• Travel & Vacation: Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf (Orlando, FL)

    P1380608c

    Fun times playing miniature golf!

    While in Orlando the girls and I got tickets to play miniature golf.  The golf course was across the street from our resort so it was a short walk.  We went to Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf.  It was a lot of fun playing together even though we lost 3 balls.  We quickly realized that we would not be playing any professional miniature golf soon with our crazy scores, but was a great time.

    It was a warm day, but they had several courses with shooting water that seem to help cool it off.  After playing 18 rounds of miniature golf we headed back to the hotel for lunch in the room then out to the pools to have some more fun.  Thankful for some time with the kids.

    Brina was the only one that didn’t loose a ball.   I lost mine on the first hole in the bushes.  Karlie managed to lose 2 balls throughout our adventures.  The workers let us get more balls at the counter.  The girls both got “hole in ones”, but I never got one (2 shots was my lowest par).

    P1380565c

    Hole 1 – each hole had a storybook with information and cute sayings on it.

    P1380570c

    It was bright and sunny that day!

    P1380574c

    Brina ready for her next hit.

    P1380582c

    This hole was in a cave.  It was cool.  Both girls got a hole in one on this one.

    P1380583c

    So close….  They were concerned a few times about me accidentally hitting their balls further away from the hole (a couple of times it was a valid concern).

    P1380592c

    The greenery around the course was beautiful!

    P1380594c

    Found a spot in the shade to rest for a minute.

    P1380596c

    They had some cute decorations.  This elephant sprayed water when you shot the ball through the middle of the base.

    P1380605c

     Lining up for a good shot.  This was harder than you think.

  • 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!