Cruise Vacation ~ Day 1...

Exactly two months ago we set out for our cruise vacation that we had given the kids for Christmas.  A cruise is one of our favorite vacations so we had been counting down the days since Christmas.

When Cooper finished playing baseball on Saturday, we came home and packed our suitcases (yes, our life was so crazy busy that we packed the same day we left) and hit the road to Lafayette.  We would drive to Galveston to board the ship the next day.

There was a scary little hiccup that had us wondering if we would even go on vacation.  About an hour and a half into our drive from Lafayette to Galveston Anna Lauren had a seizure in the car.  She was asleep so when Matt first saw her out of the corner of his eye he thought she was dreaming and reacting to her dream.  Oh how we wish it was only a dream...

We managed to get off the interstate, pull into a gas station, and call 911.  Matt and I have never been so scared and honestly had no clue what to do.  Thankfully within 6 minutes the police and ambulance were there who were much calmer than her parents.  We decided there was no way we could leave the country without first making sure she was ok so Anna Lauren and I both had our first rides in an ambulance.

Bless her little heart...when she "woke up" from her seizure and saw the police/paramedics standing over her she was petrified.  She cried and cried, but we finally got her to calm down...

Slowly but surely she was getting back to herself and asked the paramedic no less than 100 questions.  She wanted every step to be explained to her.  

My child who is typically so independent and doesn't want anyone to touch her was so scared that she wanted me in the bed with her in the emergency room...I didn't mind at all because her momma was just as scared.  Meanwhile her daddy went to the bathroom and had himself a little breakdown.

We were in the tiny little town of Beaumont, Texas, and we couldn't have asked for better attention/care.  Within 2 hours we were in and out of the ER with the doctor saying we should go on our cruise.  Yes, we were scared to death, not sure if we should go or not, but we did...

A seizure, an ambulance ride, and a visit to the emergency room, and we still boarded the ship with an hour to spare!!!  Anna Lauren was tired and had a bad headache but other than that she was her normal self.  And that brother of hers, he was just as freaked out as the rest of us.  If you have never seen a seizure, let me tell you...it is scary.

Decorating your cabin door seems to be the new thing so Anna Lauren took care of that while we got all our luggage/stuff situated.

I'm pretty sure I will always cherish this family picture at the "sail away" party.  Several hours before this picture was taken we were thinking there could be something seriously wrong with Anna Lauren and our lives could change forever.  

Not going to lie...Matt and I were so nervous and didn't know what to expect going forward.  Therefore, any time we saw her being "Anna Lauren" we took a little sigh of relief.  

Sail away party, a little swimming, and a hug from Kung Fu Panda on the way to dinner.

Just checking it out on our way to dinner...

After dinner we called it a day...it was a LONG day for everyone.  

Cruise Vacation ~ Day 2...

We woke up refreshed and ready to take on day 2, which was a day at sea.  

The kids knew the first thing they wanted to do after breakfast was the rock climbing wall...

Anna Lauren is actually pretty good, and I think she got to the top of every wall she tried.

This was the easiest wall for Cooper and probably his favorite because he could get to the top of this one...

I love that these kids are always up for an adventure and will try just about anything...

After rock climbing, it was time to cool off at the pool...

A quick hug from King Julien...

Johnny Rockets on the deck for lunch...this is our favorite lunch spot when we are at sea.

Cooper chose to spend the afternoon in the kids club while Anna Lauren did a cupcake decorating class.  

The theme was dogs so she made three different dog cupcakes...

I mean better than I could have done...

It was fun-filled first full day on the ship!!!  

Cruise Vacation ~ Day 3...

Day 3 was another day at sea and let me just say...it was a ROUGH all.day.long...

We have cruised many times, and we have never seen bags placed around the ship.  Therefore, we knew it was going to be bad.  I got up, walked half way to breakfast, and I had to go back to the room.  As long as I was laying down, I was ok...little did I know I would spend the entire day in the bed :(

The ship rocking like crazy didn't seem to bother anyone else, and they continued on with their day.  Cooper met Puss in Boots...

Ice skating was for sure on their agenda for this day...

At one point they got lucky enough to have the rink to themselves...

Pretty sure they were having a blast and not concerned about me being sick, which is exactly what I wanted them to do.

While Cooper was in the kids club, Anna Lauren and Matt mastered the flowrider....

She loved it and was so proud she could do it...

A little arcade fun thrown in the mix...

Yes, this is what I did all day long.  I attempted to go to dinner with them.  I made it to the table, sat there a minute, and then went back to the room. I did hate to miss out on all the fun, but I'm pretty sure a day of rest didn't hurt me.

Cruise Vacation ~ Day 4...

We were all super excited when we woke up on day 4 because we were at our first port, which was Roatan, Honduras.  

This guy was probably a favorite of the kids on the ship...he greeted us every morning at breakfast singing a "washy washy" song as he squirted hand sanitizer into your hands.  He also had some type of costume on every morning, which the kids thought was so fun.

Breakfast with a view...

Waiting on our boat to take us to the beach for the day...

Our ship docked in Honduras...

There was a good bit of sea weed in the water, but there were men removing it the entire time we were there.

Headed out for their first "real" snorkel adventure...Matt said Anna Lauren did fine, and Cooper did too.  He just let the guide pull him when he got tired...ha ha!!!  He would hang onto the orange buoy.

While they were snorkeling I just took it all in...

Cooper still says that Honduras was his favorite...he loved this snorkel adventure.

By dinner time, we had one tired little boy...the beach all day and then the ice show before dinner had gotten the best of him.