and ready to go!  After eating breakfast with Grandpa and Grandma the kids thought it would be a good time to go for a swim in their pools.  The adults caught up on conversations as the kids went swimming.  They were bouncing from splash zone to pool to hot tub.  Much to our surprise most of the pools on this boat were chlorine, in the past most were salt water.  The kids tended to sit more still when they were in the jacuzzi so I noticed we got more of those pictures, ha!

    One of the kids favorite places to swim.  It was a circular pool with moving water.  The kids loved it.  Brandon, Nathan and Karlie are in this picture.  If you look at the back of the picture you can see the ocean out the ship’s window (the water’s about the same color too).

    Karlie loving the extra time swimming

    Brina, Karlie, Brandon and Nathan getting warmed up in the jacuzzi next to the H2O Splash zone

    Brina having fun

    My nephews Brandon and Nathan.  The girls had a blast hanging out with their cousins for the week!

    Brina and Nathan in the jacuzzi

    And there off to the next great adventure…

    Someone’s tired…Zach did a good job keeping up with the group.  Thankfully he can sleep almost anywhere!

    Nicko playing in the pool!

  • Vacation: “Cruise Adventure” on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas (Part 2, Pictures)

    We talked a little earlier this week about our cruise vacation on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas!

    Now we would like to share a few pictures of our adventures on board the ship that week!

     

    Our Stateroom on the cruise!

    Our stateroom was great!  They had plenty of shelves and spots to put items away.  It had the most comfortable bed I have slept on in long time.  Jake and I are still trying to figure out how we can get that bed with the rocking motion of the ship so we can sleep soundly again!

    Sitting on the window sill in our stateroom!

    This picture was requested by our girls.  I did one last time and they wanted another window seat picture.  The beautiful scenery behind me is Puerto Rico.

    Playing Put-Put in the dark on the top of the ship. Go Amber!

    We played Put-Put or Miniature Golf in the dark and wind.  They had plenty of lights and music going.  Thankfully no one lost their ball but we had a few close calls!

    Glass Coffee Table looking down the centrium of the ship (13 floors)

    It was pretty amazing looking down through the coffee table to the centrium.  A couple brave people laid across the table but their pictures were too dark with all the lighting beneath them.  It wasn’t an ideal place to linger if you don’t like heights.

    Race cars on the wall by the "Pit Stop"! Karlie loves Matchbox cars so she liked this picture!

    Karlie LOVES Match box cars so we took this picture for her!

    Jake checking out the night sights with the binoculars!

    Jake checking out the sights with his binoculars.  It came in handy several times during the trip. The walkie talkies were another great investment especially since we were traveling with a group.

    Formal Night with my "sparkly" dress B & K helped me pick out!

    Our first formal night on the cruise.  It was fun to dress up, go to dinner and a show with my man!

    Every night after dinner our room would be cleaned, bed turned down, and we had a towel friend to welcome us back (tonight was a Swan)

    The towel animals were a special treat in our room every night.  Sometimes they were on the bed and other times they were hanging up in the room.  Little gifts from our stateroom attendant!

    Indoor Pool in the Solarium with Jake on the bridge over it.

    The indoor pool and Solarium was really neat.  Full of plants, a pool, cafe and more.  The pool was really neat especially at night when the ship was moving because you could see the waves rolling back and forth in the pool as the ship rocked.

    Outdoor Pool deck at night!

    The outdoor pool was always surrounded by numerous people laying out to work on their tans.

    Dad, Josh, and Jeremy playing pool on the Self Leveling Pool Tables in the Safari Club, pretty neat!

    The self leveling pool tables were pretty cool.  It was a hit with our group after dinner.  I even played a couple rounds!

    Amazing food - Ice Sculpture & Fruit. Love the fruit monkey climbing the palm tree.

    The food was simply delicious!  The best part is I didn’t have to cook or clean all week.  Love the fruit monkey in the tree.

    Dolphin carved on a Watermelon

    Talented watermelon carvers on board.  These looked awesome and they were the displays!

    Swan carved into a watermelon

    The swan was beautiful.  The detailed carving on these and other watermelons was really neat!

    A rooster made out of veggies!

    The rooster made me laugh.  I have never seen someone turn vegetables into a rooster before, very creative!

    Our awesome waiter Noel balancing a glass of water on his head while dancing.

    Noel was an awesome waiter.  He was positive, pleasant and entertaining.  Also, he offered a lot of great recommendations on what to do during our days on the islands, several times that proved very valuable!

    Elephant towel by our pillow that night.

    The elephant was so cute standing next to Jake’s pillows.  Our stateroom attendant did a great job keeping the room clean and was always helpful with any questions we had.  We only watched the ship and activity information channel on TV but since ours wasn’t working we ended up getting a Flat Panel TV in our room by the second day.  The maintenance guy said you would be amazed how many people actually spend the entire cruise in their rooms watching TV.  So thankful Jake isn’t that way because we had a blast exploring islands, learning, on adventures and meeting new people.

    Plant full of lobster tails for our table! Delicious!

    Noel brought our table plates of lobster tails since everyone ordered lobster one night.  It was wonderful.  The girls were ready to go with us just for the lobster and seafood we ate during our cruise!

    Jake and I after dinner and the show!

    Our second “formal” dinner night.  Jake and I had wonderful time having fun and relaxing together.  It was great traveling with family yet having some time alone as well.  Lots of fun memories!

    Beautiful fresh flowers!Two things I love about this picture - their window sill seats all over the boat and Amber's pirate shirt!

    Fresh flowers were distributed throughout the ship.  The islands had the most beautiful plants.  Loved it!

    Pool Volleyball - Crew versus Guests

    Outdoor pool in the daytime.  They are having a Pool Volleyball competition between the Crew and Guests.  Not sure who won the competition but we watched a couple rounds.

    Going down the ship's water slide!

    They had a water slide on the ship.  Yes, I had to go down it!  Actually I think we went down it 3 or 4 times.  If you look behind the people standing at the railing you will see the ocean in the background.

    Jake and I with our server for the week, Noel! Awesome!

    Noel was an excellent waiter.  He even came by our breakfast table the morning we were leaving to say goodbye to our group.  If you go on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas request Noel as your waiter, you won’t be disappointed!

    Long hallway of staterooms!

    This picture makes me laugh because it really is a long hallway with rooms on both sides.  With that being said we never seen or heard anyone in the rooms next to us (well except for Jeremy and Amber, but that was because they were part of our party).

    "3526" our Stateroom!

     

    It was a wonderful week packed full of fun activities and great memories.  Jake and I had a blast and look forward to our next vacation traveling.  Next week I will share with you a little about our adventures in Puerto Rico!

    A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

     

  • Vacation: “Cruise Adventure” on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas

    Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas Cruise Ship (the back of the boat)

    As I reflect back over the cruise vacation we took on Royal Caribbean, Serenade of the Seas, I am thankful for the opportunity to experience a fun and relaxing trip full of new memories.  Over the last several weeks I have been sharing tidbits about our time exploring the various Caribbean Islands, however, today I want to focus a little more about the actual ship we spent our evenings on together.  We gave some facts regarding the ship in an earlier post but I want to share a little more about what we did on the cruise in this post.

    The seventh day of our cruise was the only full day we were at sea.  Every other day of the trip we were visiting an island in the Caribbean.  Ever day was packed full of a variety of activities.  There were a lot of fun things to do on the ship, here are just a few:

    • Breakfast – you could chose to have it delivered to your room, eat at the Windjammer (buffet) or eat a sit down meal at Reflections.  We did a mix of the Windjammer and Reflections throughout the week depending on the activities for the day.
    • Every day evening after dinner we would have a new schedule of the next day’s events, information and activities so we could plan out our day on the boat or if we were going onto an island.
    • Morning Activities where available throughout the morning and at various locations on the ship (here is a sample of some activities)
    1. Brain Teasers & Trivia
    2. Sabbath Service
    3. Early Morning Stretch
    4. Abdominal Conditioning
    5. Indoor Cycling
    6. Adult Mini Golf Tournament
    7. Yoga
    8. Walk for Wishes
    9. Napkin Folding
    10. Movie in the Cinema
    11. Acupuncture Seminar
    12. View from the Top
    13. Royal Bingo
    14. 3 Minute Makeup Seminar
    15. Secrets to a Flatter Stomach Seminar
    16. Cake Decorating
    17. Interview with Olympic Gymnast Lance Ringland
    18. Swimming
    19. Rock Climbing Wall
    20. Shopping
    21. And More….
    • Afternoon Activities (here is a sampling)
    1. Music (Hot Spice – Calypso Sounds)
    2. Backstage Tour of the Theater
    3. Towel Folding Demonstration
    4. Ice Carving
    5. Movie in the Cinema
    6. Slot Tournament
    7. Men’s Belly Flop Contest
    8. Informal Bridge
    9. Learn to Swing
    10. 3-on-3 Basketball
    11. Name that Movie Tune
    12. Blackjack Tournament
    13. Scrapbooking Workshop
    14. Detox for Health & Weight Loss Seminar
    15. Pool Volleyball Crew vs Guests
    16. Belly Dance Class
    17. Gotta Dance Class
    18. Royal Poker Tournament
    19. Wine Tasting
    20. Adult Volleyball Tournament
    21. Core Conditioning Pilates
    22. Learn to Salsa
    23. Royal Bingo
    24. Adult Speed Climbing Competition
    25. And More…
    • They had a variety of Evening Activities to keep everyone entertained as well
    1. Farewell Movie Night
    2. Showtime
    3. Star Bridge Dance
    4. Mambo Caliente
    5. Royal Poker Tournament
    6. Jazz Cabaret
    7. Paradise Lotto Draw
    8. Adult Karaoke
    9. On Board Shopping Deals
    10. And Much MORE

    Our days were busy both on and off the ship.  There was always something to do.  We had fun, met a lot of wonderful people and created new memories.  We look forward to having the opportunity to cruise again in the future.  It was great not having to cook or clean the whole week!  On a side note, they had food available when you wanted it pretty much 24 hours a day!  It was nice because you could eat when it fit into your schedule!

    Here is a quick introduction of a few key crew members aboard the ship.  The Captain of our cruise ship was Captain Michel Claveau who started his career as a diver. Marc Walker was our Cruise Director from Weymouth, England started out in the entertainment industry as a DJ (22 years ago) then went on to juggle, unicyclist, then onto TV and Radio.  Marc has been with the Royal Caribbean family since the late 1990’s and has served on 20 of Royal Caribbean’s 22 ships.  Sanjay Dumar was our Hotel Director from Mumbai, India.  Marco Marzocchi was our Chief Engineer from Genova, Italy.  Cristiana Maruntelu was our Loyalty & Cruise Sales Manager from Romania.  Alistair Burnett was our Food & Beverage Manager from the United Kingdom.  Noel was our waiter and Janet our head waitress.  They did a fabulous job serving, singing, and creating a pleasant atmosphere during dinner every night we were on the ship.  I will add that the meals were amazing!  We met a lot of other wonderful people aboard the ship.  The staff was from all over the world and we enjoyed getting to know several of them during our stay on the ship.

    We spent some time in the late afternoon on the last day packing.  We were sad to pack but excited to continue our trip home and see the girls.  Jake and I walked around the ship on the last night snapping a few more pictures and video clips to show the girls.  They always have a lot of questions about the BIG boat!  If we could Jake and I would have just keep on cruising!  It was a wonderful experience again traveling with Royal Caribbean.  We will be sharing a few pictures on board the ship in a post later this week!

    A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • Cruising on “Serenade of the Seas”

    We had the privilege of cruising on Royal Caribbean’s “Serenade of the Seas” ship on our last vacation.  The first evening we were aboard the boat was full of exploring the ship, our cabin, the schedules, activities and the amazing services they had to offer.  It was our second cruise and the “Serenade of the Seas” was a bigger ship as well as a longer trip.  We were excited to have the opportunity to explore more islands during our trip.   Both of us slept very well aboard our time on the ship as they cruised from island to island during the night.  We met a lot of really neat people and was able to spend some quality time with our family.  “Serenade of the Seas” is one of Royal Caribbean’s newer ships.  Here is some information about “Serenade of the Seas”:

    Ship Facts

    * Maiden Voyage: August 1, 2003
    * Passenger Capacity: 2,114 double occupancy; 2,502 maximum
    * Godmother: Whoopi Goldberg
    * Gross Tonnage: 90,090
    * Length: 962′
    * Beam: 105.6′
    * Draft: 27.9′
    * Cruising Speed: 22 knots

    Ship Highlights

    * Rock-climbing wall
    * Portofino Italian Restaurant
    * Chops Grille
    * Latté-tudes,SM a specialty coffee house featuring Seattle’s Best Coffee®
    * Seaview Café
    * Themed bars and lounges
    * Casino RoyaleSM
    * The Colony Club, a unique British colonial-style lounge with self-leveling pool tables;
    * Beautiful indoor Solarium
    * Indoor/outdoor country club with golf simulator
    * Adventure Ocean® youth facilities
    * Day Spa and Fitness Center
    * Sports court with basketball/volleyball court

    These were just a few of the details of “Serenade of the Seas”.   We enjoyed amazing food, great entertainment and a fun times.  We would go again if we had the opportunity.  If you have never cruised before it is an experience worth trying at least once.  None of our party got sea sick.  The trip was pretty smooth and the service wonderful.  Check it out if you are thinking about taking a cruise.  Who knows who you’ll meet along the way!

    A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • A Vacation to Remember

    We watched this beautiful sunset as we left South Carolina!

    Everyone needs a little time away.  Seriously, life gets busy and schedules quickly become overloaded.  It is important to take some time to relax, enjoy life and create memories.  Every vacation is different some are restful while others are jammed packed with activities.  Chose the vacation that suites your family.  Try to plan a vacation with your family at some point this year even if it is only a long weekend away with your spouse, family, or extended family.  You will cherish the memories you make for a lifetime.

    My husband and I recently went on a cruise with my parents, my siblings and their spouses.  It was wonderful to escape for a week and have fun together.  The kids had a blast staying with friends while we were away and had a little vacation of their own away from Mom and Dad.  The neat part about a cruise is once you arrive on the boat all your meals are provided, the hospitality is amazing and your room is cleaned multiple times a day.  You truly are spoiled!!!  My husband and I had a blast spending time with family, meeting new people, exploring the ship and islands.  We always had plenty of activities, food, and entertainment.  We were rocked to sleep every night as the ship went from island to island and every morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the ocean. We could have continued cruising through the awesome islands, however, we were starting to miss the kids and figured we should get back to the regular routine.

    Over the next few days I will be sharing pieces of our recent adventure with you.  Some posts will be just for fun while others include helpful tips when traveling and cruising.  It was an enjoyable trip and we hope everyone gets an opportunity to go on a cruise at some point.  Go ahead start planning out your next family adventure!

    A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!