When We Weren't Crusing

When we weren't cruising we were...

Spending time at Lagoon

Gettin' my nails ready for the cruise. Don't they look so summery?

Starting back at dance

Getting cute Bellie a haircut

Enjoying a big mouth burger

Going to see Freakier Friday for my 42nd Birthday

Spending time with family

Working hard at dance... Little story here. Makayla wanted to improve her flexibility, so she worked with a teacher at the studio. The teacher gave her a specific workout to do and told her that if she did it consistently she would improve. I was so impressed with Makayla because she did not miss one of her times working on her flexibility. I never had to remind her to work out. I was so impressed by Makayla's dedication and hard work. It definitely paid off because look at Makayla's before and after on her middle splits. 

My dad had shoulder surgery at the end of August. My dad was convinced he would only be out of commission for a few days, but he ended up doing better than I thought he would, and he did worse that he thought he would. I babysat my mom while he was in the hospital and my brothers took their turn staying at my parents house to help out. It has been kind of rough taking care of my mom and dad, but I am happy to help. I have to go over multiple times a day to hook my dad up to his ice machine, then go over to bathe my  mom at night and get them both ready for bed. Hopefully this surgery will help my dad. 

Back to School Time

We have had the best summer and I can't believe it is time to go back to school. 

Caden is in 8th grade this year, and looking as handsome as ever. 

Makayla is in 9th grade this year... her last year in middle school. She's ready to rule the school. 

Luckily these two get to walk together in the morning when I drop them off at the bridge. 

Brynnli is in 5th grade this year with Ms. Giffen as her teacher. She's excited to be in the same class as some of her friends. 

I know they are all going to have a great year!!

 

Clear Water Beach

Our last day in Florida we met up with the Moffits again. We went on a tour of the World War 2 American Victory ship. This was so cool to see, and also very humbling to see the sacrifices people made to win the war. This ship is one of only three full operation WWII Era ships open to the public. 

We had to remind Caden that there are no icebergs in Florida, even though he has his titanic pose down. 

Hello? Anyone there?

Audrey was seriously the cutest. She found a best friend in Caden... and only Caden. She insisted on holding Caden's hand the whole day and was really good at bossing him around. 

Brynnli and her besties:

We stopped for lunch at some mall and then headed to Clear Water Beach

See, Audrey and Caden are best friends. 

Hulk Hogan's store was just outside the beach area. Ironically Hulk Hogan passed away just a few weeks before our trip. 

We made it to Clear Water Beach and had so much fun hanging out in the water and catching up with our friends. 

The girls got COVERED in sand!!

Audrey insisted on taking a picture of her parents. I would definitely say she rules the Moffat family. 

We finished up our day with dinner at a local restaurant and a beautiful sunset. 

And just like that our amazing family vacation was done. We had so much fun and we are all so sad we are back to reality in just a few days with the start of the new school year. 
 

Bimini, Key West, and Our Last Day

Day 5 was spent in Bimini. This is a small town in the Bahamas. This is one of the places that not a lot of ships can go because the port is so small, but because we were on a smaller cruise ship we were able to visit. 

We found a spot just off of the port and spent the day hanging out by the ocean. This port was interesting because the whole place smelled like sulfur. 

At this point in our cruise, even Tyler was looking tan, which is saying a lot!!

We didn't spend a long time in Bimini and went back to the ship to do some of the fun activities. One of the kids' favorites was the rock climbing wall. Our kids are so good and after trying a few times they were able to make it to the top with our any trouble. 

Our dinners were my absolute favorite. We would have the best food, the funniest conversations (something about Jo Jo Siwa and frogs), and lots of laughing. 

Then after dinner we would go straight to the buffet for second (or third) desserts. 

Then we would all go to the shows. Some of the shows were better than others, but we got a good nap during the tango dancing night!

Day 6 Tyler and I woke up early to watch the sunrise. 

We spent day 6 in Key West and rented bikes for a tour of the city. 

We saw Ernest Hemmingway's house. Fun fact, when Tyler and I went on our honeymoon we went on a tour of his house. 

Thanks to Tyler, he mapped out our whole tour with all the perfect stops. One of our stops was the Southernmost point in the U.S., and yes, we waited in a really long line just to get this picture. 

We stopped along the way for water breaks and pictures. 

I was so worried that Brynnli would not be able to keep up but she did so great! It was incredibly hot and all of us were dripping with sweat but we had so much fun. 

About half way through our 10 mile bike ride we stopped at McDonalds for waters and cool treats. 

Our last stop was Kermit's Key Lime Pie which was so yummy!! I love Key Lime Pie!

Then we walked around the town before heading back to the ship with the cutest towel animals!!

We had another dress up night. Don't they clean up good? 

Our last day on the ship we had a sea day, so we spent lots of time doing all of our favorite activities. Rock climbing is one of our favorites. 

We spent lots of time at the pool and got our fancy drinks. 

Brynnli was looking very tan. 

Our last dinner. How am I going to get back to reality after this?

We loved our servers, Raj and Allen. They were so nice. It was so humbling to hear their stories. Raj has a 3 year old at home who he only gets to talk to every once in a while and Allen is working hard on the ship so that he can send money back home to his family. 

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun, and how much we needed this family vacation. We had so much fun and made so many memories. 

Here's our favorite part of the cruise: 

Dad: Dinners and laying on the beach. 

Mom: The dolphin excursion and Perfect day at Coco Cay

Makayla: 

Caden: Coco Cay

Brynnli: The beach and swimming everyday and the food court that was open every night

Some of the funny moments we can't forget: 

The assistant cruise director Magic Mike from Jamica entering into the belly flop competition. 

"Amazzing" (Ask one of us to say it like the cruise director)

Family Zumba class

JoJo Siwa and the frogs. Think reproducing without a mate. One of those inside family jokes. 

And so many more!!