Thursday, August 9, 2012

Cruising The Sea {Try New Adventures Thursday!}

So, I may have mentioned the small fact that my hubby and I were going on a CRUISE at the end of July.

That is, a real vacation. One where my husband wouldn't have to study. One where I wouldn't have to do dishes. A vacation where we wouldn't even have to make the bed for goodness sake! And to top it all off, we left our sweet Peter-boy with his grandparents and only took the baby.

('cause said baby refuses a bottle and we didn't want to leave Memaw to deal with that. He's a milk snob, what can I say...)


We're on board!!!! #disneydream 

Oh, and did I mention that this cruise was a gift from Andrew's parents? Best graduation present ever!

We sailed on the Disney Dream for a 5 night cruise in the Bahamas. It was our first time on a cruise....and the vacation was a breath of fresh air to us.

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Our stateroom was apparently HUGE by cruise standards. They provided us with a pack 'n play for Edmund, so that worked out well. And the bed was incredibly comfortable!

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Obligatory animal towel picture...with a twist!
Out on Castaway Cay, day #5 of our cruise. The water was so lovely. #disneydream #latergram
 Hanging out on Castaway Cay, Disney's own island. 

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On our way to go snorkeling. Day #2 aboard the #disneydream.
The ship had a wonderful nursery, so Andrew and I got out TWICE to snorkel!

 The French-themed dinner on night #3 was my favorite!! Escargot and uh-MAZING steak. A luxury! #disneydream
The food was delicious...my favorite dinner was the French-themed one! Thanks to my godfather, who introduced me to escargot (snails!) when I was a girl, I didn't miss out on ordering that delicacy as my appetizer! They were soaked in garlic butter. I die. Oh, and there was a killer steak as the main course.

While we're on the topic of food...there was soft serve ice cream available on the pool deck at all hours of the day. Talk about heaven for kids! Or me...

Hanging out on the ship, day 1. #disneydream

And speaking of kids, Edmund was such a doll for us. Some days he missed a nap or two, but he was good-natured and went with the flow. And he elicited smiles everywhere we went.

Ice cream on Castaway Cay. Just the two of us! #disneydream
7 months old today and relaxing in the Bahamas. Easiest kid to take on a cruise ever!! #disneydream
3D movie goers...while baby was in the nursery, we saw The Avengers! #disneydream
Appropriate reading while on a ship. ;) Although a much different ship, I admitt. #disneydream

We swam, snorkeled, read, talked, ate, kissed the baby, explored Nassau a little (enough to buy a t-shirt and find a Starbucks!), watched The Avengers and Brave in 3-D on the ship, and sat on our stateroom veranda admiring the sky and the water. Such gorgeous water! A deep, just-lighter-than-sapphire blue when we were at sea. You could see the sun rays shining down into the water like liquid glitter. We also made a point to be on deck for sunsets (and woke early enough for two sunrises).

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And by day 4 of our cruise, we were starting to really miss our oldest little man. At one point we laughed at ourselves, because we were on the beach in the bahamas...and what were we doing? Watching videos of our toddler on Andrew's phone. Haha. We were so happy to pick him up after the cruise and hear all about his fabulous time at Memaw and Papa's house. And apparently he didn't ask about us a single time while we were gone! Too busy having fun...

On our way to my parent's house to squeeze a certain 2 1/2 year old!!!

Now it's back to "real life." Andrew started his new job on Monday, so the boys and I are re-acclimating to our home routine. Having Andrew home for the last month was an amazing break...I almost forgot how full a day by myself with the boys is! The word "routine" makes it sound all smooth and predictable--not quite an accurate picture of reality!

When is the last time you went on a real vacation?
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Link up your adventures below! It's quite simple...just link up your adventure-ful blog post, link back to Alicia's Homemaking, and leave a few comments on other participant's posts if you can. :)

 
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16 comments:

  1. SO GLAD you guys got a much needed getaway. We're doing that cruise for Christmas and can't wait!

    Great pics and so thankful the little man was good for you guys.

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    1. Kat, that's exciting! You guys crack me up with how much you love Disney. I look forward to hearing about how your cruise goes! I'm sure they will have it DECKED OUT for Christmas!

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  2. I'm thrilled you were able to get away. Now that my daughter's officially weaned, I told Drew {my husband}, "We need to go away for the weekend and leave our daughter at the grandparents." Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later. :)

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  3. Looks like a great trip! How wonderful that Edmund traveled so well. We're expecting our first in January, and based on other posts I've seen about traveling with babies, I think next summer will be a better time to take a vacation than when the baby is a toddler.

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    1. YES, I totally agree. Disney makes it easy to take your toddler on a cruise, but it was definitely more of a break for US to leave him with my parents.
      But it could also depend on how "travel friendly" your baby is. They're all so different!

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  4. What a wonderful trip you had judging from the pictures and smiles!! We have not been on a vacation yet this year, but DH and I are going away for a weekend NEXT WEEKEND!! I am so excited and looking forward to it. We haven't been away (just the 2 of us) since last March (2011).

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    1. WHO-HOOOOOOO! I'm so happy for you, Miriam!

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  5. Looks like you had such a fabulous time! I am so happy for you guys! And so glad little man was content and happy {and that you could get babysitting}. Such a great break before life kicks off again.

    Jon and I went away for a weekend two years ago. Alone. That was nice. We had a family vacation last year and will be going to San Diego at the end of the month for another vacation. But I am looking forward to weaning the boy so we can do another trip alone. :)

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    1. Ah yes, the weaning. Obviously, we're waiting on that too!

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  6. Sounds like you had a wonderful time! My husband and I have never been away without the kiddos...unless you count the night I spent in the hospital having our daughter.

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    1. Oh April, you really should do it if you can!! It's amazing, even if it's only one night. I'm looking forward to when Edmund is weaned...then maybe we can get away to a B&B for a night. :)

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  7. what a fun time!! we have had plenty of adventures, but none of which i blogged about because we have been busy with the aforementioned adventures....first time bowling for the kiddos, first time going consignment shopping w/ jodi and 2 new-ish friends who have moved cross country, first time have mornings free for 2 weeks of the summer while both girls are at vbs....lots of other fun stuff too. savoring the last of summer before school starts again. i can't wait until we do something disney with the girls. :)

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    1. Wow, what a lot of fun! I love that you and Jodi hang out. I have not been consignment shopping in forever, I'm looking forward to doing some soon. :)

      Disney does things well! I live only a few hours from Disney World, but haven't been since I was six. We'll have to change that eventually...:D I have friends that go all the time.

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  8. Looks like you guys had a blast! We have only been away by ourselves a couple of times since having kids, once when we were going to a wedding and the grandparents kept the kids overnight, and once when my mother-in-law kept the kids while my husband and I slipped away to a hotel. Other than that, we really haven't been away by ourselves, but oh how I crave this time with my hubby!!

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    1. It really is regenerating! I hope you are able to do it soon.

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  9. What an amazing trip! That room looks perfect. Three cheers for good sitting, and a baby willing to do it! Our last adult only vacation was almost 3 years ago. When I was 6 weeks pregnant with Archer we went to Rome and Paris for 10 wonderful days. Last spring we went (with Archer) to Vancouver and last fall we took him to Hawaii. Penny is a much better traveler than Archer (as an infant, he's getting better) so we hope to do more trips soon to explore Washington. And, I'm a long way from weening the 3 month old who wont take a bottle but when she does you better believe we'll be doing a weekend away!

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