Spring break cruisin'

We had the best spring break last month and took our whole family on a cruise.

It was magical.

A no cooking, cleaning, dish washing vacation....yes please.

We drove over to CA on a Sunday and stayed the night with my aunt and uncle.  Then Monday morning we woke up and drove to Long Beach, our cruise embarkation location.

We parked the car, got our bags, and walked up the gangplank onto our giant cruise ship.



The kids were in heaven. We spent the afternoon exploring the ship, eating ice cream, and enjoying our first meal in the dining room.

The girls had their own room and loved their kid paradise. Tommy slept in a crib in our room, and after the first rough night, he slept like a dream.



Our first day included a stop at Catalina Island. We were all napping the morning away, but got off the boat for a few hours in the afternoon to walk down the main drag in Avalon and splash in the water. Then we got back on the boat and played for the whole afternoon in the water park area at the back of the ship.

Our second day we stopped in Ensenada Mexico and we were up bright and early to take advantage of the whole day. We got off the ship without any firm plans, and ended up on the main road getting bracelets with each girls name on them. As we waited, a taxi driver pulled up and offered us a steal of a deal to drive our whole family out to the blow hole.

What a ride.

We crammed all 6 of us into a little Nissan Altima, Jake in front with the driver and me and the 4 kids in back. No seat belts needed. Thankfully he drove slow and we were safe the whole 30 mile round trip journey. It was awesome to have our own driver and he was a nice guy who let us practice our Spanish on him.

We enjoyed our time in the car and got to see a lot more of Ensenada than we'd anticipated. It was very fun to take our kids to a new country and listen to their observations about what was the same or different than the states. It is good to open our eyes and expand our horizons.

At the blow hole the kids blew threw their hard earned (and grandma gifted) spending cash and got a few fun prizes that they love. We saw the blow hole, ate awesome Mexican food, and came home with two hammock chairs.

Our third day was a "fun day at sea" and we made the most of it. Jake and I took turns with the kids to allow the other person to work out/lay out and then the girls went to the kids club activities on board the ship. We learned how to fold towel animals, swam in the on board pool, and played mini golf. It was wonderful to be out having fun.



The final day you woke up and got off the ship, and we drove to the beach to spend the day in the water and waves. I love the ocean. It was a beautiful day. 





We stayed with my aunt and uncle on our way out of town, and were back in time to buy groceries, unpack and attend church the next Sunday.

The cruise was such a dream vacation. There were things to do for all of us, food a plenty, time to really relax and talk and just be together. We woke up early and watched movies, played games, explored the ship, ate, ate, and ate again, and then retired to our rooms earlier for the kids to get to bed. We loved eating out on the patio with the fresh ocean breeze and appreciated having time to talk, laugh, and play as a family.

We knew this would be Jake's last trip with hair and it was so nice to just leave cancer and all of its associated stresses at home while we just vacationed our hearts out.

Cruising is awesome. It may have to become our spring break tradition.