Just A Little Time Off...

Last week, all 13 members of the Henderson clan took a cruise. It was the longest vacation I have ever been on, 10 days. It all start June 4...very, early in the morning. We took a 3 hour plan ride to Chicago to meet up with the Evers and then another 3 hour plan ride to Fort Lauderdale. (All I can say is that flying with a child is very different than flying without one. Gone are the days when you can sleep or read a book. Instead most of Micah and I's time was spent trying to pin down our little Bug.)

In Fort Lauderdale we took a scenic walk and Micah, my dad, and I even broke away for a late night movie. The movie theatre was close to our hotel, but it was very different. Let's just say our white skin stuck out like a sour thumb and I didn't know it was the norm to wear prom dresses to the movie theatre. The next morning, my parents and I took a nice run...and by nice I mean it was very warm. I forget how much humitity changes how much you sweat. Later that afternoon we finally made it to our boat. We were ready to check in...

Bug didn't know what was going on. All he knew is that he was with his cousins which means all is right in the world.

Our little fam waiting to board the boat. I have to say that I am not a fan of cruises. I think this was my third? maybe fourth? I don't enjoy them. I get sea sick. I don't like the small rooms. I don't think the food is all that great. The pools are weird. And then there is all the waiting to get checkin and waiting to get off the boat. However...This was not the case with this cruise. It really changed my mind. It started with getting on the boat, there was no wait to get on the boat.

And here she is. Our boat. Last January, when we were deciding what we would do for the family vacation, my dad quickly decided on a cruise. But which cruise? We looked at different cruise lines and different boats in the cruise lines, and finally decided on the new Oasis of the Seas. Would it live up to our expectations. Heck yeah, and then some...

The week before we left we found out Royal Caribbean had changed the days of our itinerary. We were all really excited to go to the Bahamas. In March, our cousins stayed at the Atlantis resort, and told us how fabulous it was. We were excited to check it out. With the change in itinerary, it meant much less time at Atlantis. Would it be worth it? I have to say it was the best time. Seriously, it was so much fun. It was my favorite part of the whole trip. Check it out...

Meet, Mr. Phellps. Don't really know what my dad was thinking, but he showed up to ride the slides with a swim cap and googles. What you don't see is his physique underneath his shirt. That is really got us calling him Mr. Phellps.

This resort was incredible. Unlike anything I have ever seen. There were so many pools. All different shapes and sizes and purposes. This particular pool is the kiddie "lounge" pool. This is in addition to the water zone they had for children too. (And no...that's my husband, not a statue.)

For those of you that do not know me, I don't do roller coasters. Its just not me. I don't like the feeling. That rush when you feel weightless. I just hate it, but who knows if and when I might ever come back...so I had to ride the waterslide Atlantis is known for. A complete drop into shark infested water. Did I enjoy it? No. It wasn't worth it to me, but at least I can say I did it.

The shark infested water the slide ends in. I have to say that another reason why I loved this resort was how many different aquariums and animals that were everywhere! My absolute favorite part of the water park? The mile long lazy river. Yes. ONE MILE LONG. It had all different parts. Raging rapids, giant waves, conveyor belts, and water slides. All in one lazy river. How is that possible? I LOVE lazy rivers and this was the ultimate. I could have ridden it all day. We would all lay in our tubes and try not to brake the train. Very hard. Infact, I have scars from Lindsey grabbing me.

One last look at paradise.

I loved the blue water in the Bahamas, and the colorful buildings. This picture is of our boat, just to look at the shear size of it. On the left is the brand new Carnival boat. Biggest boat Carnival has. Our boat in on the right.

I don't think I have ever pack more clothes than I did for this cruise. The swimsuits, workout clothes, regular clothes, clothes for dinner...and formal night. Why did I love formal night???

Because Beckham looked so HANDSOME in his tux. He was so cute.

My mom found cheap tuxes for Beckham and Easton. They were so cute, I took a billion pictures and I don't think there was one when they were both looking at the camera.

I am amazed at how Beckham responds to Easton. Beckham loves him so much, I just wish they could see each other more.

Beckham eating his shoe, while Easton looks on. Love Easton's wild blonde hair.

My favorite fam. I love those boys so much, including Mitch. I have to share this story of Jack on our trip...I have always told Jack that I decided I was ready to have children when I held him. He knows I have a picture of the two of us in front of a sign that says "Auntie" and I look at it every day. On the trip, Jackson said, "Auntie, you know that picture of me and you that you look at every day, can I see it?" I had to explain that it was too special to bring on the cruise. Jackson is just so tender hearted. Creighton on the other hand is such a sports fanatic. I asked him about his new sport T-ball and in 30 seconds he demonstrated all the different positions. E-Monster is just that. A cute little monster. He loves to follow his brothers and loves loves loves to get attention. It was so great to spend time with the Evers. I miss them so much.

Since there are so many people on our ship, you had to make reservations to see the shows. It was actually pretty slick. And there were TONS of different shows to see. The first show was the ice skating, Frozen in Time. Interesting. We will leave it at that.

My mom, dad, and Lindsey Lou.

Classic picture of Mitch. Never one to smile for the camera. Plus, doesn't my sister look fab?

Okay, very unflattering angle of my, but at least it shows what we saw. Hairspray. Loved it.

I loved having my husband around for 10 whole days. (Even though it bugs me how tan he gets.)

That night we went and saw the water show. It so awesome. High diving and synchronized swimming. I could not believe how high they were jumping!

After one full day on the ship, we landed at our second port of call, St. Thomas.

As we were walking off the ship, there where tons of iguanas. Everywhere. At first we didn't see them because they were camouflaged on the rocks but once we started looking, it was everywhere.

We took a big taxi to Megan's Beach. It was a great time to capture pictures of everyone. This one is of course, Creighton's hand.

Aren't they cute?

My two boys.

E-Man.

Our little fam on the beach. It was beautiful, but every busy. Beckham loved the calm ocean water.

Amazing, right?

Another thing I LOVED about this ship was all the different pools. The had a "beach" pool, a main pool, a sports pool, 14 hot tubs, 2 adult pools, and an H20 zone for the kids. So fun...

Beckham enjoyed the pools.

We would play hide and go seek between all the toys. He LOVED it.

Okay, so I know this is a weird picture, but I took it to illustrate how blonde Beckham's hair has gotten. He went from a total brunette, to what my dad calls, "The Blonde Bond." So cute.

My husband was AOL for hours at a time. Where could you find him? On the flow rider...

By the end of the trip, Micah was pretty good.

The next day, we landed in St. Maarten. The morning started out great, with Jordan's fabulous news that he was accepted to medical school. After the news, we went out to explore the island.

Jordan, Melyn, my mom, Lindsey, me and Micah.

My dad got this crazy idea that he wanted us all to ride Segways. We walked up and down the beach until we finally found some. Almost all of us chicken out, except Melyn, Jordan, my dad, and Micah. I stuck around to take some pics.

Micah. Micah loved the segways. He thought he was super cool and rocked the segways back and forth.

My dad...now he swayed his hips back and forth like he was dancing.

The group's crazy picture.

Another of my favorite things about the trip was staying up late playing Scum with my siblings. We discovered that Melyn is pretty good at the game, and even though my dad thinks he is good, he is very very bad.

Lindsey and I.

(I know the pictures are the best, but its all I have.) Group picture of my siblings.

Another great thing about the cruise is that my family can all eat dinner together. It's hard finding tables big enough to seat us all. Me and Lindsey sat across from each other most nights while we enjoyed lots and lots of food.

Lindsey, me, and Denzel, our waiter. Denzel was from India and my father believed he made up his name. (Where does my dad come up with these things.)

After all the fun in the sun, it was finally time to go home. Getting off the boat was a breeze, the only problem was it was so so early. We had to waste time in Fort Lauderdale before our flight finally left.

I was extremely concerned about how Beckham would do on the flight, and on the second leg he finally fell asleep. Yea.

But then, I had to say good-bye to my darling nephews. (I miss them already.)

By the time Micah and I finally went to bed it had been a long 21 hour day for us, but it was well worth it. Oh, the memories.