The Peach Parents: Cruising 2016

I knew that I wanted this to be an awesome family vacation, especially after seeing and hearing the kids excitement grow as it got closer. I was not prepared though for how well our kiddos cruise....they are champs. We know that our kids have faults, don't we all, but we are always amazed at how well our kiddos adapt, keep going and seem to quickly obey when they sense urgency in our voice. They adapted so well to the ship, no one but Adam felt it moving. They were kind and loving to the crew. They did activities with us and when we hit land they lasted as long as we did even though we tired ourselves out with physical activities and high temperatures. I think we may be a cruising family!!!

Day 1-Adam met us in Galveston where we were hanging out with my running girlfriends and their kiddos. We boarded the ship after 2 long hours of parking, showing passports and birth certificates, standing in long lines and making sure the kiddos knew where to go in case of an emergency. We were delighted to find the large circular window in one of our rooms where we could watch everything, especially the interesting and intricate process of docking. We were doubly delighted to find that our other room, directly across the hall was a handicap accessible room and therefore was HUGE with a HUGE shower which is so helpful when the two young ones are still showering with a parent! We ate lunch soon after boarding and the kids were super excited over the fact that the buffet was huge, always had cookies and that they could try new things. We didn't set any PALEO rules for the trip but encouraged them to always have a fruit and veggie on their plate and they loved the sugar free mango juice and water. I was super pleased with Ribbit who chose lots of grilled fish for her meals and LICKED IT UP. The boys did their own things but always ate their veggies. I loved having tons of different proteins and veggies to choose from. I ate soo many pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, okra, yucca, steaks, lambs, fish and never once craved pasta or breads. I went to the omelet bar every morning and had a big egg, ham and veggie omelet with hot sauce and smoked salmon on top!!!! I did allow myself to have some desserts, especially my favorite tiramisu and dark chocolate coconut macaroons.

(I"ll go ahead and add that I worked out every morning while watching the sun rise (sooo amazing)....I even ran a 1/2 marathon on the last day around the jogging track...I thought it would be a neat goal to set and meet. I wasn't the least bit worried about adding in extra calories since I logged around 18,000 steps a day and weighed myself 3 to 4 times. The only thing I worried about was the extra sugar affecting my gut and skin so I upped my frankincense and collagen intake...we will see!)

Our luggage was pretty late arriving to our room so we let the kids swim in their clothes, no big deal. The kids were not happy that we had to practice lining up in case of an emergency but when the dolphins began to show off right in front of us they were quickly distracted and distracted every one else! We played putt putt right after lunch and Baby Boy got his first hole in one. One of the things we found fascinating is that SO MANY people, especially the crew asked us if our kids were actually ours. They were so inquisitive and several people asked us about our agency, the court system, etc...and then proceeded to ask the kids their names, ages, and tell them how beautiful and well behaved they were. It really threw Goober for a loop and he admitted that he didn't like telling strangers that he was adopted. We asked him what he would rather us say and he said " that my birthmom couldn't take care of us"....We immediately reminded him that we would never speak ill of her, especially to strangers and that hopefully by talking about the adoption we were encouraging others and even getting a chance to talk about God. He agreed but still kept kinda quiet about it.We joked with several people that they started out as white kids but got better tans than us...this was mostly to shop owners in Cozumel, Goober thought that was funny!

One of my favorite memories from the first night was sitting down to dinner and I heard Goober whistle. He said "wow, chocolate pie"..as I turned to see what he was talking about I saw a waiter with stacked dishes that were covered with brown lids to keep them warm. From afar it looked like huge chocolate pies and GOOBER WAS EXCITED!!

Another funny favorite was watching the kids in the elevator. They asked everyone where they needed to go and would press the buttons for them. However, one not so cute (but hysterical) moment was when the elevator stopped on a floor and no one got off....the elevator was packed and from the very back you hear a little voice say "bullcrap". I said "baby boy, dont say that". He said "well no one got off". Everyone died laughing and Adam and I tried to keep ourselves together so that we could tell hiim not to say that again!

Everyone's favorites from the day were...

Baby Boy-his hole in one at putt putt
Goober-his new friend Quincy that he met at Kids Club, instant best friends and such a sweet kid
Ribbit-When Baby Boy said bullcrap
Mom-Watching kids be the elevator waiter
Dad-swimming in clothes