Vacation to Remember

 We have talked about vacation for several months.  The first airplane ride for Austin and Mikayla, the big, big boat and the ocean.
Finally, it was time and we were on our way.
The captain let Austin and Mikayla check out the cock pit to let them see all the BUTTONS and Flip Switches.  What a way to start the trip.

 We landed in Fort Lauderdale and rode in a van to the rotel.  This is what Mikayla called it.  Then the next day we were off to see the ocean for the first time.  Pretty cool!

The look on Austin's face pretty much tells the story here.

Austin found this coconut on the beach and was determined to carry it everywhere with him.  We finally talked him into putting it down with the thought that we would come back for it.  Sorry, Austin we didn't keep that promise.

 Mom and happy kids enjoying time off at the beach.
 Family time at the outdoor bar.

Papa and the kids found this tree that was begging for kids to climb in and have fun.

After 2 days in Fort Lauderdale and much fun on the beach and lots of good food and good times, it was time to head out for the cruise ship. We took a van from the hotel to the ship.                             Here Adam and Austin share some father and son time.

 Mom and daughter time.  Would love to know what Mikayla was thinking.

Finally, we are headed onto the ship.  This is all so new and exciting for us.

 The crew greeted us with lots of smiles and songs.

After a good nights sleep it was time to take our first excursion to the Atlantis.  This is the swinging bridge that was pretty awesome.

This is the underground aquarium that was very impressive.  You could see the fish swimming above you.  How cool is that?

Austin took time to check out the beach.

Butterfly Super Kayla

Spidey Austin

The kids wanted to go to the kids area the first night so the pictures above are from the face painting and below from the game room.  I don't think they missed the adults.

Excursion day 2 - we are on our way to Freeport. To our surprise a limo was waiting to take us on the drive there.  Could this be happening?   Well it did and they delivered us back the same way.  Way toooo cool!

The kids found the orange chairs to be quite fun.

Austin thought he was some kind of snorkel pro with his mask and snorkel.  He did pretty well with it.

Then there was bachi ball.  

Day 3 - Excursion was to a private island.  Transportation was via a 2-story boat.  

The water was very calm here and the kids were able to enjoy it more.

By this time Austin thought he was an accomplished snorkeler.  He went out with papa and daddy and got to see a lot of pretty fish.  

Mikayla enjoyed the day at the beach with dada.

This is the Norwegian sky as it docked for the day at the private island.














There was lots of digging and looking for things that crawl on the beaches.  Austin found lots of snails and shells.  He was intent on finding just the right one for his teacher Ms. Penny.

It is now Friday and it is time for us to get on yet another bus to go to catch our plane home.  This time the bus was a charter.  Much nicer than the school bus Austin had been on.

We took many more picture to remember this vacation.  I have shared only a few of them to let you know what a wonderful time we had.  The time spent with the kids and watching their faces as they experienced some of natures wonders was truly worth every minute we spent with them.  Thanks for the great time, food and laughter.

On the plane ride back there wasn't time to get any milk for Mikayla's sippy cup and she let everyone know it.  This is to help her remember when she gets older that "I WANT MILK" are the 3 little words that everyone grew to love.