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Friday, March 17, 2017

SB2017--At Sea & NINE

We would be spending day 6 & 7 at sea making our way back to port. Day 6 just happened to be Justin and I's 9th wedding anniversary, not to mention, St. Patrick's Day. We started the morning off just like every other morning with some breakfast, followed by some Dr. Suess trivia and then the kids took part in the St. Patrick's Day/Dr. Suess parade through the ship before settling in for a very memorable reading of Dr. Suess.

The ship had also organized a little scavenger hunt for the day--they had hid 12 St. Patrick's Day themed rubber ducks around the ship and you had to locate them. The boys loved looking for these guys all over the ship as we continued our day. I think we ended up finding 7 of the 12. 

We told the kids that since it was our anniversary that they would be spending some time at Ocean Club but that it was up to them if it would be in the morning or afternoon, they chose afternoon so we hit the slides for a little fun before having lunch and sending them on their way. 

This is one of the only pictures I had from the day--this is our NINE. 


The boys were obsessed with the burgers on the ship. They were on to something because they were certainly good. Kaden even ended the week by adding grilled onions to his burger. Logan stuck to his half of burger, plain with ketchup and instead of their regular fries, he wanted the crunchy ones. 


Once they headed off to Ocean's Club, Justin and I found a few lounge chairs and we relaxed. I may or may not have taken a short nap as he watched kid after kid, adult after adult, race by our chairs on the way to the slides because their feet were on fire from the walkway. Even through my nap, his giggle was making me giggle.

Dinner was extra special this evening because not only was it our anniversary but it was also our last "formal" night. Now formal to us means something quite different than it does to others. We ensured the boys had nice pants and a button up but we didn't worry about jackets. I wore a simple dress that I would wear to a summer wedding and called it good. We tried to get a few pictures on the back of the ship but it wasn't our best work--we could really use some help with our selfies.

The boys let Justin and I sit next to each other for dinner & Luis made sure to make it a memorable dinner with a wonderful anniversary treat. It may have been one of the most delicious chocolate tort cakes I have ever had.

Here's to hoping our 10th anniversary comes even close to topping #9!

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Our final day at sea was kicked off with a Dr. Suess Breakfast. The boys would get to eat from a special Dr. Suess menu and would get a chance to meet a few characters--Cat in the Hat was at the top of their list.


Both boys' eyes were bigger than their stomachs but how could they not be. Horton's Cereal-Crusted French Toast, Truffula Tree Pancakes, Fox in Socks Steak and Eggs...what oh what would they choose.



Kaden decided to go with Green Eggs and Ham & the Horton's Cereal-Crusted French Toast. How could you not. & you better believe he ate every bit of that Fruit Loop covered french toast.


& Logan, well, at first he just wanted to get cereal and then I suggested that he order some of the Truffula Tree Pancakes. He obliged and in the end was thankful he did because he ATE the entire thing.


& of course they were pretty stoked to get to meet Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 & Thing 2 (again), and Sam I Am. I could look at Logan's face light up like this all day long.




After we were done with breakfast we put our suits on and headed to the deck. We thankfully found two chairs right be the water slides. Justin and I assumed our position and the boys were off.


They played their little hearts out for a good portion of the morning before requesting to do something else. The something else was none other than miniature golf, their favorite thing on the ship to do & since it was the last day, I couldn't say no. Justin held our chairs and I took the boys to enjoy their last 18 holes at sea. As we were waiting in line a kid about Kaden's age was behind us and going to play, we asked if he wanted to join us and he accepted. After 18 holes, Carter was their new buddy, I mean, he was 9 which was totally cool kid status.





All three boys managed to get a hole in one & as much as they loved playing miniature golf, they were getting hot and ready to head back to the pool area. Where they continued to go up and down the slides, over and over. Logan said he road the Drain Pipe 18 times---thinking that means he rode it the entire trip 18 times. Then again, as hot as it was, it wasn't all the busy and he certainly could have done all 18 that day.


We ate our usual lunch--this time Kaden even had grilled onions and cheese on his burger and was pleasantly surprised at how great it was. & then before I knew it, Logan was ready for a break and was lounging next to me. We were watching for dolphins---we didn't get to see any but Justin did when I stepped away for drinks.



He asked for another ice cream cone, I obliged but in the 10 minutes that I was gone, he had fallen asleep. Guess that just meant I had two ice cream cones to eat. As Logan slept, Justin rode the slides with Kaden, well the Drain Pipe which he will never ride again and then the racers, which he killed Kaden on but that is to be expected with the weight difference.



We didn't want our vacation to come to an end but we knew we were running out of time but we stayed as long as we could before needing to head back in to get ready for dinner. It was our last evening with Luis and we couldn't miss that. & finally, I was having a decent hair day! I love vacations for so many reasons but the one downside, my hair--it is a frizzy mess. Oh and our selfie-game needs some work but since I was having a good hair day, it would be a keeper.


Our final evening in the dining hall was pretty special. The staff not only pulled out all the stops when it came to dinner and drinks for the boys but they put on quiet the show too. They sang for us, they danced for us and even turned out the lights for a light show which the boys just dug. They were dancing in their seats, singing along with the music and enjoying life. So were we.

As dinner came to an end we thanked Luis & said our goodbyes to our new friend. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is for him to leave his family and come to work on a cruise ship for months at a time. I just hope we were able to provide a sense of family for him during our time on the ship. The boys still talk about how much they miss Luis and how nice he was to them.


Adios, mi amigo.

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