Johnson Florida/Bahama Cruise

Last summer we all got the itch for a cruise.... Kailey and Shawn had found a Bahamas cruise for a great price so we all talked about going...... Mom and Dad too!!!! As we talked more and more about it that day we all decided it was PERFECT timing to go..... Carter would be home off his mission soon , nobody was pregnant, financially everybody could do it..... Mom and Dad even offered to pay for the cruise part of the trip as our Christmas presents. So we all booked it. I NEVER , EVER, EVER in a million years thought we'd get to go on a cruise with the whole family.... we were all pretty dang excited! We all convinced our in-laws to watch the kiddos so we were footloose and fancy free. 

We decided to go to Universal Studios while we didn't have kids with us. We went to universal on 12/02 and it was FABULOUS. Not too hot but still warm. There were NO lines! The longest wait sign said 5 mins and that pretty much was the time it took to walk through all the line rails. IT WAS SO FANTASTIC. We seriously were able to do the entire park twice because we cruised through. Unfortunately Trent had a hard time with the rides. His MS makes it hard to keep his balance and putting him on the coasters was just too much. Mom and Dad were able to come get him and he was even able to get a refund from the park! We had SO MUCH fun. We went to the Grinchmas show and it was ADORABLE. I can tell i am getting old because it was one of my favorite parts of the day! I loved seeing all the Christmas Decorations up! 

we LOVED being able to go back to Harry Potter!

After the show we went crazy on the rides so the pictures stopped there :) we went on the rafting ride and got absolutely drenched. we were laughing so hard. Carter and Lindsie definitely got the most water... they all but drowned! I seriously laughed so i could have peed my pants but i guess nobody would have known because we were all so wet! We were SO wet we just decided to walk back to the hotel instead of getting a ride. For future reference.... you can't just walk out of the park! it was crazy we had to walk through the parking garages, scale a wall, plow through some bushes, and then cross traffic with no cross walk. IT WAS CRAZY! We ate dinner at TGIFridays then  hung out at the hotel.

I definitely  hope we can go back there around the holidays again. We were able to see Heidi, Andy, Ryanne and Tiffany the first night we were there.

Sunday morning we woke up, ate, got ready, and then headed out to the port. We had about an hour drive and with Brett driving the mini van it was very entertaining! Each Toll-booths was an exciting adventure as he tried some new "idea' at each one. Peeling out was pretty hilarious!

We got on the boat, and found the perfect spots to watch as we sailed away. Laying on lounge chairs with yummy ice cream cones was THE PERFECT start to the cruise!

BON VOYAGE!

 DAY 1~  at sea all day! 

We learned our ship was VERY teeny-tiny as we were all being thrown about by the waves! We swam, laid out, ate, read, ate, raced on the water slides, ate, and JUST RELAXED and ate....

 hanging out on the deck.....

 the waterslide was seriously so high the wind was crazy when you got to the top and it was FREEZING!

  racing down the slides

 That night was formal night. It was to get all dressed up and have a YUMMY dinner without kids! No interruptions, no mess, no crying, no bargaining, NOTHING! Just YUMMY, YUMMY food!

 Dad enjoying his lobster

 again, we LOVED the Christmas Decorations. Definitely different then the cruises we've gone on before!

Day 2~ Half Moon Cay

we LOVED this stop. Seriously, there was nothing to do except play in the water/sand and snorkel. We saw an octopus and some other fun things: my favorite needle fish and a barracuda. Dad snorkeled for the first time. I think he liked it but felt a little claustrophobic. 

 wondering why Nate is painting Brett's nail? 

because i found out these fish thought my coral pink nails were something to munch on.

 we spent hours playing with these fish. we fed them anything we could find and they ate everything... except blue fruit loops?! who knows why?! we were trying to catch them.... and it was hard. i would lure them in with my fingernails or food and Brett would try to grab them he got a pretty good hold on a couple... and threw one {accidentally}into the back of a lady.

 Best.picture.ever.

 we were literally the first ones on the beach that morning and the last boat ride out to the ship. it was great!

 That night at dinner Christian and the other waiters ambushed cart and dressed him up!

Day 3~ Nassau, Bahamas

This was quiet the adventurous trip. This day was stormy and we got caught in a down poor! When we got off the ship the weather wasn't bad. We booked a snorkeling tour that left in about 45 mins so we were able to walk around a little but before we headed out to the ocean! As we approached our snorkeling spot it became more and more overcast. We jumped in the water and started snorkeling. We saw some fun things. Nate and I saw a lion fish- which i had never seen before. We saw a really cool eel that was like a rainbow of colors. Then we saw a HUGE FLASH.... lightening so, everyone who wasn't already in the boat piled in and we took off back for land. It was a DOWN POOR.... like, I have never been so wet, even after a shower. The waves were HUGE and so the boat couldn't go very fast. They got us to the port and we headed to the boat for WARM showers and lunch. While at lunch the sun poked out so we decided to go explore the island. We went to huge flea market (where shawn broke a 'tobacco pipe' and the guy told him it was a $60 pipe.... funny, the rest were all $15! I guess Shawn just happened to pick the most expensive one to break. Shawn gave him a $20 and walked away. It was pretty funny! The guy was SUCH a jerk!) after that we walked to the Queen's staircase. That was REALLY COOL!!! Then it started to sprinkle and we remembered how fast those sprinkles turned to down pour and we RAN. We made it back to the gift shop/market area where we bought a few things but then the jaunt out to the boat WE GOT DRENCHED AGAIN. The first time was funny, the second was JUST ANNOYING!

The Queen's Staircase:

This limestone staircase was built by slaves and later renamed The Queen's Staircase to honor Queen Victoria's help in the abolition of slavery in the Bahamas. According to the local guides, this place was build by 600 slaves using picks and shovels and too 6 years to complete back in the 1700s. I don't remember the  number but a few hundred died while constructing it. It was built to be a short cut to the adjacent fort. The fort was built to look like a ship so boats far away wouldn't know it was a fort until it was too late and they were within firing range. All this was built on speculation of an attack that never came. Entire complex consists of a wide path, small waterfall, and 65 steps made out coral stone. The surrounding rock and a waterfall make this place about 5 - 10 degrees cooler than the surrounding area. 

Day 5~ Freeport, Grand Bahamas

Here, Cart came with Nate and I on a snorkeling excursion while everybody else went to a beach to play. Plan was to meet up with them at the beach a few hours later.... BUT without cell phones it makes it a little harder to find each other. However, on the snorkel excursion we saw lots of fun stuff! I was so glad Cart came with us and was able to see it all. We saw a big school of spotted eagle rays, we saw a few sting ray, Nate saw a nurse shark hanging out under a ledge... it was FUN! 

Port Lucaya- where we were suppose to meet up with everyone... but they had continued on to another beach.

Conch fritters were AMAZING!!! between those, ice cold diet coke, and an amazing view of the ocean, i was in heaven!!!!!

as we headed back to the ship we ended up running into everybody at the shops there. We shopped around for a little bit then got back on the ship. The sun has never felt SOOO good and NONE of us wanted that day to end! We headed up to the top deck to watch the sail off and swim some more. Trent and Lindsie we napping after a crazy day! Once they got back to the ship and tried to get on, they realized Trent had dropped his wallet {with ALL their identification and information to get back on the ship} in a taxi. So they hunted and trekked over the island trying to find it! Luckily they found it, with everything intact.

see that little tiny black dot right about the nine o'clock position? that would be my lens cap to my camera! It totally fell off.... it keep falling, and falling, and falling.... it was a long ways down! Throughout the trip Brett had wanted to jump of the deck into the water, but after watching that fall for as long as it did- that desire was no longer!

The last evening of the cruise they had it snowing in the atrium! It was SOOO MUCH fun to be on a cruise ship around the holidays! Definiately wouldn't mind doing that again.

....aaaaaand one last night with Joseph our self proclaimed "SUPER CHARGED MAITRE 'D". He was a crack up and he LOVED our table (who wouldn't -right?!)! He enjoyed trying to set Carter (cartier) up with all the single ladies, singing to us nightly, and enjoyed talked about see through speedos (yikes!)

I don't know if we will ever be LUCKY enough to do a trip like this again with everybody!! I am BEEEYOND grateful that mom and dad made this happen and that they gave us such a WONDERFUL Christmas present!