Caribbean Cruise

Russ and I booked a cruise on New Year's Eve. We knew we would be having a baby and it would be a while before we were able to go on a trip. We went Western Caribbean on Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. Bryce stayed with Tanner and Lauren part of the time and Russ' parents the other part. We flew to Orlando Saturday then the cruise left Sunday morning.

We left Orlando at 8 am and got to the cruise terminal very early. We were probably the 5th people in line to get on the ship. They let us on around 11 am and we were able to eat lunch and explore before everyone else arrived. We put our swimsuits on and relaxed by the pool before getting ready for dinner.

Day 2: We spent the entire day at sea. We slept in, went to the gym, ate way too much and enjoyed the sun!

Day 3: Labadee, Haiti
This is a private beach owned by Royal Caribbean. We didn't book any excursions here. Instead we laid on the beach, did a little freelance snorkeling and got sunburned. We left the island pretty early so we had time for some putt putt golf and rock wall climbing as we watched the most beautiful sunset.

Russ had a slight run in with some coral.

This guy's mouth was totally burned. He was totally crazy.

Day 4: Falmouth, Jamaica
This was probably my least favorite stop but it was still fun. We got off the ship and found a van that would take us to Dunns River Falls. It is very commercialized and there are tons of people. We ditched our group at the end and just walked up on our own. The next day we learned from someone that there is a gorgeous secret waterfall that very few people know about. We were able to get wifi and call Bryce on facetime. He was asleep so we talked to Kim for a minute and looked at all the pictures she and Tanner had sent. We stopped off at a restaurant for some authentic Jamaican Jerk and bought Bryce a t-shirt. That evening we saw the best magic show! It was a guy from America's Got Talent (i think).

19 weeks pregnant

I love this guy and loved being on vacation with him!

you can see how sunburned my feet are from Haiti

Day 5: Grand Cayman
We went on Aquarious Sea Tours to snorkel, swim with stingrays, and see Star Fish Island. We drove to a private yacht club then got on their boat. It was a pretty small group and the guides were great! I would recommend them to anyone going there. First we stopped to snorkel on a reef. The fish were gorgeous and the water was so clear. Second they took us to Star Fish Island where we picked up star fish. Last, they took us to swim with the stingrays. We were able to hold them and feed them. We have gopro video of a stingray sucking the fish right out of Russ' hand. When I fed mine it sucked onto my hand and left a mark. They fed us pizza on the way back then we got back on the ship. I bought a Christmas ornament in one of the shops. This was our favorite port!

they had the best ice cream on our ship

Day 6: Cozumel, Mexico

We had a great day in Mexico. First, we took a taxi boat from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen were we took a Tulum Mayan Ruins Tour through the cruise line. The nice thing was the taxi boat had wifi but between reading my phone and the rough ocean I got sick and threw up just as we docked. After that we got on the bus for an hour bus ride to the beautiful ruins. I love learning about ancient cultures and seeing where they lived. How amazing is it that we can go and actually visit locations where they were so long ago? It was so interesting to learn about their advanced calendar and about their culture. We learned after our tour was over that we could have gotten an LDS tour guide but by then it was too late. Maybe next time. Russ and I loved Playa Del Carmen and would love to go back and vacation there. 

iguana

fertility temple. this is a baby holding on to it's umbilical cord.

meat heads. i took this picture to show my brother.

Mayan handprints

they couldn't have chosen a more beautiful place to make their home. they had more practical reasons but i'm sure the view didn't hurt.

couldn't have been more perfect

Royal Caribbean Ice Show

Day 7:Day at Sea

We slept in. Russ went to the gym while I read by the pool. Russ did the wave rider again and we ate at Johnny Rocket's for lunch. We couldn't wait to get home to our Brycey. I could have lived with one day less on the ship but it was a perfect vacation. I love spending time with just Russ. I think it gives us time to really talk and reconnect differently when we go about our normal, busy life. 

I don't know how Russ ate this entire burger!

Every sunset was unreal.

Every night after dinner we would have a midnight pizza snack.

Departure Day:

Sunday we spent all day at the airport and finally got home to our sweet boy. Oh how we missed this cutie. We brought him Toy Story toys from the Disney Store in the airport and he instantly loved us again. It was a rough ride home from the airport because he wouldn't look at me but he warmed up!