Halloween

Another Halloween another year of costumes. Most of them were recycled from years past, but Ethan came up with a new idea. He was a bum with a sign that read, "Will work for candy" 

After the ward trunk or treat they went straight to sorting and trading. They got so much candy and were happy little monsters.

Game Ball

Porter has been loving playing football this season. He loves learning the game and tonight he got to play under the lights.

The coach always awards a game ball and tonight he picked Porter. 

We love Coach Will and all the effort he puts into not only teaching the game but also teaching them life lessons. 

We are so proud of Porter and all the progress he's made this season.

Family Cruise- Day 8- Houston Space Center

We were delayed and hour getting into port because of the hurricane that had passed through Texas. As we were waiting with our luggage Lincoln just couldn't understand why we were lugging our stuff around and asked, "Why don't our servants do it?" We died laughing. Apparently someone was a little too spoiled this week! Once we got off the boat and got our rental car we drove to the Houston Space Center. Even though it was pouring rain we took the tram tour to the Nasa training facility. They gave us ponchos to wear, but we still got drenched along the way. It was was pretty hilarious. It was impossible to hear what the tour guide was telling us with the ponchos flapping in our ears. 

The facility was awesome though. A lot of cool stuff to see. 

We even got to see the Orion that will be taking the first men to Mars.

After the tour we spent a few hours exploring. The boys loved all the simulators. They got to launch a space shuttle, drive a space rover, and all kinds of other cool stuff. 

We left to head over to our hotel, and picked up some pizza on the way for the boys. Once we got the boys settled, Rob and I went out to find a real Texas BBQ place. We tried out Mo's and then got a Sonic shake afterward.

Overall I'd say that it was a pretty great vacation, with a lot of memories made. We are spending our day tomorrow lounging in our hotel room before flying back on Tuesday.

Family Cruise- Day 7- Sea Day

Today was our last full day on board. The boys wanted to go to the kids club as soon as possible so we dropped them off there and went and played shuffle board again. After we played a few games we went and hung out at the pool and read until lunch. After lunch  The boys had and award ceremony at Camp Ocean and got medals. 

They drew names from each age group to get a trophy. Bryson was chosen to draw the name out and actually drew Porter's name. Bryson was a little confused and really sad when he realized the trophy wasn't for him. Porter, being the awesome big brother that he is gave it to him to make him happy. 

After the awards ceremony we had some fun family time. Ethan and Porter wanted to play shuffleboard with Dad and Bryson wanted to play golf again while Lincoln did the ropes course. We met up to play some games. Porter and Ethan played connect 4 

while Rob and I played some Jenga with the little guys, which is not easy on a rocking ship!! I was pretty impressed with how well the boys did, we got it pretty high. Bryson would get so excited every time he got a piece. It was so cute.

Rob and

I had dinner on our own again, since the boys wanted to spend their time at the kids club. Ethan and Porter wanted to go to the comedy show again, but went right back to the kids club after. We spent the evening reading and enjoying the quiet.

Family Cruise- Day 6- Sea Day

Today we slept in a little and tried to recoup a bit from lack of sleep. The boys spent the morning in the kids club and Rob an I spent some time at the pub playing shuffle board. We met a nice family that let us play with them. They were really good so Rob and I only won once, but it was still fun. We grabbed the boys for lunch and some ice cream before they went back to the kids club.

Rob and I lounged by the pool and read our books the rest of the afternoon. It was so nice to just relax! We got the boys at 5pm and Bryson was dying to go golfing. He has been obsessed with it the whole time here.

Lincoln made a super hero mask with the kids club and wore it while playing mini golf. Such a silly boy.

 We played some ping pong and foosball too. It's pretty hard to play ping pong in the wind! 

Its was a formal night for dinner again, so just Rob and I went. After dinner we grabbed Porter and Ethan and went to the comedy show. The boys loved it and were cracking up the whole time. After the show they wanted to go back to playing video games, so they went back to the kids club and we went to watch the end of the Dive In Movie. When we picked up the kids we could see that Bryson had his own pirate night, and he was loving his new mask. 

It was another good day.

Family Cruise-Day 5- Jamaica

Rob and I decided to take a day to ourselves. We checked the kids into the kids club and met up with our tour guide just of the shop. We traveled and hour and a half to Ocho Rios to a place called the blue hole. It is a waterfall with several large pools that you can jump into and swim in. 

We hiked up first and worked our way down jumping into the pools from different spots. 

One was crazy high, and it was pretty precarious getting up to it. The guides were crazy and doing tricks as they dove off. 

Rob was brave enough to jump, but not me. 

Another spot had a big waterfall that had a cave underneath. We were able to swim into it and climb though the cave opening. The opening to get out was pretty small. You had to shimmy on your stomach through the hole, as water is rushing over your head. I had some trouble getting through and was trying not to panic. I made it through, and it was still pretty cool. The last spot had a rope swing and another high spot to jump off of. Both were awesome. I summoned up some bravery and jumped off the high spot. I knew the boys would harass me if they heard I chickened out. It felt like I was falling forever! We had a blast at the blue hole. It was a very unique experience, and one we'll never forget. After our time at the blue hole we did some rafting down the White River. It was crystal clear and beautiful. Our tour guide started singing when we got in the water, and didn't stop singing random songs for the first 20 minutes of our trip. The problem was, he wasn't the best singer. But he was singing loud and proud and it made us laugh. Once he finally stopped singing we could relax and just enjoy the scenery. 

We got to see Reggae Park as we went down the river too. According to our guide, Bob Marley performed there several times. 

Our ride back to the ship was pretty stressful, we barely made it in time. We went to our rooms and cleaned up, then went to get some lunch, since we weren't able to stop for lunch on the way back as  planned. We always love getting a window table to enjoy the view as we eat.

 After we ate, Rob and I did the ropes course on board before getting the boys.

 They wanted to do the course too, so we spent some time there before going to dinner.

 Dinner was great. I was getting some serious love from Bryson. He must have missed me while we were off the boat. 

After dinner Lincoln wanted to go back to the kids club. The rest of us went to the Dive In Movie. They were playing Ant-Man. The boys loved it. Lincoln had just as much fun at the kids club. He looked like a pirate when we picked him up. 

Bryson loved the towel animals we found when we got back to our room. 

We called it a night early. We've had too many late nights and early mornings. I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

Family Cruise-Day 4-Grand Cayman

Today was awesome. Rob and I came to Grand Cayman when we cruised last time and loved it. We were excited to show the boys. We took a tender to shore from the ship and walked to Paradise restaurant where you can get right in the water and snorkel. 

The boys couldn't believe how big the fish were there, and none of them were brave enough to get in. Bryson kept calling them sharks. Haha. They were about as big as him though, so I could see why he would be nervous. After Rob snorkeled there for a bit we caught a taxi to Smith Cove. I saw a lot of great reviews online that said it was a local spot and not crowded. It was perfect, and might be my new favorite beach. It was just beautiful. 

 We played there all day, and Rob taught the boys how to snorkel. 

Ethan loved it and went out with Rob for a while to find some fish.

Even Bryson was loving the mask. He wanted to wear it all day and swim around with his face in the water, only to come up now and then for air. 

It was overcast for the first couple of hours we were there, and then the sun came out for a few minutes before it started to pour. It rained for a good 20 minutes. It was a unique experience swimming around in the ocean in a downpour.  It was kind of  fun! When it stopped raining the sun came out again for the rest of the day. I think the whole family had a great time there.

 It was definitely one of my favorite days as a family. 

We got back to the boat and got cleaned up in time to play some mini golf before going to dinner. Bryson is pretty obsessed with mini golf and is always asking to play. All the boys went to kids club for dinner and play time except Ethan. He enjoys going to dinner with Rob and I and being able to order what ever he wants. After dinner we tried out a show and watched some karaoke before getting the boys from kids club, and called it a night.