Kansas City Temple

Post Cruise...Orlando, FL

We were too cheap to visit the actual space center (Kennedy Space center...who knew admission was $50/each!), but we did find this free space center. Liam was in space ship heaven! When later asked what his favorite part of Florida was (which it can be disputed that he may not comprehend that question) he'd always reply "the spaceships"!
We had some time to kill before we could check into our hotel, so why not visit the beach?!
Seaworld!
We arrived at the Shamu show 5 minutes before it was supposed to start.  There were absolutely NO seats left in the huge stadium...except the very front row.  And there's a reason those seats labeled "Splash Zone" were the only seats left.  Needless to say, I didn't take out my real camera, but I was able to get some footage on my iphone (which is in a waterproof case). A 20 second roller coaster ride. (Please note- this was post the Shamu show in which we had front row seats in the splash zone...thus the smeared mascara, etc. (that Chad never bothered to mention to me!)).
And equally exciting train ride.
Clyde & Seamore show. This one was sooo cute! If you ever get a chance to go to Seaworld, make sure you get to this one & get there early! There's a funny pre-show thingy. :)
We got to do "Dine with Shamu". It was pretty cool, except for the fact that Liam only ate a hot dog & jello & we paid a $19 for his ticket in. Oh, & he decided he had to go "pee pee in toilet" during the climax of the Shamu presentation.
Since we were drenched by the first show & there's a lot that you miss when you're in the front row, we decided to go back & catch the last showing from a little higher :)  I was surprised how captivated Max was while watching all the shows.
Chad's dad drove down from Jacksonville to see us. It was fun seeing him. He's so cute with the boys- especially Liam. & we had a fun time going to Downtown Disney with him. Cool atmosphere. And it's always a hit with boys (no matter the age) when there's legos.
I have to admit, before the vacation, I was wondering, 'What vacation can ever seem that fun after traveling to Spain?', but really, it was so much fun! A totally different adventure & experience.

I can tell Liam loved it too because now he includes in each prayer he offers- "please bless the dolphins and please bless the whales...and please bless the beach and rocket ships...".

And that's it folks!  Both for these posts on this vacation...and for a while seeing how we did a fabulous job at totally depleting our vacation budget for awhile. I think our next vacation will be a little simpler :)

Carnival Cruise

We had a chance to sneak away for a vacation this past Labor day. I found a good deal on some last minute cruise tickets, so off we went!
You may notice in a few of the above pictures, that Chad looks a little dead. That's because he was. He got sick our first day on the cruise & was quarantined to our cabin for 24 hours. So that meant that I had to brave Freeport, Bahamas with the two boys on my own. Thank goodness for kind, helpful people! This included one nice couple from Virginia that willingly gave me $20 to catch a cab to the beach (I had no cash on hand), with no expectation of repayment (which, don't worry, I did repay them). Wow! It made me think of the scripture in Matthew 25- "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."
Then there was this nice woman from Romania (seen with Liam on the left). Let me tell you, there was NO way that I could've managed two active boys in the ocean on my own! What was I thinking?! This nice woman fell in love with Liam (which I might also add how she repeatedly told him, "I love you"...she may have been slightly drunk).  She played with him our whole stay at the beach & Liam loved it! So what if she was in her lovely pink lace bra & thong panties from Victoria Secret. Thank you Luchiana! And then there was the nice family from Florida (that Luchiana was with) that also helped me out greatly.  They helped pry Liam off the beach when my reverse psychology threats of leaving didn't work. All of you were a god send!
I love how bright & colorful everything is in the Bahamas...
...& I LOVE the colors of the ocean!
Lucky for all of us, Chad was cleared to leave his quarantine & was feeling 100% better! So off to explore Nassau, Bahamas...
I've heard from several people that the beaches in the Bahamas are amazing. The clear water...the white sand...the bath water temperature. But really, it was something I just couldn't appreciate/comprehend until I experienced it for myself. It really was SO amazing!!
Here we are admiring the sea as we left port.
And another "adventure"- dining with kids. Those familiar with cruises will know that every night there is a more formal dinner. We missed two nights of the formal dinner (sleeping kids & Chad's sickness), but we braved it the last two nights. An experience for sure!
Jello a la mode
Our of our favorite desserts- Chocolate lava cake!