Cruising Through Life {Western Caribbean Cruise}

8 Travelers.

10 Days. 

4 Countries.

Endless Adventures.

That is the short story of our amazing western Caribbean cruise. Now for the really long version...

Planning

We started thinking about and planning this cruise way back in September of 2018. We have been on a group cruise before (2016) and had a blast, so we wanted to do it again. It worked out that me, 3 of my brothers, and our spouses were all able to go. Since we already did the Mexican Riviera, we decided we wanted to try the Caribbean. 

As usual, Carnival cruise lines was the least expensive, by far, so we started checking out possible options. When we saw the cruise to Mexico, Belize, and Honduras, I immediately knew that was the one I wanted to go on. Luckily, everyone else agreed! Jonathon couldn't take off until after the semester was over, so the first week of May was the winner. It just so happened that the cruise left out of Orlando, so how could we not spend an extra day to go to Harry Potter Land (Universal Studios)! We booked our trip on October 16th, and then had to wait 7 long months. During that time we planned and dreamed and got excited!

With all the traveling and extra things we wanted to do, the trip ended up being 10 days long. In the end, that was a little too long to be away from kids and our regular lives, but I would have had a hard time cutting anything out that we did. It also ended up being more money than we expected, with the whole thing costing a little over $3,000. Gah! It all feels so extravagant now. Thankfully, we had the extra money (thanks to my blogging job), and it was an amazing trip to celebrate our 15th anniversary and my 36th birthday! 

Traveling

Back in February, we started to get everything organized for who would watch the kids and on which days. My mom had already agreed to come down for a whole week to tend them, but she was hoping to go home a few days before we got back for Mother's Day. One night after Sunday dinner, I asked Mom H. if she would be able to take the boys for the last 3 days our trip. She immediately went ghostly pale and asked, "Which day are you leaving?" When we told her May 4th, the look on her face told me that we had inadvertently stumbled on a major problem. There was an awkward silence as everyone looked at each other, feeling clueless. Then Mom told us that Tiffany and Mike were planning on getting married that day. They already reserved the temple, but hadn't told anyone yet and didn't really want anyone to know for a while. They weren't there at the time, but it was super awkward. Looking back now I can laugh at the situation. 

We went through all the logistics of our flights, driving time, etc. and decided that we could probably still make the Sealing ceremony, though we would definitely have to miss the luncheon reception. Thankfully, they had reserved the very earliest time (9 am), so it was at least possible. 

Fast forward to May 4th. Jonathon and I attended the Sealing in the Mount Timpanogos temple, which was wonderful. Tiffany was beaming and such a beautiful bride. Mike was calm and happy, and he will be such a great addition to the family. We were so happy for them! The sealing was over by 9:30, and we didn't need to leave until around 10:15, so I was feeling pretty sure that we could actually get in some of the family pictures before we had to leave. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected with record keeping and dressing the bride. We waited and waited and waited. The photographer went ahead and took some individual pictures of our family while we were waiting. 

I wanted to leave by 10:15 to be safe in case there were any problems with traffic, but Jonathon convinced me to wait until 10:30. I was starting to become a bit of a stress case as the minutes passed. Finally, at 10:30, I told Jonathon we had to go. Just then Tiffany and Mike walked through the doors. It was too late to do anything, so we ended up just saying good-bye and leaving, which was so sad. Oh well. They won't remember if we were there or not. Haha!

It didn't help my stress levels that we got a WhatsApp from Daniel and Ally in Boise saying that Ben got stuck in security and missed their flight because of Ben's diabetes stuff. This was particularly vexing because our flights were scheduled to land only 20 minutes apart, so we had gotten a 12 passenger van to transport everyone. This would cause some major complications. It made me even more determined to not miss our flight, so I was probably a little more frazzled than necessary.

As the day wore on, we tried to contact them for more details. When no one responded, we started to get suspicious of their story. We finally called them out on it, and discovered it was all an elaborate prank. They totally had me fooled! Ha! I was so relieved that they had actually made their flight that I wasn't even mad, just so relieved!

We made it to the airport and through security with no problems. We ended up having 20 minutes to spare. I felt a little bad about running out on wedding pictures, but you just never know, and I didn't want to cut it any closer than we already did. We were still wearing our wedding clothes, so Jonathon and I changed before boarding. The flights were smooth, and we all landed in Orlando on time. 

When the 8 of us met up, we got our van (after quite a long wait), and headed off to find dinner. Jonathon was a trooper driving that huge van through Orlando. It was 10 pm in Orlando, but we were all starving, so we headed to Denny's. After eating, we left for our AirBnB in Cocoa Beach. It was almost an hour drive with several obnoxious tollbooths, so we got in really late and went to bed immediately. 

Late night Denny's run

The AirBnB was pretty nice. We didn't have any complaints, and the backyard was like a tropical rainforest. The humidity and bugs in Florida about killed us though. Apparently, it was love bug mating season when we were there. They were everywhere! I have never seen anything like it. 

Smashed love bugs on the windshield. Ewww!

The next morning, we got packed up, stopped at Walmart for some last minute things, and then dropped off the van at the cruise port. Boarding was super smooth, and we were soon ready to relax and start our vacation!

Day 1-- Sea Day

We spent some time on Monday exploring the ship. We were on the Carnival Sunshine this time, so it was significantly larger than our last one. We scouted out the lido buffet area, the sports zone, the serenity deck, and all the little rooms. We found a quiet corner called the Library Bar to play games. It was for private events that would happen occasionally, but the rest of the time, it was empty. We played lots of games there throughout the cruise. It was an awesome find! We also played miniature golf and took a nap. 

We won a trivia contest on our last cruise, so we got a ship trophy as a prize. I was determined to win another one for our collection. We started our quest with a couple of different games. The first was Genius Trivia. I tied for first place in that one, but they were only awarding medals, not ships, because they had not gotten their supply yet. Blah! Then our whole group played Trivial Pursuit. We came in 2nd. There would be more chances throughout the cruise though, so we weren't too concerned. 

That night was the formal dinner. We all dressed up and went to dinner in the Main Dining Room (MDR). The MDR is one of my favorite parts of the cruise because it is so fun to have awesome servers, so many delicious and unique options, and the chance to eat all together. Cruises can be disastrous for diets, so I made a real effort to be wise in my food choices. I had been off sugar for a whole month leading up to the cruise and had felt much better, so I didn't want to fall back into bad habits. I knew that the biggest thing I would not be able to resist was the Carnival Chocolate Melting Cake. It is a lava cake that is just divine. I had heard a rumor that sometimes they made sugar-free versions of the cake, so I asked one of our servers, Gjeorgji, about it. He spoke to the staff in the kitchen and told me that they take orders for the sugar-free ones the night before, and he put my name on the list. How nice was that! I was so thrilled to get my special cake and not lose all of my healthy eating momentum. And even better... the sugar-free version was so amazing! I ordered it every single night from then on. 

After dinner, we were still wide awake since we were still on mountain time. We decided to go to the Dive-In Movie that was playing by the pool on the Lido deck. When we got out there, nobody was in the hot tub, so we quickly changed our clothes and hopped in. Mamma Mia 2 was playing on the huge screen. We had a great time singing to the songs, while sitting in the hot tub. Towards the end of the movie, it started to rain. It was warm and pleasant though. The whole thing was actually pretty magical! Such a fun memory!

Day 2-- Cozumel, Mexico

During our research on Cozumel, many people online raved about how much they loved Mr. Sanchos Beach Resort. It is an all-inclusive resort with food and drinks for the whole day. It was on the cheaper end of the excursions, and we really couldn't decide on anything else, so we decided to give it a try. 

The resort itself was very nice. We had a server that stuck with us the whole day and brought us whatever we wanted, which was kind of fun. We tried some virgin pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris and had things like fajitas, burgers, and fish tacos for lunch. They also had some huge inflatable water toys to play on, and we brought our gear to snorkel. Jonathon and I snorkeled with Joe. He brought some tortillas to feed the fish while we were out there. It was pretty neat to see them all gather around us. 

The water in the Caribbean is so amazingly blue and warm. The color was so stunning and the water so clear that half the time it seemed fake. It doesn't compare at all to the rough, cold water on the Pacific Coast. Overall, I thought it was a nice day at the beach, but not as amazing as all the reviews claimed. I think people who drink alcohol really love Mr. Sanchos because it is "all you can drink," so they really get their money's worth. We enjoyed it, but I don't think it is someplace I would go for a second time.

The port of Cozumel (Puerta Maya) was fairly big, so when we returned, we wandered around for a while and checked out all the little shops. I also got my first stamp in my passport! Then we headed back to the ship for more games and dinner.

Day 3-- Belize

This was the day I was looking forward to most of all for the last 7 months. Throughout all the planning, my number one priority for a shore excursion was to go to see some Mayan ruins. I looked at the offerings at all the ports and read reviews on each of them. The famous ones like Chichen Itza and Tulum were available, but they both seemed very touristy. The hidden gems down in Belize, however, looked amazing! And best of all, you can still climb them. I decided that I wanted to go to Xunantunich (Shoon-ant-toon-ich) because it was huge, very well preserved, and you can climb all the way to the top. 

The excursion was a very long drive (2 hours each way), but all of the reviews said that the tour guides were really great about making the ride go by quickly by giving interesting facts about Belize. It also provided a chance to see pretty much the entire country in one day. I was slightly apprehensive about the long drive, but all the reviews were spot on!

Our tour left at 7 am. Belize is a tender port, so we first took a 15 minute tender boat to the land. Then we loaded onto our tour bus. The seats were nice, and it was a fairly modern bus. There was even a bathroom, though it was a little "less modern." Our tour guide was Melissa, who was a native Creole from Belize. She was very interesting to listen to. 

As we drove, she described the countryside and gave us some of the history of Belize [Did you know that Belize only became a country on Sept. 21, 1981? I had no idea. Before that it was known as British Honduras and was a representative government of England] She also described the economy, lifestyle, racial profile, national symbols, and so much more. 

The day that we were in Belize, the country was voting on a referendum that would decide if they would take a border dispute to the International Court of Justice. Guatemala has long claimed part of Belize, and since Guatemala is so much bigger, richer, and more populated, many of the Belizean people believe that the ICJ is the only way to settle the issue. It was very interesting to see all the voting signs and learn about the political issues facing the country. The two hours passed very quickly, and I was just fascinated by the scenery and information that was shared.

When we arrived at the ruins, we first had to take a hand-cranked ferry across the Mopan River. We all loaded onto the ferry and a man literally used his hands to turn some gears to move the ferry along a cable. When we got to the other side we all had to move to the back of the ferry so that the front would raise enough to dock. It took less than 5 minutes to get across the river, but it was so interesting. From there, we all got in some vans for a two mile ride up to the start of the tour. It was very hot and humid in Belize, but we brought lots of water and wore our hats the whole time to protect us from the sun. 

A short hike up the hill brought us to the main ruins. There were several excavated buildings on all sides of a huge courtyard that is now in grass. We learned that the name Xunantunich means "Stone Lady" or "Maiden of the Rock." It was given that name because of a legend of a ghostly lady who roamed around the ruins. The most prominent part of the ruins is the huge pyramid known as El Castillo (The Castle). At 130 feet, it is the 2nd tallest structure in all of Belize. Xunantunich rose to prominence around 600 AD, but was abandoned around 900 AD when many of the Mayan cities were left for unknown reasons.

Our guide led us on a little trek for anyone who wanted to climb El Castillo. He stopped periodically as we climbed to give insights and the history of the ruin. El Castillo was used by the royalty or nobles. It is believed that the very large steps at the bottom were built that way so that the peasants had to crawl up them to reach the nobility. As we got higher, the steps got smaller and closer together. One of the coolest things about El Castillo are the friezes on the sides. They are so detailed and depict several Mayan Gods and some of their core religious beliefs. 

The hike wasn't bad at all. There weren't very many hand holds, and it got pretty narrow at the top, but we made it safely. Once on the top, however, I got a bit nervous. There was a pretty small ledge area to look out over the countryside (Guatemala is only .6 miles away) and over the rest of the ruins. I definitely wanted some pictures of the view, but I made sure Jonathon didn't get too close to the edge. 

After we finished at the ruins, we got back on the bus and drove to a little restaurant to eat a traditional Belizean lunch of roasted jerk chicken, coconut rice, and coleslaw. Then it was back on the bus for the ride home. On the trip back, we just rested. The drive felt a lot longer going that way. We made it back in time to take the last tender back to the cruise ship, but not in time to get my passport stamped. It was such a great day though. It lived up to all my expectations and more. Although Belize is a very poor country, I never felt unsafe or worried. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go. Jonathon and I commented afterward how we now feel invested in Belize and what is happening there. It is wonderful how traveling and getting to know people and cultures connects us as humans.

Day 4-- Roatan, Honduras

I loved Belize, but I also LOVED our day in Roatan. Roatan is an island off the coast of Honduras. It was founded by pirates and was a pirate colony for many years. The whole island is so picturesque and beautiful. I couldn't get enough of the views. 

Daniel Johnson's Sloth and Monkey Hangout:

We booked a private excursion through Roatan Snorkeling Tours. They picked us all up outside the port in a big van and took us to our first stop. I saw a lot of great reviews online about Daniel Johnson's, and my sister-in-law, Ally loves animals, so it seemed like we needed to go. She was so excited to go hold a sloth! I'm not much of an animal person, but it was the best $10 we spent on our whole vacation. It was a small place, but we had very hands-on, individual encounters with some awesome animals. We probably will never have an experience like that again. First, we all got to hold a sloth. We held one named Olivia. She was so soft and so calm. The only part of her that really moved (and very slowly at that!) was her head. Sloths can turn their head 300 degrees, so she would slowly turn it all the way around to look at what was happening behind her. To switch people, the workers would carefully hold her by the arms and then place her on your chest, snuggled up just like a baby.  

After we had our turn with the sloth, we went into the monkey cage. We had to remove all of our personal belongings because the monkeys would try to take them. When all of us were inside the cage, the workers brought out some treats, and the monkeys came over to explore. They sat on our shoulders, played with people's hair, and jumped from head to head. It was wild! They were so energetic and inquisitive. We stayed in there for about 10 minutes watching them and laughing. We might have originally gone for the sloths, but by the time we left, I think we all liked the monkeys best. 

 

We also got to go in the cages and hold parrots and macaws. They would land right on our arms and heads. The parrots were a beautiful green color, and the macaws were surprisingly heavy. At the very end, Jonathon got pooped on. We sent a picture to the boys back home, and they thought it was hilarious.

Little French Key:

After our adventures with the animals, our driver took us to the Little French Key private resort. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. The water was the perfect bluish-green color, the sand was soft and golden, and every part of the island was enchanting.

We started our day by jumping off the rope swing into the little lagoon area. The water was the perfect temperature! Then we grabbed some paddle boards and paddled around the island. I had never done it before. I stood and kneeled for a while, but I preferred sitting.  

Then we spent some time relaxing in the water. The water was quite salty, so it was very easy to float. Throughout the lagoon, they had little palapas for shade and drinks. Since we are a bunch of super white folks, we slathered the sunscreen on and tried really hard to avoid burns. I am happy to report that Jonathon and I were perfect for the entire week and didn't get burned, not even a little bit!

Swimming was followed by lunch. I ordered a virgin pina colada, and it was the most delicious drink I have ever had. It was creamy and fruity and perfect! I didn't want to have too much sugar, so I savored a few swallows and then resisted overdoing it any more. I could have had one of those every single day... it was that good! 

This resort had some inflatable obstacles in the water as well, and we had so much fun in Cozumel that we decided to do them again. They were originally asking $20, but Ally talked them down to $10. We spent about an hour playing on them. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time. It was so difficult to get up on them and not fall off. We were slipping and sliding all over the place. I felt like I was on the old television show "Wipe Out." We just laughed and laughed. At the end, we did an obstacle course and had a competition between the couples. It was so hard, but we finally managed to make it all the way across. Joe and Kym ended up winning the team competition, but I was the first one to my station. My grippy water socks were definitely winners!

Lastly, we went snorkeling around the resort. It wasn't very deep, maybe 4-5 feet in places, so it was easy to search the bottom for shells. We found two awesome conch shells. I wanted to take one home as a souvenir so bad, but there was still an animal living in it. It was huge and beautiful! Ben actually took it home and is going to try to remove the critter. I bought a full-face snorkel mask before our vacation, and I loved using it. Breathing was much more natural, and I was able to do it more comfortably than the previous times I have tried to snorkel. It was an awesome experience.

I adored the entire day in Roatan. We had some unique cultural experiences, saw incredible beauty, laughed a lot, and had plenty of time to relax. I would totally go back again if given the chance.

Day 5-- Costa Maya

After two incredible ports and amazing shore excursions, our day in Costa Maya was a bit of a let down. The boys had all signed up to go fishing, so the girls were going to just hang out at the port. When we woke up that morning, the wind was howling and the ocean was really rough. The boys left for their fishing trip, and the girls had a late breakfast. It wasn't too long until the sad boys came back up to find us. Their trip had been cancelled because of the weather. They were really bummed, and I felt bad for them. 

Most of the excursions that day were cancelled, and the beaches around Costa Maya were covered in a gross seaweed that had been coming ashore lately. We decided just to explore the port a bit and then call it a day. We did a little shopping, watched a traditional air acrobatic show, and then went to a chocolate tasting experience. It was a hands-on tour through the history of chocolate making. It was just Jonathon, me, and two other people, so I got to help with the demonstration of making hot chocolate. It was kind of a cheesy show, but we got yummy chocolate samples afterward and learned a little too. I got the 3rd stamp in my passport, so it wasn't a total waste!

That night was the other formal night on the ship. We got dressed up again, and went to our fancy meal. We had some yummy filet mignon, and the most amazing baked Alaska for dessert. Overall, I would say the food on this cruise wasn't as good as our previous one, or maybe I am just getting more picky with age. There were still plenty of delicious options though. The Blue Iguana served amazing tacos and burritos (I think I ate there for lunch 4 times over the course of the week), the Guy's Burgers were yummy, and the MDR's malted chocolate hazelnut cake and baked Alaska were amazing! As you can tell, I wasn't perfect with my no-sugar diet, but most of the desserts I only had a bite or two off Jonathon's plate, so I was really proud of myself.

 

Day 6-- Sea Day

After four port days in a row, we headed back to Florida. The last sea day was a lot of fun. We played lots of games (Bang!-Dice, 7 Wonders, Settlers of Catan, and more. We also spent some time in the Sports Zone playing chess, Shuffleboard, and corn hole. We also relaxed on the amazing serenity deck (adults only) and played games up there.

The most important thing we did on the sea day was continue our quest for the coveted ship on a stick trophy. Haha! There were a few things that we thought we might have a chance of winning, so we made sure to schedule in time for those. We played Trivial Pursuit again, and we finished 2nd again. Then we played a game called Hog's Wild that was so fun! It was basically trying to guess the top twenty things in a category without hitting the pigsty. For example, the category that I participated in was "Name one of the 20 largest countries in the world by land area without hitting the pigsty (the largest country). Then the competitors would go down the line naming countries until there was only one person standing. When I heard that my category was about Geography, I was feeling very confident and ended up winning my semi-final. Jonathon also won his semi-final (Biggest states in the U.S. in terms population). We both made it to the finals, but lost before the end. The Final category was "Basketball teams in the NBA." My first answer, Utah Jazz, wasn't on their list, but enough people knew that it was a mistake that I got to stay in. I made it several rounds, but then hit the pigsty (LA Lakers). It was an awesome game, and I want to do it for future family events. Next, Dan and Claire know a lot about the TV show, Friends, so they tried Friends trivia. They were really good, but lost the tiebreaker for the win.

We were so close the entire cruise (four 2nd place finishes), but it all came down to the last contest. Luckily, it was our best subject... Harry Potter trivia. There were a ton of people playing it (probably around 50 people), and they were really good. Several of the questions that they asked actually came from a HP trivia game that the boys had downloaded on Jonathon's phone, so we definitely knew those. The rest were fairly easy. There was only one question that we didn't know... "What polyjuice ingredient has to be picked at the full moon?" Our whole group of Harry Potter lovers was stumped. The answer was "fluxweed." We got 19 out of 20 right though and took the championship! We got our ship on a stick trophy and finished the cruise out right! 

Day 7-- Orlando

Our ship docked in Orlando around 7 am the next morning, and our cruise officially came to an end. As we debarked the ship, Daniel got stopped by security and had to go through an extra search. We had no idea what was going on, but he found us several minutes later. It ended up being just a random search, but it was a little worrying for a while. 

Joe and Kym, and Jonathon and I went to the rental car place to get our car and then headed back towards Orlando. It was a Sunday, and we had missed church the Sunday before, so we really wanted to find a place to take the Sacrament. There was a ward meeting right by the Orlando temple, so we stopped to take pictures at the temple before going to church. 

The Orlando Temple was stunning. It is one of the most beautiful temples I have seen! We attended a family ward next door. It was Mother's Day, so they had a nice program with a beautiful musical number. My soul was filled, and I was glad that we made the effort to get to church. 

Then we checked into our hotel room at Cabana Bay Beach Resort. We chose that hotel because it is owned by Universal and you get early entry to Universal Studios if you stay there. Since we only had one day to do all of Universal, we figured that one extra hour would be important. 

The hotel is so fun. We stayed there last time we were in Orlando with our kids. It has a cute 60's beach theme and has a super fun lazy river and pool area. We floated around the lazy river for over an hour, enjoying the warmth and the water. 

Universal Studios

As we looked at the weather forecast leading up to Monday, we noticed that it was supposed to be a nasty, rainy day. It was such a bummer, but there was really nothing we could do. We prepared by buying some ponchos and hoping that the whole day wouldn't be ruined. When we arrived early at the park, the weather was beautiful. The line for early entry was really short, and they even let us in 10 minutes earlier than normal. We headed straight for Diagon Alley. I love Harry Potter Land. I love that it is so immersive and full of character, and I love all the details that make it perfect. 

We had the place to ourselves when we arrived. The streets were empty, and the Escape from Gringotts Ride had no lines. We pretty much walked right onto it. We had a couple of backpacks that we couldn't take on the ride, so I volunteered to do a ride swap and stay with the bags. It ended up working out great because we didn't have to pay for the lockers, and they let several of the group ride twice with the person who sat out. It was a pretty sweet two-for one. I'm sure on busy days they are much more picky about that, but we lucked out. 

After Gringotts, we went to Ollivander's Wand Shop. We had promised Andrew and Hyrum that if they were good for Grandma, we would buy them a wand. Andrew got one 4 years ago, but it got lost during the move, and he was devastated. Hyrum always felt left out because the other boys had one and he didn't, as he was still a baby and didn't go with us last time. The wands were so expensive, but the boys were completely stuck on the idea and were so excited. We finally just decided to buy them. Andrew got Ron's and Hyrum got Harry's.

Since my birthday was that week, I got a special "Celebrating My Birthday" badge to wear at the park. I was shocked and amazed at how many people wished me a Happy Birthday. All of the employees must get lots of training on that because nearly everyone did it. It definitely made me feel special. When we were in Ollivander's, I was chosen as the helper because it was my birthday. How fun is that! He went through the whole little show about how the wand chooses the wizard. I waved various wands around and did some "magic" until we found the perfect wand for me... hawthorn with unicorn hair. Apparently, it is great for healing. Haha! It was such a fun birthday treat. 

 

After exploring a bit more of Diagon Alley, we took the Hogwart's Express to Hogsmead Station in the other park (Islands of Adventure). Again, the line was super short since the park had just barely opened. 

I just love the Hogwart's Castle. It is so fun to see and explore. I was almost a little sad that there wasn't a small line to get in so that we could go a little slower through the castle, but not sad enough to wait :) We walked right through the line and got onto the Forbidden Journey ride. Jonathon sat out with the bags this time, and we all rode together. I love that ride! It is my absolute favorite because it really feels like you are flying. When we got done, we did the rider swap, and three of us were able to ride again immediately with Jonathon. It was so sweet! 

Next we made our way to the Jurassic Park ride. I hadn't done it the last time, so it was fun to go on it. It is a water ride, but we didn't get very wet. Since there was no line, we went on it a second time. Then we passed a ride called Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls. None of us had any idea what it was, but it looked like another water ride, so we figured we would go on it while we were already a little wet. That was a very poor decision. It had a huge drop at the end, and we got completely and utterly soaked. Our shoes and socks were drenched and our clothes were sopping wet. Right at that moment, the heaven's opened and it started to rain and rain and rain.  

Soaked!

We were pretty miserable for a while. There was nothing to be done though, so we sucked it up and decided to have a good time. Since it was pouring rain and we were a wet mess, we decided to find somewhere to eat and hope that the rain would slow down. We went to the Three Broomsticks for food. It was crowded because everyone else had the same idea, but we found a small table for all 8 of us and enjoyed a really tasty meal. I was actually impressed with the food. It was way better than I remembered. The fish and chips were remarkably good, and my roasted chicken was delicious. The warm meal and some frozen butterbeer helped our moods. 

It was still an absolute downpour outside, but we soldiered on. There were several indoor rides, so we went to those. The Fast and the Furious was pretty ridiculous and a waste of time, but The Mummy was a big hit for our group. I sat out with the bags again, which meant that we got to basically skip the line. They liked it so much that they did it a second time. 

There's no one I would rather spend a soggy day with than these peeps!

By that time, it was getting late in the afternoon, and it was almost time for Joe and Kym and Jonathon and me to leave for the airport. Dan and Claire and Ben and Alley weren't leaving until the next morning, so they wanted to head to some more rides. I was satisfied with what we had done that day and decided I just wanted to go back to Diagon Alley and get an ice cream from Florean Fortescue's. Jonathon and I shared a sundae of clotted cream and sticky toffee ice cream. It was the perfect end. Joe and Kym joined us shortly after, and we headed back to the hotel to change our wet clothes. When we were warm and dry again, we left for the airport. 

Right after we left, the sun came out and all the outdoor rides opened again. I don't care much about rides, but I felt bad that Kym missed out on some of them. The others stayed at the park until it closed and got to ride tons of rides without lines because most people had left because of the rain. I was glad they had a good day, even after a few rough, wet hours.

Home Again

As we were trying to find the rental car parking lot at the airport, I got a call from Mom H. Apparently, Andrew had hurt his arm at school that day, and she was afraid it might be broken because it was quite swollen. She wanted to know what she should do. Gah! After she described what happened, Jonathon and I agreed that it would probably be best if he went to the doctor. We went through security and boarded the flight. Just when we were ready to take off, we got a text that Andrew's arm was broken right above the elbow. I felt terrible for Andrew and guilty that Mom H. had to handle it. She was so nice though and got everything taken care of. She sent us this picture as we flew out of Orlando. Sad boy!

We were all so tired on the flight to Denver. I laid my head down on the tray table and fell asleep for a couple of hours. The flight to SLC was pretty empty, so we had some extra room to stretch out and rest. We arrived in SLC at 12:10 in the morning. Dad H. picked us up at the airport. By the time we got home, it was 1:30 am which felt like 3:30 eastern time to us. We went straight to bed and slept in the next morning. Mom H. was nice enough to take the boys to school and keep Hyrum until we woke up.

It was such an incredible vacation. We feel blessed to be able to do something so big like this and so thankful to our moms for watching our boys. It was the trip of a lifetime and filled with so many amazing memories! Happy 15 year anniversary to us! Until the next cruise...