Our Family Cruise!

Over a year ago, our parents surprised us with an awesome gift…a Bergstrom family cruise!  

They asked what we thought….would we want to go?  Did we think it was a good idea?

  Yes!

And, it was a great week!  We left from Houston on Saturday, February 15.  

I know I'm biased, but I think Isaac is the cutest little traveler ever.  He pulled his suitcase all the way to our room by himself, and he also wanted his backpack tied around his waist "just like Daddy" had his scuba bag tied around his.

We hadn't even left the port before we found the on-ship ice cream bar!  Yum!  

(And, of course, Mom had already found her first cup of coffee.)  :)

Our first stop was Cozumel on Monday, February 17.  Our family went on an excursion to Playa Mia Water Park.  I wasn't quite sure of what to expect from a water park in Mexico, but it was SO fun!  And clean!  :)

Our kids both loved playing in the water park.  There were twin 4-story waterslides that Dave and I raced down with Isaac. 

After we spent a few hours at the water park portion, we went to the beach!

David and Isaac kayaked while Emma and I enjoyed the sand.

Emma was not a fan of the sand touching her last summer when we were at the beach, but she was all smiles this time!  Emma played with the sand & let it run through her fingers for almost a half hour without moving.  

Isaac was brave and had the parrots sit on his arms!  I love how proud he looks in this picture.  And, he showed this picture to everyone on the ship--even our waiters at dinner that night.  

All good things must come to an end.  Our "end" at Playa Mia came abruptly with a lot of tears after Isaac had too much salt from the water in his eyes, and Emma rubbed a combination of sunscreen and sand into hers. Yikes!  I don't think I've ever heard both of my kids cry so much--much less at the exact same time.  Still, it was a great day.  When our ship left port that night, Isaac said, "I just wish our ship could stay here forever so I could go back to that beach."  :)

sunset as we left Cozumel on Monday night

 We were in Honduras the next day.  My parents treated David and me royally by babysitting for the day!  Dave went scuba diving, and Emily, Caleb, and I headed to the beach.  

I snapped this quick picture of Isaac swimming with Pop on my way off the ship.  The easiest & best way to put a smile on Isaac's face is to let him swim!  :)  

This was called "the magic flying beach chair"--don't you love the name?  

It left the port and dropped us off right at Mahogany Beach!  

Emily and Caleb kayaked for awhile while I started in with a good book.  Later that morning, Caleb headed back to the ship.  It was such a fun day being at the beach with Emily!  We had good intentions of reading our books and magazines…but, people watching and chatting together was just too fun!  

Late that afternoon, I went back to the ship to get Isaac & bring him back to the beach for a couple of hours. When he saw the magic flying beach chairs, he asked, "Should I be worried?"  :)  I assured him it was safe, though he was still hesitant.  Halfway through the ride, he said, "This isn't scary at all! This is fun!"  

The night we were leaving Honduras, Isaac wanted to wear his scuba diver pajamas because Dave dove that day.  Also, he wore his swim trunks to bed nearly every night of the cruise so that he'd be ready to swim first thing in the morning!  :)

Our final port was Belize.  Caleb and my dad went on an excursion to visit Mayan Ruins, while the rest of us stayed on the ship…which meant that Isaac and Dave swam most of the day!  We'd brought my scuba gear along for Isaac to use, and he snorkeled up and down the pool for nearly an hour without stopping!

Since Emma still naps every day and our kids go to bed pretty early, we spent a lot of time in our room.

    We loved the beautiful windows, and our kids did, too!  It was their favorite place in the room, and they played in here a ton!  We also several games of "hide and seek" in our room.  It's amazing how many places you really can find to hide!

I think my favorite part of the day was early morning.  It was glorious waking up to coffee delivered to our room.  We'd look out the window (Isaac was always looking for dolphins or whales), snuggle, and read books.  What a joy!

Isaac loved the towel monkey that our room attendant made one night…he especially loved the monkey's eyes (chocolates!).  

This little cutie turned two on our cruise!  

The servers sang "Happy Birthday" to Emma at breakfast.  Clearly, she did not like it!  :)  

Two of the elevators on the ship had a window filled with bubbles on each floor.  Emma loved the bubbles and would say "ooo" each time the elevator passed one of the windows.  So, on her birthday, we rode the "bubble elevator" many times since she thought it was so fun.  (I guess I should have grabbed a Kleenex before taking this picture in the elevator!)

Emma insists on holding hands when walking…love!

Emma started squealing when she saw my dessert!  See, I am holding her hand down so she won't touch it before Dave took this picture!  (And, I got the last chocolate stain out of that shirt just yesterday….she definitely enjoyed it!)  

Dinners were a bit of a jugging act, especially with Emma!  My parents were really helpful; and, together, we all took turns taking Emma (and sometimes Isaac) on walks during the courses.  

One night, Dave took both kids on a walk through the lobby, where a jazz pianist was playing.  Dave said that Isaac ran to the middle of the lobby and started dancing to the music.  Apparently, a group of girls were clapping and cheering for him.  The next day, Isaac and I got on an elevator to go to the pool when a lady saw Isaac and said, "Look!  It's the dancing boy!"  

Our whole family celebrated Emma's birthday at dinner on the final night of the cruise. 

This picture makes me laugh!  Isaac is already eyeing how he can snatch and lick the candle.  Emma is acting shy, but she really enjoyed everyone singing "Happy Birthday" this time.  :)

A few more favorite pictures from our trip:

We all got such a laugh out of Isaac buttering his bread each night at dinner.  He was so serious about it!  (If you know our family, then you know we really love butter.)  :)

This last picture is taken from the port terminal before we went through immigration.  Do you see anyone behind us?  No!  We were literally the last people off the ship.  :)  It really was a wonderful week!