cruising

We are home from the cruise of a lifetime!  The boys were spoiled by all the fun stuff and all the fawning attention from our family and the cruise ship staff.  The Oasis of the Seas ship was like being on a floating mall, rec center, playground, beach boardwalk, and theaters. You can't forget the 18 pools!  It is huuuuge and Aiden's expression of "What the cool!" when seeing just a ship photograph was only magnified once he boarded the giant boat.  I will have happy memories of right when we boarded and the band was playing as KC beebopped down the promenade.  The meals alone make it worth it... aaah, even the kiddie food was decadent: french toast fingers encrusted with cinnamon sugar, double stacked grilled cheese, and cinnamon crunch cake were some of Aiden's favorites.  My favorites were the lobster, prime rib, and creamy gnocchi (not all in one day!).  The shows were kid friendly (and amazing!); front row for Hairspray (which appeared on the Tony awards while we were aboard), a diving show, ice skating show and aerial acrobatics show all up close and personal.  Aiden loved the diving show and kept turning to me excited saying "That's what I call action, Mom!"  J and I even snuck away from KC for the first time since he was born for an hour to see the Improv show (thanks to Lizzie especially and my folks for managing).  The boys enjoyed the Adventure Ocean which was overflowing with toys and even a toy bag to take to our room.  Aiden performed a little rockstar show for parents with his paper glitter guitar.  The Dreamworks partnership with the ship made for really fun parades and dance parties with the characters from Shrek, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, and Kung Foo Panda.  They even had a red carpet with the Madagascar characters before a 3D version of the new movie on the ship.  Aiden jumped the second highest in Kung Foo Panda training school at the Adventure Ocean.  We rode the florider boogie board, zipped across the line between the ships decks, climbed the giant 42 foot climbing wall, and even ice skated on the indoor rink.  When we weren't cruising we were exploring Labadee, Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, and Cozumel, Mexico.  More on those excursions soon... There are so many photos and mini memories that I will post soon.  Huge thanks to my folks for inviting us to celebrate and for all the great company and fun!  We cannot thank you enough!