The last minute Cruise

Just three days prior to this picture being taken, we were in the thick of the winter grind, and a Disney Cruise in the Caribbean was the farthest thing from our minds.  However, with baby on the way and our window of time with older kids closing quickly, we were eager to find a fun and memorable vacation. I found an awesome last minute deal, and before we knew it we organized a cruise and even talked my Mom, Lauren and Jacob to join us! What a thrill! 

With Lauren also pregnant, she had also been eager to find a vacation with sun and all the better for the two of us to be together while preggers!

Because it was so last minute, we decided to drive to the port in Florida. This was fine except for the fact that Kyler's asthma had been the worst it had ever been, and we had to keep finding an outlet along the way to administer his nebulizer medications. Poor little guy! We were hopeful that he would be better by the time we go to the boat, and luckily he was.


Because we had just gone on a cruise six months before, we knew how to jump right in and have some fun!

 

We enjoyed our port stops immensely this time around. Here we are on a sailboat on our way to Turtle Cove in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin islands.

The captain let the kids drive the boat and Kyler was all business!

We all enjoyed snorkeling -- Teyah and Kyler were a little nervous since it was their first time. But they did so well!

We saw huge sea turtles, stingrays, scores of fish, and all kinds of beautiful sea life.

I think the highlight for many of us was our day spent in old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The architecture was so beautiful and unique. It was run down in many places, but it still had this amazing old world charm.

The cobblestone streets, large trees, narrow roads, bright colored homes, stamped a unique image in my brain.

And we loved seeing the signs in Spanish too. It felt so foreign, yet it was so crazy to us that the U.S. owns it, since it felt more foreign than any of the Caribbean stops we have been to.

These huge lizards seemed to enjoy the attention they received on top of the old military fort. The fort had the best ocean views too.

I felt like seeing this old fort and the old castle, gave me a better image for the literature I read from that time period.

It was amazing how hot and humid it was at the end of January! It felt so good to burn some of the cold out of us! We had a ball in this huge courtyard with GREEN grass!

 

We also found this children's museum, where our kids could try on uniforms and bring the history closer to home.

The views were stunning!

That night we returned to the boat for some pirate night fun!

We love pirate night!

The majority of our family still loves Disney's island, Castaway Cay, more than any stop. It is just pretty much heaven in my book!

Fortunately, we didn't have any storms this time around, and we enjoyed snorkeling and lots of beach time.

We sure love the Disney Cruise!

 

The kids and Dave were brave to participate in some cruise entertainment such as this Family Feud-style game show.

A highlight for me was running in the 5k! This was my third time running it, but my first time doing it pregnant and with my hubby. I have never ran a race pregnant before and was so glad that I felt so good at 19 weeks pregnant that I could accomplish this.

Dave had another first when he volunteered to be hypnotized! He was hilarious to watch and it made another fun memory for all of us!

The girls loved their princess time, but Kyler was much too nervous around the pretty ladies to participate in even a picture.

 

I love these ladies! It was such a special week with them!

 

This cruise was exactly what we were looking for -- relaxation, family togetherness, great food, and good memories. I returned home feeling emotionally, physically and mentally healed and recharged. I had been so drained from morning sickness, that it was worth the money to feel good again.