The BEST Ewing vacation ever!!!!

I am UNABLE to count how many vacations have had to be cancelled due to medical issues in the past 16 years...trips to Florida, Big Cedar, North Little Rock...you name it and it has been postponed.  So this year, Brad and I were determined to surprise Spencer with a vacation that would not only celebrate his graduation from high school, but also make up for all his missed opportunities.  We made reservations in MARCH and I promise, anyone who knows me is really surprised I was able to keep a secret for that long!

The adventure began when Brad, Spencer and I left Saturday morning and all we told Spencer was to pack enough clothes for nine days and get in the car.  Spencer loves surprises as much as I do so it was important to keep him guessing.  After seven hours on the road, we stopped in Houston, TX at the airport and picked up Cole, who flew in from LA!  Surprise #1!!!!  I wish I had gotten a picture of Spencer's smile because it was PRECIOUS and PRICELESS!  What would a vacation be without your favorite sidekick?!  Another 45 minutes and we arrived in Galveston and I just couldn't stand it; I told Brad we HAD to tell Spencer or I was going to burst, so we did a drive-by of the dock and finally told him we were taking him on a cruise!  

Sunday morning, we boarded the Navigator of the Seas with Royal Caribbean and prepared ourselves for seven days of an amazing adventure.

Over the years, Brad has learned that I suffer from motion sickness in anything that moves; a cab in New York, a cab in Paris, the subway in Washington D.C., the Euro rail in Europe...you get the picture.  So, I was prepared with patches, pills and arm bands and I had nary a day of being sick and I was able to enjoy this view each and every day.

The view from the dining room was amazing.

Our first port of call was Cozumel, Mexico.  Brad and Cole went three reef snorkeling and Spencer and I "swam" with the Rays.  When I saw swam, I really mean Spencer held them, touched them and gave them kisses and I jumped around and screamed if one touched me.  Needless to say, I was super excited when the excursion was over!

Spencer just hangin with some sort of lizard that I am sure had fangs and a taste for human blood.

He was smiling but if you could read his mind, I am sure he was past ready to leave me behind and get back on the ship!

The next day, our port of call was Belize City, Belize.  We had no specific plans so we roamed around town and visited the shops.  However, our meandering was limited to a small section of the town where it was surrounded by a fence with soldiers guarding it armed with AK-47's.  Okey dokey, that cut our meandering short!

The last stop was our favorite...Roatan, Honduras with the most beautiful landscape and the nicest people.

Cole danced with the locals,

we explored the town, and

we ended up in the jungle where the boys decided to go zip lining!

We had to go find Mama a cocktail after that adventure.

The rest of the trip, we enjoyed all the amazing amenities on the ship...

movie night at the pool,

the wave rider,

 the ice rink,

the impeccable service we received from David, our stateroom attendant, and

seven days of togetherness with NO wifi!

  Now, it's back to reality and trying to acclimate to the fact that there will be no pool time and fruity umbrella drinks at 10:00am, but loving that we were able to spend the perfect vacation together.

"Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other."
~Romans 12:10