A Nice Fall Getaway

Since we were unable to get away this past summer, I wanted to do something while the boys were out for their fall break. It just so happened that Royal Caribbean had a 4 night western Caribbean cruise going out of Galveston the exact days the boys were out for their break. And, an added bonus, the stars aligned so that neither of the boys had any sports activities during that time that they would miss.

Our trip was a five day cruise on the Mariner of the Seas, October 9 - 12, with one stop in Cozumel.

My coworker Paula was on the same cruise.

Once we got settled, Shane stayed in the room and took a nap while the boys and I went exploring.

Putt putt fun!

Camden had been looking forward to having escargot again. He was in luck, as they had it on the menu every night!

I always look forward to the desserts! We had an awesome waiter, who after the first night, realized our love of sweets and would bring extra desserts that we didn't even order.

Yummy!

Each night, the waiter always brought the boys
a scoop of chocolate ice cream along with
whatever other desserts they ordered.

Our first full day at sea, we laid out by the pool, the boys rode the water slides and Camden and I went to a napkin folding class. Of course, we did a lot of eating too!

After dinner we came back to our room to find fun towel animals.

On Saturday, we woke up in Cozumel. We went on an excursion that consisted of riding dune buggies around the island, with a stop to snorkel and lay out at the beach.

All the dune buggies in our group

The view of Cozumel from the ship.

Cornhole

Our last day at sea consisted of relaxing and eating. :)

Casen and I on the slides

Ping pong

My handsome boy!

Along with our waiter knowing all of our food likes and dislikes, every evening we received  an origami animal. He was so talented!

All the origami animals

A beautiful peacock

As we checked in for our final night, we found more towel animals.

We were able to get a few good family pics as well.

I am so very grateful we all had a break from school and sports to spend some time together making memories.

Rained Out

Casen had a football game schedule for yesterday  and Melissa came to cheer he and his team on. Apparently we should have paid better attention to the weather in preparation for the game. When we arrived to the football field, the B team was playing and the weather was nice. However, in no time flat, the heavens opened and poured a ton of water on us. You can't tell by how wet we are in the picture, but there was a nice gentleman who shared his umbrella with Melissa and me. (Shane was able to stay nice and dry while he camped out in the men's restroom.) Due to the massive amount of rain, the game was cancelled.

Two wet football fans.

They were able to reschedule the game for today and I was able to snag a few pics of my favorite player.

A Busy Week for Casen

This week was an exceptionally busy week for Casen. It started on Monday with Casen being nominated by his peers to be part of the inaugural Hope Squad at his school. The Hope Squad is a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program that promotes kindness and supports others who are struggling. We are so very proud of Casen and are looking forward to seeing the impact he will have on his campus through this program.

Casen also ended up losing the last of his baby teeth on Monday.

On Tuesday he had a football game vs Magnolia Junior High.

On Wednesday evening, we headed to Tomball Memorial High School for Casen's Fall Concert.

Friday, Casen's school had a pink out pep rally, and Casen dressed for the occasion.

After Casen got home from school, he packed up and we headed out to the Scorpions Ranch in Katy, where he spent the weekend with his baseball teammates. Fortunately there were a few team dad's who were chaperones and carted then back and forth from the rancy to the ball fields for their games over the weekend. 

The ranch house was the perfect place for the team to hang out for the weekend. There were several bunk rooms downstairs, where the adults stayed.

The stairs led to a bunkhouse upstairs that sleeps 16, which of course is where the boys slept.

The garage was transformed into a fun area with games, and the property also had a pool and not pictured were a weight room and outside hitting facility.

The boys wore their pink jerseys this weekend for breast cancer awareness and even won a few games, even thought I am certain they were functioning on very little sleep.

Camden had soccer games both yesterday and today, and fortunately, his game times were later in the day, which allowed us to attend everyone's games this weekend!

Fortunately, next week we all have a few days off from school, so hopefully can catch up on some rest!