Cozumel ~ The Boys First Cruise

This year just before the Thanksgiving break we decided to take the kids on their first cruise. We booked the Carnival Triumph sailing out of Galveston.

The boys were so excited to receive their passports!



















We weren't sure how they would do on the ship with motion sickness or just being stuck on a boat for so long so we decided to take a shorter trip, only 4 nights. They absolutely loved it though! I think having a bunk was the most exciting thing for Hayden. We had them take turns so each one got 2 nights on top. Hayden's favorite part was jumping off the top bunk onto our bed, I think.


Being mid-November it was a little too cold for swimming in the ship's pool, but Hayden insisted. We talked him in to waiting until we had been at sea for a day, hoping it would warm up some. It was chilly when we left Texas, but the further out to sea we were the warmer it was. Still not warm enough for swimming though! I stayed in the room while David took Hayden out. They weren't gone for very long at all. Hayden was just too cold. We tried to tell him, but kids are stubborn. He's like his momma, has to see for himself.


The second night on the ship was elegant night. I went shopping the week before to buy the kids appropriate attire; slacks, button up shirts, shoes and ties. While we were all getting ready David realized he hadn't packed a tie. I could've strangled him with one of the kids ties, but decided to let it go. Hopefully they wouldn't kick us out. Before dinner we tried to get some good photos out on the deck, but it was super windy and made it a little difficult.













Hayden was not too impressed with dinner. I think he was annoyed right from the beginning because we had to wait for a table to open up. Not to mention, he HATED his tie! Says he never wants to wear one again (this came in very handy as a threat mechanism later in the trip).

The ship has a daily itinerary that let's you know what is going on throughout the day. There was also an itinerary for the kids clubs. The boys really enjoyed those. They were separated for much of the activities though because of their age difference. I think the boys spent the majority of our time in those centers. There was a ton of stuff they wanted to do and since it was their vacation, we let them. They decorated t-shirts one night, had kids only parties, and a lot of other cute activities.




















We played mini golf a couple of times. We first introduced Hayden to it when we were in Florida. He really liked it then so it was a good selling point for this particular cruise.






















We arrived in Cozumel on the 3rd day and we were all really looking forward to our excursion. We chose the Dolphin Push, Pull and Swim. WORTH EVERY PENNY! I highly recommend it to anyone considering it. Anyhow, we had to wait around on the dock for a bit before our tour left. That's when David realized he left his wallet on the ship...money and all. We had already paid for the excursion so that wasn't a big deal, but we weren't able to buy any of the pictures that they take of you there. Thankfully we had our waterproof camera and they let us use that. We got some pretty good shots too. We were divided up into groups and sent out with a trainer. Our dolphin's name was Lexie. We got to pet, kiss, and "hold" her, ride on her belly and have her push us on a boogie board. Tons of fun! Hayden was a little too small so he had to have someone help him, but he was good about trying to be out of the field of view for the cameras. I thought that was pretty thoughtful of them.































After the dolphin experience, David got in the water with a manatee. Hayden and Nich didn't want to get in so I stayed on the pier with them.


When we got back to the dock we went back to the ship to change and get some cash for souvenirs. David had $90 in his wallet and we thought that would be plenty. I grabbed my debit card just in case even though I really did not want to have to use it in a foreign country. Later I would thank myself. We ate lunch then headed back out. The boys all wanted to go to the beach so they were back in their swimsuits and I had changed into dry clothes. Bad idea. When we left the ship it started raining...not drizzling, but RAINING! I was soaked by the time we got to the first covered shop.

Hayden and his love for transportation was apparent even in Mexico! He picked out a rinky dink little wooden airplane. Who knows where that thing is now. I haven't seen it since we've been home. Nich got himself a luchador mask. Haven't seen that thing either, but they wanted them and hopefully it will remind them of our vacation from time to time....if they find them.






















When all the souvenir shopping was done we headed out to find a taxi. There is not a swim friendly beach at the dock where the ships are so we had to go about 10 min down the road. Taxi ride was pretty cheap, but got us into a little bit of a frenzy. He said we could pay him when we headed back and he'd just wait at the beach for us. When we got out we paid the entrance fee plus extra for the boys to play on all their water equipment. They had a trampoline, slides, this blow up thing with different stick sticking out of it (no idea what that was) and kayaks. So David pays the guy for all of that and we realize we are now $10 short for our taxi ride back and way too dang far to try to walk it! There were no ATM's on this beach, not even at the bar where we saw these two silly parrots that acted like they owned the place. We'd just have to figure something out when we were done at the beach.






The boys all played for a couple of hours then it started pouring again. We packed up and headed out hoping the taxi guy wouldn't be there and we could just hitch a ride back with another that didn't know we hadn't already paid for the initial trip out there. No such luck. Here he comes around the corner, making sure he's the one that gets us. David asked him to take us to an ATM. Thankfully they didn't charge five million dollars to use it. It did cost me $10 to take out $40 though. Kinda ridiculous, but we had to do it.

One night David indulged in a Thriller Dance Class. So much fun to watch him do that! Nich and I took video and pictures while we made a fool of himself ;)

















Each night on the ship when the stewards would turn down our beds, they would leave a towel animal and chocolates for us. The kids liked to guess what would be left for us, but of course we were never right. I never did get my monkey, but we bought Nich the how-to book so I'm expecting one out of him one of these days! These are the animals we were given:


































All in all it was a wonderful vacation. We had some much needed family time and enjoyed each others company. I pray it is something the boys will remember as they grow up and have families of their own.

The Most Expensive Sea World Trip EVER!!!

Last October/November we went on a trip to Orlando hoping to see one of the last shuttle launches. Discovery was set to launch on November 1st, but because of complications it was delayed. Launch viewing attempt #1...failure! So after much debate, David decided we should try again for the Endeavour launch. He put his name into the lottery drawing for tickets, but wasn't selected. He read about a few tour bus companies that also had tickets for sale. David sat on their website for nearly a full day trying to buy tickets before he finally received confirmation. Set of 4 launch tickets $600!

April 27th
We had planned to have the car packed and ready to go when Nich got out of school at 3pm so we could surprise him on the way. Unfortunately, two days before, my car decided to leak oil into the brake system and needed to be repaired. We were told it could possibly be ready to go by 4pm. We finally got a call at 5:45p saying it was ready. We ended up leaving 3 1/2 hours later than planned, but Nich still had no idea. He saw that the car was packed, but wasn't sure where we were going. I made little clue cards for him and every hour that he was awake he was given one. He's smart I tell ya! Had it figured out by the 5th clue and they weren't super easy either!



April 28th
We pulled into our hotel in Orlando around 3pm. Today would be a lazy day. David and I both needed the rest after driving straight through, almost 20 hours.

April 29th -- Launch Day ...more like wasted day!


The bus was set to leave at 6am. First we'd be taken to the KSC (Kennedy Space Center) where we could look around for a bit while the bus went through security. Since we had been there only a few months before nothing was really new so we just walked around for a bit until it was time to board the buses again. We were told to be back at our boarding site by 9:45a. That was the most unorganized mess I have ever seen! 5,000 people all trying to get back on the same bus of 50 people they rode there with (a requirement) at the same time! Crazy madness!!


After weaving through a line for what seemed like a million miles, we were eventually back to our bus. We had to sit on this bus for another 2 hours in the parking lot before we even moved an inch! Finally we started to move, thinking we were on our way to the Causeway. The Causeway is an area 6 miles from the launch pad. It's the closest the public can get to it unless you are media or family. Their VIP viewing site is 3 miles from the launch pad. Anyhow, we start to move and our tour guide comes on the speaker saying the launch was scrubbed. There was an issue with the heaters on one of its power units, critical for powering the hydraulic system on the shuttle's return to Earth.

So here we were on a bus for the majority of the day, all for naught and we still had to make the trip back to the hotel. Going to KSC wasn't that big of a deal. Going back to the hotel was another story. Imagine all expected 700,000 viewers trying to take the only 2 roads out of the KSC area. The trip back took 5 hours! I had never been more ready to get off of a bus than then! Where's that private jet when you need it?!

We were told the earliest the shuttle would launch would be Sunday afternoon. Only a short time later it was moved back even further to Monday at 2:33p. If it did indeed launch on Monday, David and I decided we'd go ahead and wait it out. At this point I was frustrated. I had already planned to spend Saturday and Sunday with Sherman, Nichole and Kenzi at the beach. I hadn't seen them since Christmas and was really looking forward to it. Those plans were scrubbed right along with the shuttle. I was not a happy camper!

April 30th


We decided we'd make the most of our trip since we had some time to kill. NASA wouldn't be making a final decision until the next morning and we were all tired of being in the car so we wanted to find something local. On our last trip we went to Disney so this time we decided on Sea World Orlando, about 15 minutes away. The kids really enjoyed it. We sat in the "Soak Zone" for the Shamu show. About halfway through Hayden had enough of that so we moved up a bit.

We all rode the Shamu Express and David and Hayden rode one of the water rides while Nich and I waited. I'm not fan of walking around in wet jeans and my shoes were already soaked, icky!


We saw a featured Jack Hanna show. He brought out a bobcat, a lynx, a marmoset, a couple of foxes, a few owls, a sloth, and a cheetah. All pretty interesting.

The kids got to pet some sting rays, tried to pet dolphins, and fed the sea lions.


The dolphin show was incredible! They had so much going on at once it was sensory overload! Flying parrots, jumping dolphins, acrobats, music. Fascinating! We all really enjoyed that one.

Overall we had a great time, but the turtle exhibit was pretty disappointing. I was expecting to see a few sea turtles, but all they had were two little land tortoises.



After Sea World we had dinner at Cracker Barrel. Nich and I watched some sky writing then went for ice cream. Then we waited for it to cool down some before taking the kids to play miniature golf. They had so much fun! It was Hayden's first time and he loved it! I still suck. David and Nich both beat me. I barely beat Hayden....he's 4!
























May 1st
Woke up to the news that the shuttle would not launch on Monday after all and since Nich couldn't afford to miss anymore school we had to head home. Second attempt at seeing the launch...failure! There's always a silver lining though. I got to see Sherman and his family! On our way back home we stopped in Pensacola to have dinner with them at Logan's. So happy to see them even though it was only for a couple of hours! Miss them like crazy!!






















Maybe we just weren't meant to see the launch live. Thank goodness for NASA tv! We'll enjoy the launch from home now and, although it's not the same, at least we can say we tried....twice!

Everyone Needs to Escape Reality Sometimes, Right?

We had been looking forward to our second Florida trip of the year for months. David was going to get to see one of the last shuttle launches and visit the Kennedy Space Center (his Disney), the kids and I were going to get a Disney trip and all of us would enjoy the beautiful beaches. I booked the flights, the resort accommodations and set our itinerary.

Our JetBlue flights were wonderful! It was a little over two hours from Austin to Orlando non-stop (sure beats a 20 hour drive) and the most comfortable flight we had ever been on. Even David, with his long legs, had enough legroom. The kids set back, snacks and drinks in hand, with their headphones on watching the FREE(!) tv/cartoons they offer. I didn't even have to reach for the "just in case" toys/coloring books/etc that I had packed to keep them entertained. From now on, if JetBlue flies where we need to go, I will be choosing them over Southwest or American!

We got to our resort, Mystic Dunes, a little after 10:30 pm. I had heard about how the staff at this resort wasn't that pleasant and how they would try to pressure you into buying a timeshare at check-in. This made me a little nervous, but the deal was a good one so we booked it. Once we got to our room I was less than impressed! Why anyone would buy a timeshare there I have no idea! Maybe I'm spoiled to the condo we stay in when we visit PCB, but this was nothing more than a glorified motel. Thankfully we didn't receive any pressure or timeshare speeches during our stay.On Sunday we got up early to make the hour drive to the Kennedy Space Center. We were there from 30 minutes after it opened until 10 minutes before closing. There is SO much to do and see there that you don't realize you've been there for so long. I wouldn't think you'd need more than a day there unless you are planning on doing one or both of the extra tours they offer.

First we took a bus over to the Launch Pad Viewing Deck where we could see Pad 39-A and 39-B. The Discovery shuttle, scheduled to launch the next afternoon, was on 39-A and covered by a metal casing so we couldn't get a very good look at it. Hayden didn't seem too interested...he'd rather chase the black birds around at the tower.

From here we took the bus to the Saturn V building. Since Nicholas is in the Saturn V program at school I thought this would be a good educational trip for him too. That rocket is HUGE (pic)! I knew it was big, but it was much larger than I had expected (not that I know a ton about space launching and rockets). In this building they had the Saturn V rocket, some Apollo artifacts, a moon rock, as well as all the different space suits from that time. There was also a show about one of the Apollo missions. It took place in the actual set up of Mission Control. It was all pretty interesting!























After lunch, which was school cafeteria quality and super expensive, we headed back to the KSC Visitors Complex. David and Nicholas went on the Shuttle Launch Experience ride while Hayden and I waited outside. Poor guy was about an inch too short to ride. We also saw the International Space Station 3D IMAX movie. It was pretty incredible! Hayden tried to grab all the things that were coming at him. I think he really enjoyed it.

























The last interesting thing we did was the Astronaut Encounter where we got to listen to Astronaut James Reilly, at Texas boy himself, speak about his time as an astronaut and his three space missions. He was really engaging and thoroughly answered questions from the audience, then posed for pictures after.







That night, since it was Halloween and the boys would miss Trick or Treating, we took them to the Cocoa Beach Riverfront Park Halloween Festival in their costumes. I expected it to be like the festival we had here in Buda this year...area vendors passing out candy, arts & crafts, etc. Nope, absolutely not. This one had a few activities for the kids to do, but they were closing up when we got there (almost 2 hours before it was over) and there was only 1 group passing out candy. The kids each took a turn in the bounce house, played for a few minutes at the park and that was about it. I was a little disappointed and Hayden had a meltdown in the car so we decided to make the hour drive back to the room and call it a night.




















The day before we left for the trip we learned the shuttle launch would be delayed by at least 24 hours due to air leak issues. So our Monday plans were switched around a bit. Instead of boating over to the island to watch the launch we took the kids to Lori Wilson Park at Cocoa Beach. I have to say, after visiting the Atlantic coast, I definitely prefer the Gulf side. The sand on the Atlantic side isn't as soft, the water isn't as clear and the waves are vicious. I thought it would be too cold for the kids to swim, but it wasn't too bad and they seemed to really enjoy it. Hayden stayed with me on the shore most of the time while David and Nich caught some waves. David and Nich also played with the coaster frisbee until it was lost at sea. Once we'd had enough of the beach for the day, we headed back to the room and had a pizza night in.






On Tuesday, we got news that the launch would be delayed yet another 24 hours because they wouldn't have the leak fixed in time to finish all the assessments. Now it would be a Wednesday afternoon launch time at the earliest. We decided to make the most of our day and head to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We were originally only going to do one day at Disney and I thought this would be the one the kids would enjoy the most. At this park they had the Pixar movie characters that the kids know so well and less of the classics and princess type movies. We bought their autograph books and set out to find some characters! Our first visit was Tigger and Eeyore. Hayden got a hug from Tigger...so sweet! He was terrified of Mater and Lightening McQueen though. In his defense they did make some pretty loud grumbly noises.






















One of our favorite rides, although the line was an hour long, was Toy Story Mania 3D. The wait line was interesting though and kept us occupied. It led you through a building that was decorated with over-sized toys and games. There was, of course, the talking/singing Potato Head, but also Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, giant crayons, Domino,etc. Anyway, you ride around in these little two-seater carts with 3D glasses on and "shoot" balls at all these targets. You rack up points as it spins you around. Towards the end of the ride things start "flying" at you. I think I enjoyed it the most! Totally recommend this one!







We enjoyed the car stunt and Disney Playhouse Live shows,but Scary Sounds with Drew Carey was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen! I absolutely do not recommend wasting 20 minutes on this exhibit. I would've been highly upset other than the fact that we were escaping the rainstorm outside at the time. When the rain let up a little, the kids played around in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" park.

Unfortunately, the parade that was schedule for that afternoon was canceled. We didn't meet as many characters at this park as I was hoping nor did we ride Tower of Terror, but we still had a great day! ...and I must say that all the park staff was nice and very courteous.

Hoping for that shuttle launch on Wednesday, but once again it would be pushed back. This time because of electrical issues. So, again, we reorganized our itinerary and headed to Clearwater Beach. This was an hour and a half drive, but the beach was gorgeous so it was worth it! Nich, David and I had a good time throwing the football, watching the pirate ship and making sand castles with Hayden. There was a dad and daughter from Germany playing on the beach close to us. I think the girl was probably close to Nich's age, 10 or so. We know the dad spoke some English, but I'm not sure about the girl. She never seemed to answer any of Hayden's questions, but the language barrier didn't stop them from jumping waves and picking out seashells. Hayden had found himself a new little friend.




















On Thursday the shuttle was once again delayed because of a storm that was moving in. We had only planned on one day at Disney, but decided to go ahead and do another day now that we had time to spare.

When we went to Hollywood Studios we bought cheap tickets outside of the park. Apparently people buy 14 day passes and when they don't use them all they sell them to these other people and they turn around and offer them to you at a discount price. Illegal yes, but when it saves you $100 a day it's kinda worth the risk. The morning we headed to Magic Kingdom, we stopped by the same place to buy more. The guy didn't show up until 9am and we wanted to be at the park when it opened so we decided to go to a different place. David got our tickets and we were on our way. We got to the gate and our passes wouldn't work. The same thing happened at Hollywood Studios. You stick your card through the machine, then put your finger on the scanner. It doesn't actually scan your print, but rather the length and width. Of course ours didn't match, but the lady there didn't seem to worry about it and just let us through. The lady at Magic Kingdom wasn't as accepting. She questioned us for 4-5 minutes about where we bought the passes, when we used them last, etc. She knew we were lying, but eventually let us through anyway. Maybe it was because Hayden was already on the other side of the turnstile or she felt bad for us. Who knows.

So we got in the park, finally something Momma wants to do!! One of the first things we did, after taking our family picture in front of Cinderella's Castle, was the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor interactive show. David and Hayden were part of the "interviewed humans" segments. It was pretty funny and definitely entertaining, a must-do.

The kids really seemed to enjoy this park a lot more than Hollywood Studios too because there were more rides and things for them to do and see. We took a real steam engine train ride around the park. Hayden rode his first roller coaster, Goofy's Barnstormer, and LOVED it! He was giggling so loud the first time around! I think we ended up riding that one 3 times. The kids loved Splash Mountain, me not so much! I think our favorite ride at Magic Kingdom was the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster. Nich wanted to do Space Mountain so I took him to that one while David and Hayden rode the more mild Astro Orbiter. The one ride I do NOT recommend at this park is It's a Small World. It's a boat ride inside a building where you go through all the different nations and each one of them sings the song and little animated dolls dance in place. It's long and boring. Hayden wanted out not a minute into the ride.
























We met quite a few characters here and Hayden even got a kiss from Minnie Mouse! We toured Mickey's Clubhouse and Minnie's Country House, saw the Dream Along with Mickey show, the Electrical and the Celebrate with Mickey Parades. All of them were great!






After dark, and when the park is closing, they put on a fireworks show behind the castle. This was incredible! When it first starts, Tinkerbell is dressed in her costume, fitted with green lights, and flies down on a wire from the very top of the castle. Awesome! The castle was lit up, there was music and tons of fireworks. Just a great show!! At the very end it became a torrential downpour! Thankfully David had bought some ponchos earlier that morning, but we didn't have them on. By the time I got mine on it was already too late. My umbrella was leaking at the seams and I was soaked from head to toe! Guess that one was meant for shade only and I must have lost the instructional booklet it came with! As soon as the show was over everyone was racing to the exit. Of course you have to take either the ferry boat or the monorail back to the parking lot so there was quite a wait to get out of the park. The line seemed to move fairly quick though so it could have been much worse.






Our last day in Florida we were really hoping to see that launch. It was, after all, our main purpose of the trip. Sadly it has now been delayed until November 30th. While draining the fuel tank there was a crack in the foam. The launch window was passing so they scrubbed it all together. Maybe we can catch it online. Since we wouldn't be seeing the launch we decided to just take it easy. We took the kids to see Megamind at Disney's AMC Pleasure Island. Expensive, but the kids, and David even, enjoyed the movie. I fell asleep. It was just too cold in there!

Although we never saw the launch, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and can't wait to do it again someday!

PS. A huge thank you to my wonderful, loving husband for making our vacations possible and for being such a great parent. The kids and I love you and I know they will cherish these memories as they get older.