That thing where you send your oldest off to college…

August 30, 2019 | Stacy

And it was surprisingly joyous.

Sent this guy off to college today. Do you see his smile? For years I’ve wondered about this day were it to come. Would I hold it together? Would it feel like my heart was being ripped out? I have to say, other than a tear or two I have been fine. I’m sure part of it is that our family has been slowly transitioning into this zone. We got used to him missing meals when he got a job at 15, and he eased into college classes since 16. His schedule has been heavy these last two years as he’s balanced FLCC and 2-3 jobs at a time. This past summer we barely saw him as he went to Costa Rica for 10 days and otherwise worked 60+ hours a week. I think it’ll be the little things that trip us up, but technology will make it easy to keep in touch. I’m rejoicing for how God even made Houghton a possibility. I see the ways God has just totally had his hand on Stewart.
Love you Stewart. I’m praying that you’ll do good AND you’ll do well.
(Oh. And he’s only 90 minutes away.)

These are two drawings Marie had me leave for him in his room.

John and I also attended a message from the President. It was remarkable. I was tremendously blessed.

We headed home, grabbed the rest of the family and used up our last guest passes for Seabreeze with the purpose of getting out of the house and focusing on fun, not the empty spot at the table.

On the way there, Katriel randomly hoped she’d see her friend, Asher there.

And then we did.

And it’s not like we even anticipated it, nor have we run into him there before.

We ordered some pizza and wings.

Tab and Marie tried some Dippin’ Dots.

And we ended our Seabreeze Summer for 2019.

The Ark Encounter

August 25, 2019 | Stacy

Dream Come True Day for me.

Creation Museum

August 24, 2019 | Stacy

I got up early and headed to Walmart for some groceries. We had a fast breakfast and headed about 40 minutes away to the Creation Museum. John had been there before for a short visit when he was on a business trip to Cincinnati. This was our first family trip.

My photos are so lame. But we really enjoyed it.

We went back to the house where we vegged out.

And ate a yummy dinner of microwaved pulled pork and, wait for it,

mac and cheese.

Leaving the ship–I can barely post this

August 23, 2019 | Stacy

And not because I was sad the trip was over.

Yes – I was sad, but it gets way worse than that.

We were up early. And we had packed most of our stuff up the afternoon before. We got the big kids up and really just completed the task, letting Johanna and Katriel sleep as long as possible.

I can almost not look at this photo.

We had everything put together when we finally woke her, helped her into her clothes and after a quick bathroom visit we went to the Washington Dining Room for our last breakfast. We ate at the same table as our first morning and had the same exquisite meal options as all the other days. Carnival is the only line I’ve been on where that was the case. Other disembarkation days we’ve found ourselves offered a lesser menu.

We ate, went back to the rooms for our bags just as we were being given the all clear to disembark.

Because we were on a lower level than 3, and because we were willing to take all our own bags, we were amongst the first guests allowed to disembark. This mattered a lot to us as we had to drive to Williamstown, KY, some 12-13 hours away.

Disembarkation was smooth.

About three hours into the drive Katriel reached into her back pack and lamented when she did not have her “yellow and orange taggies.” At that moment I felt my stomach and heart switch places as I fully realized that we’d left her beloved blankies on the ever-loving ship. A guttural moan left my soul and I’m not too proud to admit I started bargaining with God. Oh….. even now – six weeks later – the tears are streaming down my face. What kind of mother am I?

“Maybe when we get to the vacation house I will find them in my suitcase,” Katriel hoped aloud.

Mama knew. They weren’t in there. John and I had been packing while she slept. As John handed me her two little stuffies, my brain clicked, *then we will grab her taggies when we get her up.*

But I didn’t. We didn’t.

I filled out some online forms. And – I honestly have hardly been able to talk about the trip because this loss has overshadowed the whole thing. I’m chronicling our trip now for the sake of collectively remembering our vacation times together. That said, here it is 6 weeks later and Carnival has yet to send a message that they found them. Clearly someone came across them in the laundry. Why they didn’t send them back is known only to Carnival and their protocols. For days and days afterward I just would wake up condemning myself. I finally had to just give it to God. And now I’m not going to type more about it.

We drove for 500 years until we finally got to our vacation rental in Williamstown around 11PM.

It was nice. Thankfully.

We found our way in and around and into bed. It was the least comfortable bed I’ve slept in in a long time.

https://www.vrbo.com/1468850?unitId=2027464

Last Day–Sea Day

August 22, 2019 | Stacy

Me and the Ocean…. not really Kodak ready.

For breakfast we splurged ($5pp) for the Seuss-at-Sea character breakfast.
Soooooooooo cool.

It was our first meal in the Lincoln Dining Room besides dinner.

It was adorable.

We made some new friends.

And tried some fun foods.

Green Eggs and Ham…..

Um. Some were pretty standard.

I could barely eat one of these. So sweet. But awfully pretty.

Our waiter from dinner was part of the Singing Things.

Somehow I had room for lunch a few hours later. I really went outside the box and had tacos instead of burritos.

They had a gigantic chocolate buffet today. I barely scratched the surface. They had at least 40 different chocolate based desserts.

Hanny kept making friends both inside Club Ocean and out.

John met a guy from Elmira, NY!

I reluctantly gave up my lounge chair and we got ready for dinner.

Marie continued her try-new-food streak…

This is how the peach soup starts. I don’t know how I deleted the photo of how it looks when it is completely served.

Someone was tired.

But at least she had her favorite dinner.

Marie’s ox tongue.

She pronounced it excellent.

The parade of the Baked Alaska.

The waitstaff actually danced for us three nights. They were a lot of fun.

John Alex served our dessert table side. We could barely eat it.

The kids and our team.

I wish this had come out better.

The thing is – after dinner the kids are in a hurry to get out of their dress clothes. Meanwhile I hurriedly scout out a photo op and a photographer.

Then it was the usual…

Club Ocean

Movie by the pool.

And Fro-Yo.

Port of Progreso–A/K/A the day we didn’t die

August 20, 2019 | Stacy

But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

The day started with us all moving more slowly than we had been, but that was fine; we were not in a hurry. From our window we could see the water was teeming with jellyfish. Progresso has one of the longest cruise ship piers in the world. It has a shopping mall and some other businesses actual along this pier that juts out into the ocean.

I didn’t take any photos of breakfast… but it was as excellent as it has been.

We ended up deciding the boys would stay on board today as the girls and John and I went on shore. We were barely to the bus stop when we remembered stuff the girls left on board. John and the younger girls waited while Marie, Tab, and I headed back to our stateroom.

We boarded the free bus that takes you to the mouth of the pier. We didn’t have a plan. We knew the free bus would take us within a few blocks of beach clubs and that we’d just need to walk to one and then rent some chairs, etc.

So this is where we don’t have pictures. But we do have a vivid memory and a story to tell.

So we walk through a small crowded mall-like area with people robustly suggesting that we purchase their products. It was a little intimidating and we were clutching onto our girls. We exited on the street side and there were then a lot of vendors suggesting their beach related products. We had read that we were just a few blocks from the beach and I do have a pretty map-ready brain and sense of direction. But as we took some steps we heard an offer for $10 per person for a beach club with chairs and transportation. John and I made eye-contact then we circled back to that vendor to hear more. He described a clean beach with restaurant and changing rooms and chairs and umbrellas and the opportunity to purchased meals or other amenities. This sounded like a great price. He indicated it was a short distance away and made a call for a driver. We paid him cash just as the driver arrived. We then climbed into an 8 passenger minivan… John and I and our four daughters then started driving away. And though John was in the front seat and I was in the way back our brains seemingly had the same thought at the same time: “Did we just pay someone to kidnap us?”

As we drove due east I kept my eyes turned to my left as I watched between the buildings for the sea to stay in our view. I sternly whispered to Marie and Tabitha to stay alert. They sensed my concern. Meanwhile John tried to make conversation with the driver, who did not speak much English. John kept asking how much further. The man kept saying, “short drive.” I kept praying and praying and asking God to forgive our stupidity and protect us. HOW STUPID! Oh, how stupid. My brain started to wonder great and wild and terrible things. We must have driven 10 minutes on that straight, one-way street, when we finally turned left, then left, then right into a little closed off restaurant and beach area.

It was beautiful. There was one other family already there. A short while later a few others also arrived. I can’t say I completely relaxed, but we did relax enough to enjoy the gorgeous, if not shabby, beach.

We spend a lot of time in the water. It was warm and lovely.

The girls built gorgeous sand castles.

I asked John to buy some sodas for each of us and some of the food. There had to be 10 employees taking care of the 20-25 guests. That would not make for much earnings per person. Ships don’t come to Progreso nearly as often as the other Western Caribbean ports. Its a very under/undeveloped port as yet. We will one day be able to say we visited when it was a diamond in the rough. And we lived.

Sadly, the empanadas were taste-less.

The deal was we were to ask them to call for a cab when we wanted to return to the ship. Mmmmmm – they weren’t all that keen on calling.

I started to get very stressed again. Maybe we were being held until we paid more?

Finally about 6 others we also ready to leave and the dozen of us got into a bigger van that the one we came over in and headed back to that intense shopping mall where the free buses were.

Eventually we got back to the port. Seriously exhausted. We did do a little shopping – you’ll see later!

We had a late lunch and I got another Guy’s Burger. I had one yesterday, too, but since I didn’t take a photo it didn’t happen?

Oh – would you look at that? Fro-Yo!

She liked to pretend she was a spy of sorts as she went down the hall. She’d hum “spy music” and look back and forth up and down the hall as she’d shimmy and stop, and lean and shimmy again…

They did not have Mac and Cheese on the menu tonight.

The girls wore the new dresses Daddy bought them in port.

Marie had an amphibian hind appendage.
(frog leg)

I stuck with beef.

The little girls went to Club Ocean and John and the big kids watched Shazam! I chatted/texted my friend Tara. Somewhere in the last 12 hours I suddenly had free wi-fi. I had paid for the Social Media package to allow me to use Instagram. But I was suddenly able to use iMessage and I wasn’t complaining.

Cruise Day three–Cozumel- Stewart is 19!

August 20, 2019 | Stacy

Gorgeous sunrise.
For those of you who do not cruise, you might not realize how hard it is to see a great sunrise. There is so much cloud cover in the early morning. Maybe it is just fog because of the contrast in sea and air temperatures. But a crisp sunset is far more common than a crisp sunrise.

This one is through a sea-splattered window… so it was never going to be crisp. Smile

Early breakfast. This time we had a window seat in the Washington Dining Room.

Tab had been up all night long with emesis. She was not feeling well at all.

Though it was a smaller, “Port Day” breakfast menu, it was exceedingly generous.

I enjoyed another parfait.

As did Marie.

And Nigel.

This would become my breakfast go-to. Poached eggs on avocado toast.

The birthday boy enjoyed his frittata.

We went back to the stateroom briefly to grab our gear and that was the first time I noticed that our daily news papers were personalized!

It was raining on and off and had slowed to a sprinkle as we disembarked.

But it started pouring again as we waited for our excursion.

The girls dodged raindrops to take a few cheesy photos.

And in a short while we were escorted to our catamaran for our jaunt to the north end of Cozumel.

This marks my third time to Cozumel and the rest of the family’s second time.

Our first trip was in 2016 when it was a port for our Norwegian Cruise. In fact, that stop was the whole REASON I had picked the cruise I picked; I wanted to go to Playa Mia. Here is a link to that day. However, our take home from that day was that the sand was unpleasant and the beach was kind of yucky. I learned after the trip that the sand on the north side of the island is different than the sand on the west side where most of the beach clubs are.

I visited again in 2018 with Jenn. Although I was not eager to visit the west side again, we weren’t eager to spend any more than the minimum on our excursions. We got into a group with a discounted rate to visit a club on the west side (Nachi Cocum).

When we picked this Carnival Cruise we did so because of its rock-bottom-low-price. That left us a little wiggle room to splurge for an excursion to the north side of the island.

We had about a 40 minute ride to Pasion de Isla.

We passed the Disney Fantasy. I am SO GLAD we weren’t in the same port. Speeding past it was enough to tempt me.

It was a smooth ride and though it had rained on and off on our way, the sun was really breaking through as we arrived.

Tab was holding it together, but she was exhausted.

Let me confirm right now that the sand was exquisite.

We got the spiel on what is and is not included and how you can add on 572 different options to make your day nothing short of paradise. (We passed on most.)

We found spots and started to the water. It was a while before I remember to take some photos.

Now, I was not at all interested in sleeping through any of my beach day, but if I were going to allow myself a nap I can think of no better place on earth than in the sand in the Caribbean, canIgetawitness?

Non-alcoholic and well-alcoholic beverages were included. We had plenty of the former and none of the latter.

Lunch was good. The guac was not as good here as at Nachi Cocum last year, but it was still better than I what I buy at ALDI or Walmart. Winking smile

Before we knew it they were telling us it was time to return.

I took a bunch of photos as we were leaving as if I could somehow capture this place and take it home.

I bought some vanilla for me and my friend Tiffany. I confess I was a little worried we’d get home and find out it was water. LOL.

Back on deck we took quick swims, got more drinks, and moved through the stages of cleaning up.

Marie drew a while on deck.

And we went to dinner. Poor Tab was still tired and her appetite had not yet returned.

Prettier than it tasted.

You don’t say?

Ratatouille.

Blobbity-glob-glob??

I was ready for something a little simpler.

Do you see the Hidden Mickey?

Not going to lie – we gobbled dessert, quickly ordered Stewart’s dinner for tomorrow, ~~threw the girls into,~~ walked the girls carefully to their Club Ocean…

And watched Endgame.

Marvel on a cruise ship with coffee at my side. I’m not sure there is much more you could offer me this side of Heaven. (Just kidding. Sort of.)

John found Tab and I loungers half-way through the movie. This is where we had been sitting and where they sat.

Cruise Day 2: A/K/A That thing where we eat…

August 18, 2019 | Stacy

The first thing you’ll notice about today is that our photos are overwhelmingly related to food. Ahhhh – cruise-life.

We were up early-ish and got ourselves right to breakfast. They sat us at a large, round table on the lower level. We had breakfast in the Washington Dining Room (our dinners are served in the Lincoln Dining Room.) Our waitstaff was excellent. Because it was a sea day the menu was a brunch menu with expanded options.

I snuck out to the bathroom and when I returned the girls had been given two hat shaped cookies each, along with frosting dispensers and directions on how to make Cat Hats.

So they got to enjoy some pre-breakfast sugar.

Which should not be confused with the Breakfast Sugar… those are square marshmallows on her pancakes, along with some kind of custard type sauce.

Marie, Tab and I enjoyed our first parfaits of the trip. These were so good. The chewiest yogurt you can imagine, and worth every spoonful.

Katriel had asked if she could have macaroni and cheese. As I was about to explain that macaroni and cheese is not on the menu the delightful server said that of course – he could get her macaroni and cheese.

After breakfast the girls wanted to go to the Camp Ocean.

At 10:30 John had second breakfast.

The boys chilled with dad while I went to find Marie and Tabitha.

I found them in what was our favorite pool. There is never a lot of space to swim on cruise ships, but we do like to jump in and cool off. These salt water pools were just perfect.

I had to go back to the room for something and our cabin steward had already prepped our beds for the evening.

The boys got into some swimming action. That little waterslide is actually a lot of fun.

Johanna and Katriel are fish, like their siblings, and they left the club long enough to do some swimming before lunch.

Lunch was so much fun. This ship had so many options.

I did return to Blue Iguana, because, well…

“Burrito bowl, please, with everything.”

Hello, “everything.”

So crazy yummy.

Look at what Katriel chose for her lunch.

At 2PM we headed to one of the lounges to assemble for a Dr. Seuss parade.

We played around a bit and then the kids got to pick out signs to carry and instruments to play for our parade from the back of the ship, through the center lobby levels (down the stairs) and up to the theater.

Katriel had Daddy carry hers.

Then we had a Cat in the Hat show.

Our 2:45PM Fro-Yo. (Not to be confused with the 12:30PM Fro-Yo.)

The girls went back to their clubs so John and I went in search of desserts.

We went to “Teatime” in the Washington Dining Room

I did NOT care for this… um… raw fishy thingie.

This was more my speed.

Before we knew it it was time to get ready for dinner.
This was our “Formal Night” as it was the first sea day of the voyage.

The magician was a lot of fun.

Oh look. Katriel ordered mac and cheese for dinner.

My mushroom appetizer.

Someone’s crab cake.

She ate three of the four bowls (she gave one to Marie).

Creme brulee. Normally this is my favorite dessert. Carnival did not blow me away with this. While their tiramisu was good enough to book another cruise for, this stuff was sort of runny. And with that – I’ll have more of a story for tomorrow.

We changed out of our duds and the little ones went back to Camp Ocean, while others of us played some Scrabble in the semi-open area of the ship.

About this time Tab told me she wasn’t feeling very well. She and I went back to the room.

We passed my favorite sign.

NOLA cruise ship embarkation

August 17, 2019 | Stacy

We didn’t need to set our alarms for Saturday morning, and we all enjoyed a solid night’s sleep after the overnight drive the day before. Nonetheless, we were up early-ish. We got ourselves together and packed up and headed to the kitchen area of the hotel for breakfast by 7:30 A.M.. It wasn’t awful or remarkable. I DID have the best cup of coffee I’ve had in a while!

We hoped to find some NOLA type items in the local Walmart around 9:30 A.M., but left empty handed. We also tried a drug store nearer to the city and port, but again had nothing to show for it. I figured we’d certainly find something in shopping center around the port, but as we approached the parking garage the signage was just so convincing to head into directly into the parking ramp and before we knew it we were parking the van!

This is one of the most fun ports I’ve ever arrived at. You can see the ship in the Mississippi River as you come over the bridge.

Pulling into the garage, porters come directly to your vehicle and unload your tagged luggage. For us, however, with such a large vehicle and so much luggage, our porter directed us to an emptier area of the garage and walked over to meet us there.

The older four kids took their documents and John and the little girls and I took ours and we split into our two cabin groups to navigate the boarding. My group finished a bit before theirs and we held on just past security until they caught up. We arrived to the terminal about 30 minutes before our pre-scheduled boarding; but remarkably, we were ushered right onto our lovely vessel. The gangway was the most convoluted one I’ve been on with lots of twists and turns, but that just built the enthusiasm for me.

We got on board AND…

sat?

It took me a moment or two to start collecting my brain and make some decisions about which way to go first. It was just after 11AM and our state room wouldn’t be ready until 1:30PM or so.

We headed up to the Lido deck and made our first stop at the fro-yo. There were two fro-yo stations on opposite sides of the ship and many-a-Butler visited often.

There were many dining options available in and around the buffet, and I made my first of many visits to the Blue Iguana.

We split up again to explore the ship.

We visited the Camp Ocean and got the girls their bands. We weren’t sure at that point how often they might visit, but we were glad to get band assignment taken care of.

It was finally time to find our staterooms and unpack. This is the last time their stateroom looked clean…

They were plenty big. We were on deck two, starboard, with connecting ocean view staterooms. They were perfect for our family.

I got my hacks working…

and we hung our still wet swimwear from the night before and change into our other suits.

We missed our chances to get drinks before our muster drill (the thing where they tell you what to do in an emergency) and we were all hot and cranky…

BUT

THEN

We set sail at 4:00 P.M.

Out on deck and hydration finally underway, we found some loungers and saw the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2 come out.

So we went down to dance with them a little.

Marie and Tab tried out the one slide. It was actually very entertaining as I would find out a few days later.

They were willing to make us some non-alcoholic “mocktails” with our soda packages. Because the first 7 hours of the cruise actually take place in the Mississippi River, we had to pay taxes on all our drinks until we hit international waters. One weird thing about sailing from NOLA. It was a few cents per person.

Lots of lounging and hot tubs and a little bit of swimming and somehow it got to be dinner time.

We really do like dressing up for dinner on the cruises, but I admit I was far less creative in coordinating our clothes this time around. At least they were all clean. I think.

Table 656 was our dinner zone for the next five nights. Our head server was John Alex and he helped Stewart order meals for the following night after dinner each evening.