Anniversary Cruise

I previously mentioned that Ben and I would be taking a trip to celebrate our anniversary.  When we got married we wanted to start a tradition to take a trip for our anniversary each year.  So far, with the exception of last year since Mason was one month old, we have succeeded!

This year we were accompanied by our good friends William and Shana.  We accompanied them on their anniversary trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon two years ago and had a blast.  I guess you could say this is a new tradition.

I was really nervous about leaving Mason for the first time.  Since Willy and Shana were leaving their six month old twins behind as well, I knew Shana and I could give each other moral support.  I did a lot better than I thought I would and only teared up once just because I missed him so much!  However, Mason was in really good hands the whole time since our wonderful parents were taking care of him.

The ship (Carnival Ecstasy) was older but it was still nice and we had a lot of fun just hanging out on board.  I have to add that the 4 night cruises on the older ships are not quite as nice (in my opinion) as the 7 night cruise on the newer ships.  However, if you are looking for an inexpensive trip that includes a lot of fun, relaxation, and no worrying over the agenda, this is a great option!

There were a lot of fun photo ops on board and we all got a lot of laughs out of the cheesy poses and spent a lot of time making fun of them (as pictured above and more to come below).

Our first stop was Nassau, Bahamas, home to Atlantis and that is about it.... 

We spent some time walking around Atlantis and then hanging out on the beach which was beautiful with its white sand and crystal clear water.  However, there were five hundred million natives trying to sell us stuff the whole time.

"Want some chairs?  Want a drink in a coconut?" 

Then they'd walk up and down the beach yelling things like "ICE COLD WATER!" "BANANA BOAT RIDES!!!" Ben had dozed off in his chair and about that time a guy walked by yelling, "THE JET SKI IS READY!! COME RIDE THE JET SKI!" and woke him right back up. I think they asked us to ride the jet ski or the banana boat about 200 times.  But at least they are enthusiastic about recruiting business.  So much for peace and quiet by the ocean.

Did you know that cruises are all inclusive and you can order as much food as you want?  Pictured above is Ben about to dig into his two desserts.  We ordered two desserts more times than we would care to admit.  Don't ask me how many times we ate two dinners. Big.Fat.Fatties.  

Disclaimer: we took the stairs every time to justify the extra food. It really offset the calories, I am sure.

Remember the photo ops I was talking about?  Here you go.

It doesn't get much better than this.  

We laughed our heads off.  Obviously we didn't purchase these.  Maybe we should have.

We tried to pretend that we were taking the pictures very seriously but most of the time we ended up busting out laughing.  

This one was a favorite.  So natural and comfortable.

William was a pro at the serious face on all occasions.  Here we are at dinner (can't remember if it is dinner number 1 or number 2).

This is our view from the dinner table.

Our next stop was Half Moon Cay, Bahamas which is an island owned by Carnival.  We chose to do an excursion on this stop and went snorkeling!  I loved seeing all of the colorful fish and coral.

The towel animals are my favorite.  I bought the towel folding book sold by Carnival and I spend an hour every night folding our towels into various creatures.  Um, not really.  But aren't those seals cute?

Willy was also a lover of the towel animals. 

(Photo courtesy of Shana.  I can't stop laughing at it.)

And here we are on the top of the ship during our last day at sea.  I have a carnival tail coming out of my head, but other than that, I really like this photo.  So, our trip was wonderful and it was all made possible by each of our parents who selflessly cared for our children while we were away.  We are so blessed!

And speaking of blessed,  apparently I have a "fine" husband according to my neighbor's sister.  I believe the actual quote was that he is a "fine a** neighbor." Haha!!  Lucky me. Happy Anniversary, baby!