NEVER A DULL MOMENT: November 2011

We surprised the kids with a Carnival Cruise over the Thanksgiving Break. We loved it, they loved it! Not only did they think the cruise was the most awesome surprise, but they had an even BIGGER surprise once they got on the ship...

Brent really wanted to take the reigns and plan a vacation for the family. As hard as he tried to keep it from me, I put the pieces together long before he realized I did...but I played along :)

When we told the kids(on our way to Galveston, TX) they were excited but apprehensive. They didn't know what to expect. But once they got on board they were so excited.

Breakfast before embarking...

First lunch on the ship. The coolest thing - just outside those windows there were dolphins playing in the water. We sat and watched them play. Madelyn spotted them first, and of course I didn't believe her until I spotted them for myself. Such a fun way to start the trip.

There they are watching the dolphins play...

Our room. Bigger than our Royal Carribean rooms, but still small for five of us. We had two bunks that pulled out of the ceiling and the bed was queen size so we had Brian in between us. We could have opted for a cot but I didn't want to take up anymore room.

View towards the door. The closets on the left of the picture(three closets) and the bathroom on the right.

Before we set sail...oil refineries of course...we are in Texas :)

And the big surprise... THE MEYERS CAME TOO!!! Melinda, Dan, Lauri, and Jenna hopped on board too and we had a great week together. We had made a joke awhile back that it seems like every time we move or vacation the Meyers are in the vacinity(when we moved to Texas they were here on vacation so we spent the day together, when we went to our Idaho trip this summer they were in Utah so we spent two days together). So when Brent booked the cruise he emailed Dan the Itinerary and said, "time to book your next vacation" and BAM we had vacation buddies :)

Brian, Marcus, Lauri, Madelyn, and Jenna

And Brian below in the shower

The slide on board was pretty fun for the kids....

We sat next to this darn statue almost every day at least once...seriously, I think the mastermind behind the sculpture didn't think it all the way through. hehe

RAGU...our dining room head waiter. He was sooooo great with the kids. I can't even express how wonderful he made the experience for the kids.

Our attempt at a group pic...

First night at Camp Carnival....welcoming dance party in the Hollywood Lounge. There were 722 kids on board, can you believe it!! The kids loved Camp Carnival. Brian had sooooo many activities in his group that he was there almost constant. He loved it. Madelyn and Marcus picked and chose when they wanted to be there. I was so glad that Jenna was there for Madelyn. Those two girls had the best time. Sometimes I would just sit and watch them giggle and laugh and chat about who knows what.

Dance off between parents and kids....

We dined every night in Paris...Paris Dining Room, that is. :)

Lauri and Marcus get along so well. He loves being with her. And the Meyers got him an awesome Lego set for his birthday...which has been played with CONSTANT since we got home, BTW.

Yeah, so we learned that cruising out of Galveston in November isn't totally warm, that's for sure. We were chilly for the first three four days.

FORMAL NIGHT...my kids are adorable, aren't they!! :)

The Magician came to our table. It was Marcus' birthday too. We scored big :) He was awesome and had the kids FULL attention for a good 7 minutes.

Time to dance during dinner. I don't remember why, really. We just got up and started dancing.

And then the waiters put on their show/dancing. Ragu pulled the kids up with him. They LOOOVED IT!

And then came Marcus's birthday Chocolate Melting Cake...YUM BTW!!! YUMMMMM!

Saturday we ported in Cozumel, Mexico. It was a cloudy day that rained off and on all day long. But it didn't ruin our excursion...SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS

Okay, I'm sorry! I couldn't resist! Capri's, white socks, and tennis shoes...who does that!!

When we got to the Dophinarium it started to rain pretty hard. But they quickly informed us that no cameras were going to be allowed while swimming with the dolphins so I pulled the camera out in the rain and got some quick shots. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity for many reasons. But we loved it.

I bought a disc of 10 pictures that I will post on another post. The picture situation almost drove us mad! Well, it did drive me mad so I threw my little tantrum and walked out of the picture shop. Brent kept his cool and was able to bicker with them down to a mere $128 for 10 pictures on a disc and a 10 minute DVD of the experience. WTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay....keep my cool, keep my cool. The experience was great. We got to swim belly to belly with the dophins, dance with them, kiss them, pet them, and signal them to do tricks for us. Oh, and the best part about the swim...I totally lost my bottoms. Yup, bare bum Hilary coming out of the water. Had to let go early so they didn't come ALL THE WAY OFF.

Getting ready for the night...I love getting dressed up. Didn't use to - but I've grown up over the last 2-3 years. I used to hate to shop...now I can't go into a store without coming out with something new. EEK!!

Chillin by the pool watching Rango. Hate that movie but the night felt good and we had 15 minutes before we picked up the kids from Camp Carnvial so......

And finally we had SUN!! The last day of the cruise was a perfect day of rest and relaxation by the pool. The kids swam swam swam and we burned burned burned. Loved every second of it. And yes, that is the first time my stomach has seen the light of day in YEARS! YEARS I tell ya! So don't mock, judge, or cover your eyes!

(oooo that is white, isn't it!)

Ok...one more shopping comment and then I will be done. I finally splurged and bought me a NICE pair of jeans. No more $15 old navy jeans. I went to the buckle and got me a pair of jeans that I feel freakin' HOT in. Yeah...it's crazy what a pair of jeans can do for you. I had no idea!

We had such a great time with Dan and Melinda. It was a perfect combo. We did our thing, they did their thing, we did our thing together and everyone was happy. Great conversation, good laughs("their not starving"...inside joke that will crack me up forever!), fun times.

These girls were two peas in a pod. Have been separated physically for about 8 months but you never would have known. Thanks, Jenna, for making Madelyn's trip perfect!

And those were the looks we had most the trip...laughs and smiles. Thanks Dan and Melinda. Until next time!!!

A sign of a good trip...EXHAUSTION!!!

Ready for our next cruise...in a few years :) Next blog...the critic in me will break down the pro's and con's, goods and bads of Carnival vs Royal Caribbean.