Cruise

We had an epic vacation.  I booked this 2 years ago and we have been looking forward to it for that long.  Quinton was so excited to see the slides and pools on the top deck when we arrived.  The kids had a blast.  Kellan made a ton of new friends.  His besties were 16 and 18 years old.  And they genuinely would try to find him whenever they had free time.  So adorable.  Kellan and Mikey would go play basketball with a bundh on the boys on the ship and the girls would go watch all the cute boys play basketball. 

My favorite quotes from the trip.......

We took a 8 hour drive from North Carolina down to Florida.  We had to shove all 4 boys int he back seat together because it was so much cheaper than renting a suburban.  Quinton, "Lucas, you can't move your head.  I make the rules."

Lucas, "stop I hate that smell.  Put your shoes back on Quinton."

(Lucas getting off the teacups at Universal Studios) "It's a good thing my head didn't pop off."

Quinton when we arrived to Coco cay. "I'm excited to shake my thingies outside."  We hope he was referring to his Maracas.

Kellan: "I'm going to try to beat my record in ice cream cones from the last cruise."

Jayla: "I'm definitely taking my kids on a cruise."

Jessa:  "Who wants to be my snack buddy?"  Lucas, "MEEE!"

Quinton:  "I can't decide between you Momma and the Kid's club.

(Mikey at Universal Studios) "MOM! My phone isn't in my pocket anymore."

Lucas had to always order exactly what Quinton got each night at dinner and lunch and then Quinton would cry and cry.

During the plane ride over we hit some crazy turbulence that dropped the plane a few times.  Women were screaming and a few kids were crying, then I look over at Jayla, Jessa and they are laughing.  Then I look over at Quinton and Lucas and they are laughing.  Lucas says, "wheeeee."  One lady thanked me for bringing the cute kids that just laughed during the scary turbulence.  They even managed to charm the flight attendants into some extra snacks.

 

This was when were boarding the ship.  Mom made everyone get up early so that we could be the first ones on the ship.  Yup.  I'm definitely that mom.

 

Jayla and Jessa were so amazing to take Quinton and Lucas swimming every second of the day.  They are the best sisters and the best daughters.  I love looking at all the fun they had together.

This was the buffet.  It was super annoying that we never got to sit next to each other.  They didn't have near enough seating in the that area.

A picture I stole off Jessa's phone of her taking the boys to go swimming once again.

One of the things they asked was if there would be ice cream cones next to the pool like our Disney Cruise.

Our beds were separate and I was going to have our room guy come fix it, but then I thought better of it.  I slept so so good on the cruise all by myself.  Even after all these years I still sleep better by myself.

So apparently every cruise ship has a deck 4 for safety reasons, but this is always deserted with only shuffle board on this level.  It is our favorite spot on cruise ships.  The kids are all off doing their thing and we get to sit and relax and listen to the ocean.

I think this one was they needed to get more ice cream.

The kids HATED the shows.  Everyone complained, so this trip was not a trip of shows.  Everyone wanted to do their own thing. I think the shows are better on the bigger ships.

Dinner was a favorite of ours.  This was the time that we would all make fun of dad.  Jessa has been practicing her whole life for this, so she was very good at it.  

Labadee Haiti

We were the first ones to the beach and had the place to ourselves for a good 15 minutes before others started to show up.  It was amazing.  The water was warm and we got to chill.  WE also got a buffet of the best jerk chicken I've ever had.  I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it.

The kids were always to happy to take pictures.  I told them if they ever wanted to go on vacation again then they had to take some good pictures.

Michael made fun of me hard core for buying these cheap A rafts off of Temu and then we saw like 5 other families with them. LOL.  Joke is on him.  They did the trick and were better than paying 40 for a mat.

HMMMMMM.  YUMMMMMYYY>.

Love this picture of my Beautiful Black Girl!  

This was Kellan letting me get a picture of him......

WE had front row seats the ocean.  It was the best!  And this is why I wake the kids up at the Butt Crack of dawn and rush to eat and get off the ship....And I was just so excited to get there.  

   

Back At The Ship

This was Lucas's idea.  He wanted to make sure that I got a picture of his pose.

Quinton got all the way to the top and then fell all the way down.

Jamaica

The port at Jamaica was cute.  We boarded a bus and drove a long the coast for an hour until we came to the jungle.  This was the kids' favorite port.

We made it to the BLUE HOLE.  We got to jump off high cliffs, use the rope swing and swim for a minute in the gorgeous water.  

Everyone jumped off the cliffs except for Lucas.  He jumped off the smaller ones, but was able to walk across the rapids to rope swings and plateforms.

This is Christopher Columbus' Anchor.  He also had a plantation in the area.  He is loathed in Jamaica because he murdered and extinguished an entire ethnic group in Jamaica.  He was a conqueror, and he was brutal.  Our guide also told us that a lot of celebrities come to Jamaica for some R&R.  There will be whispers of which celebrities are visiting the island at the time.  She said a famous American rapper was spotted there last week.  

The ship

COCOCAY