Travel & Vacation: Cruising with the Family
Snapping a picture of Jake from across the table
After a fun full day at Labadee, Haiti swimming in the Aqua Park, zipping down the giant water slide, and time at the beach while some people went parasailing. We enjoyed some evening activities on the boat after our great day at Haiti. That night the girls ate lobster, tiger shrimp and steak for dinner. They had a grand time hanging out with the entire family.
Karlie was so happy! She got her own lobster tail (and she eat it all)! 🙂
One kiddo down during dinner….it’s been a busy day!
Singing “Happy Birthday” to Amber! Happy Birthday Amber!
Singing “Happy Birthday” to Josh! Happy Birthday Josh! Amber and Josh got an awesome piece of cheesecake in celebration of their birthday.
Family at evening dinner
Zach and Nicko hanging out at the table
Leo all smiles
Karlie Kool Kat
Hanging out with my sweet nephew!
Do you see the girls in this picture? They are on up a floor higher than us.
Memories of the Blue Lobster Named “Tsunami”
“Tsunami”
A long time ago before children and large pets……Jake and I lived in a little apartment. Our apartment was home but there really wasn’t a lot to it. We had a hand-me-down love seat from one of my clients who was upgrading her furniture, a bed, and a few pieces of other miscellaneous furniture. When a group of friends came over to our apartment the first year or so of our marriage we would sit on the floor and eat because we didn’t have enough chairs for everyone. Gradually over time we accumulated more pieces, most items were hand-me-downs or second hand items, but neither of us were picky.
The biggest piece of furniture I have ever bought personally was for Jake. One year I saved for several months to buy Jake a 72 gallon bow-front fish tank for our anniversary. He was thrilled. Thankfully fish were pretty easy pets. One of the most “unique” pets we owned was a blue lobster for our fresh water tank. It was so exciting to finally get one! On the way home from the pet store I was holding our new blue lobster in my lap when Jake went around the corner to our apartment I forgot to hold onto him and he went tumbling down my legs and to the floor thus resulting in his name “Tsumani”.
A few days ago Jake and I were discussing pets which brought me back to the many fun memories we had picking out and finding our first few fish. As I continued to think about the fish tanks and various fish “Tsunami” came to my mind. He was pretty neat looking in the fish tank and for the most part did really well. The other fish in the tank figured out that it is best to give him some extra space otherwise he might “snap his claws” at them. In the picture above Tsumani’s tail was tucked under his body but when he was stretch out he got up to 6 inches long.
Having a blue lobster was a great conversation starter. We got a lot of different reactions to seeing it in the tank. If you are looking for a unique addition to your fresh water fish tank you might enjoy one too!
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!
