The boys got to go on their first ever cruise! I won a top performers cruise through work, and so we added a couple tickets and took our little guys with us. This was a pretty magical event, as they had never been out of the country before. I was 26 before I left the country for the first time!
We wrapped a pair of goggles and passport covers up in a box at Christmas with a bright and beautiful picture of the cruise ship we were going on (The Carnival Magic), and let them open it as their gift from us. They were so surprised and excited!
Here's Adam and Ethan on the shuttle from our cruise line parking to the boarding terminal. They can only slightly picture in their heads what a "cruise" on a big boat might look like. At this point though, they have no idea.
Once we were on the ship though, they could hardly even believe that this kind of thing existed. And that's about when the giggles and never-ending grins began.
Aden pretty much lived on the sports deck. Specifically, at the mini golf section. He was here at least ten times a day - and that's with us having to say, "No Aden, let's check out some other things too" a few times.
The boat is gorgeous. This is the same one that Adam and I were on in 2013. That was handy, because we went on already knowing where everything is.
That first day was all about getting everyone on and leaving the dock. We went through somewhat equal parts of excitement and relaxation. For some reason, Ethan found it really relaxing to lay on a pool chair and watch the land disappear as we took off. He laid like this for almost an hour, and I finally had to make him get up so we could join Adam and Aden (who were playing mini golf!)
We were assigned the early dinner, and met up with other top performers many nights. Ethan was goofy and enjoying himself, but "fancy dinner" turned out to be one of his favorite times of the day. He ordered from the kids menu only the first night. After that, he realized he could try new things from the regular menu, and have as many desserts as he wanted. This is what heaven must be like. No rules! Constant dessert! Gorgeous views!
We checked out our room, and the travel agent sent us sparkling cider and chocolate covered strawberries. I have no idea how she knew to do this, because chocolate covered strawberries on the balcony was one of the things the boys had been dreaming of doing since they found out about the cruise. There's ONE bucket list item crossed off!
We woke up to day 2 as a "Day at Sea" day. As previously stated, we loved the non-stop availability of food. Breakfast in particular, was so much fun. We are not used to having three plates of food each! And someone cleans up after us? Score!
We took this time to bond. The hot tubs were pretty popular on this day, because it's February and still a little chilly.
Aden tried something new too. They have a sky links course over the top of the ship (WAY high in the air!) and he went through both courses, the easy AND the hard one. He did great!
Unfortunately, it was just too cold to swim. The boat has a few pools and a splash park. Maybe we'll have to go back on the boat during a warmer season.
We didn't mind though. There was a lot of other things to do. And almost all of them involved relaxing and eating. (Three words: 24-hour ice cream.)
One thing we did try on the first day was Camp Carnival. This is a little area of the boat where kids can go and participate in different activities. There's even a schedule of activities so you can pick and choose what you want to do. My guess was that Aden wouldn't care for it, but Mr. Social (Ethan) would love it. It was actually the other way around! There were times when we couldn't get Aden to leave Camp Carnival and there were times when Ethan just wanted to hang with us. Ethan still liked it and had fun, he just didn't want to go as often as Aden - which was fine with us.
We didn't pay $18 a photo for the cruise line photos, but we did look at them for fun. This is a snapshot of one that I liked a lot. Don't they look like they love being with each other? This is what vacations will do to you.
The first full Day at Sea was a huge success.
That night was formal night. The boys did not disappoint. They we full of style and swag!
Everyone (especially me) thought the boys looked adorable in their little formal outfits. They got comments everywhere they went.
No one... and really.... NO ONE... enjoyed formal night as much as Ethan.
Not only did he love the attention he was getting, but he also loved the entire "party" atmosphere of the night. "Fancy dinner," as he calls it, could not go on long enough for Ethan. And he tried lobster for the first time! He liked it okay, but liked the large shrimp that came with it a little better. The waiter just adored Ethan and how open he is to trying new things. He kept calling him, "My man!" and asking if the gentleman wanted another tail. It was hysterical. Ethan was in his element, for sure.
I'm not exaggerating. He loved every minute of this dinner.
I got to dance with all three of my guys. This was the best picture unfortunately, but it really made my night to get to dance with all three guys.
Aden was okay with the night. He liked having food, thought it could go a little faster, and in general would much rather have been in shorts and flip flops. But he tolerated it all for us.
Ethan finished off his fancy dinner with a couple sips of coffee. This is the life he was meant to live.
Then it was time for the after party! We cruised the ship for a little while before heading to bed. The boys had a good time goofing off and being silly.
Like many great parties, this one ended with a few tears.
We were walking through the perfume shop to look at a perfume that Adam was thinking of getting for me for Valentine's Day. There were glass shelves everywhere with glass bottles all over them, but I wasn't worried, My kids have never been ones to break things in stores.
I happened to be smelling one when I heard Aden yell out and drop a bottle on the floor. I looked over incredulously and thought at first that he had yelled out because he had dropped the bottle. I bent down to pick up the bottle and make sure it hadn't broken, and only after that did I notice he was holding his eye.
Apparently, Aden had sprayed himself in the eye with a perfume. I don't know how or why - he still hasn't explained himself. But something compelled him to pick up a bottle of perfume and spray his eye. The ridiculousness of that made me giggle. In fact, as soon as we rushed him back to the room, flushed his eye and determined he was fine, I broke into giggles about the situation and couldn't stop. Adam too. Aden wasn't ready to laugh about it yet, but honestly - what was he thinking?
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